Wedding Bells and Weight-Loss Blues

Situation:  Our only daughter is getting married later this year and my husband and I are planning the wedding. I knew that I was over- weight, but I wanted to look good in the pictures. So I started to eat less, and I’ve been able to lose about twenty pounds. My husband needs to lose weight, too. He says that hes trying, but I dont see any progress. Why wont he try harder?

Strategies: The decision to take the plunge and commit oneself to losing weight is a very personal one. Clearly, your daughters wedding is an effective trigger for you. Just as clearly, the event does not send “Lose Weight Now!”  signals to your husband, and there is nothing you can do to change that. If your husband is simply not interested in losing weight now, your best bet is to leave him alone. Bugging him will only annoy him and may even make him more resistant to doing something. If, however, hes expressing an inter- est in losing weight but the upcoming wedding isnt the motivator to make it happen, try to find a trigger that will help him make the leap. Perhaps offering to take full charge of the food preparation or asking him to join you in a physical activity will make a difference. If not, simply stay with your commitment and enjoy the success. It is possible that when your husband sees  you dancing at your daughters wedding with wonderful energy while he has to take fre- quent breaks from the action, that will be just what he needs to decide to shed the weight.

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