The secret to a long-lasting marriage...

I found this topic on Talk About Marriage: The secret to a long-lasting marriage? Not getting fat!

While that's obviously not the ONLY key to a good marriage, I can't say I disagree at all. A lot of people in the thread took issue with it, saying their husband likes them just the way they are and the typical lovey-dovey PC response you'd come to expect these days.

Honestly? Fit is sexy. Love is unconditional, attraction isn't. It would take a LOT for me to not be attracted to my wife, so keep in mind I'm talking in extremes here. She's have to put on an astronomical amount of weight for me to reach that point. By that same token, she enjoys seeing me fit. I don't have a problem with that. I'm sure her attraction limits are high with me also. I don't intend to test them though.

I enjoy that "Well, look at you" look I get from my wife whenever my PQ is through the roof. Would she still love me if I ate myself into having the "pack of hot dogs" neck rolls? Sure. Would we still have sex? Probably. Would I still get the "Come get it" twinkle in the eye? Probably not. Call me crazy, but I don't see why you can't have both love and sexual attraction in your marriage.

-Jarrett

Maria: Being Sexy is Too Much Work

Now, I'm not one for new year resolutions but I've been telling myself that I'm gonna lose weight for at least a year and a half now and I think that's long enough. I've just recently gotten a stationary bike and am very excited about it. I've looked up some workout stuff and found that i can achieve results in just ten minutes a day. Now, you may be flattening your lips into a "yea right" position like my husband did BUT hear me out.

If you are like me and,

will give up as soon as something seems to show some resistance in the gratification area,

will look for an excuse not to work out,

hate having to figure out what to do with your hair when you workout (I have a fro, ponytails are not an option)

hate waking up earlier to make time for working out,

OR just don't like exercise in general,

then you need to start slow.

Now my husband likes to be nice and try sly ways to tell me that something may not work out how I've planned , especially when it comes to exercise. So I tell him, while I'm in the shower and he's talking to me through the curtain, about my biking and I hear that familiar silence that says "ooh I know you're happy about this but that's ridiculous" So he adds a few minutes later saying "maybe you should add in some dumbbells to tone your arms too". I tell him thank you but I don't really want his input on it. Now this kind of hurts his feelings, although he would never admit it, and I feel bad.

Jarrett has participated in sports all his life, so he has an infallible metabolism and natural muscle tone that would make you hate yourself. I ran track all through high school, but still hated the whole 'run around in a circle for hours' thing and I definitely don't have his superhero metabolism. Now, I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I just kind of like feeling my own way through things and getting the hang of it myself. If I fail then, hey, at least I will have only disappointed myself. So as a non-resolution for the new year, I'm going to lose weight, 10 minutes at a time. I'll let you know how it goes....

-M