Mel Robbins shows how to raise a sensitive health concern with a partner without sounding controlling. The key: lead with affection, correct misconceptions calmly, and shift to solving it together. One partner suggests swimming as a joint activity instead of making it about blame.
Chapters
I would love to hear you guys role-play, and if you could do an example where one of you wishes the other one would either lose weight or take a little better care of themselves, or, you know, get a trainer, or actually pick up the weights that we bought last year and use them.
All right. John, uh, I need to talk to you about something. I know that you love sitting and reading your books. Right. But honey, I'm— you know, you really, really, really should go to the gym more often. You really should. You're only going to the gym like once a month. That's not going to do anything for your body. That's— I mean, you know, your body's starting to get a little kind of flabby. Or something. I mean, just that belly is going out further and further.
Ah, well, I think I'm fine.
You think you're fine? Yeah, just— yeah, honey, the thing that I'm worried about, and this is true for both of us, is that we're both getting older. Right? And, you know, you've read all the newspaper articles about being fit really adds years to your life. Being healthy, exercising is one of the best things you can do.
I just read this article about a guy who's a long-distance runner and he had a heart attack while he was running. And he was 40 years old. So I don't think exercise is such a great thing.
What they found is that there was a heart defect there. It wasn't the running that caused it. It was the heart defect. But I don't want to lose you. I do not want to lose you. And so I'm wondering, how can I support you going to the gym more often? Or does that feel too controlling? No, I think—
