29 Secrets

If your guy is still stuck in his bachelor eating habits (a bag of Doritos does not a meal make) and hasn’t seen the inside of a locker room since high school, you may want to gently bring him up to speed with a healthier lifestyle. Just make sure he knows that you’re more concerned about him (you want him to stick around for a while) than his looks or his weight. Here’s how you can get your guy fit without feeling like a nag:

Lead by example. Think you’re so in shape that you don’t need any help yourself? Restricting his diet (and leaving yours as usual) just because he’s the one with the problem will only make him feel like he’s being punished. If you want him to eat healthier, you’ve got to be in on it together. 

Find healthy food that you both like. You might think that quinoa is the best thing since sliced (whole wheat organic) bread, but if he hates it, it could be turning him off the whole idea of “healthy” food. Explore a grocery store together, try new fruits and vegetables, and take turns choosing recipes. Once he discovers nutritious foods that he enjoys, it won’t seem like such a chore to include them in his diet.

Make sure he gets checked out. While women are pretty much forced to get regular pap smears and undergo doctor visits just to pick up our birth control, guys often go much longer without ever getting important tests (like the ones for cholesterol levels and prostate cancer). If you have to, make your best “do it for me” plea. He could be thanking you later.

Plan active dates. It’s pretty much impossible to force someone into the gym, but you can get him off the couch (and burn some calories yourself) by planning fun activities for the two of you to do together. Try hiking, swimming, kayaking or organize a co-ed sport like volleyball or frisbee with your friends. Make sure to whip his butt so he gets motivated to practice up.

Add fitness into your daily lives. We can’t all have a game of tennis every day, but is there anything else you can do to incorporate exercise into his daily routine? Think about suggesting after-dinner walks or cycling to work instead of driving.