Breaking bad habits on June 29, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

My boyfriend and I live together in bliss. We are wonderful together and we’re both very happy. He makes me feel (your words) like the “fresh and tasty thing I am,” and we are really good at working lil’ problems out when they pop up. He’s brought up marriage. Okay, I’m getting to the problem now. He has dangerously bad habits. He smokes. He puts sugar on pie. He goes through salt, like, I don’t know what goes through a lot of salt, but you know what I’m saying. I cook for him, he doesn’t eat it. He is 50 pounds overweight. I have NEVER seen him eat a vegetable. I talk to him about my concern often. He claims that he would rather die young than live a long life of boiled tofu and squash. I can’t make him see an in between. Okay, my final point: I want to spend the rest of my life with this man, and I don’t want to be a widow at 40. I’ve heard you can’t change a person, but you can change their behavior. Is this a behavior problem, or a deeply ingrained personality flaw?

— Worry Wart

BG’s advice after the jump!