Craig asks:
Although this is a women’s magazine, I’m straight and enjoy reading your column and applaud your insight. When I married my wife, she was exercising and 130 pounds, now, many years and a few children later, she is not exercising and is probably 30 plus pounds more, and it all went to the wrong places. I still love her dearly, but I struggle with this greatly. How do I approach this topic with her?

Answer:
Whoa, is Cincy Chic breaching the gender barrier and reaching men, too? That’s cool. I have heard both men and women share the same concern about their spouses, and it has to be a very touchy situation to be in. Assuming your wife is willing to take an active role in changing, let me share my thoughts.

For a mother, the focus is frequently on everyone but herself. She makes sure there are groceries in the cupboard and then food on the table. She often cleans the house, runs the errands, takes the kids to activities, schedules the doctor appointments, does your laundry and then some. Most mothers I know put their family on a pedestal to insure they are taken care of before turning to do a single thing for themselves. While some men watch a two-hour ball game and play a five-hour round of golf, you do not see many mothers dedicating this block of time to themselves.

Regardless of how old they are, in order for people to be their best, they must allocate a precious commodity to themselves, time to exercise. All too often you push through a stressful day, sometimes skipping meals and eating late, so by day’s end you are wiped out and have not made time to exercise. This unhealthy lifestyle is guaranteed to cause weight gain. Whether you are 22 or 72, if you were to pick one single lifestyle modification to help you be your best, it would be living a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercising. If you currently are not exercising, nothing would be better for your physical and mental well-being than to start.

Craig, if you are concerned about your spouse’s weight, and she shares the same concern and wants to do something about it, I am asking you to help make it happen. She is probably sacrificing herself to make your family stronger and needs your support for exercise to happen. I suggest taking over some of the responsibilities that she is drowning in and free up about six hours a week for her to take a trip to the gym three times a week.

Lastly, Craig, there is one last thing your wife needs, and I put it in a video link below.

Click here or on the play button below to view the video.

Doug Gibson
		About the author:
		Doug Gibson is a columnist for Cincy Chic and President of Sensible Fitness Personal Training Center in Blue Ash, Ohio, which specializes in women’s fitness programs. E-mail him at doug@sensiblefitness.com.
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Last update: 22-09-2008 22:03

Published in : Magazine Items, Health