Thanks so much everyone. I feel like I called out the Big Guns here, and I know you speak the truth. Cold turkey. Tough message. It applies not only to "addiction" but also to "habituation" which has dragged me backwards many times. I won't be less than direct with my friend, and she knows it.

She hasn't responded to my latest terms, so I'm pretty sure that right now she doesn't want "thin" more than she wants ice cream. She's never succeeded at Step One and now she's feeling time's up. Hope she will see kindness and not judgment in my way of nudging her towards honesty.

This is SO important! Friend approaches "dieting" as punishment. I'm trying to persuade her of the freedom, satisfaction, and pleasure ahead if she will give herself the gift of a new way of thinking and eating. There are so many ways to make it good.

Now that I'm walking the talk pretty well again, I can hang around as a decent role model anyway. And nobody else can walk it for you, right?

Thanks for your thoughts.