Shake up
Added 2023-08-06 16:01:12 +0000 UTCMy roommate Chris had been having harder workouts recently. He was a sweaty mess by the time he finished, completely exhausted, struggling to comprehend why everything seemed much more tiring. At least, until he saw his midsection pushing out like a ball under his shirts. That was when he finally realized he was growing.
It must have been the extra weight that was slowing him down, the extra padding that was giving his body a smooth round appearance. He would usually stop his workouts once he felt spent, oblivious to them becoming shorter and shorter with his growing weight. Now he realized his mistake, his exercise having gotten so short he could barely burn off the excess calories anymore.
I could tell he was panicked. He went through his wardrobe putting on every item of clothing, realizing his wide center was on display outlined in every one of his shirts. He tried anything to get back to his old weight. He was in the gym now almost every day, struggling to spend the same amount of time there as he had when he was fit. He even traded another one of his meals for the protein shake he'd always have before his workout.
His efforts were fruitless, his body still expanding around him like rising dough. Each time I saw him shirtless his progress was more impressive. His body was thicker and rounder than before, his gut sticking further and further out in front of him. He hadn't realized I'd swapped his protein for mass gainer, each shake adding over a thousand calories to his diet. I wasn't going to tell him any time soon.
