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She's just doing it to get attention. Its why people love watching Real Housewives or all those other reality shows - some people just LOVE having the drama and having their adrenaline and endorphins all jacked up with having someone to fight or attack. She's a narcissist and obviously has mental health issues. Like, if your MIL was a heroin addict, you wouldn't like try to engage her or reason with her because....she's a crazy addict. Logic ain't working here.

Just cut your losses. I've said this before, but you cannot control this person's reactions or how they act at all. Don't let her rob you of the joy you have in your own life. And if you don't have as much joy in your life as you want, then focus the time and energy you would give this crazy person into things that make YOU happy.

@bubblegum: Definitely agree - family issues are so hard! You can't just cut them out of your life without soooooo much guilt! Especially when kids are involved. But if she's horrible to you, it's a good example to your kids to show them that you don't let ANYONE treat you like crap, family or not!

@CC Mommy: See what I wrote on this thread (its on the second page) to @Bubblegum RE: her MIL. Its basically how I live my life with regard to my parents, who I do not get along with.

http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-big-meet

For most of my life, a lot of the criticism towards me has been directed about my weight and appearance. Even things that had nothing to do with my weight and appearance were because of my weight and appearance. My brain tumor, my IF struggles, my career choices, my friends, who I dated - anything and everything could be related to the fact that I wasn't pretty enough, feminine enough, too fat, too bossy, too loud, not elegant enough, etc. I had horrific self-esteem, I struggled with eating disorders (that my parents encouraged) for years, I was enormously depressed, had anxiety - you name it.

In addition to that, my parents have had a LOT of their own problems (money, victim mentality, mental/emotional instability, chronic illness, poverty, etc) that have adversely affected me - both as a child and now as an adult.

Getting married and having children made me really have to set up some strong boundaries in order to live my best life, protect my kids, and prevent me from creating any kind of generational harm towards my sons because of the kind of upbringing I had.

If your mom is crazy, let her be crazy. Its what's working for her. But it doesn't have to work for you. Letting her live her life her crazy way is respecting her autonomy. If she wont respect your's, you tell her so. If she sobs about how she can't do anything right, you tell her that she's trying to hold you responsible for her choices/actions/words and that guilt is misplaced. If she doesn't want that reaction from you, then don't talk about your weight. If she wants to talk however she talks, the consequences are you are going to do what helps you live your best life.