New Year’s resolutions were kind of Tony’s thing. Every year he made a promise to himself to improve his life in some way to become a better person, and, for the most part, it worked.



In 2016, Tony declared he would quit cigarettes cold turkey. He hadn’t even thought of touching one in the three years since. In 2017, Tony swore he would put more effort into his relationships and ended up meeting the girl of his dreams, a wonderful woman named Isabelle, via an online dating site. In 2018, Tony focused on his career. He put in more hours at the office and ended up being promoted just in time for the Christmas bonuses to roll out.



2019 was a tricky year for Tony. His life was already as perfect as he could imagine it, well, except for one thing. Tony had never been the most physically fit guy. He wasn’t ever unhappy with his appearance, it was more of a confidence thing.



Every year Tony debated whether or not he should make his resolution to lose weight, and every year he was turned off by his coworkers ranting about how the gyms filled up every January with fresh meat who wouldn’t make it though the month, though they admitted that it was the best time of year to pick up chicks. Tony knew he wouldn’t be among those who quit when February rolled around, but still, the thought of dozens of buff jocks staring him down every time he went to lift or step on the treadmill was unsettling.



This was Tony’s year. He shook the doubts and fear from his mind and declared to his girlfriend that he would start hitting the gym every day after work come January first. On the last day of 2018, he proudly marched into the closest gym to his office and started a membership. They offered him a special deal, something they called the “New Year, New Me Package.” It was an all inclusive bundle that came with the gym membership and a month supply of the gym’s patented protein formula that could be used to make shakes at home after a workout. Tony figured it was worth the extra $5 and signed himself up.



When work concluded the next day, Tony grabbed his duffle bag from under his desk and headed right on down the street. The gym was packed. Tony expected it to be busy from what he gleaned from his coworkers’ conversations, but he hadn’t anticipated this. The treadmills were full. The ellipticals were all occupied. Every weight was off the shelves.



Tony signed and sat on a bench inside as he waited for something to open up. He watched the Resolutioners (as he called them) struggle to find their bearings. Some of them seemed confident enough, but how hard was it to use a treadmill? Others looked at the machines they claimed like birds inspecting a suspicious seed. They read the instructions printed on the metal and tried to follow them step by step to varying degrees of success.



The Resolutions looked awkward, but Tony refused to make jeers or judge them like the buffs with the weights who watched the newcomers from the back of the open room. Instead, Tony sat in silence, wondering where all the girls were. Most of today’s gym-goers were male. It didn’t look like such a good place to pick up chicks as the people at his office had claimed. They must go at a different hour, Tony thought.



Eventually a stair-stepper opened up. Tony hopped on it before anyone else saw it was available and popped in his headphones. He pushed himself as hard as he could, soaking himself with sweat in the process. He finished his workout, picked up his daily serving of the gym’s protein powder, and went home.



Isabelle showered Tony with kisses when he arrived at their apartment. She praised him for his commitment and claimed he was already starting to look a little more sculpted. Tony smiled at her compliments, but refused to take them to heart. One day’s worth of praise would not bring him to his ultimate goal.



Tony mixed his protein shake while Isabelle made them dinner. They ate and celebrated the New Year together with some wine and a bit of fun on the couch before bed. They enjoyed each other, allowing themselves to stay up later in to the night than they usually did during the week. Neither of them had their minds on getting up for work the next day. They only thought of each other and the times they would share in the years to come.



When all was said and done, Tony and his partner wandered lazily into the bedroom. They ended up passing out naked on top of the covers, neither of them possessing enough energy or will to go through the normal steps of their bedtime routine.



Tony passed out in a matter of minutes, his entire body sore from the exercise he did earlier in the day and just moments ago on the couch. As he drifted into sleep, Tony thought of the gym and the things he might do there tomorrow. His thoughts carried on into his dreams and soon his imagination took control.



Tony saw images flash through his mind. He saw the weights and the various machines scattered throughout the gym. He saw people exercising and mingling all around the room. He was on the stair-stepper he had used previously. His legs moved in rhythmic, elliptical motions, but he felt nothing.



Tony looked down at the screen on the machine’s main console. The various statistics it tracked were displayed in a bright red, digital font. The time remaining ticked down from five minutes while the calories burned ticked upward at an accelerating rate. Tony watched the numbers flash, going from double digits to triple and into the several hundreds before a whole minute had the chance to pass.



Tony felt his clothing brush against his skin. His t-shirt was looser than he remembered. He reached a hand down from the handles and lifted his shirt upward to reveal his stomach. It had shrunken substantially, the fat that once covered it nearly completely gone, and what remained was disappearing before his eyes.



The calorie count continued to rise and Tony pressed himself to work harder. He swung his legs and pressed his arms against the bars he held tightly in his fingers. Tony could feel his muscles burning under his skin. They grew hot and beads of sweat began to form on Tony’s body. His clothing clung to his skin as it became soaked.



The clock ticked down on the screen. Tony was determined to press himself until the very end. He closed his eyes as he pushed harder. The strain on his body became immense and Tony began to feel strange, unfamiliar sensations, all of which he attributed to the intensity of his workout. His chest throbbed. It felt as though he had hung weights over his shoulders that bounded up and down with each step he climbed.



A soft swishing filled Tony’s ears. It came to him in waves, perfectly in line with each rotation of his legs on the machine. It also coincided with a soft brushing Tony felt against his back. He assumed it was his clothes, which appeared to be doing a worse job at covering his body. Though they were soaked in sweat and clung to his skin, Tony felt the cool chill of the air against his midriff.



The clock on the stair-stepper beeped and Tony slowed himself to a halt. He staggered off the machine and spent several long minutes with his hands clasp firmly on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath. He expected the world to be spinning around him, given his fatigue, but everything was strangely still and an eerie silence had washed over the gym.



Tony looked around. All of the machines were empty. The weights that were not on their shelves were left in seemingly random patterns on the floor. Tony turned, looking for any signs of life, but all he saw was one person staring at him from far across the room. He raised his hand to wave at them. They mimicked his action.



Tony took a breath and began making his way toward the lone individual. His legs felt different. They were like spaghetti under his body, making his stride awkward and unnatural. Still, he focused on the person ahead of him. They moved toward him as he progressed toward them, matching every one of Tony’s steps with his own.



As Tony grew nearer to his fellow gym-goer, he began to notice more details about them. They were female, it seemed, with long brown hair and fair skin. She wore a black sports bra that didn’t do a particularly good job at holding down her sizable breasts. Her shorts certainly lived up to their name, seeming to serve more like glorified underwear than something a person would deem appropriate to wear in public.



“Hi, have you…” Tony began as he approached the woman. He paused as he heard the words leave his mouth. They were all wrong, certainly not the way he had expected them to sound. His voice was higher in pitch, soft and feminine. It was as though the woman before him had spoken the words he thought in his mind. He tilted his head in confusion, the woman did the same. Tony blinked and saw the woman’s large, brown eyes flutter open as his did.



Tony reached a hand out toward his counterpart. Sure enough, her hand followed his exactly. Their fingers met on the cold surface of a polished mirror. Tony stared at his reflection for a moment before glancing down at himself. His eyes were met with a different view of what the mirror had already shown him. His chest rose above his body, hidden beneath a black sports bra that clung tightly to his skin. His stomach was flat and perfectly curved on the sides. His hips were wide, barely hidden by the skimpy gym shorts that covered them.



This can’t be happening, Tony thought to himself. His petite hands caressed his smooth skin as he inspected his body. He was soft and rather well toned. With this body, there was little reason for him to be at the gym aside from maintenance. His hands curiously flicked at the elastic strap that ran around his waist. With a bite of the lip, he slipped his fingers beneath the fabric.



A sudden beeping caused Tony to jolt awake. He sat up in his bed, his head aching from the rush. He absently threw his hand at the alarm clock on his dresser, landing it right on top of the snooze button. A deep sigh caused the hair that hung over his face to blow to the side.



“Good morning, Ton-“ Isabelle began, her words interrupted with a scream. Tony turned to her, his vision somewhat obscured through his messy hair. Isabelle fell off the bed with a thump as she pushed herself away from Tony.



“Wh- who are you?” Isabelle demanded. She brought the bed sheets with her as she backtracked away from the bed, covering her chest and groin.



“What do you mean?” Tony asked. He instinctively brushed his hair behind his ear as he blinked to wake up his eyes. His mind was still hazy from his restless dream of exercise and…



Tony looked down at himself. Large breasts hung from his naked body. The features he had seen himself having in his dream, his gracious curves and toned body, had persisted into the waking world.



“I… I’m Tony!” Tony shouted. “I.. I just don’t… Isabelle! What happened to me?”



Isabelle face contorted in confusion, but a moment of watching Tony twist and turn as he inspect himself in disbelief was enough to make the connection click in her mind.



“Tony?” Isabelle asked. She took a step toward the bed as she reached out a hand toward the woman before her.



“Yes,” Tony confirmed with a broken voice. He felt as though he were about to break down into sobs. Tears were already beginning to well in his eyes. He buried his face in his small hands to hide himself from the world. A gentle pat on the head brought him little comfort as his palms began to fill with tears.



“It’ll be okay, Tony,” Isabelle said softly. She ran her hands through Tony’s hair in slow, loving strokes.



“No it won’t,” Tony cried. “Look at me. I… I don’t even know how this happened.”



“We can… we can figure it out,” Isabelle assured him.



“I dreamed about this last night,” Tony explained. “I was at the gym and… and this kind of just happened.”



Isabelle continued to stroke Tony’s hair as she thought things over. “Maybe you should go to the gym then? They might know something. I can call out of work for you. I’ll tell them you’re sick.”



“You want me to go out like this?” Tony asked. He motioned to his body as he stared at Isabelle, not sure if she was being serious.



“Is there something wrong with a lady going to the gym?” Isabelle asked.



“No,” Tony answered, “but I’m not a lady.”



“Nobody needs to know who you are,” Isabelle explained. “Just go to the gym and ask some questions. You can borrow some of my clothes!”



Tony sniffled as he considered what Isabelle had suggested. As much as he hated to admit it, she was probably right. There must have been some connection between the gym and what happened to him. His visit had been the only thing that had been different with his normal routine yesterday.



“Okay,” Tony said softly. “But will you go with me?”



“Oh, honey,” Isabelle said, “I can’t, I’m sorry. Somebody has to go to work today. We still have bills to pay.”



“But this is an emergency!” Tony pleaded. “I don’t want to go alone!”



“You’re a big girl,” Isabelle said with a wink. “I believe in you.”



“Do not call me that,” Tony spat. Isabelle giggled a little as she rose from the bed and began digging through her dresser. Tony sat on the bed with his arms crossed over his chest as Isabelle laid out Tony’s outfit for the day. He couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of putting on the panties and bra his partner had laid out for him.



“All set,” Isabelle said. She motioned to the clothes on the bed. “You’ll blend right in down at the gym. Nobody will suspect a thing.”



“Okay…” Tony uttered. He got out of bed and begrudgingly began to dress.



Isabelle and Tony put their clothes on together with Isabelle giving Tony some help with getting his breasts into his sports bra. As awkward as it was, Tony had enjoyed the feeling of his girlfriends hands fondling him, but he didn’t dare admit that to her. When they were done dressing, the two said their goodbyes and gave each other a quick kiss before heading out for the day.



Tony’s commute to the gym was uneventful. The entire ride he thought what he would say to the person at the front desk. He had so many questions and no idea how to ask any of them. His long finger nails tapped on the steering wheel as the stress slowly ate away at him.



Tony sat in his car at the parking lot for several minutes, trying to work up the courage to go inside. He forced himself to breathe slowly and count to three before grabbing his duffle bag and heading inside.



The gym was just as crowded now as it had been the day prior, only this time, Tony noted that there were substantially more females around than during his last visit. He saw several women chatting with the jocks at the back of the room who struggled to lift weights they were probably unaccustomed to in order to impress their spectators.



The woman at the front desk was typing away at a computer when Tony approached her. She made a few dozen strokes on her keyboard before lifting her head to acknowledge Tony’s presence.



“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked cheerfully.



“I… uh… I have a question about a few things,” Tony explained.



“Certainly!” the receptionist chimed, “and what might those things be?”



“Well,” Tony began, “two days ago I signed up here as a member. I got your ‘New Year, New Me’ package, and it seems that maybe the gym or the shake or something might have had some… unexpected results?”



“Unexpected?” the receptionist asked. “Whatever do you mean by that?”



“Uhhh, well, you see, I was kind of a guy yesterday?” Tony said. It was more straight forward than he would have liked, but he couldn’t think of another way to ask. “I know it sounds weird, but I swear it’s the truth.”



“Is that not what you signed up for?”



“What?”



“The change, is that not what you wanted?” the receptionist asked. She typed a few things in her computer. “Tony?”



“Yes,” Tony answered. “Tony, I mean. My name is Tony, and, no, I didn’t sign up for this. Whatever you mean by that.”



“You said you signed up for the ‘New Year, New Me’ package,” the receptionist said. “That’s all inclusive.”



“This was part of it?” Tony asked.



The receptionist nodded, “It was all in the contract. I guess whoever signed you up didn’t go over everything with you. Still, there were warning labels printed on your protein powder.”



“The protein powder…” Tony said. “I… Why? What? Why would anyone sign up for this?”



“To be a new person going into the new year,” the woman explained. “Isn’t that clear from the name?”



“I guess so, but… but why a woman?” Tony asked.



“Woman, man, whichever you want. We have formulas for both.”



“So you could change me back?” Tony asked.



The receptionist nodded. “Would you like me to put you down for a change of formula?”



“Yes, please,” Tony said. He breathed a sigh of relief as the receptionist started typing away at the keyboard.



“Alright, you’re all set.”



“Thank you,” Tony said. “Can I have that now?”



“We will need some time to prepare it for you. We could have it ready in about an hour.”



Tony nodded. “Okay,” he said. He turned from the reception desk and looked around the gym. If he was to wait an hour, he might as well be doing something productive.



Tony strode across the room. His stride felt more natural than in his dream and Isabelle’s shoes were comfortable under his feet. Still, Tony felt out of place in his body. He kept his arms close to himself, trying to keep as little of the cleavage on his chest visible as possible.



Tony heard the soft murmuring of the jocks as he passed. They made comments on his figure and looks. He knew cat calling was something generally frowned upon, but he could not help but blush a little as he caught wind of the compliments people had to offer. Nobody had really ever told him he looked good, save for Isabelle.



The stair-stepper Tony had used the day before was open so he took it without as second thought. He set the timer for an hour and started his workout. His legs began their rhythmic, elliptical motion and Tony retreated within his mind.



Tony thought about everything that happened to him since he woke up, and even the things in his dream. Isabelle’s reaction to his transformation had been poor at first, but she seemed to warm up to him rather quickly after she learned the woman in her bed was still Tony. The way Isabelle had stroked Tony’s hair, the feeling of her hands on Tony’s breasts… the feelings had been foreign to Tony before today, and somehow that felt wrong. Tony liked his hair stroked. He liked his chest squishing under the hands of his love. He liked the hushed words of the guys and girls that saw him stride passed them at the gym.



The more Tony thought, the more confident he became. He pushed himself harder on the machine until he eventually broke a sweat and felt his lungs struggle to keep up with his pace. Time flew by and eventually the timer ticked to zero. Tony hopped off the machine, feeling better than he ever had in his life.



Tony strode across the gym confidently, not bothering to try to hide his new body from the world. He retrieved his duffel bag and made his way to the receptionist.



“Hello, Tony,” the receptionist said with a smile. “We have the formula you requ-“



“Actually,” Tony interrupted, “can I have what I originally signed up for? I’m thinking about trying it out for a while longer.”



“Of course you can!” the receptionist grinned. She rose from her chair and disappeared into the room behind the desk before reemerging with a small bottle of protein powder. “Here you go,” she said as she placed it in front of Tony.



“Thank you very much,” Tony said happily. He grabbed the bottle and put it in his duffle bag.



“Oh,” the receptionist said, “before you go. Since you decided to keep going with the package, would you like to change you name in the system? Most of our customers do.”



“Tonya would work,” Tony said with a smiled. “It’s familiar, yet different.”



“Will do!” the receptionist said. She began typing on her keyboard.



Tonya nodded and made her way out of the gym. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky. The day was just beginning and Tonya had so many things she wanted to try. She stood in the parking lot for a few moments, taking in the crispy January air and the beautiful blue sky. A chill wind started to blow and Tonya decided it was time to leave. She made her way to her car, ready to begin her journey through the new year as her new self.