The Christmas festivities are over. The prawns are peeled, the leftover turkey is in the fridge, stomachs are full, and it’s time to curb that holiday weight. Pairing up with your partner for a diet? Sounds like a perfect plan. However, turns out that dieting with someone you’re romantically involved with isn’t as foolproof as it seems.
Associate professor at Colorado State University Dr Jennifer Harman suggests that the dieting success of one person in the relationship could be affected if the other partner is doing better. Harman conducted a study of people’s ability to restrict portions while alone and while with others, with the spoiler being that most found it harder when with another person.
"We found that among 50 overweight, romantic couples who made New Year's resolutions to lose weight, the more successful a partner was at restricting his or her diet and eating healthier, the less confident the other partner was in controlling their own food portions," wrote Harman in The Science of Relationships.
"When people strive to reach a goal, being close - in this case romantically - with someone who is successfully reaching the same goal can make the other partner less confident in their own efforts to reach the goal. You heard that right: people feel less confident achieving their goals when they see others succeeding at the same goals."
Harman suggests it might be better to try and avoid comparison by creating individual goals and not comparing progress with a partner.
