It's difficult to both recognize and act when it's your spouse who needs to learn to eat right and exercise. Health issues, overweight and obesity alert you to the problem, but your spouse might not be so conscious. To preserve your relationship, approach the subject with care and sensitivity, lest you risk your spouse's hurt feelings and a rift in your marriage. By taking it to the professionals, you become a supporting player rather than a seemingly cruel catalyst to a lifestyle change.
Step 1
Schedule an appointment with your spouse's doctor for a physical and general discussion on health. If possible, accompany your spouse to the doctor to participate in that discussion. If you bring up the subject of a healthy lifestyle, it could be rejected or seen as an attack. If a doctor is the one who tells your spouse he needs to clean up his act for his health, he might be more likely to take the advice to heart to make serious changes.
Step 2
Commit to making changes as a team. It will be difficult for your spouse to changes her eating habits and exercise more if you continue your same habits as before. By setting goals together, your spouse has the support she needs to make healthy changes, while you receive the added benefit of a healthier lifestyle as well. Set goals that are attainable, such exercising for 30 minutes every day for a month. Attainable goals help build momentum for complete habit overhauls.
Step 3
Support your spouse's healthy habits by making it easier for him to eat right and exercise. That means removing unhealthy food from your cupboards, staying in and cooking instead of eating out and working with fresh, healthy ingredients. Arrange your schedules to make it easier for him to exercise and for you to join him on a regular basis. This helps remove some of the excuses he might have for neglecting to change his ways.
Step 4
Reaffirm your spouse's changes in both physical and verbal ways. When your spouse realizes that you find her attractive and appreciate her efforts, it helps to motivate her to continue her progress. A squeeze of the hand, an extra kiss or a kind word concerning appearance or effort goes a long way in reinforcing your spouse's healthy, positive behavior.
Step 5
Off nonfood rewards to celebrate your spouse's success. Celebrate small and large goals met using appropriate rewards as small as new music for a workout playlist or a new healthy recipe at dinner, to larger rewards, such as a weekend getaway. Constantly celebrating success helps your spouse stay motivated and feel positive about the healthy diet and exercise changes in his life.
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