My co-workers keep making quips about my lifestyle choices, and I don't have any friends for mutual support on this.
First, THE OFFICE. I became known for bringing in Subway sandwiches at work, which spawned all kinds of amusing comments about my eating that weren't outright insulting at first. I don't especially LOVE Subway, but it is conveniently located near my office to let me get a walk in while keeping my calorie intake at a reasonable level. Most of the office orders food, and even the people I sometimes convince to come with me on these walks would prefer to go to McDonald's (now closed) or Jack in the Box. For whatever reason, all these factors have culminated into a fair bit of teasing about my lifestyle choices. At lunch, an obese co-worker (he's a good person, really) will point out I'm eating the same thing every day, act shocked I can eat so much because he "really can't eat that much" (yeah, you can't because you sneak in meals and candy every five minutes!), and keep reminding us he HATES vegetables to a point where they make him THROW UP. This is getting very annoying.
A work friend texted me a while back about how fat he was getting, then promptly refused to keep up the stairwell exercise regiment I recommended, and never stopped his diet of leftover fried chicken, pizza, and other fast foods. Then, recently, he posts one of those dumb Domino's salad ads on my Facebook to make fun of how I apparently force everyone to eat salad? (I don't even eat salad.) ANOTHER buddy at work will make very eyeroll-inducing jokes about my lifestyle like, "You're here for free food? I would have thought food would make you run the other way!" Again, nothing outright insulting, but they're really not being very funny at this point. I'm also confused because people keep telling me they want to change themselves as well, but no one really seems wholly committed and the terrible jokes keep coming. Throughout all of this, they insist I'm already very thin.. when I'm not at all. Heck, I weigh just under 135, and that's hardly close to thin for my height.
I'm hoping they get bored after long enough and let me live in peace.
Second, NON-WORK FRIENDS. Friends are starting to creep out of the woodwork with announcements of wanting to make changes as well. Some are a little overweight, a few are outright obese. I get excited at the idea of having people to talk to about my weight loss, about not 110 percent HATING my body for the first time in my life, about the freedom and all that good stuff...
But no. No one seems to stay committed for more than a few weeks. I have a friend who's more interested in fad dieting for the sake of fashion than being health conscious, so he's not the most fun to talk to about this stuff. Others fall off the MFP wagon days into their commitment, while announcing they love food too much and starvation mode. One woman ignored my advice about trying to cut portion control and working on a sustainable lifestyle by promptly announcing her plans to go on a "liquid diet" with her other obese friend. I can't connect with them about health at all, because whenever I try to announce milestones in my treatment or mention liking how I look, finally, at age 30, I am met with so much stifling awkwardness.
I've been working incredibly hard to maintain a healthy weight through my thyroid issues, after my last bought with symptoms and medication left me pushing 160 lb. at 5'3". I just wish I had people to confide in within my immediate circle of acquaintances. I just BARELY got my own mother to accept my lifestyle shift after I sat her down to explain to her I've done a lot of research on weight loss, and that this is a change I want to better the rest of my life. Had to cite her deceased father and obese siblings to get through to her (I hope she'll slowly pick up after my habits too).