Q: To begin with, start keeping track of your weight and eating habits daily. This will help you establish where you are now and give you a sense of what changes should be made.  Start weighing yourself once a day. Keep track of what you are eating and when. You can keep a journal that you use each day. Record your weight at the top of the page and then jot down everything you eat each day. If you see the pounds beginning to creep upward, you'll know you need to make some lifestyle changes. Estimate how many calories you are eating daily by using calorie measurements provided on pre-packaged meals or restaurant nutrition guides. If you're cooking meals at home, you can find information on the caloric content in many basic foods online. Some meals and restaurants provide little to no information on their nutritional content. It can be difficult to estimate exactly how much you've had when you're unable to measure and prepare the food yourself. Consider altering your diet to only consume meals when you know the calories you are consuming. Consider measuring your portions by weight rather than volume. Invest in a small scale for your kitchen. Weigh ingredients before adding them to a meal and use these weights to estimate caloric content. Use an online calculator to estimate your daily caloric allowance for weight maintenance. Websites such as the Mayo Clinic provide such calculators. Calculating your caloric needs involves a formula that takes your current age, height, weight, sex, and exercise level into consideration. Have all this information ready when using an online tool.  Your daily allowance will change if you gain or lose weight. Keep your allowance updated accordingly. These are only estimates. If you find you are gaining or losing weight while following these guidelines, adjust your allowance in small increments (e.g., 100 calories) to accommodate your body's behavior. If you're unsure whether an online calculator is accurate, or if you have a medical condition that affects your metabolism, talk to your doctor. He or she will be able to give you a better estimate of your daily caloric needs. Feeling hungry is often a matter of what you are eating. Proteins and complex carbohydrates tend to prevent hunger for longer periods of time than simple sugars. Improving your diet will result in you eating less overall. This can help prevent unwanted weight gain.  The major food groups include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean proteins. Include a variety of foods from all these groups if you want to improve your diet.  Keep your proteins lean. Leaner proteins are better for your overall health and tend to keep you full longer. These include legumes, like beans, nuts, seeds, poultry, and fish. Instead of having beef as your main course for dinner, for example, make baked salmon and include a side of grilled vegetables. Complex carbs, which include a lot of whole grain and fiber, fill you up faster than simpler carbohydrates. Go for whole wheat or whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice over refined carbohydrates. White rices, breads, and pastas lack nutrients and appetite controlling fiber, leading to hunger.Opt for a dish of quinoa, a bean salad, or a serving of long grain brown rice as a complex carbohydrate serving. There is nothing wrong with indulging in moderation. In fact, giving yourself a treat on occasion can actually help you stick to a healthy diet longer. However, make sure you develop self-discipline when indulging to avoid accidentally gaining weight.  If you have a sweet tooth, keep the American Heart Association guidelines in mind. There are easy ways to give in to sugar cravings without going overboard. Have a fun-sized candy bar as a treat instead of a regular sized one, for example. If you're out at dinner, see if a friend or family member wants to split dessert. If you love salty snacks like chips, buy 100 calorie bags. This way, you'll get a small amount of what you crave and won't go overboard with calorie content. Allow yourself a "cheat meal" once a week. Every Friday night, for example, order take-out or go out to dinner and don't worry about recording the calories. A once a week indulgence can help provide motivation to stay healthy throughout the week. It seems like a small issue, but eating at odd times can lead to unwanted weight gain. If you skip breakfast, for example, you may crave unhealthy foods at lunch and overeat. Eating in front of the television instead of having a sit down dinner can also lead to mindless binge eating. Try to eat three meals a day at roughly the same time. This can make a difference in your weight. Sometimes, tiny tweaks to your eating habits can translate to a large decrease in overall calories. Try incorporating some of these small changes to your eating regimen and see if you notice a difference in weight gain.  Use vinaigrette on salads instead of creamy dressings. Aim to use about half as much as normal.  When eating out, go for a healthy appetizer or skip appetizers altogether. If the restaurant offers sides with an entree, go for a salad or grilled veggies over fries or potatoes.  Use vegetable based pasta sauces over cream sauces.  Avoid drinking fruit juice. If you do crave juice, go for 100% juice without added sugar.  Go for low-fat or fat-free dairy products over products with whole milk.  Drink water throughout the day. Go for low calorie or no calorie beverage options, like sparkling water and diet sodas, to quench your thirst during meal times. When it comes to preventing weight gain, these are better than products with added sugar or calories.
A: Track your weight and caloric intake. Use an online calculator to figure out how many calories is healthy for you. Eat a healthier diet. Go for complex carbohydrates. Develop self-discipline. Establish regular meal times. Make small changes.

Q: If you are younger than 27, the best states for marrying are Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Idaho and Utah. If you are older than 30, try Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York, where they are older brides and grooms.  In most states the average age is under 30. First marriage statistics tend to go down for men over 35, so take this into account when considering a change of location. A study conducted by the European Journal of Operational Research found the highest marriage success rate when the wife was five years younger than her husband. Though not a guarantee a younger woman is right for you, taking this into account while searching for your wife may improve your odds of a favorable union. A study of Facebook’s data showed that 28 percent of married Facebook users found their spouses while attending college. The best colleges for men to find wives were Martin Luther College, Harding University and Faith Baptist Bible College.  Other good choices included Stanford, Harvard, University of Georgia, Bowdoin College, University of Texas-Austin, Columbia, University of Chicago, Wellesley College, Vanderbilt and the Culinary Institute of America. In 2006, the New York Times reported that marriage rates were dropping for single men over 40 without college degrees. Women’s high education rates may have led to fewer women marrying and expecting to be more economically dependent. A college degree may increase your likelihood of marriage. Many reports suggest that  women are upwardly mobile and career-oriented will look for men who are similarly ambitious. Sites like itsjustlunch.com offer dating services for people who are busy and career-minded.  Dating outside your social class can create many difficulties in a relationship, like causing you to feel insecure that you cannot afford her desired lavish lifestyle. A lack of shared life experience between you and your potential spouse can also cause friction.
A:
Consider moving to a new state with favorable marriage trends. Try looking for someone who is slightly younger. Go to college, or go back to college. Look for someone in the same social class.