How Falling in Love May Actually Help You Lose Weight

By Bill Bradley for GQ.

Do you ever see attractive couples walking around and curse their existence? So do I! My eyes stink at their smiles, their hand-holding, and general joy. We could sit here for a long time analyzing my reactions, but I should probably pay a psychiatric professional for that. One thing we can touch on though, is their physique.

You see, when you're in love, your body creates the hormone oxytocin. It's released after positive social interactions -- think sex, hugging, hand holding, all that stuff. A recent study that sampled 25 men (half of whom were obese) exposed some to the hormone via nasal spray, and gave the rest a placebo. After administering the dosage, each subject was given a menu of food and got double whatever they ordered. (So, you get an artificial sex high and a double breakfast? Amazing study.) They returned later to test the effects after giving each subject the opposite of what they'd received earlier.

After finishing their meals, researchers measured the food the participants ate. It turned out that after being exposed to oxytocin, the men ate an average of 122 less calories and less fatty foods. Eureka? Not quite, it's a very small study, but there is some promise there. And the best part is, you don't have to be in love to create oxytocin on your own. Remember, it naturally occurs after positive social interactions. So don't run out the door searching for oxytocin on the street. Just surround yourself with people who care about you, have some fun, and stay positive (and know that you'll never find long-term happiness at the bottom of a cookie jar). A happy dude is a healthy dude.

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