Retiring does not have to be the end of your world. Many people would retire and soon afterward lose their life partner. Too often they would then proceed with a life of loneliness and despair, too scared to more than look at members of the opposite sex. That need not be the case.

Your very first step should be to build your self confidence a bit. Start off by emptying your refrigerator. That’s right. There’s no way you will lose weight with all the rich foods and even richer desserts hidden in there - anyone who knows anything about how to lose fat will tell you that. And losing weight can be a major confidence booster. Then also get some exercise.

Now there are many ways to take in less calories. You don’t necessary have to eat less. You just have to eat better. Get rid of the fatty foods and the 5kg boxes of ice cream in your refrigerator. If you ever want to date again, you need some self discipline! The best option is not even to try it alone. Join a slimming club. They go under various names, but the principle is sound: if you pick up weight you have to confess to other people why.

This can serve a dual purpose: many of these slimming clubs accept members from both sexes. Are you getting my point? Joining such a club might be the ideal opportunity of meeting someone who has the same purpose in life as you: losing weight and meeting someone interesting. If you are a gentleman you could even wear a black sport watch to one of these meetings - the ladies love them.

Apart form eating less you should of course still exercise more. Now don’t go overboard with this. You just want to lose weight and get a date - you don’t want to kill yourself. If you haven’t exercised in many years, simply start by talking a long walk once or twice a day. Then perhaps increase the pace a bit and jog 100m before walking for 100m again. Sooner or later you will be able to jog the whole distance.

Of course there’s an even better option. Why not ask a fellow-member of the slimming club to walk with you? It all sounds so innocent he/she wouldn’t even know that you have these wild fantasies of the two of you holding hands together while watching the sunset.

It might take more than one walking partner and even more than one slimming club to reach your final goal, but the fun is after all in the journey, not in the destination.