Harper looked herself up and down in the full length mirror and hated what she saw. Her cheeks were chubby and her chin was soft and large. The fat under her arms jiggled, and she pinched it in distaste. Her stomach was portly, much too large for her small frame. Harper’s legs were thick and beefy; she hated them so much she refused to wear shorts or skirts, even in the summer.

As she examined her thighs, Harper thought back to the first day she started dieting. At first, she tried to stop eating all together, but that was impossible. So she started counting calories, allowing herself 700 per day, but only her safe foods. All of Harper’s friends had perfect, lean bodies, and she wanted to be just like them.

Months went by, and people began to see a change in Harper. They said she looked gorgeous and thin, and asked how she lost so much weight. Boys began to notice her, and told her she was pretty. But Harper knew it wasn’t good enough, she had to lose more weight.

Harper started at her reflection again, disgusted. She was still fat and ugly. She sighed unhappily, and stood on her scale. The screen read eighty five pounds.