Toni's story - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

September had arrived and it was the day when Toni would have is health check. Things had continued very similarly throughout August. Toni had been eating as much as possible on every meal and he had even started eating huge snacks between meals. He had counted that he was eating about 8000 calories per day, and it surely showed as he had had to move to size 36/32 jeans and XL shirts. The meals at work had really helped him, as the pizza buffet got him to eat about half of his huge calorie intake. Toni no longer used too small clothes, due to which Mr. Ståhlberg no longer teased him during the PE lessons, even though Toni could see that he was disgusted by Toni’s new shape. Toni neither received as much attention from people at school – his weight gain was pretty much yesterday’s news.

Toni had also continued seeing Riku on a daily basis. Riku had been cooking for him, though Toni had insisted on cooking for them himself as well. Riku seemed to be keen on accompanying Toni on every meal, which seemed a bit odd to Toni since he had surely gained his couple of kilograms that he needed for getting freed of the military service. In fact Riku had had his health check already, and as he had weighed 116kgs (256 lbs) which put him at BMI 36.6 since he was as tall as Toni.  So, Riku had continued gaining even though he had already been freed of the military service and he was now pushing the 120kg (265lbs) limit.

After eating a huge breakfast, Toni felt that the XL shirt and jeans that he wore were getting quite tight. He would soon have to go up a size again if he kept going. His belly was now very visible even if he sucked it in. His soft belly hung over his belt, which Riku seemed to enjoy very much as Toni had noticed that he liked to touch it. Toni’s love handles were also getting a lot bigger and he now had a very noticeable muffin top. His moobs were also sagging a bit and his butt had gotten wider and softer. Toni had also noticed that a double chin had started to form under his chin, and he disliked it a bit even though Riku always said that he was more handsome than ever. The boys had continued having their belly rub sessions after big meals, and it had felt too good to be true to Toni.

Toni’s old friend Aleksi had continued being quite distant. He never spoke much with anybody and seemed angry all the time. Toni had noticed that Aleksi’s muscles had been growing and his belly had been shrinking and now he appeared more buffed than ever. Mr. Ståhlberg literally adored him during the lessons, which disgusted Toni. Aleksi didn’t seem too happy about it either, but then again he didn’t seem  happy about anything these days.

Once Toni got to school, he headed for his first class. Toni couldn’t really focus on the lesson as he would have his health check just after it. He was very excited, almost afraid, whether his effort to gain weight had paid off and he’d get the much desired certificate, which would free him from military service.  As the class was over, Toni rushed to the school’s doctor’s office and started waiting for his turn to be in. He noticed that his belly peeked out from his shirt a bit but he didn’t bother hiding it as he was alone. He started playing with it instead to calm his nerves.

It didn’t take long for the doctor to show up. When he was opening the door, Toni quickly hid his belly under his shirt. The doctor looked at him, puzzled, and then smiled and asked him to come in. The doctor sat on his chair behind his desk and pointed a chair for Toni.

“Hey Toni, so it’s been four months since your last health check,” the doctor said stating the obvious.

“Hey, yes indeed…” Toni answered.

“How are you today? Have you been sick or feeling unwell?” the doctor asked staring at Toni’s belly, which was again peeking under his shirt.

“I am fine thank you and no, I haven’t been sick.”

“Well, that is… good. Let’s take your measurements. Would you stand right there so we can measure your height?”

Toni did as he was told and the doctor came to see his height. “Still 180 centimeters (5”11’). This will most likely be your height for the rest of your adult life since you haven’t grown since we met last time. Now, would you take off your shirt, shoes and jeans so that we can measure your weight?” the doctor asked and frowned as if he was excepting Toni to refuse. Toni took his clothes off without any complaints, even though he was a bit nervous to reveal his body for the doctor’s scrutinizing eyes. Fully aware of his sagging belly , moobs and his muffin top due to his too small underwear, Toni stepped on the scales and the doctor started adjusting it. Toni knew that he’d need to weigh at least 114kgs (252 lbs) to be too fat for the army.

“Your weight is 112 kilograms (247 lbs). You weighed 72 kilograms (159lbs) when I measured your weight in April. That is an increase of 40 kilograms. What has happened?”

Toni was disappointed and couldn’t hide it on his face. The doctor looked at him with an understanding expression on his face. Toni knew that the doctor couldn’t really guess his true thoughts, though. He wasn’t fat enough. He would have to go to the army. He had gotten fat in vain. Due to his disbelief, he couldn’t say more than utter: “I… Just…”

“I understand that this is upsetting. We can make you an appointment to a nutritionist and make you a training program so that you can lose most of that weight before you enter the army.  I do think that you can do it though, and thus I am giving you the green light so that you can enter. You must be happy for that,” the doctor said smiling politely. “We have to measure your waistline, though. It is a common procedure for anybody who has gained weight so quickly,” the doctor continued even though Toni was sure that he was the first patient who had gained weight so fast.

“125 centimeters (49 inches)!” The doctor said not being able to hide his surprised tone after getting the measuring tape around Toni’s massive gut. “You know that a man’s waist should be less than 100 centimeters. I strongly recommend you to lose the weight. Let me get you the number of the nutritionist. I will make you training plans and send them to you once they’re ready.”

Toni uttered something, which could have been a yes and dressed up. After saying goodbye to the doctor, he left his office holding the phone number of the nutritionist in his hand. He went to his next class, the subject of which would be maths, feeling depressed. During the class only half of him was focusing on the actual subject and the other half was wondering what he should do.

After the maths lesson Toni headed for home, skipping his English and Finnish lessons by saying that he had headache. Luckily he had a day off from work that day, as did Riku. He didn’t think that he could be a very good salesperson that day, due to his mood.  He thought that a pint of ice cream would help him to feel better but then he thought that should he lose weight now that he was going to the army anyways. He was in such a bad shape that he would have very rough time if he didn’t do anything about it. Toni’s gym card had expired, though, and he didn’t have the money to buy another one so he would have to exercise at home.

Once Toni got to home, he tried to exercise by making sit-ups and push-ups with little success.  Just like before, he couldn’t do sit-ups properly due to his massive gut and despite of having gained more muscle strength on his arms at the gym, he wasn’t able to lift his flabby body from the ground more than a few times. He tried to do some pull-ups on a bar that had been in his apartment when he had moved there, but he could only do one with great effort. He had to stop due to the creaking sounds that he heard from the bar.  Toni gave up the efforts to exercise and went to the freezer to get a pint of ice cream instead. He ended up eating three pints, and even though the ice cream was delicious and made him feel better in a way, he felt very guilty for eating it.

Sometime later Riku called him and told him he’d be visiting him soon. Meeting his friend got Toni’s mood up. Riku was the only person to whom he could talk about his problem and the reasons for feeling down. It didn’t take long until the doorbell rang and Riku came in with a smile on his face. He noticed Toni’s mood immediately, though.

“Oh, what’s wrong? You sounded depressed in the phone as well,” Riku asked after they greeted each other.

Toni told him about the health check and his failure. Riku seemed to understand his mood and to Toni’s surprise he seemed worried.

“I am very sorry to hear that. We did everything we could though. I guess your body just couldn’t store enough fat into it, but that’s not your fault,” Riku said trying to cheer him up. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Well, I tried to exercise after I got home from school but it didn’t really work. This was on the way,” Toni said lifting his shirt and slapping his belly. As he watched his belly wobble, his mood got a bit better.

For a moment Toni thought Riku was angry, but the moment was so short that he thought he imagined it. “Oh…” Riku uttered and after a while he continued: “I thought that you… enjoyed eating and… spending time with me after that. I guess that I was wrong then. I’d better get going so that you can exercise. See you.”

Toni tried to stop him, but Riku didn’t listen and he left Toni’s apartment. Toni was left alone, feeling even worse than before. He went to the fridge and grabbed chocolate, yesterday’s pizza and a couple of burgers to comfort himself.