Bulking up

Genetics only take you so far when it comes to your body. At some point you need to start doing some activity or you're going to pack on the lb's. I figured I'd reached that point. I made it a good quarter of a century looking decent without much excercise. But everyone always says the older you get, the harder it is to get back in shape. So I decided it was best not to chance a complete downward spiral by waiting much longer. Plus Colin, nine years my senior, was ready to start living a more active lifestyle as well. He was one of those guys that until recently could eat anything he wanted and not gain weight. So what a rude awakening he had coming when one day he stood on the scale to find himself a hefty 30 pounds over his fighting weight, so to speak.

Knowing that I didn't have the discipline to workout consistenly on my own, as one of my very more developed talents is rationalizing with myself why I shouldn't do the things I'm supposed to do, we hired a personal trainer. He's a little muscly guy with a shaved head. He fits the personal trainer profile. If I ever find myself in a brawl, I want his scrappy ass on my side.

So how's it going you ask? Well it's going great for Colin. He's down at least two pant sizes, I'd say a good four inches, and at least 20 pounds. But it's hard to guage exactly how much weight he's lost because he's gained so much muscle. I love to grab his biceps when he flexes - how's that for cliche! But I can't help it. He was sexy before, now he's super sexy.

Me on the other hand...I've lost -10 pounds and am down -1 dress size. Yes those are negatives. So to put it more clearly, I've gained weight and gone up a size. What the hell? This is not supposed to happen. I wanted to get healthy and tighten up those soft spots that were developing. I've tightened up most of them up, but I've also bulked up some. Everyday I struggle with whether I'd rather be soft and smaller, or toned and take up more area. Let's just say, I'm much more athletic in person. I've gained mass everywhere - well not everywhere. Naturally, the one place I'd like to amass some extra tissue, my chest, has gotten smaller. How's that for icing on the cake?

The first thing people ask is, "Well are you eating more?" The answer is no. In fact I'm probably eating less, and eating more healthy. So I don't know what the deal is. When I was at my peak of in shapedness and playing high school sports I was never this muscly. My legs have always been athletic, but I was always lean. Why can't I be that way now?

For those of you who know me, let me just clarify I'm not trying to say I'm too big or overweight, because that would be crazy. I'm very realistic about my body. I'm just saying, when I joined a gym and decided to pay a personal trainer to kick my ass three days a week I didn't expect to gain weight. Just so we're clear, I don't want any hate mail or people telling me I need to see a shrink to work out my body image issues.

With that said, Colin's an asshole (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) for losing weight and getting svelte, and I'm, well I'm perplexed.