Weight-Related Topics To Discuss In Marriage Counseling

One of the many topics that may lead to conflict in your marriage is the weight of you or your partner. If you find that you're frequently butting heads on this topic, one solution is to seek marriage counseling. This neutral space allows both of you to share your truth about the situation, and an experienced counselor can help you to find common ground. As many counseling sessions as you both feel you need can make a big difference in how you deal with whatever weight-related problem is affecting your marriage. Here are some topics that may come up during your therapy.

Respect

When it comes to weight creating a problem in a marriage, it's often a case of one partner gaining a significant amount of weight. To the other partner — especially if he or she has made a point of working hard to maintain a consistent weight — this weight gain can represent a lack of respect. For example, if your partner has gained 100 pounds, you may feel as though he or she isn't respecting you very well. You may also feel that your partner lacks self-respect, as he or she doesn't seem to be concerned about he or she looks. Issues with respect, of course, can often create relationship rifts.

Physical Attraction

One partner's significant weight gain can also change the level of attraction that is present in your marriage. For example, if your husband had an athletic physique when you married him, but has since packed on about 75 pounds, you may not find him physically attractive today to the same degree that you once did. This doesn't mean that you love him or like him less, but you may admit that you aren't as excited by the look of his body as you were when you first got married.

Health Worries

Because weight gain carries a number of health risks, there may also be some concerns about your loved one's health as a result of his or her weight gain. This may especially be true if your spouse doesn't appear to be working on losing weight. For example, you might have conflicts if your spouse is dramatically overweight to the point that his or her doctor has expressed concern, but you find your spouse drinking soda, eating cake, and snacking on potato chips frequently. Each of these issues can be a challenge, but a dedicated approach to marriage counseling can help you to get through them together.