Marriage Musings: Getting Rid of the Jiggle

**NEW LADYMAMA AUTHOR**

Marriage Musings

By Russi Wachtel

Come back every week for Russi's marriage musings as 

she addresses every aspect of life as a newlywed! 

Read more about Russi on the author page!

GETTING RID OF THE JIGGLE 

A jiggle here and a jiggle there and I realized that my affair with food was not kosher.  I picked up on this after trying to fit into my spring clothing, and after trying on numerous skirts and none of them fitting, it hit me! There I was, one year into my marriage ,with an added fifteen pounds around my waist!

If only my love for food was like an elementary school crush that ends the second some extra pounds and a few pimples appear. Sadly though, it isn’t. Foods, all kinds of food, occupy my thoughts and fill me with longing and desire, which means that my relationship with food is much more than just a fleeting romance.

Before getting married, I was able to sublimate my cravings for food by cooking with healthy ingredients while reserving the extra calories for the desserts. That way, I was able to feed my hunger while also giving into my cravings. At night I would work off the cake by doing some tushy squats and sit-ups and - viola! - I was able to maintain a pretty svelte figure.

After getting married, my eating habits began to change to match that of my husbands. My husband’s diet is a little different than mine in that it includes every single fattening ingredient possible. He is able to turn a healthy dinner, such as grilled chicken and steamed vegetables, into an oil-fest by making slight improvisations on the dinner menu.The hard part is that every single thing he cooks tastes like a piece of heaven. He puts such spirit and energy into the preparations of the food that it is difficult to say no when just the smell of it makes my tummy growl with anticipation.

As it turned out, not only did my healthy eating habits wither away but with time so did my exercise routine.  The result: added weight and an extra wiggle in my walk. My husband’s insistent compliments that the additional weight only made for more loving didn’t exactly help either. Eleven months and fifteen pounds later, I found myself sucking in my stomach in order to squeeze into a skirt that fit me just a few months earlier. It was a pretty tough situation to be in.  Not only was I struggling with the zipper but I also had to face reality that my body did not appreciate the way I was treating it for the last few months.

It was then that I realized that if I didn’t make a quick change to my lifestyle then the weight would just continue to pile on until I would feel extremely dissatisfied with myself and my body.  It took imagining myself as a sumo wrestler to really get me going.

With vigor I began to workout and eat better, which helped me lose six pounds. My husband has joined me on my quest and is also losing some weight.  With a bit of compromising and little give and take, we have been able to workout meal plans that keep us both happy.  

As a newlywed, I had difficulty dealing with the lifestyle change that came with getting married. I didn’t know how to combine the habits of single life with married life. Now, a year later and six pounds lighter, I realize the importance of integrating my old ways into my new life. Adjusting to the lifestyle change that comes with marriage has its complications. However, with some time and creativity, a couple can find the midline between what worked for them when they were single and what works for them as a husband and wife.