I always thought that the guy that I would marry would be just as physically fit and active as I was. However, it turns out that I fell in love with someone who doesn't exercise much or eat well. At first I was a little concerned this would be a problem but now I'm okay with it b/c exercise has always been my way to destress and I like having the time just to myself.

when i started dating my boyfriend, exercising and eating healthy wasn't a priority for either of us. as this has changed for me, i've encouraged my boyfriend to join in, and he has certainly changed his eating habits. he's taking baby steps, because he knows it is important to me and sees what a difference it has made for my overall wellness.

it's a must. If I don't know before hand I find out on the first date, because we'll only end up being unhappy if we're not on the same path (and even if he is in decent shape now, when he hits middle age? hmmm not so much). I compete and run a lot, and SOs just sometimes don't get why you can't go out friday night (you have a race) or why you get up so early, or why you can't stay home sunday afternoon and sit on the couch with them..."I have to go run". It's just such a different mind set .

i consider it to be rather important to me, and that's the most frustrating thing that i have going on with my fiance right now. he complains that he's fatter than he'd like to be (and i agree) but yet he won't work out - and all he has to do is work out like 3x a week and he'd look great in no time. it's so irritating given that i'm so health conscious and i work out 5x a week at least.

Dating someone who's not health-conscious seems like it would be too much of a demotivator. . . . The couch calls so loudly as it is, having someone cuddly there too wouldn't help!

Due to my current lifestyle (ver active) I dont think i would get along with someone that doesnt it healthy and.or exercise.

It is a must. I am lucky to be married to a guy who works out as much as I do. We met in college and started working out together and have been doing that for almost 17 years.

I can't see being with a guy who doesn't practice a healthy lifestyle. I am not saying that he has to run marathons but he has to be doing something.

when i met my boyfriend I had just finished a 3 month crazy 6 day hard workout at the gym eating well stint, I had also given up drinking...the night I met him was the first night I had been out to a bar in 3 months...and I loved it. We are more of the sedentary couple (except when we hike and stuff) but starting when we get back to school on jan 7 we are both hitting the gym together so we actually go...i'm excited. It's about time.

While I would prefer to be with someone who eats right and exercises regularly, I can't regulate my heart...

My husband is a vice president/executive by day and a Muay Thai martial arts instructor by night (free time). I'm lucky as he's as health conscious as I am. We even take active vacations... hiking, skiing, etc....

I think it helps if your SO shares the same lifestyle. My husband and I run together but often we work out separately since we're usually training for different events. It's great that he understands why racing and competing are important to me. We support each other at races and we try to eat healthy dinners together. I can't imagine being with a sedentary person, I love that my SO is so fit and healthy.

When I met my husband, he worked out quite a bit and so did I. We went running together a lot and I thought we'd do it forever, but once we got engaged, he decided working out was not a big priority to him anymore. So now I am very active and he isn't, but it's not like I don't love him anymore. I guess it would be nice if he was as active as I was, but it's not super-important to me. I try to encourage him as much as I can and that's the best I can do, I think. You can't force someone to like doing things they don't want to do.

My husband and I both enjoy being active, which is great. But I like activities like running, yoga and strength training, whereas he enjoys team sports. We play tennis, run and go for walks together though. It's really nice to have an "automatic partner" for activities. (We met on eharmony. Kudos to them for matching us so well.)

My fiance loves sports and especially playing basketball so that's a really good thing. I'm not too much into sports though but I do hit the gym at least 3 times a week, other than impromtu runs and walks, etc. But the problem is while I am always trying to eat as much fruits and veggies and reach my goal weight (10 pounds away!!!), he is able to eat EVERYTHING and not gain a single pound. I'm always jealous and he teases me about it too.

My boyfriend and I both used to be much more athletic than when we got together. I like the fact that we are both starting from the same place, fitness wise. We both are making small steps to get back into better shape, so it's nice to have someone to motiviate me.

WOW - There are so many comments that I agree with that have already been stated. My first thought was a 100% yes seeing that I don't have an SO right now - it may be easier for me to say that. Like others I think it is very important that the person I end up with live a healthy, active lifestyle. I don't expect that person to run marathons or participate in Strongman contests, lol, but I do want them to care about their health. Maybe I have seen the effects of the lack of care about health from my father I don't know, but to me it should be a priority. I don't think you have to have the same workout interests nor do you have to go to the gym together. Your workout time can still be your alone time and your time to destress I would want the person I end up with to live as long and healthy a life as possible so we can have many years ahead of us together, but at the same time who am I - I could end up with a couch potato lol.

Yes, but on my level. Not lazy, not a fanatic. He should be around 35 so probably getting back on track or mellowing is more appropriate. And he can't be one of those guys you have to constantly monitor or be a cheerleader for... it's annoying. Gym rats are OUT! I like guys who play sports.

healthy a big must. fit yeah OK, super fit - not necessarily.

definitely.. i want to live a long time with my significant other... he should be as healthy as i am, if not more.

my boyfriend wasnt active at all when we first met. but i peer pressured him into going to the gym with me (it was mostly the temptation of pre-workout coffee that did it for him) now, a year and a half later, hes a workout addict and drags my butt out of bed at the crack of dawn every day. being a good influence is fun

My significant other needs to be healthy. When I met my husband he was a thin computer dork that didn't eat well or workout. Not on purpose or anything, but he is more athletic now and more food conscience. He is actually doing his first team sport in 09... soccer. We both have plans set for spring league.

Yes it's very important. Especially for the health benefits. I don't want to be with someone who does not care for their body.

I don't care at all, because I am a big proponent of separate lives. If he is active, he can't go to the gym with me or anything like that. Gym/workout time is me time. I think "no sports together" is an excellent rule of thumb too. It's too much competition when we're already going to be professionally and intellectually competitive and as a former tennis pro having dated snowboarding, skiing, and other tennis instructors - there is nothing I hate more than playing sports with a boyfriend, except possibly teaching/being taught by them. Ugh.

I try hard to eat healthy and I work out a lot, and having my husband on board makes it that much easier. I do have to drag him out of bed early in the morning for the gym (he'd rather go at night) but he always tells me he feels so much better afterwards having his workout done for the day in the morning! He's a really healthy eater too, so I'm lucky.

Oops...not to offend people who workout in a gym. But if you do, I'm sure you know who the 'rats' are... he's doing more idle sweating and socializing than working out and he can't scratch his own back to save his life cause he's got Popeye forearms(because he can't flirt doing squats). And his feet almost ALWAYS stink!!! Yeah, that guy.

Yes, it's important that he take of his health since I would want a life with this person. I don't care for the idea of dating a gym rat and he doesn't have to be a super athlete, plus I don't like the idea of someone who spends lots of time in the gym and not enough working out their brain too and I do not like big muscles. I would just like for a SO I might have to mostly eat right and do some exercise so we could both have a decent quality of life.

It's interesting to read all these comments. As for me, I want my boyfriend to be healthy, that's for sure. It is an important part of a relationship. My boyfriend is more active than I am though. He's a professional skateboarder and he skates every single day. I do work out a lot and I love yoga and swimming, but obvioulsy you can't compare. I eat healthier than him though and I wish he would eat healthier, but I understand that after a long day of non-stop exercise you feel like a big plate of spaghetti.

I'd say that just as long as the guy is healthy, can eat right, and can support me and keep up with me in my journey to get healthy, it's okay. He doesn't have to go to the gym all the time or anything.

However, I'm in the process of trying to lose a ton of weight, get healthy and fit and everything, and I've always been attracted to fit/healthy guys [not muscular or gym-obsessed, but they take care of themselves]. However, because I don't LOOK like the girl who's fit/at the gym/exercising a lot, I can't attract them.

I'd be a hypocrite to say "YES it's a must", because it goes both ways.

Slightly OT Sidenote: People have always set me up with guys who have TERRIBLE eating habits [my eating habits aren't bad], don't do ANYTHING to take care of themselves, and are expecting a girl that's willing to cook everything deep-fried and fatty - which i am NOT. That *definitely* isn't what I need, yet everyone around me seems to think that because I'm not fit now, I'm only worthy of a guy who ALSO isn't fit. >(

For me, it is important to be with someone who eats healthy. I am diabetic and currently trying to avoid daily insulin shots so, I don't want to be with someone who keeps a lot of sugar and junk around the house. Exercise is something I do to relieve stress and I would never expect my significant other to take a Zumba class with me.

It's not a must for me or else I wouldn't be with my current boyfriend, who exercises irregularly and eats a lot of junk food. However, I must admit that if he had healthier eating habits, it'd be easier for me since I have weak willpower (I have a hard time resisting those bags of chips...)

When I met my then boyfriend I was pretty much chain smoking and never ran a day in my life. He ran, and fast, and never smoked. But he put up with me and never harped on about me quitting or that I should start running like him.
Pretty soon I quit smoking, we now have two kids and are married and I'm running. So I guess his habits slowly rubbed off on me. I wanted to get heathly for me and as a better example for my kids, not to impress him. But now he's pretty impressed anyway that I slowly but surely, and without pushing from him, became a "runner".

I don't have a significant other, and I don't think I'd deny being with them because of their lack of concern for health, but it would definitely be a plus to have that motivation. Especially with eating healthy--but I definitely prefer to just work out alone at the gym. Hikes with my future guy, for sure, but I like to use my gym time to think about my life and goals. "Me time", I guess you could say.

Yes I married someone who was as actiibe as me. I dont think I would be happy without having someone to be active with - we go cycling, skiing, hiking, etc.!!

After having gone through a significant weight loss and now getting back into a healthy gear again, I realize once and for all how much I am in lifestyle change and not on a fad diet... Good health is so important to me because of the diseases that occur in my family.

I would not put myself into a position to get with someone whose health ideals were far from mine. Wanting a healthy life for me and those I love isn't unreasonable, and I would want my partner to feel the same way, which would imply he would eat healthfully. Am I saying I need someone with six pack abs? Of course not. If on a weekend he'd rather drink a six pack, that's his deal.

However, going through all the changes I have, it would be so hard to be with someone who wasn't on the same page. I need encouragement and support, and someone who lives as I do, or close to it, is the ultimate encouragement.

As for me, yes. Health and fitness is a turn-on.

Hmmm...this is a tough one because I HATE working out. I really have to be in the mood to go for a run, but I find once I get into the groove, I can work out every day. While I hate the treadmill, if I am really stressed or really angry, it helps me work off the tension. I am more of a pilates and yoga girl. Not many guys do either, so...

I guess my answer is I would like my guy to be workout-oriented, but not one of those guys that spends more time at the gym than with me.

Definitely a must. I say that now, but when I was younger it wasn't. Thankfully hubby is just as much into fitness as I am, and he's getting into the nutrition part with me now too.

It's not a must, but it is a huge plus!
In the beginning, my SO was as into working out as I am but nowadays he's a lot more laid back about it.

He thinks I'm strange when I get up early at saturday mornings to go running "just for fun", he just doesn't get that anymore. We used to go running together...

I would like to have a SO who was on a similar wavelength when it comes to health and fitness. I go to the gym a few times a week and eat a healthy diet, but am not consumed by excercise and what I eat. It would be ideal to have a partner who was active and supportive when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle!

I couldn't marry a meat & potatoes guy... since I'm a vegetarian. Exercise, not as much, but I'd prefer him to be active and somewhat fit. Definitely not a couch potato!

Yes because I dislike working out alone.

It's not important to me, but here's some food for thought. My boyfriend of five years and I are yoyo weight people. We get really fit and lean and then when we reach the peek we reward ourselves with pizza and slip back into flab. We tend to do the cycle together as we get really motivated to go to the gym and support each other in working out and then all of a sudden we're baking brownies and ordering in. From my experience significant others are the best motivators to get fit and also the worst enablers when you're falling off the wagon. But I'd rather get back on the wagon with him any day than be with some buff guy who keeps me going in the gym, but no where else.

I would never date someone who didn't care about themselves enough to stay healthy. As far as I'm concerned, a person who poisons themselves with unhealthy food is quite unattractive.

i always date guys that are tall and skinny 6'4" 170 lbs. until now they have all been smokers, eat poorly, and never work out. my current boyfriend doesn't smoke and thankfully eats healthy. he's a good influence in that aspect, but doesn't have to exercise at all. and he could eat a big mac every day and not gain weight. i wish he would go to the gym with me but he hates it.