I would definately meet in public populated places if this is a complete stranger. Nowadays you cannot be too careful.

Agreed! I do think this individual may be able to help you, but I'd definitely want to know more about him. Stay safe! You've got kiddos to take care of.

LOL! I do agree with the advice here. If you're anxious about working out with this person because the two of you don't share enough commonalities, that's fine but if you really think you need a partner in your weight loss journey, then plan to meet in public and ask some questions that help you uncover his knowledge and overall agenda (yes, it could be more than simply wanting to help with weight loss as he's just gotten out of a relationship and could be looking for the rebound girl). For me, I've gotten a lot of good advice from some of the buff guys (non-trainers) in the gym. They've helped me figure out equipment or shown me better ways to target a certain muscle and since they look great, their advice has a lot of credibility with me.

I am in a somewhat similar situation. My workout buddy is a good friend of mine who is in fantastic shape. And when I asked her to help me with exercise, I was very self conscious of the fact that the two of us were at very different fitness levels. That embarrassed me a bit, but for her things were different. She truly wanted to help me and she was familiar with all of the emotional and physical ups and downs of physical fitness. And she felt as if she was getting a lot of the benefit of seeing me slowly transform.