I was so sorry to hear the bagel story. But it does happen. You are a living reminder of what she has not been able to do - but it is not your problem. Sad, yes. I've hit the same thing with a dear friend. It's hard. But you have to draw the line and protect yourself.

I'm sure we've all also run up against the "oh, you don't have a weight problem! This is fantastic, surely you can have..." I almost always demur politely, but one time I lost it and got mean. I said "You know, urging that dessert on me is like urging an AA alcoholic to have a drink." We both felt terrible, but it was true.

So it is a tough road to hoe. We alienate or irritate friends, family and colleagues. Very few of them get it that it is a WOL, and that we *will* regain all of that weight if we abandon that WOL. So you have to become very selfish. After I'd lost a considerable amount of weight, my partner became my worst enemy on that front. I've "destroyed his interest in cooking." I'm very sorry about that, but on this I will not budge. (And I do all of the cooking, now.)

My sister lost almost 100 lbs on Atkins, then gained it all back because of family pressures about the meals.

So here's a question. I bet there are a lot of us who struggle to maintain because of external pressures. How to deal with that?