Sunday, June 22, 2008
AN: The Case of the Crash Diet - Part Two, Alexandra: A Painter's Story - Part One
Sheila was awake when Basil came in with his cart of food. "I thought you'd never get here, I'm starving!" As she began eating, she realised that the lie was actually true. She was starving.
Basil waited for a few moments. "Go, I'm eating. You'll hear the rest later!"
When Basil came back, Sheila was full, as usual, and ready to continue.
The Case of the Crash Diet - Continued.
The woman was successful at work. She was successful with her diet. She was having success in her personal life. She dressed for success. She felt successful, she was successful.
At work she was rewarded for her success with greater responsibilities. She travelled more to meet with bigger clients. When she met clients, it was usually in catered boardrooms, or going out to fancy restaurants. She knew she had earned her success, she had earned the right to eat well.
With a busy work and social life, the woman no longer stuck with the diet that had brought her success. She eased into her old eating habits, quickly, as her body had really missed them.
Before long she found her weight creeping back up. She promised herself she'd try to exercise more, but she never found time. She promised she'd go back on her old diet, but it would be impossible with the food she was expected to eat at the meetings that were making her so much more successful.
She had to switch out her wardrobe for bigger clothes, which she had luckily kept. She noticed that her social calendar had more and more holes in it. Without even thinking about it, these holes were filled with more food.
Her weight continued to climb, not so gradually any more. Contacts wondered if she was okay. Sales were starting to dry up. She found herself home more and more, filling the time with more and more food.
She reached the size she was before the merger. Her sales were falling drastically, she was home alone with her cats and her fridge more than ever, and even her fat clothes were becoming perilously tight. Life was as mundane as ever, but she had tasted something more, and mundane wasn't going to cut it anymore.
Without any warning or probation she was let go from the company. Her sales had fallen, her weight had grown, and they wondered how dedicated she really was.
The woman started a tailspin, she would stay at home for days, only venturing out in overly tight clothes to buy more food, or maybe some new clothes. She quickly ate up her severance package, and found herself heading out to collect unemployment.
At the unemployment office she ran into one of her friends. Her friend commented on how big the woman had become, and why it had happened. The woman broke down into tears, explaining the crash diet, the new pressures and everything she had to do for work, and how it all came undone, and things were worse than ever.
Her friend consoled her, and told her that it wasn't right, that a job shouldn't have such control over her life. She consulted with some lawyers to see if the woman had a case against her company. It turned out that a lawyer, named Arnold, was actually looking for such a case, and would represent the woman in court pro bono.
The woman met with the lawyer. He was incredibly large, far larger than she was, in fact. He liked to eat while they met, and while he was very well mannered at the meetings, he did eat a lot. The woman found herself eating a lot too as they met.
As the case made its way through the various stages of the legal process, the stress was incredible on the woman. She continued to eat and gain weight, and Arnold even suggested that her increased weight would help the case.
Arnold took care of her, paying her rent, her food and clothing out of his own pocket. With his support, she became somewhat famous. Her weight skyrocketed, and by the time the court case was decided in her favour, she was Arnold's equal in girth, despite his own weight gain over the time.
The woman received a generous settlement that allowed her to live an idle life on a pacific island. She enjoyed both her fame in a groundbreaking case, and the ever growing frame that won her riches.
One of her favourite things was to read her fan mail, about the men and women who had learned to stand up for themselves, and gaining acceptance in a world that still hated fat.
The first letter she received was from Alexandra, a painter who overcame prejudice to gain acceptance amongst her peers.
Alexandra: A Painter's Story - Part One
Alexandra grew up in an ordinary family, in an ordinary agricultural town. Her parents worked on a farm. Her aunts and uncles worked on farms. Her grandparents had worked on farms, her cousins worked on farms. Everyone worked on a farm, except Alexandra. She wanted to paint.
From an early age she would create with her crayons and finger paints. She created images of fields of wheat, fields of corn, barns, silos and scenes from the country fair. No one had seen a child with so much interest in farming before her.
It wasn't until Alexandra was a teenager that people began to realise she painted farms because farms were all she saw. She hated farms, and when all her friends went to work on farms after school and in the summer, Alexandra desperately wanted to stay to herself and paint. She found herself often alone, and practically disowned by her family.
Aside from farming, Alexandra began to loathe ordinary agricultural town life itself. All her life she had eaten the same hearty home cooking. While she was an average size for the girls in the town, she was far bigger than any of the girls seen on TV. Alexandra longed to look like them, to be a real person!
The day Alexandra graduated from high school she took her meagre savings and travelled to the coast to attend school and become a real painter.
Alexandra's techniques were very well honed for an amateur, and her works blossomed with new inspirations and experiences. She earned a scholarship that covered her educational expenses, but she needed money to cover her living expenses. She naively went the 'starving artist' route, trying to sell paintings wherever she could. Alas, her well fed heartland body was far too fat to garner her any success as a starving artist.
Alexandra had to settle for menial jobs at fast food and small retail outlets. Soon she really was a starving artist though, and she revelled as years of well fed farm flab melted off her, and she gained the jaded, angular look that artists were to have.
She quit her jobs and began to sell her paintings. She began to develop a standing in the local art community, her paintings were better than ever, and she was among the thinnest artists on the scene too.
When she graduated with her bachelor of art history, she had numerous invitations to create paintings for prestigious collectors. Alexandra spent a year travelling the world, painting for the rich and famous in exotic and cosmopolitan locales.
When she came home, she was thinner, more angular than ever. One of her friends commented that with all that great food, it was a wonder that Alexandra could stay so thing. Alexandra replied that she was travelling to paint, not to eat. She was admonished, so few people get a chance to visit as many cultures as Alexandra had, if she didn't eat the local cuisine, everyone would think she was some sort of hick farm girl.
Alexandra had worked so hard to escape the farm, the very thought that anyone could still see her as hick enraged her. She exploded at her friends, and vowed to show them just how cultured she could be.
She worked on a masters degree, studying with renowned artists and historians across the globe. This time though, she took the time to focus on the culture, history, art and food of the various lands she came to.
Alexandra was extremely glad to have had her eyes opened. Painting was such a small part of life, of culture, of history. She learned about other forms of art, sculpture, poetry, dance, and cooking. Alexandra learned how cooking could encapsulate so much about a culture, the history of their land, contact with other cultures, what they value among the different classes. Tastes, textures, smells, techniques, the sounds of a busy kitchen, the quiet of an exquisite meal. Alexandra had grown up in the very heartland of food production, and yet now she understood what food meant, and how much culture she had simply dismissed.
Upon completing her masters degree, Alexandra's lank angles had been replaced by round curves. Her harsh expression was softer and happier as well. The world had so much to offer, and she was going to partake as much as she could!
She took a year off from study and began to experiment in cooking. She visited with different chefs, made her own attempts at fusion cuisine, trying to tie together histories and cultures in many ways from logical to utterly bizarre. Her many creations ran an enormous gamut from completely unpalatable to rivalling anything a king had ever dined upon.
Alexandra's year of food had a great impact on her weight, she was now bigger than she ever had been before, but she saw it as a badge of the experiences she had allowed herself. It also had a great impact on her finances, all of her savings had been used up, it was time to paint again.
Once it was known that Alexandra was painting again friends and associates quickly put together a show for her, and she created several works to show off her new found appreciation of the world. The night of her show was very tense, everyone wanted to see what she had learned on her sabbaticals (for few knew what she had been up to, they assumed it was a sabbatical). When the art was revealed, it was as magical as everyone had expected.
However, when Alexandra waddled forth to accept her peers' acclaim, everyone fell silent. This wasn't the tortured Alexandra who saw the world through a scrappy, tortured light. Instead she was a fat, bourgeois consumer. She could barely stand the muttering as everyone quickly left, and few pieces of her work were actually purchased.
"But what's Alexandra going to do?" Basil asked as Sheila stopped speaking. "She's as good an artist as she ever was, what are these people thinking?"
Sheila just smiled, her eyes drooping partially shut.
Basil looked at her. "I know, I know, you need to sleep, I'll be back tomorrow."
Basil waited for a few moments. "Go, I'm eating. You'll hear the rest later!"
When Basil came back, Sheila was full, as usual, and ready to continue.
The Case of the Crash Diet - Continued.
The woman was successful at work. She was successful with her diet. She was having success in her personal life. She dressed for success. She felt successful, she was successful.
At work she was rewarded for her success with greater responsibilities. She travelled more to meet with bigger clients. When she met clients, it was usually in catered boardrooms, or going out to fancy restaurants. She knew she had earned her success, she had earned the right to eat well.
With a busy work and social life, the woman no longer stuck with the diet that had brought her success. She eased into her old eating habits, quickly, as her body had really missed them.
Before long she found her weight creeping back up. She promised herself she'd try to exercise more, but she never found time. She promised she'd go back on her old diet, but it would be impossible with the food she was expected to eat at the meetings that were making her so much more successful.
She had to switch out her wardrobe for bigger clothes, which she had luckily kept. She noticed that her social calendar had more and more holes in it. Without even thinking about it, these holes were filled with more food.
Her weight continued to climb, not so gradually any more. Contacts wondered if she was okay. Sales were starting to dry up. She found herself home more and more, filling the time with more and more food.
She reached the size she was before the merger. Her sales were falling drastically, she was home alone with her cats and her fridge more than ever, and even her fat clothes were becoming perilously tight. Life was as mundane as ever, but she had tasted something more, and mundane wasn't going to cut it anymore.
Without any warning or probation she was let go from the company. Her sales had fallen, her weight had grown, and they wondered how dedicated she really was.
The woman started a tailspin, she would stay at home for days, only venturing out in overly tight clothes to buy more food, or maybe some new clothes. She quickly ate up her severance package, and found herself heading out to collect unemployment.
At the unemployment office she ran into one of her friends. Her friend commented on how big the woman had become, and why it had happened. The woman broke down into tears, explaining the crash diet, the new pressures and everything she had to do for work, and how it all came undone, and things were worse than ever.
Her friend consoled her, and told her that it wasn't right, that a job shouldn't have such control over her life. She consulted with some lawyers to see if the woman had a case against her company. It turned out that a lawyer, named Arnold, was actually looking for such a case, and would represent the woman in court pro bono.
The woman met with the lawyer. He was incredibly large, far larger than she was, in fact. He liked to eat while they met, and while he was very well mannered at the meetings, he did eat a lot. The woman found herself eating a lot too as they met.
As the case made its way through the various stages of the legal process, the stress was incredible on the woman. She continued to eat and gain weight, and Arnold even suggested that her increased weight would help the case.
Arnold took care of her, paying her rent, her food and clothing out of his own pocket. With his support, she became somewhat famous. Her weight skyrocketed, and by the time the court case was decided in her favour, she was Arnold's equal in girth, despite his own weight gain over the time.
The woman received a generous settlement that allowed her to live an idle life on a pacific island. She enjoyed both her fame in a groundbreaking case, and the ever growing frame that won her riches.
One of her favourite things was to read her fan mail, about the men and women who had learned to stand up for themselves, and gaining acceptance in a world that still hated fat.
The first letter she received was from Alexandra, a painter who overcame prejudice to gain acceptance amongst her peers.
Alexandra: A Painter's Story - Part One
Alexandra grew up in an ordinary family, in an ordinary agricultural town. Her parents worked on a farm. Her aunts and uncles worked on farms. Her grandparents had worked on farms, her cousins worked on farms. Everyone worked on a farm, except Alexandra. She wanted to paint.
From an early age she would create with her crayons and finger paints. She created images of fields of wheat, fields of corn, barns, silos and scenes from the country fair. No one had seen a child with so much interest in farming before her.
It wasn't until Alexandra was a teenager that people began to realise she painted farms because farms were all she saw. She hated farms, and when all her friends went to work on farms after school and in the summer, Alexandra desperately wanted to stay to herself and paint. She found herself often alone, and practically disowned by her family.
Aside from farming, Alexandra began to loathe ordinary agricultural town life itself. All her life she had eaten the same hearty home cooking. While she was an average size for the girls in the town, she was far bigger than any of the girls seen on TV. Alexandra longed to look like them, to be a real person!
The day Alexandra graduated from high school she took her meagre savings and travelled to the coast to attend school and become a real painter.
Alexandra's techniques were very well honed for an amateur, and her works blossomed with new inspirations and experiences. She earned a scholarship that covered her educational expenses, but she needed money to cover her living expenses. She naively went the 'starving artist' route, trying to sell paintings wherever she could. Alas, her well fed heartland body was far too fat to garner her any success as a starving artist.
Alexandra had to settle for menial jobs at fast food and small retail outlets. Soon she really was a starving artist though, and she revelled as years of well fed farm flab melted off her, and she gained the jaded, angular look that artists were to have.
She quit her jobs and began to sell her paintings. She began to develop a standing in the local art community, her paintings were better than ever, and she was among the thinnest artists on the scene too.
When she graduated with her bachelor of art history, she had numerous invitations to create paintings for prestigious collectors. Alexandra spent a year travelling the world, painting for the rich and famous in exotic and cosmopolitan locales.
When she came home, she was thinner, more angular than ever. One of her friends commented that with all that great food, it was a wonder that Alexandra could stay so thing. Alexandra replied that she was travelling to paint, not to eat. She was admonished, so few people get a chance to visit as many cultures as Alexandra had, if she didn't eat the local cuisine, everyone would think she was some sort of hick farm girl.
Alexandra had worked so hard to escape the farm, the very thought that anyone could still see her as hick enraged her. She exploded at her friends, and vowed to show them just how cultured she could be.
She worked on a masters degree, studying with renowned artists and historians across the globe. This time though, she took the time to focus on the culture, history, art and food of the various lands she came to.
Alexandra was extremely glad to have had her eyes opened. Painting was such a small part of life, of culture, of history. She learned about other forms of art, sculpture, poetry, dance, and cooking. Alexandra learned how cooking could encapsulate so much about a culture, the history of their land, contact with other cultures, what they value among the different classes. Tastes, textures, smells, techniques, the sounds of a busy kitchen, the quiet of an exquisite meal. Alexandra had grown up in the very heartland of food production, and yet now she understood what food meant, and how much culture she had simply dismissed.
Upon completing her masters degree, Alexandra's lank angles had been replaced by round curves. Her harsh expression was softer and happier as well. The world had so much to offer, and she was going to partake as much as she could!
She took a year off from study and began to experiment in cooking. She visited with different chefs, made her own attempts at fusion cuisine, trying to tie together histories and cultures in many ways from logical to utterly bizarre. Her many creations ran an enormous gamut from completely unpalatable to rivalling anything a king had ever dined upon.
Alexandra's year of food had a great impact on her weight, she was now bigger than she ever had been before, but she saw it as a badge of the experiences she had allowed herself. It also had a great impact on her finances, all of her savings had been used up, it was time to paint again.
Once it was known that Alexandra was painting again friends and associates quickly put together a show for her, and she created several works to show off her new found appreciation of the world. The night of her show was very tense, everyone wanted to see what she had learned on her sabbaticals (for few knew what she had been up to, they assumed it was a sabbatical). When the art was revealed, it was as magical as everyone had expected.
However, when Alexandra waddled forth to accept her peers' acclaim, everyone fell silent. This wasn't the tortured Alexandra who saw the world through a scrappy, tortured light. Instead she was a fat, bourgeois consumer. She could barely stand the muttering as everyone quickly left, and few pieces of her work were actually purchased.
"But what's Alexandra going to do?" Basil asked as Sheila stopped speaking. "She's as good an artist as she ever was, what are these people thinking?"
Sheila just smiled, her eyes drooping partially shut.
Basil looked at her. "I know, I know, you need to sleep, I'll be back tomorrow."
Labels: A Journey to Fat Acceptance, Adiposity Nights, Alexandra: A Painter's Story, fiction, Part One, Part Two, The Case of the Crash Diet, weight gain
Monday, June 16, 2008
AN: Hog's Revenge - Part Two, The Case of the Crash Diet - Part One
Sheila awoke to Basil gently prodding her shoulder. "I want to hear the revenge story."
She rubbed her eyes and rolled over. "Food first, then story."
Basil grunted and left the room. He came back with his cart full of food. He stood tapping his feet.
"I'm going to be a while," She said as she opened the first container of food. "Come back later!"
Basil grunted again and left.
When he came back the food was again gone, and Sheila was dozing in the chair. He poked her shoulder again.
"Okay, okay, you've waited, here you go."
Hog's Revenge - Continued.
Upon meeting Michelle, Arnold vaguely recognised her. She was much larger now than she had been when Keith had brought her to that grad party. For a moment he almost balked at being forced to be as large as she was. He knew he couldn't afford the disgrace that was being held over him though.
The plan was simple, he merely needed to gain one pound a week until he was Michelle's size. He was allowed to go 3 straight weeks without a gain, but the weight had to be made up within 3 months.
Starting his gain was tough: Arnold had always been a bit of a fitness fanatic, and would much rather have a round of golf or a game of racquet ball than actually work. Turning down invitations made people wonder if something was up with him.
Within a month he finally got used to having less time on the course and on the court. He also found that he was getting much more work done, submitting work early, rather than repeatedly pushing deadlines.
Arnold's weight gain was slow though, he missed his targets a few times over the first few months. His body adjusted to getting less exercise, he was going to have to work on gaining weight. He began keeping treats at his desk, and he found people were more inclined to come by and help him out, helping him raise his caseload, and getting far better results.
By now Arnold's weight gain was becoming noticeable. His suits no longer fit, and going up stairs two at a time brought on a sweat. He bought new clothes, and took his time going up the stairs. His new suits drew universal praise. Juries responded to the gravitas that he now presented. He was winning cases that had seemed unwinnable.
A year into the blackmailing Arnold had gained 65 pounds. He wasn't even the biggest man in his law firm, but he was definitely becoming fat.
Arnold liked to snack during the day, just to make sure he got in the calories he needed. The worst things that he could endure were client meetings where there was nothing to eat. He began to have client meetings over lunch and dinner. Even though the meetings tended to be longer, allowing everyone a chance to eat, the clients loved the personal touch. The asked for Arnold by name, and more business flooded to the firm.
In the second year of blackmail, Arnold had managed to gain 100 pounds.
He was now a full partner, and possibly one of the most sought after human rights lawyers in the country. He made frequent TV appearances. His PR handlers wanted him to lose weight, but he was fond of saying that people didn't want a lawyer who seemed like he didn't know where his next meal was coming from. He also found that a well fed lawyer was much more inclined to do the kind of charity cases he was famous for.
Arnold finally reached Michelle's size, and the group of women destroyed their manufactured evidence. They were dismayed that their revenge had in fact boosted Arnold's career.
For his part, Arnold told them that their lesson had been valid, and that he would start focusing on size acceptance causes, as he was now as famous for his girth as his legal prowess.
In fact, the very day he was released of his weight gain obligations he announced his new case.
The Case of the Crash Diet - Part One
There was a woman who worked as a sales representative for a mid sized company. She travelled all across the region selling her companies wares. She was good at her job, but not great.
Good but not great. Middle of the road. Adequate. These were the by words of her life. She had certainly never set out to attain mediocrity, but she had carved out a life she considered pleasant.
She wasn't thin, but in the modern age her chubby frame was average. She'd passed all her classes at school, but never near the top. She'd preferred reading to playing when growing up, and while she had friends to go out with from time to time, she wasn't anyone's best friend. Except for perhaps her two cats, but they ignored her, as cats ignore anyone.
She really didn't mind though. She could have a worse job. She could have no friends at all. She could have cats that ruined her furniture. Finally she was thankful that she wasn't truly fat.
Eventually the woman's company was merged with another company in the same business. Everyone with redundant jobs was evaluated. Suddenly being a middle of the road saleswoman wasn't enough for the woman to keep her job.
She was put on probation, and told that if she lost weight she would probably boost her sales enough to keep her job.
She had tried dozens of fad diets over the year, but they hadn't worked, and she hadn't stuck with them. She'd lose 10 pounds, and gain 15. She had decided she was better of not losing weight for fear of gaining too much more. She hoped that the fear of losing her job would help her stick to a diet plan better than any others she had followed.
With the help of her friends, who were happy that she was finally doing something about her weight, the woman chose a diet. Like all the others before, it was a fad diet, but it guaranteed she'd lose 30 pounds in the first month. Since she had 3 months to lose 40, that sounded like a great plan.
It was hard mixing the limitations of what she could eat with travel, and the change to her eating habits certainly made the woman irritable. Her sales went down over the course of the month, but she did lose the guaranteed 30 pounds.
Her friends celebrated, and took her out to buy an all new wardrobe. For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful with all the clothes and attention she was getting!
Even though it was tough to maintain the diet, she felt like a million dollars, looked like a million dollars, and people bought from her. She had her best month of sales ever! She even lost the last 10 pounds.
Over the final month of her probation she had another record setting month. She even lost another 10 pounds.
She'd never dreamed of losing 50 pounds, but she had. She found the world was opening itself up to her. She was still a little overweight, but all it did was provide her with voluptuous curves that she dressed to accentuate. She was being approached by strange men. She was the first one her friends called, not the last. Even her cats liked to lay on her lap more often.
The woman was taken off probation, and was given praise for really working hard. She also went off the diet. Now that she'd lost the weight, it was time to eat real food again.
Basil grinned, "She's going to get fat again isn't she? It'll serve her right!"
Sheila feigned a yawn. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out."
She rubbed her eyes and rolled over. "Food first, then story."
Basil grunted and left the room. He came back with his cart full of food. He stood tapping his feet.
"I'm going to be a while," She said as she opened the first container of food. "Come back later!"
Basil grunted again and left.
When he came back the food was again gone, and Sheila was dozing in the chair. He poked her shoulder again.
"Okay, okay, you've waited, here you go."
Hog's Revenge - Continued.
Upon meeting Michelle, Arnold vaguely recognised her. She was much larger now than she had been when Keith had brought her to that grad party. For a moment he almost balked at being forced to be as large as she was. He knew he couldn't afford the disgrace that was being held over him though.
The plan was simple, he merely needed to gain one pound a week until he was Michelle's size. He was allowed to go 3 straight weeks without a gain, but the weight had to be made up within 3 months.
Starting his gain was tough: Arnold had always been a bit of a fitness fanatic, and would much rather have a round of golf or a game of racquet ball than actually work. Turning down invitations made people wonder if something was up with him.
Within a month he finally got used to having less time on the course and on the court. He also found that he was getting much more work done, submitting work early, rather than repeatedly pushing deadlines.
Arnold's weight gain was slow though, he missed his targets a few times over the first few months. His body adjusted to getting less exercise, he was going to have to work on gaining weight. He began keeping treats at his desk, and he found people were more inclined to come by and help him out, helping him raise his caseload, and getting far better results.
By now Arnold's weight gain was becoming noticeable. His suits no longer fit, and going up stairs two at a time brought on a sweat. He bought new clothes, and took his time going up the stairs. His new suits drew universal praise. Juries responded to the gravitas that he now presented. He was winning cases that had seemed unwinnable.
A year into the blackmailing Arnold had gained 65 pounds. He wasn't even the biggest man in his law firm, but he was definitely becoming fat.
Arnold liked to snack during the day, just to make sure he got in the calories he needed. The worst things that he could endure were client meetings where there was nothing to eat. He began to have client meetings over lunch and dinner. Even though the meetings tended to be longer, allowing everyone a chance to eat, the clients loved the personal touch. The asked for Arnold by name, and more business flooded to the firm.
In the second year of blackmail, Arnold had managed to gain 100 pounds.
He was now a full partner, and possibly one of the most sought after human rights lawyers in the country. He made frequent TV appearances. His PR handlers wanted him to lose weight, but he was fond of saying that people didn't want a lawyer who seemed like he didn't know where his next meal was coming from. He also found that a well fed lawyer was much more inclined to do the kind of charity cases he was famous for.
Arnold finally reached Michelle's size, and the group of women destroyed their manufactured evidence. They were dismayed that their revenge had in fact boosted Arnold's career.
For his part, Arnold told them that their lesson had been valid, and that he would start focusing on size acceptance causes, as he was now as famous for his girth as his legal prowess.
In fact, the very day he was released of his weight gain obligations he announced his new case.
The Case of the Crash Diet - Part One
There was a woman who worked as a sales representative for a mid sized company. She travelled all across the region selling her companies wares. She was good at her job, but not great.
Good but not great. Middle of the road. Adequate. These were the by words of her life. She had certainly never set out to attain mediocrity, but she had carved out a life she considered pleasant.
She wasn't thin, but in the modern age her chubby frame was average. She'd passed all her classes at school, but never near the top. She'd preferred reading to playing when growing up, and while she had friends to go out with from time to time, she wasn't anyone's best friend. Except for perhaps her two cats, but they ignored her, as cats ignore anyone.
She really didn't mind though. She could have a worse job. She could have no friends at all. She could have cats that ruined her furniture. Finally she was thankful that she wasn't truly fat.
Eventually the woman's company was merged with another company in the same business. Everyone with redundant jobs was evaluated. Suddenly being a middle of the road saleswoman wasn't enough for the woman to keep her job.
She was put on probation, and told that if she lost weight she would probably boost her sales enough to keep her job.
She had tried dozens of fad diets over the year, but they hadn't worked, and she hadn't stuck with them. She'd lose 10 pounds, and gain 15. She had decided she was better of not losing weight for fear of gaining too much more. She hoped that the fear of losing her job would help her stick to a diet plan better than any others she had followed.
With the help of her friends, who were happy that she was finally doing something about her weight, the woman chose a diet. Like all the others before, it was a fad diet, but it guaranteed she'd lose 30 pounds in the first month. Since she had 3 months to lose 40, that sounded like a great plan.
It was hard mixing the limitations of what she could eat with travel, and the change to her eating habits certainly made the woman irritable. Her sales went down over the course of the month, but she did lose the guaranteed 30 pounds.
Her friends celebrated, and took her out to buy an all new wardrobe. For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful with all the clothes and attention she was getting!
Even though it was tough to maintain the diet, she felt like a million dollars, looked like a million dollars, and people bought from her. She had her best month of sales ever! She even lost the last 10 pounds.
Over the final month of her probation she had another record setting month. She even lost another 10 pounds.
She'd never dreamed of losing 50 pounds, but she had. She found the world was opening itself up to her. She was still a little overweight, but all it did was provide her with voluptuous curves that she dressed to accentuate. She was being approached by strange men. She was the first one her friends called, not the last. Even her cats liked to lay on her lap more often.
The woman was taken off probation, and was given praise for really working hard. She also went off the diet. Now that she'd lost the weight, it was time to eat real food again.
Basil grinned, "She's going to get fat again isn't she? It'll serve her right!"
Sheila feigned a yawn. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out."
Labels: Adiposity Nights, FA, ffa, fiction, Hog's Revenge, Part One, Part Two, The Case of the Crash Diet, weight gain
