Personality Profile She came to gym regularly -- at least three times per week. This is a good thing, because she very clearly needed it. Nana, young Chinese girl just out of her teens, no longer felt self-conscious about exercising with "thin, beautiful" people. Since her first, nervous visit to the physical health center close to her classes at Northeastern University, Nana has seen many overweight and even obese people, just like herself, coming to the gym, trying to improve themselves and their lives. After the initial surprise of this wore off, Nana began to think that it made sense that there were more fat than thin people at the gym. Why would a thin person need a gym, after all?

On this evening, Nana came into the gym as usual and the receptionist grinned a greeting at her. Her favorite equipment was the stationary bike, because it allowed her to do some reading and studying while she was working out. It also kept her mind off the exertion of the exercise. While she did not exactly hate it, Nana found that time crawled by far too slowly if she kept staring at the timer while she used the bike. She also enjoyed the treadmill, for the same reason.

This night was one of the occasional times when there was a sexy-looking woman on one of the stationary bikes. Unfortunately, the only free bike was right next to her. So Nana was faced with a choice. She could either use the free bike and face the inevitable scorn in the sexy lady's eyes, or she could start with another routine and wait for more bikes to become free. She sighed. She had a very specific routine and didn't want to break it. Resisting the urge to ask the woman what she was doing here, Nana approached the bike and climbed on. The sexy woman gave her a brief gland and flashed a smile. She seemed to get everything Nana always believed American women to get as if they deserved it: a sexy body; perfect, white, straight teeth; blonde hair; and a gorgeous smile to go with it all.

Oh well, she thought to herself, it's not like there was any surprise here. Trying to forget her shyness, Nana gave a small smile back and began her workout. That morning in the gym would give her 30 good minutes of physical activity, as usual. As usual, Nana would stare at herself in the dressing room mirror for a good while, trying to assess if her obesity had become any less obvious. As usual, her conclusion was that, no, there was sadly no change. Today, she was a little sadder because of that because of the sexy lady who worked out next to her. If Nana had had more confidence, she would have asked the woman what her secret was. How do you lose weight? How do you keep it off? But of course, if Nana had had more confidence she would not have needed the gym as badly as she did. With a deep sigh, Nana got dressed and prepared to exit the gym. She waved goodbye at the receptionist, who smiled brightly, as if they were friends. Outside, Nana told the taxi to take her to the local McDonald's. This was part of her routine. The super-sized meal would accompany her to her apartment, where she would gulp it down with some coke and while watching a reality show on TV.

After her meal and her show, Nana had a quiet moment before doing her studying for the night. "Why must I always do this?" she wondered to herself. "Why do I always make up for my gym exercises with my eating?" She sighed deeply for the second time that evening. She would really love to have the gorgeous body of the American blonde she saw at the gym. This was exactly what she feared when going to the gym for the first time; seeing discouragingly gorgeous people there. This was the first time in months that happened. And it affected Nana badly. She felt bad about herself and her habits. She felt bad that none of her efforts worked out. She just could not get away from her overly fat body. She simply got too hungry at the gym. She always had to eat afterwards. Nana was considering giving up the gym altogether, since all it seemed to do was make her sad. It was simply not worth the money and effort anymore.

Nana got up from her seat and took her books to her desk for her evening's study. She could not...

Her mind kept returning to the blonde woman at the gym. She must be very happy. She sure looked happy. Nana wanted happiness like that; knowing she looked good to herself and to others. She felt as if her obesity was beginning to impact her relationships. One of her best friends, a classmate she had met at University before she transferred to Miami, had asked Nana to visit her during the fall. It was Miami. The fall would be warm enough for swimming. Nana enjoyed swimming but not dressing for the activity. There was always this shy, nervous moment between arriving on the beach and getting into the water. In the water, her body felt light and smooth. She would love to always feel that way.
She loved her Miami friend and would love to visit her. But Nana was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea. On other hand, how could she refuse now after she had so enthusiastically said yes? It was the same friend who got her to join a gym in the first place. Nana would have loved to get some results that she could show off to her friend. But it just was not possible at this rate. She would have to disappoint her friend either by visiting as her obese, unchanged self or by not visiting at all. Again, a difficult decision faced her for the second time that day.

"But maybe there is a third choice," said a small voice in Nana's head.

"I don't think so," she replied to herself. "There is no way to get rid of all this awful fat."

"Remember what your friend told you," said the little voice.

"She said, why not each fruit instead of McDonald's when you get home from gym?"

But I can't do that, she thought. Fruit just doesn't fill me up the way McDonald's does. Fruit always makes me want something more and pretty soon I'll just make another trip to get a burger, which will eventually mean I eat more rather than less, even if some of it is healthy. Nana was starting at the scene beyond her window. It was slowly getting dark. The streetlights were coming on. Although she was usually a hard-working student, Nana could not concentrate on her studies.

She could count her friends on one hand.

She had no boyfriend.

She was extremely shy because of her obesity.

She was getting unhealthy, to the point where doctors were warning her to lose weight or face early death. Nana had to make a plan.

Forgetting about her English studies, Nana took out a notebook and wrote down a couple of lines. The visit to Miami would be in the fall. This gave her a couple of months to work on herself. Was it possible? The young girl began to feel a smile play along her lips. She had a plan. She would show herself and the world what could be done.

Her initial plan was modest. She would go to at least one of her three gym sessions per week without following it with a night of take aways and TV. She would make the particular session a couple of minutes shorter, since most of her hunger crashed in on her during the last minutes of gym. She would start weighing herself again so she could see her actual accomplishments without having to assess them in an unflattering mirror. Maybe, just maybe, Miami would see a changed Nana. With her plan made, Nana smiled brightly, cleaned her apartment a little bit and went to sleep, forgetting all about her nightly studies.

It was evening again, and Nana was ready to put her plan to work. She would work out for 20 minutes instead of 30 tonight. She would drink lots of water during and after the workout. She would eat all of the fruit and vegetables she bought earlier that day. She would weigh herself for the first time that evening.

Nana grinned at the receptionist when she entered the gym. There was no sexy lady at the stationary bike section tonight, but Nana mentally thanked her for finally bringing her to the decision to change her life.

Smiling all the way and catching up with some of the work she was going to do the previous night, Nana did 10 minutes of biking and 10 on the treadmill, exactly according to her plan. Afterward, she weight herself on the bathroom…