Top 5 Ways to Banish the Love Chub
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
4 commentsYou’ve met that special someone. And now, dining-out days are doubling. Lazy Sundays are dominating. And your relaxing once-in-awhile nightcap has become a nightly ritual—with not one, but two to three glasses of wine. Slowly, overtime, you notice the scale starts to creep in a direction you’d prefer it not to go.
You’ve got a case of the “love chub.” It’s time to remove the love blinders and open your eyes to your former healthier ways. Below, you’ll find the top five tips to help whittle those love handles back to shape!
How to Banish the Love Chub
1. Keep your lady-like portions: Men can eat more—point blank. They’re taller and have more muscle and testosterone, and in turn, higher metabolisms. If your servings look like your man’s, then yes, your pant size will be on the up-and-up.
- Love chub prevention tip: Think protein and produce—then starchy carbs! Pile on the non-starchy veggies (all except peas, corn, and potatoes); divvy up about 3-5 ounces of lean protein, such as turkey, chicken, crab, tofu, bison (3 ounces = a deck of cards); and dish-up a serving of whole grains, ½ cup brown rice, quinoa, or whole-grain pasta. And remember to watch the fats—one tablespoon of oil (even healthy olive oil!) is 120 calories.
2. Dust off the pots and pans: There’s no easy way to put this, but restaurant meals, serve you gargantuan portions, which eventually, pack on the pounds. For example, pasta dishes, on average, are over 800 calories a pop; burger meals are typically over 900 calories; and salads with all the fixings (think nuts, chicken, dressing, cheese, croutons, avocado, and dried fruit) are easily over 1,300 calories—more than half your day! In fact, almost an entire day!
- Love chub prevention tip: Grab a healthy cookbook and save your money and your waistline! My favorite is Martha’s Everyday Food: Light. It’s got nutrition facts, the food is super easy to cook, and you’ll learn healthy cooking techniques. Plus, the recipes are tasty!
3. Kick your rear into high-gear: Don’t let love turn you into a bum! During the honeymoon phase of a relationship, it’s easy to not want to leave that person’s side or break your comfy routine. But, short breaks from one another are healthy and even healthier when you’re sweating up a storm! If you can’t seem to part ways, you can always break a sweat together. After all, couples that play together, stay together.
- Love chub prevention tip: Make it a point to schedule in your exercise, even on days with your man. Let him know your plans and that this is something important to you. He’ll respect you for standing up for what you need to do for you. And after you’ve worked up that sweat, you’ll find yourself feeling more confident and sexy … and honestly, what man can object to that?!
4. Keep a cap on it: I’m sorry to say that alcohol is metabolized like fat. Plus, it’s extra calories, shuts down fat burning, and tends to lend to poor food choices. If trying to banish the “love chub,” you’ll also want to banish the booze.
- Love chub prevention tip: Keep it to 4 drinks per week max! One drink is the equivalent to 5 ounces of wine, one 12-ounce beer, or 1.5 ounces of hard alcohol. Keep in mind, the less alcohol, the better in the name of weight loss.
5. Get some shut-eye: With frequent sleepovers, different sleeping environments (perhaps his place is louder with more light), or opposite shut-eye patterns, it’s easy to not get enough sleep. Studies show that lack of sleep affects weight, hunger, and body fat. Getting enough shut-eye is key!
- Love chub prevention tip: Try to maintain your usual night time ritual as much as possible. If you two have completely opposite sleep times, talk about it. You’ll either eventually need to hit the hay at the same time or just be okay with the fact that one of you will conk out earlier. Lastly, try to accommodate one another. If you need a darker environment, try shutting the blinds more or posting up a sheet to block incoming light. Ultimately, try to clock-in at least seven hours of shut-eye and have an environment that’s conducive to do so.
The Chopped Life and Chopped recipes could banish “love chub”! The Hubby and I cycle together and have recently taken to Crosstraining together. I’ve been making Chopped for 12 years…lot’s of love in Chez Kahn, but no chub!!
After realizing that every date night was defined as shoveling food in and then going to bed, my husband and I decided to redefine the date activity. Now we do an “activity”! Tennis, biking, evening walking, etc. Including a light meal afterwards is always allowed!
LOL! Too funny! I love this!:) Good, good;) hahaha you crack me up!
I love this post. Even when I know better, its true.. the newlywed thing challenges me. I definitely have to commit to gym dates and make good choices when eating out. Fortunately Grant shares my interest in healthy living