No Longer a Lean Cuisine Affair

by Gwen Cooper — August 7, 2007

I wrote once that nothing promotes instant and effortless weight loss like a breakup. Unfortunately, the inverse also seems to hold true: Nothing promotes weight gain like being in a stable and satisfying relationship. Or, at least, such seems to be the case for me. Somehow, without even noticing it, I've managed to pack on an extra (and unwanted) 10 pounds in the past six months since Robert and I got together.

You may be saying, "10 pounds--what's the big deal?" But when you're 5'2" like I am, 10 pounds hits you harder than it would somebody tall, or even of average height. 10 pounds is the difference between fitting or not fitting into just about everything I own. It's the difference between feeling confident and attractive during bathing suit season or cleverly disguising my new bulk beneath a sarong and hoping nobody notices the ruse.

I used to think that people who gained weight while in a relationship were people who, on some level, figured they were "off the market" anyway and simply put less effort into maintaining their appearance. But I work out as much as I ever did. Of course, I didn't use to have the cookies and chips that Robert enjoys hanging around in my pantry. Dinner was frequently a simple salad or Lean Cuisine affair, whereas now I eat out several times a week. Midnight movie marathons at home turn into mini-binges of popcorn and sandwiches. Like anything else in a relationship, it's the little things that sneak up on you and make all the difference.

Complicating matters further is that Robert actually prefers women who are, as he terms it, "squeezy." "Fleshy" is another word he's fond of. He gets impatient when I mention cutting my caloric intake and getting back to my pre-Robert weight--not because he's one of those guys who hates it when women talk about dieting, but because he finds me even more attractive with the extra 10 pounds and isn't in any hurry to see them come off.

Which I suppose is nice, but the problem is that I don't like the extra 10 pounds. So, at the risk of sounding school-marmish, I've made an executive decision that bags of chips and cookies will no longer be permitted to reside in my house. And maybe I don't need to order dessert every time Robert and I go out to eat.

I don't know what to do about those bags of popcorn, though. There's really nothing better on a brutally hot summer's night than staying in a cool, air-conditioned apartment and watching your favorite old movie. And popcorn and movies just go so well together...

Gwen Cooper is the author of Diary of a South Beach Party Girl, recently published by Simon & Schuster. To read all of Gwen Cooper's posts in "The Dating Life," click here.