I keep myself physically fit because I want to... it's a lifestyle choice and many of my favorite activities involve running around. My boyfriend doesn't lead the same lifestyle, which is fine by me... or at least, was. He has never been a skinny guy (I don't particularly like skinny on guys anyway) but late last year he really started packing on the pounds. Last summer, we did lots of things outside together... he would bike while I would run or we'd go golfing or something like that. We were both really into organic/sustainable living and would cook together and try out different local and natural things. Things were good. But then he lost his job in November and kind of fell off the bandwagon, if you will.

He started drinking beer like it was water, and instead of eating meals he's lived off of trail mix and jerky, and now frozen Slurpees and iced coffee. (Britney Spears, anyone?) It's become kind of hard for me to spend time with him because he's eating dinner at 11pm and I get up to go to the gym at 5am; also there's a bit of travel time for me to go see him (~30mins) so I have to give up afternoon workouts to go to his place. When I get there he's most likely sitting around, drinking a beer and watching a movie, which becomes all we do. Recently I had him try on some vests at a mall to get an idea for what size fits him, and he is up to a 2XL. An awkward, un-buttonable 2XL. Needless to say, this was a blow to his ego... and he's in denial about having gained weight! He thinks that sizes have shrunk!

It's not really the size that worries me though... diabetes runs in his family and mine, which is part of the reason I try so hard to monitor my health. He's gaining in the mid-to-lower half of his body, which generally signals elevated risks for heart problems! His family and my family both have problems with obesity and I don't want to see him struggle with this for his whole life. (Not to mention his suit no longer fits, which makes it difficult for him to dress for interviews.) To clarify, he's not an alcoholic. He's probably eating his feelings a little bit, having gone so long without a job, though. He's found himself a volunteer project that takes up 99.9% of his time now so we only see each other once or twice a week at this point, and only for a few hours in the evening, so just getting him to do the things we used to isn't really an option. I think I have to say something, but this is a really sensitive topic... how can I bring this up?