Chapter 1

Melissa groaned as she lay flat on the bed, sucking in her stomach for all she was worth. The skin tight jeans were filled almost beyond capacity, and she struggled to close the zipper. She knew that the pants were way too small. In fact, she had worn them for several years since she was just a teenager. But she didn't want to reveal her weight "problem" to her fianc� Mark by shopping for new jeans. Mark never commented either positively or negatively about her weight, but she was terrified of putting on any more pounds than she had recently.

For several years, Melissa had enjoyed a completely unrestricted diet and never shown the effects. She remained a constant 112 pounds no matter how much or how little she ate. Regular helpings of cake and ice cream never caused her to gain even one pound, much to the incredible jealousy of her sister Tasha. Not that Tasha was by any means heavy at 135 pounds. In fact, Tasha had been the same height, weight and clothes size as Melissa up until 2 years ago. After she met Greg, however, she put on about 20 pounds and could no longer borrow most of Melissa's clothes. Now that they were married, Tasha's husband treated her like a queen and always had compliments for her looks, taste in clothes, and excellent home cooking. Melissa's fianc� also complimented her, and in fact showed no concern about her eating habits whatsoever. If anything, he heaped too much food on her plate or encouraged her to order rich meals and extravagant desserts when they went out to eat at a restaurant. Lately, this extra-rich eating had had an effect on Tasha, and she winced, recalling the fateful day when she stepped on the scale and it read a shocking 121 pounds.

Melissa didn't tell Mark about the recent weight gain, and vowed to lose the pounds quickly so it wouldn't be so difficult to wear tight jeans. She didn't think Mark had noticed the slight expansion of her belly or softening around her butt and thighs, but she didn't want to take the chance. "Next week I'm getting a membership at the gym," she vowed.