Rosalee Brown
WOMEN CAN love and support their partners by helping them to achieve and maintain their plans for healthier eating. Men can still be men if they eat less. If they have paunches, neck rolls or are teddy bears, then they definitely are consuming enough calories.
Some Jamaican women believe that their partners should consume a "hearty and decent" meal everyday because they work hard, no matter what type of work the men do. These women make their partners regular concoctions of milk, egg and stouts, plus bakes or buy them their favourite sweet things, and cooks their favourite, often high-calorie dishes, to "build them up", as they believe that this is the way to a man's heart.
Unfortunately, if these women keep this up, their men's hearts will not keep pumping for long. If the men decide to take off some "weight", these women will remind them that they are men and cannot afford to look too thin and "fenke fenke".
Trust me, fruits and vegetables are "manly". Support your partners in their efforts to exercise and relax, and you will have them and their hearts around much longer.
THE MAN' S VIEW
Some Jamaican men like their partners with fatness distributed in the right places and others prefer them lean. Some women try to reduce their fatness, but may be unsuccessful because of lack of support from their partners. Some women find it difficult to exercise since they have the responsibility of work, children and home.
To achieve healthy lifestyle goals, couples have to support each other to eat and exercise well. If one partner has not yet decided to make those healthy lifestyle changes, he/she should support the other partner's wishes.
Remember, there are many ways to show love without using food.
Rosalee Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@ gleanerjm.com.
