Everything was shit. Everything was out of control. Well not everything, but way too much. His parents were failing and refusing to move to a care facility, his kids were estranged and raging at each other and his brother and sister were both facing terminal illnesses. Bob and Susan were constantly on the road to one relative or another trying to calm them down. They practically lived on I-5 from north to south, but nothing either of them tried was doing the least bit of good.
Bob was overweight. He knew that and for years he had not cared even though he should. But now, because everything else seemed to be out of his control he thought ‘Hey this weight issue is under my control. I’m going to do this.” And after sitting there on the phone listening to his parent's problems and his kid's problems, and talking to his brother at the hospital, he opened up his phone and subscribed to Noom.
And, Noom was obnoxious. Written with a very twee sensibility; filled with daily affirmations of the most vacuous things, he hated the tone and communication, but he decided to diligently follow the fairy dust. He logged his meals. He read his daily content. He studied the recipes and was diligent to a nearly religious level about limiting his calorie intake, and it worked. He had dropped 50 lbs and gone from a 40-inch to a 34-inch waist size.
When he went to see his therapist for the cluster of family issues he was dealing with she asked him if he was sick. No, I’m good he said. “So this extreme weight loss comes from your own decision-making?” “Yup, Bob said. I needed to have control of something, and this was it.” Everyone he saw remarked on it til the point it was getting annoying. And that was not the only annoying thing. This extreme Bob makeover edition left him with hanging skin and a gaunt face that had been fat, full, and jolly. Still, Bob felt pretty good about his success. It was something. He could actually do something that made a difference. Susan cheered him on and noted that it felt weird making love, like she was cheating on the old Bob.
Like all makeovers, it was limited in scope. His parents were still failing. His kids were still quarreling, his brother and his sister were both gravely ill, but Bob at least had done something. He had lost 50 pounds and gained a whole new wardrobe and none of it had made a damn bit of difference to anyone other than him, Susan, and his therapist, but it was something, some little thing that reminded him that change was indeed possible but limited to his own now much smaller self. Everything was not shit.
— DanielSouthGate
Bob was overweight. He knew that and for years he had not cared even though he should. But now, because everything else seemed to be out of his control he thought ‘Hey this weight issue is under my control. I’m going to do this.” And after sitting there on the phone listening to his parent's problems and his kid's problems, and talking to his brother at the hospital, he opened up his phone and subscribed to Noom.
And, Noom was obnoxious. Written with a very twee sensibility; filled with daily affirmations of the most vacuous things, he hated the tone and communication, but he decided to diligently follow the fairy dust. He logged his meals. He read his daily content. He studied the recipes and was diligent to a nearly religious level about limiting his calorie intake, and it worked. He had dropped 50 lbs and gone from a 40-inch to a 34-inch waist size.
When he went to see his therapist for the cluster of family issues he was dealing with she asked him if he was sick. No, I’m good he said. “So this extreme weight loss comes from your own decision-making?” “Yup, Bob said. I needed to have control of something, and this was it.” Everyone he saw remarked on it til the point it was getting annoying. And that was not the only annoying thing. This extreme Bob makeover edition left him with hanging skin and a gaunt face that had been fat, full, and jolly. Still, Bob felt pretty good about his success. It was something. He could actually do something that made a difference. Susan cheered him on and noted that it felt weird making love, like she was cheating on the old Bob.
Like all makeovers, it was limited in scope. His parents were still failing. His kids were still quarreling, his brother and his sister were both gravely ill, but Bob at least had done something. He had lost 50 pounds and gained a whole new wardrobe and none of it had made a damn bit of difference to anyone other than him, Susan, and his therapist, but it was something, some little thing that reminded him that change was indeed possible but limited to his own now much smaller self. Everything was not shit.
— DanielSouthGate
Good for Bob! You're really rooting for him and that's the sign of great characterization.
ReplyDeleteI used to work for Noom and you have it exactly right . It can be silly but it works if you follow the steps. I really love this character
ReplyDeleteGo Bob! Something he could control. "He could do something that made a difference" even if the people around him didn't change. He could/did change himself!
ReplyDeleteOh, you used the word "twee"! You get a prize! Also, very satisfying story. Go, Bob! ---Macoff
ReplyDelete