First of all: thank you so so much for this detailed review! It delivers me so much feedback that I didn't have before. In the future I will definitely be making adjustments to many of the things you pointed out!
Now onto your feedback and game experience.
You have pointed out a few things that combined might've resulted in a worse experience than intended - for which the fault is mine. Liora's route is probably the least focused on weight gain during this arc. There are three different routes in total in Chapter 1. Rosalind's, Liora's and Emilia's. Of the three Emilia's is the most significantly focused on weight gain. So if you have any will to try again, I recommend aiming to please Emilia! :D
As to opportunities for weight gain and how the choices work. I have built a system in which nearly all of your choices matter. Some of them raise a character's relationship status, others raise their weight points. If you gain enough weight points, then their sprite changes to a heavier one. And in case of the mansion scene, every dish you serve to Rosalind, raises her weight by 1. There were a few choices earlier too which combined will result in her weight gain. She even has a special scene before you go to the Ljosvaettir ruins if her weight did increase after the house trap!
I absolutely agree it could use some identification that a choice you made had an impact on the relationship or the weight. Initially I didn't intend on having THIS many choices in the game.
I will be definitely making adjustments to combat too. Thanks for the suggestions. It's totally doable and I think the correct thing to implement! I was also thinking on how to make the traditional draw mechanic more interactive so you can influence the cards you actually want on your hand. I thought for example each turn could begin with a look at your top 4-6 cards then you pick two that you actually want then reshuffle.
I think I could definitely play around with the intensity of weight gain in chapter 1 as well. And yes, chapter 2 will have significantly more weight gain content focus! Including Liora - if she joined your party permanently.
So thank you so much again for all of this feedback. It's an incredibly valuable thing to me!
And I hope my response gives you some reassurance about the future content of the game :D