Speed Dating. 7 Questions for 7 Minutes.

Who has the time to date anymore? First you have to look for the right person, then you have to travel to a coffee shop or bar to meet the person and then you end up spending money on the date that you didn’t really like. You might as well stay at home and watch Netflix!

That’s why Speed Dating helps.

But it’s all scary. What do you ask? What do you say? Here are 7 questions that could get you into the groove:

1.     Tell Me About Yourself – When your date asks you that, keep it simple. Say your name, where you stay, whether you’re studying or working, if you live with your parents, siblings, have a pet and have a hobby! Ask them the same question back.

2.     Talk about the hobby – Hobbies could vary from reading and writing to adventure sports and travel to listening to music. Ask about that and share what you love. Never interrupt. Hear them out. If they talk too much without asking you back you know the person is self-absorbed.

3.   Books or movies? – Follow this up by asking favourite books or movies. What did you like most about it? If you know any interesting facts, gossip about the subject share that so you can build on that and you don’t need to go on to other questions!

4.    What do you do for fitness – What are his physical goals? If the man/ woman is constantly working out, chances are they won’t be available to meet or have a conversation as often as you’d like. Or if they’re not into fitness, they might crash your diet regime. There needs to be a balance.

5.    How long ago were you in a relationship? – Exes keep popping up into people’s lives and rebound relationships could mean you’re going to be taken for a ride. If the person has been single for a while, it’s good to save their number. But if they’ve recently broken up, rest assured you’re going to be a crying shoulder! The depth of the relationship is directly proportional to the time spent in it and will take half that time to move on from it!

6.    Future plans – Do you plan to work? Where do you see yourself going in the company? Do you have a bad boss? How do you deal with pressure? What picture do you have on your screensaver? Fun questions about work could show if he’s a clown or a serious worker or has any ambition at all.

7.   Romance Is? - What would we do on our second date? A romantic date for you means? It’s important to talk about romance because most women will always want it. If the man is uninterested and practical he should know if the woman is also a no nonsense person. If she would like to go hiking and not talk on a date, he need not bring flowers!

Ask. Understand. Reciprocate. Smile. Move on! Speed Dating is fun!

Also published at Guest Blogger for Truly Madly: http://blog.trulymadly.com/speed-dating-7-questions-for-7-minutes/

5 Wacky Ways to Lose Weight

1.     Be envious – Seeing someone thin motivates us to become like them. And everyone is partying, travelling and putting up photos on social media. You will find someone thinner than you. Save that photo – print it and put it up. She is real. She has lost it. You need to be thinner than her! Do not put up a photo of a celeb who is thin. Ultimately your brain will say she gets paid to be thin so what’s the point and you’ll reach towards that cake! Check out your friend’s pic. Be motivated from that.  

2.     Stalk someone – You hit the gym and you’re bored already. Same weights. Same faces. Monotony. So while you’re there you probably faff around with some people showing off your wit, and drink plenty of water. What you need to do is find a person who comes regularly and compete with him. If he’s doing x number of sit-ups, you do more. If he’s using x number of weights, you do the same. It might be stalking but seriously watch how you will train harder. Also, do run fast if he ever catches you stalking at him.

3.     Kid Mania – Children have tremendous energy and you’re exhausted doing chores around them. Take the kids to a park and tell them to run while you catch them. Race with the children. Play soccer. Do jumping jacks. Skip rope. With younger kids, put them in a stroller and walk around in a park. Just remember, if you don’t have children you should ask permission from other parents if you want to play with their kids. Otherwise just going and asking a child to play is creepy!

4.     Jiggle It Up – Some days you can swim. Other days you can go to the gym. Some days you can dance at home. Everything burns calories as long as you’re not drinking and dancing. Or eating and swimming. Please take permission to dance in other people’s houses. If you’re landing up at someone’s fine sit down dinner party they might not appreciate you putting on your iPod and jumping around.  

5.     Death to Dieting – Everyone talks about a good diet. Don’t eat high calorie food, do not indulge in fats, restrict carbs, and don’t mix proteins. The list goes on. It’s bloody annoying. When you ask Google “Ways to Lose Weight,” there are about 39,900,000 results. My advice is to eat one small thing you like every day. Two bites of it. That’s it. So today, have two bites of that pizza, tomorrow have two bites of that cake and day after have two bites of that mithai. But remember, you’re not jaws! Take a bite and enjoy it. Not stuff your mouth and look like an ogre.

All the best to keeping that weight off during the holiday season! Look sexy. Feel confident. Be happy! 

Also on my CNN-IBN blog.
http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/buzz/madhuri-banerjee/5-wacky-ways-to-lose-weight-during-the-holidays-14274-1183336.html

5 Ways to NOT Be a Clingy Girlfriend

Stop Constant Questions – Where are you? When are you coming home? When are we meeting? What are you thinking? What are you planning for our anniversary? When should we meet? Why aren’t we getting married? The constant questions will make your boyfriend run from you faster than a zebra from a lion. Maybe he doesn’t have all the answers. Maybe he needs some space. Give him time to call and chase you a bit. Keep the mystery alive.

Stop Going For His Boys Nights – He has a life beyond you. He has friends he likes to drink with. This is his support system! Stop landing up for his Boys Night Outs to spend time with him. Soon all his friends will hate you and ostracise him. And ultimately he’ll resent you. Give him that one night a week or month off to just enjoy himself and get sloshed, without you giving him grief the next day. He’ll love you more.

Stop Asking About Marriage – Everyone wants to know where the relationship is going as soon as the third date is over. Some men don’t want to get married. It’s not that they’re commitment phobic, it’s just that they enjoy their space and freedom as much as they love you. Think about an alternate life with him if he’s not ready for marriage. Redefine your relationship. And if you truly want to get married and your “biological clock is ticking” set a deadline and move on if he’s still not ready, instead of pushing him into it and regretting it later.

Stop Comparing – Your best friend is getting married, another is going on a Europe tour with her boyfriend and another has been introduced to his parents. Instead of whining, demanding and comparing your relationship to others, realise what you have. Does he love you? Does he listen to you when you talk about your dreams? Does he give you space and support you? Does he look after you when you’re upset? Those are good things in a relationship. Treasure them and cherish him. Don’t demand him doing it all the time. Sometimes he doesn’t have the bandwidth to support, listen or love you. Doesn’t mean he can’t later. Give him time.

Stop Being Suspicious – He liked a girl’s photo on Facebook. He must be cheating on me! He is having a coffee with his old school friend. He’s probably cheating on me! He has a girl on his team at work?! He is definitely cheating on me! Stop getting suspicious. If you’re cool and easy about the girls in his life, he’ll appreciate it. But the more you lock him down about every female he’s spoken to, he’ll hate you. It’s ok to be possessive and a little jealous. Let him know how much you lust after him and hate it when anyone else does so too. By giving him space to make a choice, he’ll never want to leave you.    

For more laughs buy My Clingy Girlfriend here: http://goo.gl/VwPjmN