Social Support and Healthy Eating

So it was my first day back at home after several days away with friends. I had a great time with great people. However, I alternated between being good and being really bad. I take responsibility for that, but it's also really hard to be healthy when everyone else is having fun eating junk and having cocktails. So I was weak and joined the group.

Again.

Of course, this is my responsibility, and I accept that responsibility. What frustrates me, however, is that social support pretty radically changed when I stopped losing weight. My friends are lovely and happy for me, but I keep hearing things like, "Now that you're done losing, you can have an extra drink/unhealthy snack." Not always in so many words, of course, but in implication. When I talk about being careful and avoiding nasty foods, I get responses that suggest they think I'm being overly cautious. I hear, "Oh, but you're so thin now!" When I express concern about gaining some of the weight back, I get, "Oh, but you still look thin, so who cares?"  Or, "You weren't being that bad. Relax!"

I'm thin now because of all the hard work I put into it. I will only stay thin by working hard.  I will only be able to work hard if my friends and family accept my new way of thinking/living without the thinly veiled incredulity and the prodding toward unhealthy habits. While I am responsible for myself, I don't for a second believe that I can do this alone, or that I can do it in the face of pressure to conform back to my old habits.

The slippery slope toward being overweight will start with the good intentions of friends who want me to enjoy life. There's also the possibility that my healthy choices only highlight their own bad choices, which makes them feel bad or guilty. I understand that completely, and relate to it from my own past experiences, but I don't judge people for their choices so I wish they wouldn't judge mine. I just want this to be easy, and that is impossible if my friends and family don't help me make it easier by showing the same level of support that they did while I was losing weight.