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Anxiety Aunt: Help! My partner says I’ve let myself go, how do I get my health and fitness back on track?

Headshot of Jay Hanna
Jay HannaThe West Australian
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One recently joined a gym to get One’s fitness on track.
Camera IconOne recently joined a gym to get One’s fitness on track. Credit: dubajjo/Pixabay (user dubajjo)

Dear Aunty,

The other day my partner told me I had let myself go too much in the past few years and he doesn’t find me attractive anymore. I was extremely hurt at first but he does have a point. I suffer from an autoimmune condition that has flared up due to the stress of the last few years. After I put on weight I started avoiding the gym as well. I still walk but am not self-motivated enough to do much more. My diet has also gone south. What advice would you give?

Yours, Sluggish

Dear Sluggish,

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Well, firstly start by telling that overcritical oaf sitting next to you on the couch that he’s about as deep as puddle and you wish to take your welly boots and splash elsewhere.

Too harsh? Well, this is possibly one of the reasons your Aunt is single.

At the very least you should make your displeasure of his judgmental ways known by telling him you are going to start making time for yourself and that as a result he will now have to share the cooking, cleaning and washing duties. Making that time really is the first crucial step.

Considering you are finding it hard being motivated and have some existing health conditions, One would suggest you first speak to your doctor and then, if funds allow, engage the help of a personal trainer, at least temporarily. A personal trainer will help get you on track. And because you are paying per session, you will be more motivated to go. They will look at your goals, your fitness, your health issues and your abilities and help tailor an exercise plan to suit you.

A wee while ago, your Aunt enlisted the help of a fitness professional for this purpose. As regular readers know, your Aunt is a retired cancan dancer and still likes to kick One’s heels up from time to time as a way to stay fit and agile. However, a glance in the mirror a little while ago was all it took for your Aunt to realise that One’s body is beginning to shrivel like a three-week old grape and One needed to do some toning and strengthening work to tackle all the baggy, saggy bits that have started to flap around like old Bert Saunders next door’s underpants picking up the breeze on the washing line.

So your Aunt channelled the late, great Olivia Newton-John, donned One’s best workout gear and took Oneself to a gym where One booked in a session with a perky blonde personal trainer named Kaylee. She was lovely and encouraging and seemingly well, despite the fact it appeared she may have recently been stung by a bee and was still suffering some localised swelling in her lips and other regions. She introduced your Aunt to a host of equipment that looked, for all intents and purposes, like medieval torture devices.

While everything made sense with bouncy Kaylee by One’s side to explain it all, when One returned to try it alone, all hell broke loose. One got sandwiched between a piece of machinery, nearly knocked Oneself out on a fast retracting pulley contraption and got tangled in some leg extension machine thing before ungraciously toppling sideways into a giant hunk of muscle who looked in all his chiselled glory like he’d just fallen off the ceiling of some fancy Roman church. It was rather embarrassing, Sluggish, so One opted to keep forking out the dough to keep seeing Kaylee and her bewilderingly long eyelashes.

So, One’s point is, personal trainers are worth their weight in gold, at least until you get the hang of things. They can also give you diet pointers and help you establish a routine that is maintainable.

So give it a shot, Sluggish. And maybe you should rope the Oaf into accompanying you. Perhaps the sight of all those gym-toned Roman gods will make him realise he’s not exactly Hercules in human form and that people that live in glass houses really shouldn’t throw stones.

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