Weddingbee Blog

I may be very, very close to gaining a lot, a lot of weight. With my wedding day quickly approaching, I may soon gain the “marriage fifteen”.

The dreaded scale. [Source]

A recent NY Times article, “For Better, For Worse, For B.M.I.” discusses how often people gain the marriage fifteen after they say “I Do.” (Also coined “love chub” and “happy pounds” in the article!) Married men and women have higher B.M.I.s than their single or dating counterparts, and they are much more likely to be obese.

The article theorizes that if you are married, “you’re somewhat settled. You don’t have to prove yourself; your spouse will ostensibly love you, all of you, muffin top notwithstanding.” (I hope that Mr. Pin Cushion loves my muffin top, thunder thighs and jiggling-wave arms [and whatever else I may develop over the years] whether we are married or not.)

The article’s author, Abby Ellin, also says, “for better and worse, married couples tend to share behaviors and activities, like snuggling on the couch with a vat of popcorn rather than hopping on the treadmill.” (Thanks, Abby, now I want some buttery popcorn.)

This trend of non-exercise and eating not-as-healthy-as-we-once-did has already taken hold in the Pin Cushion household, pre-marriage. Between my 12 hour work days, catching up on So You Think You Can Dance and my very thorough internet perusing, that leaves me with 2 1/2, maybe 3 minutes, to get in my exercise. And that is just not enough time.

I am hopeful that a few factors will help prevent my own love chub: 1) I’ve held steady at my current weight for about eight years. 2) I didn’t try to lose any weight before the wedding (if I had been trying, then my current diet of hamburgers, taqueria food, three servings of dessert a day, and multiple bowls of Lucky Charms sure hasn’t been successful). And 3) I’ve felt that Mr. PC loves me pretty-darn-unconditionally for quite some time now (knowing he’d love me at 876.3 lbs sure takes away the pressure to exercise [though he just informed me that at 876.4 lbs, his love might be a bit more conditional]).

Have you seen the marriage fifteen in action? Are you doing anything to stave off the happy pounds? (You can start a strict regimen like myself, which involves long walks between the couch and the kitchen and extensive reps of blog hopping [I hear that burns a lot of calories]).