Chapter 341

Chapter 341

During that meal, Edison barely touched his food, eating only a few vegetables, a few bites of bread, and a little fish — barely half full.

Jade couldn't finish the rest either, and she tried to get him to help eat some, but he refused, saying if they couldn't finish it, they'd just pack it up for his coworkers or save it for dinner.

Edison didn't quite understand it himself, but once he made up his mind to lose weight, he was completely committed.

He even sent a text to Chamberlain. 'Hey,' he wrote, 'want to lose weight together, you want to lose weight together? You’re looking like you’ve put on a few pounds yourself.]

Chamberlain immediately sent back a photo: [A giant bowl of seafood.]

A moment later, another message came: Get lost!

Edison couldn't help complaining, "Chamberlain is already way overweight; I can't believe he’s still eating like that. He won't listen to anyone. What's going to happen to him?"

Jade smiled from across the table. "Come back and say that after you've actually lost the weight. Losing weight isn't easy — ninety percent of people fail."

Edison shot back, "Not me. Once I decide to do something, I don't quit halfway."

"Really? I don't believe you." Jade was egging him on.

Edison said seriously, "I'm starting today. I'm going to do this."

After parting ways with Jade, Edison went straight to a gym near his place that same day.

Ever since he'd signed the house over to Lydia, he'd been living in an apartment near the bar. It was close to the commercial district, and there were several gyms in the area.

He chose the most impressive gym in the area.

As soon as he walked in,an athletic woman with a welcoming smile approached him. "Hi, are you here to work out?"

Edison nodded. "I want to lose weight."

She looked him up and down and said sweetly, "Sir, you've got great facial features and your body proportions are actually pretty good. If you slim down, you're going to look really handsome."

Edison liked hearing that. He said, "I'm not here to chat. I want to work with your most experienced trainer."

"I'm a trainer too, would I work for you?" She clearly had a body that came from serious training.

"I want a male trainer," Edison said.

"How come?"

"A guy training a guy, does there need to be a reason?" What Edison had in mind was that a trainer needed to spot him when he lifted weights, and a woman wouldn't have the strength for that. But he was never great at putting his thoughts into words, so what came out was always a bit blunt. People who didn't know him well tended to find his communication style hard to deal with.

The woman stuck out her tongue and called a male trainer over the front desk intercom.

Edison took one look at the guy and knew he was the real deal — mid-thirties, built like a tank, muscles packed everywhere, the kind of guy who could walk straight onto a bodybuilding stage.

"Hi there, I'm the head trainer here and one of the gym's co-owners. You can call me Ted."

Edison got straight to the point: "I want to lose weight."

Ted said, "You've come to the right place. I've helped over two hundred members successfully lose weight. With the right exercise and diet, they've kept it off and are living much happier lives."

"I'm currently 190. How long will it take me to drop to 150?"

Ted smiled. "We'll need to run some tests first — check your weight, body fat percentage, and so on — then put together a plan for you. You know, the weight didn't pile on overnight, and it won't come off overnight either. Losing too much too fast can actually be bad for your health. We have to take it steady. I'd say at least three months, maybe up to six, depending on how strictly you follow the plan."

"Then let's get the testing done now," Edison said. He'd made up his mind, and he wasn't short on money.

"Sure thing."

Ted led him to a room with a body composition machine. You just stepped on it and it measured your weight, height, and body fat.

When the printout came out, Ted said, "Take a look — your score is only 6.5. That's seriously overweight. The only reason you're not having health problems yet is because you're still young. Give it a few more years and you could be looking at high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol. I've seen it happen with several of my members — they didn't take care of themselves when they were young, and by the time they hit 35, everything started going wrong. Diabetes, high uric acid, you name it."

Edison said, "Just tell me what I need to do."

The Rivers family actually had a family doctor, a health consultant, and his older brothers even had personal trainers. They'd tried to get Edison to lose weight before, but he'd been too stubborn to listen.

He was too proud to admit he needed help, otherwise he would've just used his oldest brother's personal trainer. The annual fee was already paid anyway.

Ted asked, "Have you ever been to a gym before? How much do you know about fitness?"

"Nothing at all."

"Then I'd suggest you sign up for a membership here and get a personal trainer. Try to come in at least three days a week, two hours each session. Does that work for you?"

Edison asked, "Why not every day? Wouldn't that get faster results?"

Ted suppressed a grin, sensing a lucrative opportunity. "Every day would be even better — you'd lose weight faster."

"Just tell me how much it costs."

"A single session is normally $200. If you buy in bulk you can get a discount — like if you buy 30 sessions, it's 20% off..."

Edison paused, then said, "I'll take 30 sessions. No need for the discount. But you need to give me two hours every day. If you can't make it, send someone else."

Ted couldn't believe his luck; he’d just landed the easiest sale of the month.

"Done. We'll make sure you have a senior trainer every time you come in."

Edison added, "No women. Male trainers only."

"No problem. We'll make sure you hit your goals."

Edison paid, and he wanted to start training that day — but he hadn't brought any workout gear, not even a water bottle. So he just spent the time getting familiar with the equipment.

Ted did give him a meal plan though, and told him to follow it strictly.

Edison glanced at it. "Dinner is just one ear of corn, one egg, and a glass of milk?"

Ted smiled. "If you're still hungry, you can add a piece of chicken breast and half a cucumber. These are all low-calorie foods — but even low-calorie foods can make you gain weight if you eat too much of them, so keep the portions small."

After leaving the gym, Edison went straight to the supermarket to stock up on diet food — chicken breast, broccoli, whole wheat bread, corn, and more.

Cooking had always been a hobby of his, so prepping a clean meal was second nature.

Following Ted's plan, he ate very little for dinner — just the corn, egg, and milk. He was maybe half full at most.

Not stuffed, but not really hungry either.

He thought to himself: Losing weight is actually pretty simple. I just eat like this every day — how hard can it be?