Have You Called Jenny or Jensen the Trainer at Equinox Yet?

As mankini season approaches, we all have to take an honest look in the mirror and accept the fact that we are one day older and perhaps a few pounds heavier. It happens.

Growing up, I was always skinny and scrawny. I've even had people tell me that I was a "runt" or my personal favorite--"whisper thin." And you can imagine that I was one of the last guys picked for any sport. My wire hanger frame wasn't fooling anyone on a football field. No matter how many Pizza Hut personal pizzas I would eat or boxes of malamars I would stuff in my pie hole, gaining weight wasn't happening. At least that was the case while I was still in school.

But then it happened. I graduated college and my metabolism slowed down.

It seemed to be 5 lbs for every 5 years. It's not a bad thing, but after spending so many years accepting the fact that I was probably thinner than most of the girls at a party--who ironically were dieting to achieve my BMI--I noticed that eating anything and everything in front of my face actually affected my waist line. I would blame it on that sushi because it makes you bloated...or the cinco margaritas on the 5th of May that may have given me an expanded waist line as wide as the Rio Grande. BUT I don't want to make a run for the waist line border.I knew that the weight gain is from my passion for eating/drinking anything in sight which has inversely affected my back, front and side fat storage. That's when I faced my sartorial conundrum.

"I've spent way too much on tailoring my clothes to have to go back and have spandex added to the waist bands."

That's when I decided to do the unthinkable and start exercising and eating right. Did you know that French fries aren't the same thing as eating a baked potato? So let's be manly about our bodies and accept the fact that's it's constantly changing, which means that we have to change our clothes and style to fit our amorphous bodies.It doesn't mean you need to move into a trapeze shirt large enough to host the Barnum and Bailey circus, but it does mean that you need to take control, hire a trainer graduate 1 size up at Levi's and make a call to Jenny!

YES: Grow up as you grow into a bigger size. As long as you're you're healthy, one size up isn't going to kill you. The fat will. It's heart breaking.
NO: Surgery can only take you so far before you rebound.
MAYBE: You can get away fooling yourself that designer's are making clothes smaller than they used to. Yeah, that's it! It's a conspiracy started by those skinny Chinese manufacturers trying to save money on fabric.