In honor of National Women's Health Week (May 12-18), two HuffPost experts will share their diet and nutrition secrets on the next HuffPost on Call with Dr. Jane Greer. Meredith Melnick (@MeredithCM), nutrition and fitness editor for The Huffington Post, will offer tips on general nutrition and how to maintain a healthy diet. In the second hour, April Peveteaux (@atothepg), HuffPost blogger and author of Gluten Is My Bitch: Rants, Recipes, & Ridiculousness for the Gluten-Free, will talk with Dr. Greer about the public's views toward the gluten-free diet and how to deal with celiac disease. Don't miss this informative edition of HPOC! Tune in @HealthyLife.net on Tuesday, May 14, at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT.

Shrink Wrap on GalTime

ShrinkWrap: When Are You Exclusive?

By Dr. Jane Greer

taking your relationship to the next level

From recent reports it seems that actors Michelle Williams and Jason Segel have quietly crossed that line between playing with the idea of being exclusive and committing to being a couple.

At a recent premiere party to celebrate Segel’s film The Five-Year Engagement, they were seen holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. They are both known for taking their time when it comes to romance. It raises the question, how does a hopeful pair get from one point to the next? When do you actually become an exclusive couple?

One of my patients was pondering this recently, and she asked me about when it’s appropriate to have the conversation and negotiate the terms of becoming a committed couple. I told her that in order to gauge that, you want to look at what is going on between the two of you.

Related: 6 Things to NEVER Say to Your Man 

Being exclusive is the exciting hill everyone wants to get over in a new, promising relationship. And there will be definite signs that you are successfully making that climb. One example might be if you begin to refer to each other, and to introduce each other, as boyfriend and girlfriend. Other clues are when you start to show your affection in public by holding hands and touching, making the statement that you belong together, or you start to say, “I love you.” And the best indication of all is that you no longer want to date other people, or even leave that door open for the possibility. When it becomes clear that you are focusing your energy and heart on that one person, and that it is a mutual choice, that is a good time to check in to determine if you are now being exclusive.

Once you decide you are each other’s one and only, you will be able to usher in the emotional and sexual trust and safety that most people crave. You want “the talk” my patient was referring to, and even more important, the move toward steady dating, to be an acknowledgment of what is already happening between the two of you rather than a negotiation to put something in place,  just as it seems to be for Michelle and Jason.

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Posted July 13, 2012 in GalTime