Lose Weight Despite Spouse Sabotage

Lose Weight Despite Spouse Sabotage

You're doing everything you can to lose weight, but your spouse either doesn't need to diet or isn't interested. Find out how you can still stick to your plan.
By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Niya Jones, MD, MPH

You've been trying to lose weight and stick to a diet plan that helps you feel good and achieve your goals, only to watch your significant other bust out a bowl of chips and a chocolate bar as an evening snack. Whether your spouse is naturally slender or ignoring his own weight problem, you can take steps to keep your diet from derailing.

Lose Weight: Dieting With a Non-Dieting Spouse

Many a dieter has wished her spouse would change his ways so she could achieve her diet goals. While it may be tempting to simply throw up your hands, creative strategies that curb frustration can help, says one resourceful dieter.

"I'm not going to blame my husband for this, but I am around him all the time and he can eat anything and everything that he wants," notes Frances Simon, a writer based in New Orleans who says she is committed to make this the year she returns to her goal weight. "He has a completely different metabolism and he exercises all the time, whereas I find it hard just to find the time."

For years, her husband's habit of snacking during the evening TV shows they enjoyed together undermined her diet plans. Even though Simon reports that she has found a Mediterranean-style weight loss plan that keeps her feeling full, she still sometimes has to fight the temptation to snack along with him.

"Best thing I've learned [to combat] the evening snacking — which I am not going to change about him — is knitting. If I keep my hands busy, I won't start eating," says Simon.