Advice Column

W hat Planet Am I From?

I am 45. My children are now 21 and 20. Their father left and our divorce was final in my 20s. I have never really dated in all of these years. Now I think it is my time. My facial features are attractive but I weight 190 and so want to be thin. I do not have much money. My job offers a meal a day and if I choose the right priced things I can have a dinner and a snack. I know you must think "what planet" is this woman from.

Tammy

I think you can help yourself plenty without adding one penny of expense to your life. By all means take advantage of the meal offered on the job. I'm sure you know what the good food choices are--salads with a minimum of dressing, fish, chicken, lean meats. For snacks you'll do best with fresh fruits--cantaloupe, blueberries, bananas, apples, red grapes--whatever is in season and on special. But most of all you need exercise. It is the natural way to limit appetite and lose weight. Take some time for walking. Leave time for 15 minutes of resistance exercises in the morning; repeat them again in the evening. They cost nothing. They make you feel good. And they are the best way to boost the weight-loss process.

The Courage To Marry

I have been going with a gentleman for 14 years, 10 of which we have been living together. The word marriage has been brought up many times but he really does not want to make that ultimate commitment. I keep thinking that he will change his mind but. Am I crazy to stay in this relationship, I am not getting any younger?

Not crazy--highly, perhaps overly, optimistic. If Loverman hasn't felt the urgency to marry in over 10 years, what are the chances of his coming to the realization on his own that it's a wise move to make? I'm afraid you're the one who has to make him understand the desirability of marriage by introducing some uncertainty into his life. Wanting the security of marriage is totally understandable. The only way he is going to see that marriage is necessary is if he understands he will lose you otherwise. I don't advocate playing games with other men to make him jealous, or getting angry at him. I would simply suggest that you tell Loverman--kindly--that you're firm about wanting to marry and that you will give him a certain amount of time to think it over, say, a month--or else you want the freedom to find someone who loves you enough to make the commitment of marriage. In other words, he comes through in a month, or else he must move out. You have to be resolved to follow through, if a month rolls around and he hasn't set a date. He may even have to move out to understand what he is losing. But you have to be resolved to follow through. I agree, a lot is at stake. But if you stay with Loverman without marriage, you sacrifice your future to a man who doesn't have the courage to make a commitment. You will wind up loathing him and yourself, and that eventually will eat away at any positive feelings you have for him. Act now and save the future for yourself.

Tags: apples, cantaloupe, commitment, diet, food choices, fresh fruits, gentleman, good food, grapes, health, lean meats, marriage, realization, relationship, resistance exercises, salads, snack, snacks, tammy, urgency, wise move

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