So I've been dating my current bf for nearly two years. He is a beautiful, intelligent, compassionate man, and I feel very, very lucky to have him in my life. Most of the time, I feel like he understands me better than anyone else I have ever known.
What he DOESN'T understand is my decision to lose weight. He loves me just as I am and has a hard time understanding why I'm not happy with my body as it is.
I've explained to him that 172 lbs. is not a "healthy" weight for a 5'5" woman. I've told him that I worry about health problems later in life. Over the last few years, I've watched my morbidly obese grandmother deal with all kinds of weight-related issues. She can no longer walk without assistance. I've watched my dad go on and off starvation diets - there was a period when he was eating nothing but salad; right now he's eating only at night - because he fears winding up like my grandmother. I've explained to my bf that I want to have children in a few years, and I want to have my weight under control before I venture down that path. And, although I'm pretty comfortable with how I look, I wouldn't mind feeling sexier in a swimsuit.
For some reason, my decision to diet really worries him. I'm not entirely sure why. He half-jokingly refers to what I'm doing as my "starvation diet" (it's not - I'm eating 1300-1500 healthy calories a day). We've gone round and round about this, and he's finally said that if this is what I want to do he'll support me, he just doesn't want me to be hungry. Well, I certainly don't want to be hungry either! But I'm not. And if I get hungry, I'll eat.
My theory is that this is difficult for him to understand because NO ONE in his family has ever struggled with their weight. He is naturally thin. He's an inch or so taller than me, and I outweight him by more than 20 lbs.! Hence, he knows very little about dieting except that "most diets don't work."
I appreciate his concern, but I want him to trust me to know what's right for my body and my health.
I'm just wondering if any of you have signifcant others who have had a hard time understanding your decision to diet.