Most of us have personal health goals. Some of us have an easier time reaching those goals than others. Does it matter who you partner with when it comes to health? Well, actually…it can.
- Mary, an alternative health practitioner who was successfully treating her own auto-immune disease with nutrition, fell in love with, and married, a great guy, Barry. The love of her life, he was a fun loving, adoring partner, and an amazing cook and wine connoisseur. Unfortunately, despite a heart condition, he never exercised and produced piles of delicious food every night that, if Mary shared it with him, would create serious health consequences for her. For a while she let herself be sick. That wasn’t okay, so then she prepared completely separate meals for herself. Neither option seemed like a solution. It took over a year for them to work things out. Once she told me with a laugh that it would have been much easier if she’d fallen for someone as committed to healthy living as she was. But Barry was the guy she loved, and they worked things out.
- Later in life, Dan fell in love with Diane, his ideal woman in every way. He adored her big heart, and kind and loving nature, quick wit, and her beautiful eyes. But she had multiple health issues and did not want to look at the many ways that eating better and getting more exercise would help her in countless ways. Dan was scared he was going to lose her before he got to enjoy a full life with her. He did not know how to get her to invest in her own health. At one point, despite how much he adored her, his frustration and fear were so great that he almost threw in the towel. It wasn’t until she had a serious health crisis that she decided to try things his way. Three years later, her health is vastly improved and they share more than ever before –including a new found love for salsa dancing!
Both Mary and Dan pulled their hair out trying to get their loved ones on board—not to be bossy or superior, but in order to preserve health and increase a mutual sense of well-being.
When your partner is on the same page with you regarding personal health, you are likely to be more compatible in the day-to-day. Having shared core values is one of the main indicators of relationship success.
When you and your partner value yourselves enough to pursue healthy habits, it bodes well in many arenas. Read on for 6 key reasons to date someone as committed to health as you are.
- It is great to have an accountability partner. You can count on one another for the support needed to achieve your goals. If you’ve set a goal to run every morning but you want to roll over when the alarm rings, and just snooze until it’s time to race to work… your partner may remind you of your goal. Or fix you that great energy drink to get you going. Or even join you!
- Good routines are easier when shared. If both of you are routinely living a healthy lifestyle, engaging in energetic activities, eating balanced meals that reflect both your ideal dietary requirements, you will be in sync and be able to share more quality time with one another as well.
- The feeling of well-being that comes from healthy eating and regular exercise is something that is hard to explain to the uninitiated. I suppose that a couple who shares a passion for processed food and soda and an aversion to getting any exercise will be happy and compatible with one another. But at what cost? Even that couple can get healthy, but doing so together will be much easier than if one tries without the support and commitment of the other. The couple that plays (and walks, hikes, dances) together and eats (healthy, nourishing food) together will sleep better, be happier, and feel more relaxed.
- Looking like a body builder or model should not the goal of being healthy, nor of life, but we all feel better when we look our best. Meaning: good skin tone, normal weight, healthy hair, good posture, clear eyes. When we know we look saggy, foggy, bleary, and murky, we don’t feel great and when we don’t feel great… you got it. We feel saggy, foggy, bleary, and murky! So don’t think of it as trying to look 20 if you’re 50, but feel your best—look your best. The confidence you will feel will radiate to the world when you step out looking like a million bucks with your partner on your arm.
- Health = energy & mental acuteness. When two people support one another in seeking vibrant health, they compound the energy they have to enjoy life together. Travel for a month through India? Oh, yeah! Bring it on! White water raft the Colorado River? Sounds great! Buy bikes and hit the local rail trail? Do it together!
- As Dan and Mary could tell you, sharing health with a partner is really about sharing life together. You increase your longevity and have more time to spend with your beloved. Being on board together on the journey toward a rich, long life beats the alternative.
We love the people we love. There are so many core values and areas of compatibility that factor into what it means to fall—and stay—in love. We all know what it’s like to make a list of all the reasons so-and-so is the ideal match, only to know in our gut that it’s just not going to happen. The one we have feelings for may not be perfect “on paper”—but be perfect nonetheless. Still, if you are lucky enough to love a health enthusiast, make the most of it! It’s a great opportunity to feel great, share lots of fun, and live a long life together!