Luke, the real estate developer from Santa Maria, California has spent the past two months looking for the love of his life among 20 hand-chosen women who just like him, have a bit more to love.

The two-hour season finale was filled with meeting parents, heartfelt conversations, picking out a ring, spa treatments and of course one life-changing final decision.

While their plus-sized figures were the primary issue in the beginning of the episodes, there was little mention of weight in the last remaining shows, particularly during the season finale as the topic only centered around who Luke was going to pick to wear the coveted ring.

In the end, Luke chose Tali, the independent, somewhat guarded young woman who came to the States from Isreal who is also an aspiring model. With aspirations of changing the world together and inspiring all other plus-sized single folks out there looking for love, Luke and Tali rode off in the blazing LA sunset together.

Let’s hope these two have a better shot at making it as a couple than many of the other reality dating show couples. And you can be sure that DietsInReview will check in and keep you posted on their life together away from the cameras.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

More to Love Finale Recap: Luke Chooses Tali

Don’t laugh – it happens more often than you might think. How can you handle such an uncomfortable situation at a time when you really want to feel supported and encouraged?

Remember, you are losing weight for you. Or you should be. Losing weight for someone else rarely works and can often backfire. Your successful weight loss can uncover feelings of insecurity that your spouse might not even know existed. Take the time to listen to what your significant other has to say. Maybe there is an infidelity in their past. Maybe your weight loss brings a need for their own weight loss into focus. There might be history with a parent or other loved one that is weight related.

Ask your spouse to go to counseling with you. Do it for your relationship, but know that you can’t change his or her feelings. The insecurity is not your fault – you don’t own any part of it. Your spouse loved you heavy, and you aren’t any less lovable at a healthy weight. Know that deep inside, and don’t allow anyone to sabotage you and undo your incredible hard work.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Does Weight Loss Equal Love Lost?

Luke Conley is a 26-year-old former college football offensive lineman who stands 6′3″ and weighs more than 300 pounds. He is looking for love on Fox’s new reality show, More to Love. Hosted by plus-size supermodel Emme, the show, which premieres on Tuesday, July 28, chronicles 20 voluptuous ladies as they compete for Luke’s heart.

Proud of their size 14 bodies and unashamed to acknowledge that there is more to love with them, these 20 ladies have been hand-picked from around the country in an effort to slash the commonly-held stereotype that you must be a size 2 to win the heart of your Prince Charming.

It’s the brainchild from the same creator of The Bachelor, More to Love features similar situations: Each week, Luke will preside over the elimination ceremonies where he will graciously dismiss one of the ladies as he becomes one step closer to finding real love. The 20 women are all career women who range in professions from waitress to engineer to rocket scientist. Despite their varied professional backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: They are searching for love. Over the course of the show, Luke will wine and dine these ladies, some of whom have never been on a date before.

In addition, More to Love will honestly reveal how these women’s own insecurities about their weight and their bodies has impacted their sense of self-worth, confidence and identity.

To learn who these lucky 20 ladies are, tune in to Fox, Tuesday, July 28, 9 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. CST to watch the season premiere of More to Love.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

More to Love Premieres on Fox July 28

Today’s guest blog post comes from Bernie Salazar. Together with Rebecca Scritchfield, a weight management expert, he co-created.

I never realized exactly how much of an impact my relationships had on my overall health. Have you? Often times we forget to communicate to the people in our lives that we are taking the time to nurture ourselves and truly focus on getting healthy.

With the “old Bernie,” food was king! Almost all of my family functions revolved around food. Dates with my better half always included a restaurant, outings with friends consisted of drinks and appetizers, meetings with co-workers didn’t officially begin until the desserts were present, and my dog’s chubby figure was a direct result of me sharing my in between meal snacks with my “best friend.”

The relationships we maintain are a critical part of our transformation and often are the ones that are most often overlooked. The fact of the matter is our relationships must change if we are to be successful, not just in the immediate but long term.

So how do we communicate to our loved ones that we are taking the time to nurture ourselves and get healthy? The approach I found to work best is:

1.    Write a few words to describe each of the relationships in your life.
2.    Assess whether the relationship is a healthy one and if you think adjustments are needed to help you reach your goals. (Prepare yourself for the realization that some relationships may need to end.)
3.    Identify and record how each relationship you have is going to nurture the new you.
4.    Communicate your findings with your loved ones, share how your new relationship will positively impact your new life.
5.    Finally, discuss with them if the terms of this new relationship works for them and ask how you can in turn be supportive of their needs and wants.

By introducing the “new you” to friends and family you have increased your accountability to follow through and make the changes you have said you will make. You will soon realize that the new relationships you have with your family, friends, and even pets will all serve to support and nurture your dreams of being a better, healthier you!

Guest Blog Series: Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on DietsInReview.com. See other posts in the Guest Blog series.

If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please contact us.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

5 Ways to Adjust Personal Relationships During a Lifestyle Change

It’s well documented in research that men and women in “strained” marriages (characterized by chronic arguing and anger) are more likely to be depressed than happier partners/couples. Also, research indicates that women in these argumentative and anger-filled relationships are more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar (also known as indicators of Metabolic Syndrome, which is a big leader of various chronic diseases), which increases their likelihood of heart disease.

The researcher, Nancy Henry, a doctoral candidate in clinical healthy psychology at the University of Utah, looked at health and depression when conducting this study. The researcher interviewed 276 couples with questionnaires asking about the positives and the negatives of their marriage and they were asked about depressive issues/symptoms.

Conclusions
The researcher found that:

• Men were just as likely as women to become depressed when in marital strain

• Interestingly, the linking of depression, negativity, and Metabolic Syndrome ONLY applied to women!

The best take-home message I can give is be good to yourself and your body. What you put into your body (i.e. junk food, fruits and veggies, or being in a constant state of stress) or what you do for your body (i.e. exercise, stress-reducing exercises, or not properly dealing with stress) can make or break your health! Do the best thing for you and try to lead the healthiest lifestyle possible. Remember to treat your mind, body, and soul with the utmost respect and partake in activities that will only better your health situation.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Strained Marriages Have Worse Effect on Women’s Health

Imagine falling in love with someone who speaks a language in which you are not fluent or do not understand. How would you share and communicate about important subjects? How would you communicate your love? Consider the stereotype of the person that speaks more loudly when trying to communicate to someone who does not share a common language. It does not matter how loudly you speak Tagalog, I will not understand what you are trying to say with only your words. Gary Chapman, author of “The Five Love Languages,” has written a very popular series of books based on the idea of five basic ways that we communicate love with others. We use these languages to communicate caring and affection for everyone in our lives, partners, family, and friends.

He writes that each of us has a primary language through which it is easiest for us to both communicate and understand love. Communication flows easily when both parties are fluent in the language used; however, at times, we must utilize a language that may be more difficult to to ensure that the message is easily understood or learn to recognize and understand the basics of a language that is being spoken to us.

Spanish is my second language. I am fairly accurate at understanding when a friend writes emails in Spanish; however, I may miss nuances. My use of the language, however, is likely frustrating to her with my basic grammar. If you are trying to use a love language that is difficult for your partner (or friend or child) to understand, it will not matter how loudly you speak. On the other hand your partner (or friend or sibling) may be continuously trying to communicate love to you; however, you are not familiar with the language they are utilizing. Healthy communication requires responsibility for both clear expression and clarification of understanding. To determine what your primary and secondary love languages are you may want to take this quiz.

Words of Affirmation could be compliments, encouragement, or descriptions of your love. These words can be communicated in both written and verbal forms.

Quality Time is focused attention and shared thoughts. Simply sharing an activity is not quality time if there is not engagement with the other. Discussion and communication can be an important part of quality time.

Acts of Service include any task that may make things easier for the one to whom you are trying to communicate. Errands or chores such as taking out the trash, folding the laundry, or packing a healthy lunch can be acts of love.

Receiving Gifts can be a tangible symbol of love because gifts often communicate thoughtfulness.

Physical Touch can include any type of affectionate touch that is appreciated by the recipient. Touch is important for our survival and can be soothing, stimulating, or comforting.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Fluent in the Language of Love

They type of relationship does not matter as much as the depth. You need people in your life with whom you can discuss your problems and to whom you can confess your secrets. It is important to have quality relationships, surrounding yourself with people who make a positive impact. It has been said that you are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time. When you consider the five people with whom you have the most interaction, are they people that you wish to emulate?

The important relationships in our life help us to achieve our goals, become better versions of ourselves, and enjoy all that life has to offer. A good test for whether a specific person makes a positive impact on your life is whether you feel better about yourself and your life after being with or talking to that person or worse about yourself and your life after being with or talking to that person.

Who are the members of your support team? Consider all the people in your life while you ask yourself the following questions to determine if your support team is complete. Who could give you great advice? Whom can you ask for help? Who is on your personal cheer squad, always encouraging? With whom do you have the most fun? Who would join you in your favorite activities? Whom always makes you laugh? Who causes you to think more deeply about things? Who would listen to your deepest secrets with support rather than judgment? Who can you call in the middle of the night? Whether partner, friend, or relative these are the type of loving relationships worth celebrating.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

A Love Worth Celebrating