It was an all liquid diet. So far it has shown Delilah the best results as far as she was concerned. Over the past year she had tried all kinds of diets. She'd tried Atkins, the cabbage soup diet, hell she even tried the apple cider vinegar diet. None worked as well as this one though. She had lost a total of fifteen more pounds in the last two months but still she felt fat.

Standing on the scale, she watched for the digital numbers to appear again. She would step off and on the scale several times more before she was satisfied the number that kept appearing was correct. Sighing, she wrapped herself in her fluffy bathrobe and padded barefoot into her bedroom avoiding the mirrored closet doors adjacent to her dresser. Someday she would be able to look at herself in those mirrors without feeling huge. Someday she would be able to wear clothes that weren't loose fitting to hide the fat she knew was there.

She always wore pants that were closer to sweatpants than anything else because then you couldn't see her thighs jiggling at every step, nor could you see every dimple in her backside. No matter how warm the California weather was, she only wore long sleeves to hide the bit of hanging fat from her triceps on her arms. It was horrible and she tried to hide it as much as she could, only wearing smart clothes when she had meetings at work.

Oh how she hated those days. She could feel every stare and hear every whisper from all of her co-workers when she was forced to wear snug clothing. She saw their looks of disgust and she did her best not to show any emotion or reveal that she knew what they thought of her appearance-- they knew she was fat and so did she.

Some would even try to lie to her and tell her she looked great since everyone at work knew she'd been dieting continuously for the last 12 months. She would smile her thanks, but inside Delilah knew that they were just being kind. She knew that by this time there should be some noticeable difference. But there just wasn't and she'd had no choice but to keep dieting no matter how hard it was.

Her every thought was about food it seemed. Her parents tried to convince her to stop dieting, they told her that she looked fine, even going as far as saying she was too thin, but she knew they were just trying to get her to accept her big boned body just like her Aunt Josie who weighed at least 325 pounds and didn't care one bit. Well that was fine for Aunt Josie, but not for Delilah. She couldn't believe her family or her co-workers simply because she wasn't blind. She knew that being 97 pounds when you were 5 feet 6 inches tall was NOT thin. They just didn't understand.

Keyword: don't read beauty magazines they'll only make you feel fat

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Comments (21)

Posted by r.e.potter 2008-07-21 21:39:44 skeleton story Not much in a story sense but great little(no pun)message to all you girls that tip the scale a tad. Know what your desired weight should from a medical chart and diet healthfully until you reach that goal. Actually, this was a good story cause its so true for so many....They just don't know when to quit....btw,,way to skinny models are a dying breed...I needs me some meat on dem bones. + Report this comment
Posted by Mokusa 2008-07-21 22:02:52 .... Wow. That was pretty powerful. That ending hit me as almost sounding like the punch-line to a joke. Very well done. Is there more in store for this character? + Report this comment
Posted by lemon 2008-07-21 22:09:14 Is there more in store? I dont think so.. I watched one of those lame 'lifetime' movies the other day and it inspired me to write this lol + Report this comment
Posted by C.R. Vard 2008-07-21 23:13:37 .... a well written. it was a little too short for me but there were no loose ends or anything, so overall a satisfying read. + Report this comment
Posted by Julian 2008-07-22 01:35:22 .... The picture kinda betrayed the twist at the end but good piece. Dealing with real issues is always a good way to write a good story. Well written, well done. + Report this comment
Posted by Zombie Punk 2008-07-22 09:18:45 .... The story seemed sort of bland, but it got its point across in the right length. I feel so-so about this one. Maybe I would have liked it better if I didnt already know the ending (the picture kinda spoiled it, ya know?). But it was well written with a plot in mind and you got that plot down. So good job! + Report this comment
Posted by Gryffin 2008-07-22 09:51:47 .... The story agrees with the fact that females are put under alot of stree to be skinny to feel beautiful. supermodels put way to much pressure on what's beautiful. Great story and awsome message. + Report this comment
Posted by jcox21 2008-07-22 11:04:10 A good start What you've got is solid, but I would put it at a level far away from a final draft. You need to expand on what you have, introduce one or two more characters and incorporate some dialogue. There are many places you could go with this; you could write a scene where she goes to the grocery store (basically to buy nothing), or maybe introduce a stressful conversation with a close friend/relative where she is confronted (keeping your ending-which is stunning and amazing by the way-still hidden). It could have a much better title and several more descriptive comparisons-it was as if and so forth, it was like and etc. It flows nicely. I understand what's going on and am never confused (I see that all the time elsewhere). It's a good idea for a story and it is person-oriented, rather than a story that focuses on events that are taking place. Reminds me of something I would see in The New Yorker. + Report this comment
Posted by CDeCarlo 2008-07-22 11:50:12 .... I like how it deals with a real issue. Many people don't understand that girls DO feel this way. They are really good at hiding what theyre thinking and I like how you showed her mistrust in people's comments. She took them but she didn't believe them. It was short, but short is good sometimes. Nice work. + Report this comment
Posted by lost 2008-07-22 14:51:11 :D awwww!!! jeez! i had to re-read that ending about three times. thats sad cause it is sooooo true. i know to many people who look amazeing but never feel like they do. self esteem has really gotten low. i wish people could see that every one is different. NO ONE LOOKS LIKE A MODEL! even models dont look like models! their pictures are AIRBRUSHED! LADIES! YOU ARE BEAUTIFULL THE WAY YOU ARE!! + Report this comment
Posted by philneale1952 2008-07-22 15:30:55 .... Amen to that. Too much pressure put on by society's picture of the 'perfect' woman. There's is no such thing. Look around; we're all different and fit together in a variety of ways. Forget Kate Moss, and give me the sultriness of Monroe anytime. Nice tale. Phil + Report this comment
Posted by lemon 2008-07-22 18:57:44 .... Thanks everyone for the comments. I've changed the picture because it did kind of give the ending away. sorry jcox21, but I won't be making this any longer. The story was meant to be short and to the point. =] + Report this comment
Posted by ams 2008-07-22 19:21:23 .... even without the picture, i kinda saw the ending coming. idk why, it might b because it is really realistic and many girls do view themselves that way. i knew a girl who was skinny but she would never eat anything for lunch because she was afraid of getting fat. it was a really nicely written story though and i dont think that it needs to be any longer. + Report this comment
Posted by Something Indecent 2008-07-22 20:03:45 .... I agree with the r.e.p. bone models are completely not hot. They need A. Flesh, B. Soft parts, and C. Socks. That's all I need. I actually thought from the title of this it was going to be a comedy piece. That last line was funny. The rest was just sad......:( :) + Report this comment
Posted by resistanceisfreedom 2008-07-22 20:28:32 .... yea, i was able to see the ending to this pretty early into the story. so, this piece really didn't do too much for me..although i could take hold of what you were saying because i have known girls who say they are constantly fat, but in my eyes they are nothing of the sort. + Report this comment
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