Although the United States can be described as having the largest population of obese citizens and a media that loves to glorify the act of slimming down, many people are inevitably doomed to fight the weight battle from the other end of the scale.
Throughout my life, I have fit that mold.
After an initial scare of being born prematurely, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a pre-teen. A person with Crohn’s must consume a nutrient-rich diet, because for many with the condition, certain foods cause irritation, discomfort and nausea, and make eating more dreadful than enjoyable.
Luckily for me, these symptoms, which commonly plague those with the disease, have been foreign to me since beginning treatment in eighth grade. In fact, I often find myself out-eating my friends in the dining halls, shoveling away heaps of the types of food that would make many others with my condition cringe.
Despite this, my troubles with putting on weight continue — growing nearly a foot throughout high school only translated to a net gain of 10 pounds, bringing my grand total to 115 by the end of my senior year, and now anywhere between 120 and 125.
I’ve come to the conclusion that taking action — something I’ve done very little of at this point, as exercise has always been an afterthought to me — is the only way to fill out my lanky, 6-foot frame.
Throughout the rest of the semester, I will be working with the help of nutrition experts, personal trainers and fellow students in my attempt to bulk up, with the final goal being bringing my weight to 150 pounds by the end of the semester.
I will also be turning myself into a human guinea pig, experimenting with workout supplements and protein powders that have come to define the process of “getting jacked,” and understanding that those have the highest potential of being detrimental to my overall health.
Look for monthly video and blog updates to track my progress, and to the bros and bro-ettes that already call Ping home: I’ll see you at the bench press.
Jake is a junior studying journalism and a stringer for The Post. Offer him workout tips at jd202409@ohiou.edu.
