How Can a Couple Lose Weight Together?

If you and your partner have each set a weight loss goal, you’re in luck. Couples who try to lose weight together have better results than those who do it alone, says Carol Aguirre, RD, a vegan weight loss and nutrition coach based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Some reasons for this success are the motivation and the accountability couples provide for each other, which promotes healthy habit changes, Aguirre says. 

Even when only one partner commits to losing weight, their positive lifestyle changes create a “ripple effect” in their significant other, studies show, causing them to lose weight as well — even if they didn’t set a weight loss goal, adds Kristin Kirkpatrick, RD, of the Cleveland Clinic and co-author of Regenerative Health. 

With that in mind, you may be wondering: How can a couple lose weight together? And what types of couple activities help you lose weight? Below, experts share strategies for losing weight as a couple, including how to support each other and suggestions for joint routines to follow for weight loss success. 

6 Tips for Couples Who Want to Lose Weight Together

1. Set Realistic, Measurable Goals

To set yourself up for success, Kirkpatrick recommends setting goals as a couple. The goals can be based on a percentage of weight you’d each like to lose or focused on exercise or diet objectives such as cooking more healthy meals at home. 

The key to goal setting, Aguirre says, is to ensure the goals are realistic and the steps to achieve them are based on each other’s preferences. For example, setting a goal to run every day won’t be sustainable if one partner doesn’t enjoy running and prefers another form of exercise. However, it’s perfectly fine to set a goal that you each want to get moving three times a week, and then follow different exercise routines and cheer each other on along the way. 

Kirkpatrick also encourages setting goals around other healthy habits beyond diet and exercise that can contribute to weight loss, such as prioritizing sleep, which may help with controlling portions and cravings. Research published in JAMA Medicine in 2022 suggests that getting adequate sleep may help reduce weight. 

Another pro tip: Make sure your goal is measurable, Aguirre says. For instance, “lose weight” is far too general and vague, but setting the intention to “lose X pounds by X date” is specific and measurable. 

2. Do “Treat” Meals Together

Eating healthy, balanced meals is, of course, essential in a weight loss journey but that doesn’t mean you must refrain from indulging in special foods from time to time. After all, any food can be worked into a weight loss strategy if you track your food and plan for special meals. 

If you and your partner want to incorporate a “treat” meal, Kirkpatrick recommends partaking in it together, not separately. Maybe you plan to eat out once a week and use that time to recap and discuss the week’s weight loss challenges and successes. 

3. Exercise Consistently 

If you’re wondering what couples’ activities help you lose weight, regular movement is definitely at the top of the list. It’s fun to do an online yoga class in your living room or enjoy a game of pickleball, and you can motivate each other if either of you is feeling like bailing.

Another nice perk of a bicycle built for two? Research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships in 2021 shows that people are not only more successful at exercising when they do so with their romantic partner, but that exercising together also contributes to relationship satisfaction. “Consistent exercise will not only help with reaching weight loss, but also enhance the couple’s emotional connection,” Aguirre explains. 

Kirkpatrick also suggests incorporating more exercise into your routine by occasionally swapping out sedentary lifestyle habits (we’re looking at you, Netflix binges) with activities that encourage movement — like going for a walk after dinner, playing a sport, or learning a new skill together such as skiing.

4. Avoid Comparison 

Weight loss as a couple is not a competition, which is why Kirkpatrick strongly advises focusing on your own weight loss journey. Everybody is different, and it’s unfair to compare your progress to your partner’s. “Celebrate the uniqueness you bring to the relationship without focusing on who is ‘winning,’ who is ‘not as committed,’ or who could ‘step it up,’” she says. “The goal should not be to ‘win’ but rather to work together to reach shared goals.” 

In other words, be each other’s cheerleader and acknowledge your own successes along the way. That includes achievements that go beyond the scale and contribute to overall well-being, such as improving your sleep hygiene, meditating a few times per week, or being consistent with meal planning. 

5. Share Responsibilities 

While partaking in joint routines and activities can support your weight loss journey as a couple, the reality is life is busy and routines vary. For this reason, Kirkpatrick says it’s important to take turns with house and family duties to give each other time to practice healthy habits. “Schedules will not always be in sync, so being each other’s helper in the day-to-day responsibilities will help in gaining shared admiration and respect for the other’s goals,” she says. For example, if you have children, you can alternate doing school drop-offs each morning so the other partner has time to exercise. 

6. Remember, It’s a Lifestyle

“Losing weight is one aspect. Keeping it off is a whole other ball game,” Kirkpatrick says. To that end, she recommends maintaining shared weight loss goals even once you both hit your goal weight. “This part is just the beginning, and keeping it off together may pose an even greater challenge.”

Once you accomplish your weight loss goals as a couple, take time to celebrate the big win while continuing to practice the healthy habits that helped you get there in order to achieve long-lasting results. It’s also a good opportunity to check in with each other and set new individual or joint goals to move forward with.

 

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

• Gorin AA, Powers TA, Gettens K, et al. Project TEAMS (Talking about Eating, Activity, and Mutual Support): A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Theory-Based Weight Loss Program for Couples. BMC Public Health. September 29, 2017. 
• Gorin AA, Lenz EM, Cornelius T, et al. Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Ripple Effect of a Nationally Available Weight Management Program on Untreated Spouses. Obesity. February 1, 2018.
• Gettens KM, Carbonneau N, Koestner R, et al. The Role of Partner Autonomy Support in Motivation, Well-Being, and Weight Loss Among Women With Higher Baseline BMI. Families, Systems & Health: The Journal of Collaborative Family Healthcare. July 12, 2018.
• Tasali E, Wroblewski K, Kahn E, et al. Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-Life Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2022. 
• Sackett-Fox, Gere J, and Updegraff JA. Better Together: The Impact of Exercising with a Romantic Partner. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. April 27, 2021.