Dear Maggie,

From following your blogs and your website, I know you’re quite knowledgeable about fitness, so I thought of you when I realized I needed some advice on this topic. I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life, and relatively recently, something changed inside my mind. I don’t know what, but I suddenly knew I wasn’t going to be this way anymore. I got into a weight loss program (Weight Watchers Online) and have really stuck with it. For six months now, I’ve been losing slowly but steadily—thirty pounds so far, and I have about that many to go.

But suddenly, the happy support I got at the beginning from many of my friends and some of my family members, has changed into anything but. My husband, who was thrilled at first, now rolls his eyes when I weigh and measure my food before a meal, and he complains about the healthy meals I cook for us, and he brings things into the house that he knows will tempt me cruelly. He’s free to eat all the junk food he wants while he’s out, which is all day every week day. But it’s hard for me to have it in the house, especially when I’m home alone.

My mother used to compliment me on my progress. Now she says I look sickly and am getting “too thin.” (I don’t think size sixteen is too thin by anyone’s standards, do you?)

My best friend seems to be acting oddly too. Three times in the past month, she’s shown up at my house with goodies to share. I keep telling her how hard it is for me to resist temptation when it’s shoved in my face like that, and that she’s not doing me any favors. She says I deserve a reward after all my hard work, and it won’t kill me to splurge with her once in a while.

What in the world is going on? And how do I deal with it?

Signed,

“Shrinking” Violet

Dear Violet,

First of all CONGRATULATIONS! You are doing something that so many want to do, but few ever manage. And Weight Watchers is my personal favorite of any program out there. You are kicking butt, and you should be proud.