Since the season of love has come and gone, I thought this post would be great to share. Helping your partner get in shape, lose weight, and better his life is a great cause and Mel shares some great tips on how to do this in today’s post!

Help Your Guy in His Weight Loss Goals

If you’re looking for ways to get your guy in shape and help him improve his health, you probably know by now it’s no easy task. While you don’t want to bluntly tell him he needs to lose some weight, subtle nudges might just spark the inspiration he needs to practice healthy habits.

Exercise Together

If you want to help him increase his physical activity levels, then you need to join him in his endeavors. Ask him to go on runs with you, plan date nights that revolve around activities instead of doing pizza and a movie for the umpteenth time, and always practice what you preach when you’re trying to encourage him to be more active. The couple that gyms together, stays together, right? I’m pretty sure the phrase goes something like that. In any case, most gyms like LA Fitness have family and friends packages where you could combine each other onto one account and receive a discount. The money factor might be enough to persuade him in favor of your idea.

Make it a Competition

There’s nothing that will light a fire under him more than a bit of competition. Men, by and large, are competitive creatures, and if you know your guy has a mean competitive streak, use it to his and your advantage. Encourage him to get involved in competitive intramurals that will give him a reason to run, jump, and reach for something that goes beyond weight loss. If he doesn’t have the time or motivation to join a team, make it a competition between the two of you. Challenge him to a race, obstacle course, kayaking adventure, or any preferred physical feat. Make the stakes worth his involvement: if he wins, you’ll do anything he wants, and if you win, vice versa.

A New Wardrobe

Everyone responds better to positive reinforcement and encouragement, so when you see your guy making a change, make sure you reward him and notice his efforts. Maybe it’s an occasional compliment on how good he looks in his new shirt or maybe it’s buying said new shirt. Show him how changing his physique could help him look better in clothes and try styles he might have been anxious to before. Send him a link to some men’s fashion websites you think he might enjoy, do some online shopping for men at Touch of Modern yourself for gift ideas, and check out a fashion subscription company like Fashionstork.com.

Provide Healthy Food Choices

They say weight loss is 80 percent diet, 20 percent exercise, so don’t let him think just going to the gym is going to get results. In order to change our bodies, we have to change our lifestyles, and eating a greasy cheeseburger with extra bacon isn’t going to do it. Don’t force him to go cold turkey on all of his favorites, but slowly incorporate and offer healthier options when you’re eating together. If you don’t order pizza, he won’t eat it, simple as that. If he’s in charge of the cooking, suggest recipes you’d like to try that incorporate healthy elements. For example, instead of grabbing sour cream for his world-famous tacos, use Greek yogurt for a heart-healthy substitute. Little switches like this can make all the difference.

Try New Items

Incorporate new healthy items he might not have tried before onto your grocery list. Every little effort counts, and you never know when he’ll try and love a vegetable that he can’t believe he’s been avoiding all this time. Remove junk food from your home—if it’s there, it’s a temptation that will be hard to ignore.

Remember the Difference

Don’t hold him to the same eating and physical standards as you hold yourself. Men and women have different bodies, and what might be a great, sufficient meal for you is actually just a snack for him. In general, men need more calories so your plates are bound to look very different from each other.

The Things You Shouldn’t Do

Avoid telling him what to do and discouraging him when he does occasionally make unhealthy choices. We’re all bound to mess up, and most of us don’t respond well to criticism. When mistakes happen, don’t jump down his throat. When good choices are made, commend them. It’s truly as simple as that.