Thinspiration: The Ex-Boyfriend from Dumaguete

I am charging my cell phone's battery so the update for Day 50 will be shared later tonight. For now, let me update my "Thinspiration Series."

I met this ex-boyfriend of mine in 2003, and back then he was quite a chunky man. During one of our dates, I opened up the idea of me wanting to lose weight, which he supported, but doubted my intentions because I wasn't into it as I say I was. He was right.

Anyway, a few months after, he started going to the gym, but admitted he wasn't as serious about it because even if he would lift weights and use the machines at the gym, he didn't moderate his diet and vices. He eats, drinks, and smokes a lot. When people around him noticed he was getting really big and that most employers would reject him because of his size, he decided to go serious about it.

Our love affair didn't last long (reasons I'd rather not disclose), but he and I remained good friends up to this day, sending text messages every now and then. The picture above was the only picture I have of him, which I took in 2009, while doing a side trip to Dumaguete following a conference I attended in Cebu (I took that while we were on a motorcycle joyride around Dumaguete). Since we live miles apart, this was actually the third or fourth time I saw him in person, and I was really surprised at how much weight he lost! He already told me through text messages that he lost weight, but seeing a different version of him really wowed me.

Eating dinner that night, I asked him what he did (because basically, he already reached his goal while I was still stuck in my own mud pit), and he answered me with one straight, short sentence: "I did what I say I will do." He explained it further by saying, "The minute I told myself I'd give up smoking, I did. No cravings, no withdrawal symptoms, no going crazy about it... because I gave it my word. Same goes to losing weight." Since he started his journey and kicking out his smoking, he said he hasn't smoked a cigarette anymore, and while he still drinks alcoholic beverages (well, we both had a beer that night), he said he is doing it with control now.

Back when he told me to be firm and have self discipline, I only said yes to him for the sake of closing the argument. Now, I do know the very essence of self discipline as it was basically what I am practicing now. Whenever I tell him I am trying to lose weight, he would sometimes tease me and tell me, "Is this one of those ningas-kogon thing again?" Well, I still haven't told him I am losing weight again, will just surprise him once I get to my target weight.