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This article is written by a guest author.
When you’re in a relationship, it’s normal to want what’s best for your partner. The more time you spend with one another, the more invested you become in their well-being and happiness.
If your partner has an unhealthy habit, it’s perfectly normal to want to change it. Though your intentions may be good, it can be tricky to try to help your partner without coming off as patronizing or abrasive. The last thing you should do is make your partner feel upset or ashamed.
Check out this step-by-step guide on how to get your partner involved in a healthy lifestyle change.
Step 1: Analyze The Situation
You should never act impulsively. Instead of telling your partner to stop a bad habit out of the blue, you need to fully assess how you feel about the situation. Here are a few ways to get a good perspective on the situation:
- Journal. Ask yourself why you want your partner’s actions are bothering you. Are they triggering something from your family history? Do their actions remind you of a habit you stopped doing a few years ago?
- Talk to a professional therapist. Increasingly, Americans are turning to mental health professionals for help. Going to see a professional therapist can be a useful way to work through your issues with your partner. Additionally, they can also help you come up with useful strategies for approaching your partner.
- Give it time. You might not be ready to approach your partner about the healthy lifestyle change. Sometimes, things take time. Just don’t forget that this is bothering you and revisit it when you’re ready.
Step 2: Act Calm When You Approach Your Partner
When you’re ready, set up a time to approach your partner. These are a few helpful steps for having this important conversation about why you want them to get involved in a healthy lifestyle change:
- Choose a good time. Find a time where you and your partner aren’t overly exhausted. Hence, don’t approach them after a long day at work.
- Prepare. It can be useful to come into the meeting with some prepared mental notes. Though you don’t have to read off a list of grievances, you should have a solid idea of what you want to communicate.
- Remain calm. Your partner might get defensive during this conversation. Sometimes, people don’t take constructive criticism well. While this is always a possibility, you need to remain calm and not escalate the situation.
- Provide information. If your partner smokes cigarettes, you can show them studies illustrating the numerous harmful effects. On the other hand, if you want your partner to start exercising more, there are plenty of resources you can pull from.
Step 3: Make It Into A Couple Activity
A great way to encourage your partner to embrace a healthy lifestyle is by making it into a couple activity. This way, they won’t feel like they are making these big changes all alone. These are some things you can commit to doing with your partner:
- Changing your diet. If you and your partner live together, you can agree to eat a healthy low-carb diet at home. In addition to cooking meals together, you and your partner can go grocery shopping and search for delicious, sugar-free snacks. Grocery shopping can be a lot more romantic than you think!
- Exercise together. There are plenty of exercising activities you can do with your partner. Whether you’re joining them for a morning jog or a pilates class, you will absolutely love basking in the post-workout endorphins together.
- Make supplement smoothies. Collagen protein powder is great for muscle recovery and skin health. After a workout, you and your partner can make a delicious smoothie together. Not only is collagen filling, it can be incredibly beneficial for your body.
- Cut back together. If you asked your partner to cut back on drinking, eating sweets, or binge-watching TV, you shouldn’t indulge in those bad habits either. Come up with some fun, healthy alternatives to do together like hiking, painting, or gardening.
Step 4: Be Patient
It might take a while for your partner to enact this healthy lifestyle change. Often, people can be stubborn and seek the comfort of old habits even when they are presented with evidence that it’s negatively impacting them. You should be patient with your partner and set reasonable goals together. For example, if you want them to cut out sugar completely from their diet, you can try gradually decreasing your sugar intake together. Similarly, instead of suddenly hitting the gym five times a week, start off by going two or three times a week and then work your way up together.
Step 5: Make Sure To Celebrate
Making a healthy lifestyle change isn’t easy. Whether it’s cutting out a bad habit or mustering up the stamina to start working out, your partner will have to devote some time and energy to making a positive change in their lives. Throughout the process, you should make sure you celebrate your partner’s progress and inform them of how proud you are. Your partner will appreciate your encouragement and continue enacting changes in their life.
Getting your partner involved in a healthy lifestyle change doesn’t have to be difficult. Though it can be discouraging at times, as long as you’re patient and open minded, you and your partner will make it through this journey stronger than ever.
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