As newlyweds know, the answer is yes. When dating, couples tend to be actively involved in bringing out the best in one another and themselves. They go places and do things. When married, some couples lose sight of the fact that they need to be out together and have a good time.

What’s your favorite excuse? Is it work, children, aging parents or managing a home? Exercising and participating in fun activities often seem impossible. In an international survey, it was found that marriage meant that exercise came to a halt almost as soon as the “I do‘s” were over.

For women, pregnancy was the beginning of that slow down for fitness, with each pregnancy reducing the amount of exercise women got.  And for career and other busy women, the more stressed they become, the less they exercised. It was also discovered that after a divorce, women exercised more.

For men, there was a gradual decrease in exercise as the years of marriage increased, regardless of how many children were in the family.

With less exercise, couples become fatter and less likely to want to play as they did when dating. With less exercise, couples have less self-esteem and therefore, this could reduce how happy they feel with themselves and their marriage.

Here are some tips to get more exercise even with the rigors of marriage:

• Plan weekend outings that include exercise. Take a hike, ride bikes, play ping pong or basketball. Why not work in the garden together? Plan active holidays? When vacation comes, visit relatives. Bu also indulge in an active holiday such as stopping at a national park, hiking nature trails, learning to windsurf, camping in the desert.
• Find a coed aerobic exercise class with child care if necessary and attend the class three times a week.
• After work, spend 30 minutes walking around your neighborhood, put the baby in the stroller or make the little ones ride their bikes.
• Give one another “time off.” While the husband looks after the kids (or aging parents), the wife takes a health resort weekend vacation. When it’s the wife’s turn, the husband attends a golf tournament (walking the course, of course) or a sports camp.
• Support each other’s weight loss and exercise program through encouragements not negative comments. Make a pact that could help you both exercise regularly and lose unwanted weight: Everyday, praise your spouse with words to encourage active behavior.

Marriage does not have to mean celebrating your 20-year anniversary carrying 20 extra pounds. Use these tips and stay fit for marriage as well as for life.