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I recently read an article that quoted Anouk Turksma as saying, “Being abroad shows people their “naked” marriage without the web of family, long-time friends and a known place in society around it”. All the other expats out there would probably agree. The question is ... What do we do about what we see?

Roy and I have been married over 22 years, we were married at the respective ages of 21 and 20. 22 years later we have piled on a few pounds and don’t look like we used to when we were first wed. Last year we stopped ignoring the problem and started investigating the best way to do something about it. We ignored the fact that many people thought we should just live with the way we were and accept that we would get flabbier the older we get. We are still a long way from having the figures we want but certainly are happy with the improvements. The progress we have seen has given us the incentive to keep going.

Many people treat marriage the same way. People expect the relationship to sour a little to get a little flabby around the middle the longer it lasts. The lie is that we can do nothing about it. Thankfully our “naked” marriage doesn’t have to look terrible! For Roy and I our marriage has improved greatly over the years, that is because we have deliberately kept it in trim.

Naked Marriage Diet Tip 1

Some fellow dieters might remember the phrase “A moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips”. It is a good principle to follow in marriage if you don’t want to see curves in the wrong places. What you say has a powerful effect. We often speak words we expect our partner to digest but we would struggle if they said the same things to us. It is important to build your spouse up with encouraging words (not sickly sweet flattery or bitter name calling).

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.