Is your partner making you fat?

How can love make the pounds pile on?

Love may be blind, but it\'s not calorie free. We reveal why your relationship could be making you pile on the pounds. According to a recent study at the University of North Carolina, married women are more than twice as likely to be obese as their single friends. Even just living with your partner can mean a 63 per cent increase in your risk of obesity. So if you\'re happily married and engaged in a constant battle with those extra few pounds, here are the major pitfalls and how you can avoid them...

He comes home with \'treats\'

You don\'t buy them as part of your weekly shop, but he regularly comes home with crisps, biscuits and chocolate. You know they\'re loaded with calories and fat, but you can\'t resist them when they\'re in the house.

Slim with him: Ask him to bring home healthier, tasty treats that are better for both of you. A bunch of grapes, a punnet of strawberries or a pineapple will satisfy a sweet tooth but without all the calories.

Trim tip: Swap a nightly 250-calorie bar of chocolate for fresh fruit, and you\'ll save around 200 calories each day.

In a year, lose: 21lb

You enjoy eating out

The time you spend together involves eating and drinking - dinner with friends, popcorn at the cinema, drinks at the pub, that coffee-and-cake shopping break.

Slim with him: Spend your leisure time together being more active. Ten-pin bowling, a walk in the countryside, going for a sauna and swim, or even dance classes will all burn calories - and remove the eating opportunities.

Trim tip: Learn to play badminton together. An hour of lessons as well as an hour of practising each week will burn 570 calories.

In a year, lose: 8lb

You eat the same as him

You serve up two equal-sized portions of food and match him mouthful for mouthful.

Slim with him: Keep in mind that you need a fifth fewer calories than he does if you want to stay trim. Quite simply, that means you need to put a fifth less food on your plate - so if he has five tablespoons of rice, you should only have four.

Trim tip: Reduce your portions of meat and carbs by 20 per cent and you\'ll cut 200 calories from your meal. If your plate seems a little empty, fill the gap with extra veg.

In a year, lose: 21lb

He gives you lifts

You used to walk everywhere, but now he picks you up and drops you off, even if it\'s just a 10-minute walk.

Slim with him: Get back into the habit of using leg power, and you\'ll burn calories, reduce your petrol costs and help create a greener environment. Health experts recommend walking 10,000 steps a day, and the easiest way to achieve this is by building more activity into your daily life.

Trim tip: Add 30 minutes of brisk walking back into your daily routine and burn an extra 250 calories every day.

In a year, lose: 26lb

He pays you compliments

He may have noticed you\'re not as slim as you once were, but he doesn\'t want to upset you by agreeing that your bum actually does look big in that. Trouble is, as long as he keeps dodging the issue, you don\'t feel motivated to lose weight.

Slim with him: Dig out photos of when you first met and remind him how much slimmer you were then. Chances are he\'s also gained a few pounds, so plan to slim down together - a bit of healthy competition can help get you on the road to success.

Trim tip: Exercise those muscles and put the spark back into your love life with thrice-weekly sessions of love-making. You\'ll burn around 110 calories each time!

In a year, lose: 5lb