Being a good wife!

Encouraging others to get to the weight they want to get to can be a thankless task. Others would much rather whinge and whine about their weight problem, than do anything useful about it.

For women married to chubby chaps, you usually have the opportunity to cook healthy low fat, low cal meals. But so many times you do that, your loved one acts like you're starving them, and say they want what they used to eat.

What to do? Sometimes you have to become secretive, and sneak in healthy bits and pieces instead of the usual high cal foods your spouse is accustomed to. If you are the one who does the shopping, just don't buy the usual nuts and chips that are snacked on mindlessly by others in the household.

Another way of reducing fat in meals is to bake rather than fry, and to cook things in a little water that you used to saute with oil.

Try to have plenty of fresh or dried fruit options instead of the bad old ones. Dates are very satisfying, and breakfast cereal, especially a low fat, low cal one can fill the need for chips quite well.

You can encourage romantic walks in the moonlight - lots of fun to take the kids along too. Visits to the beach, no matter the season, can be a fun way to get a bit of extra exercise too.

If you have a dog, there are no excuses for not doing any exercise - the average canine companion is always ready to go for a stroll, any time, any weather.

One very important thing to remember, is to praise good behaviour. If your man snacks on fruit instead of having a beer, make sure you tell him he's done a good thing. Men can take a lot longer than women to grow up, and they're like kids in this regard. Praise, and find healthy rewards.