Happy Weight: Truth or Tale?

I have heard of this for years- this supposed "happy" layer of weight that someone can put on in the couple of months following them getting into a relationship. A 10-15 pound gain that people get because they are I guess "happy" or content or whatever. I have heard friends say it has happened to them, celebrities have said so during their interviews-

I never believed it before. It all seems a little backwards to me. To me I always thought, when I was single there was no one around to impress but myself, so what if I gained a few? When I had a relationship that was when I would actually have to watch myself and get those extra workouts in, in order to keep my man thinking I was beautiful.

Well, ladies and gents, I hate to say it but here I sit, 8 months later and about 10 pounds heavier-- when before I was with Nate I was an avid gym-goer and kept an extremely watchful eye on my food intake. At first I thought it was my imagination, I even went to the extremes of blaming my ever-getting-tigher-pants to my mom's dryer shrinking them. But alas, I think my waist has just expanded a bit. What gives? I always thought that after I got into a serious relationship that I would try extra hard to be healthy and make sure I always looked my best for the other person.

After some serious thought over my activity the last yearish, I came up with a few reasons I think this might happen:

1. Dinners out. Drinks. Dessert. I never realized how much couples do these things when getting to know one another! In the midst of the awesome conversation, staring into one another's eyes and all that jazz, before I know it, we have had dinner, a drink or two and dessert- every weekend, REPEAT! When in doubt, when making date plans, it usually is a safe bet that dinner will be included. Sigh.

2. Loss of personal time. When single, you have more free time to work out, cook for yourself, to go out and do things for yourself. Being in a long distance relationship, I see my guy on the weekends which usually means, no work out time. This also means I need to get all my important stuff done on week nights when I don't work, so that cuts into gym time as well. Also, this means I am getting food on the go a lot and making quick, less healthy meals for myself. Blarg. No good.

3. And most importantly- Comfort level/Feeling happy! Nate has always been the type to tell me I am beautiful and gorgeous and all that great stuff every single day. He tells me he loves me no matter what, and that it will never change. The other day when I asked him if he HONESTLY (please please tell me the truth!) thought I looked any bigger, he of course answered "no not at all, you are beautiful as ever). Sigh, such a great guy. But really thinking about it, being so wrapped up, happy, content, being in love, and hearing these words over the last few months has made me convinced- the "happy weight" happens!

It certainly has snuck up on me and now with a wedding coming up, I am in need of a plan to get healthy and back on track with diet and exercise! Not just to lose those pesky 10 pounds but to really get a healthy mindset and in order to feel good about myself and what I am doing for my body on a daily basis. Now that I am aware of the subtle changes that have taken place in my behavior over the last few months, I can make steps towards changing them.