I never really 'dated' until I was old enough that any relationship was very serious.  But my main and I think only important piece of advice is that nothing is worth a thing in a relationship without respect.  If your partner dosesn't respect you, then whether he makes you happy or loves you or is great in bed or makes you laugh, none of it matters. Eventually, without respect, it's doomed.  And don't think you can change anyone.  Not even slightly.  And I don't mean their personality, I mean their values; attitudes to your sex, etc.
   

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I've been going to the gym a lot recently. Like, 6 days a week for the last 2 weeks.  I'm pretty sore!  Thing is, I started losing weight pretty quickly and then as it slowed down I'd got used to the weight loss.  It means, once again, I'm starting to consider more drastic means to keep watching myself get thinner.  I wasn't going to write this up, but I've just found myself trawling BMR and BMI calculators, reminding myself how many calories it takes to lose a pound-numbers I haven't seen written down for a good two years, but that I found looking at them they were still kinda instilled in my long term memory.  I've been having a kinda stressful time with guys this week.  Men rejecting me-the normal angsty girly stuff.  I've been switching between telling myself I'm losing weight for him, for myself, for my friend who I'm gym-ing with.  But the truth is, receeding to my previous control strategy is the easiest and most successful way I've found to make myself feel like I have any power.  I'm being run rings around in the romance department and I've not got any uni coursework to over-achieve in, and maybe I want a lil bit of attention from the new guy bent on upsetting me.  So this is how it works, as I've always known it would.  I have 3 pies and a carton of hot chocolate in my cupboard, but two years down the line and the old habits come back, somewhat comfortingly.  At least some things seem to stay the same!