Feeling fat but in healthy weight, anyone?

nadafifh

have you ever felt that you are still fat but when you count your weight you are in healthy weight or moreover underweight. hope to know your experience all

kommodevaran

Many normal weight people get that feeling sometimes, and it's "normal" (as in an integral part of the illness) for people with eating disorders.

ZephieC

If you mean you have lost weight and are now in a healthy range and still feel fat, that seems to be common. It seems that when you are used to looking at yourself in a certain way for a period of time it is hard to change that. When I lost 25 lbs I had a hard time seeing it. I could see the difference in the clothing size and the side by side photos but just looking in the mirror I felt the same. If you are talking about always being in a healthy weight or being underweight but feeling like you are fat, I'd call that a red flag. I'd say it is time to discuss with a doctor.

toxikon

I feel like my belly is fatter now that I'm thinner! I think it's just how my body chose to lose weight and it'll eventually distribute a bit better with maintenance and a recomp. I think that's normal.

Don't forget to take progress pics and measurements along the way!

stanmann571

IF you're underweight, then you're probably not fat, and you may be suffering from body dysmorphia.

Ask a trusted friend or 3. Or post some pictures here for honest feedback.

TeethOfTheHydra

Certainly. Your water retention and mix of lean/fat can contribute to misinterpretation of simple weight. If you want to know more about your weight breakdown, look for a place you can do an InBody or DEXA measurement. It may give you a better sense of what's contributing to a feeling of bulkiness. Depending on your weight and stature, you may also be increasingly sensitive to smaller fluctuations in weight. For example, I can most definitely feel and see differences in my body between the time I wake up and go to sleep based on water retention throughout the day.

FoodieMotion

Maybe it is more to do with your body composition than being fat. I know in the past I read some posts on here where people referred to something called "skinny fat" which meant that they lost weight through calorie reduction but didn't incorporate any strength training into it so although they were slim, they weren't toned in their eyes.

netitheyeti

I know I felt a lot different at roughly the same weight before working out vs after starting exercise... *major* difference in appearance, so could be an issue of body fat vs muscle? or just being unhappy with how your weight is distributed - I know I personally feel like my lower body looks "overweight" until I hit a pretty low weight, because I'm extremely pear shaped

mom23mangos

Definitely. When you spend your life at the line between normal and underweight and then move to the middle of the BMI range (without it being muscle), it feels very uncomfortable and you feel "fat" for you. At least I did. Even now, when I've put on a lot more muscle I still don't like my body composition sometimes because of the uneven fat distribution. It's human nature to some extent.

Urbancowbarn

I have felt “fat” most of my life. And here’s the thing it didn’t matter what I weighed. In fact I’ve never actually been obese, although I have been overweight. Recently in a period of 24 hours I went from feeling thin, fit, and healthy to feeling fat. I was so perplexed by this that I googled the question you started this post with and learned something that was practically mind blowing. Not sure if this is the reason you feel this way, but it helped me tremendously. The article stated that FAT is not a feeling. That in the case of a slim person feeling “fat” is actually masking what you are really feeling. To think about what is going on with you at that moment in time and labeling what you are really feeling. For me, when I googled that question I was experiencing some mixed emotions about some recent stressful news I was trying to process. This was so insightful to me that I thought I would share in case it might apply to you.

sardelsa

I've felt this before.. mainly when I lost the baby weight without exercise and was left with higher bodyfat and less muscle. So it was a body composition issue, and rather than build muscle I lost more weight and was still unhappy.

Sometimes I feel it when I'm bulking.. I know I'm not "fat" but I feel it somedays because putting on weight and seeing yourself heavier it messes with you mentally.

Obviously if you are underweight and want to get smaller (vs work on your body composition) that is a sign that you may need to talk to someone.

Fitnessmom82

I've lost 60 pounds. My brain is definitely having a hard time catching up with my body. I still see my old self when I look in the mirror sometimes. However, I also have that little inner voice telling me that I am doing a great job and look so much healthier. I know that I am not the same person as I was. I think you need to assess whether or not you feel that way. It's normal to need time to catch up mentally, but if you truly believe you're still fat it may be time to speak to someone!

RecognitionT

Yes.

HoneyBadger302

Most of my life I thought I was a little fat. I knew I wasn't overweight, but I had a belly I didn't like, and while it would look good if I was dehydrated, as soon as I ate or drank anything I'd have a little "alien belly" that it seemed the other girls didn't have.

Then I actually got fat for real LOL and realized just how I was misjudging myself all those years. Now I'm in between - I've got fat to lose, but not a ton. I'm in the "healthy" range for my height/age, but there's definitely excess fat on my frame (including some generous love handles/spare tire). Now, I'm more accepting of my body and am more focused on fitness and rehab than on a certain "look." If my body can perform in my races, that's my main goal right now, and it's made me more accepting of my body (most of the time - I still have days where I wish I was back to my "old" body right NOW!).

Christine_72

I'm at a good weight for my height, but i still have the stomach paunch happening.. I've figured, at my age I'm never going to have a flat belly again,not without putting in more work at the gym than what I'm prepared to do.

bendyourkneekatie

Yeah I've put on a couple kgs since I started running longer distances (currently training for my first ultra) and couple that with running slower I feel like a great huffing heffalump.
I just checked and my bmi is 20.7 which of course is fine but I just feeeeeel like I'm carrying an extra load at the moment. Never mind I carry it all in my jiggling thighs