WHY AM I STILL FAT :(

I'm sensing this is more of a psychological issue rather than a physical one. 123-126 is probably a healthy weight for you. If you are thinking you are fat, even though you are not, maybe you should talk to someone about it.

You don't really need to lose any weight at 5'5"...
Maybe toning up muscle would make you feel better about your body image?

Though, talking to someone might not be a bad idea either.

it really is just in our heads... i am 5.2 and bounce between 115-120 and i still feel i am fat b/c i have a lower belly pooch that i can't seem to get rid of at all, it's the only area that i am unhappy with but yet i don't want to lose more weight and am not sure how else to get rid of it..

Heavy lifting will likely help as it cuts body fat. But none of you are overfat to begin with.

You're not fat.

I'm 5'5" and a size 0 and guess how much I weigh? 135-140
I actually used to weigh 120, but I've put on a lot of muscle since then.
I know what it's like to want to see the magic number on the scale, but trust me - it isn't everything.

I would suggest toning up; Don't be afraid to try strength training and high-intensity interval training.

Do seek out the advice of a medical professional if you feel that something deeper may be going on.
I really love the ideas expressed in the book Intuitive Eating, which rejects the diet mentality and encourages you to honor your body and your self if you'd like to check it out.

You're not fat.

I'm 5'5" and a size 0 and guess how much I weigh? 135-140
I actually used to weigh 120, but I've put on a lot of muscle since then.
I know what it's like to want to see the magic number on the scale, but trust me - it isn't everything.

I would suggest toning up; Don't be afraid to try strength training and high-intensity interval training.

Do seek out the advice of a medical professional if you feel that something deeper may be going on.
I really love the ideas expressed in the book Intuitive Eating, which rejects the diet mentality and encourages you to honor your body and your self if you'd like to check it out.

She just said she was a size 8.... Your advice is good but your assumption that she has body image issues and might not "honor her body or herself" is kind of unnecessary.

How did you lose the weight? You may have lost a lot of muscle mass and ended up with a higher body fat %. Weight is not a good indicator of fitness.

And I think the "go see a shrink" responses are quite rude. And pretty damn silly given the lack of information necessary to make that judgement call.

I really don't think that you can wind up with a higher body fat percentage after losing weight unless you went from working out to not working out. It might not decrease as much as you want, but percentage wise I don't think so.

agree on the "go see a shrink" responses being rude. I think she just needs to build some muscle.

Oh, no no. Sorry if that was misleading. I highly doubt she has a higher body fat % than she did before she lost the weight....that's just crazy. I think that she might possibly have a higher body fat % than the average woman who's her weight and height if she lost weight quickly. Agreed that she should look into strength training.

She just said she was a size 8.... Your advice is good but your assumption that she has body image issues and might not "honor her body or herself" is kind of unnecessary.

I was attempting to prove the point that weight, size, and numbers in general are often irrelevant in indications of one's fitness.

I've had a lot of personal experience with body image issues, so whereas you may see it as an assumption on my part I see "WHY AM I STILL FAT " as something I have often thought to myself, even at a healthy weight given my height - which incidentally, is the same as the OP's.

I don't mean any ill-intent; I'm only trying to provide what might be a more helpful response to the debate going on in the thread concerning body image. I apologize to the OP if I've disrespected her in any way.

Sorry. I may have been a little harsh. I'm sure you had no ill-intent. It's just frustrating to see people assume that a certain height and weight means that a person doesn't need to lose weight. In my eyes that's not really their decision and it's hard to know the circumstance, especially when the OP has no body pics and like you mentioned before, weight, size, and numbers are irrelevant.

And I totally understand wanting to reach out to others when you've had body image issues. I'm recovery ED, so I am right there with you. It's just kind of difficult on a site like this where you don't actually know people and it can be frustrating to hear a bunch of people on the internet tell you that you have issues, especially if you don't identify with those issues, so that kind of advice is rarely helpful.

But your head and heart are in the right place. You seem like a genuinely nice person and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad by being snippy. :flowerforyou:

Are you doing any exercises right now or just cutting calories? I would try doing Jillians 30 day shred as a starter & then go from there. The 30 day program will tone a suprisingly great deal for just 30 days & then you can build off of it from there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31489881/ns/health-womens_health/t/phantom-fat-can-linger-after-weight-loss/#.UPE6ZKyLkx4

I feel like I just walked into an ED meeting.

Few things:
(1) I'm shorter than you and weigh more than you.
(2) A size 8 is not big or small. In fact, telling me what size you are is useless if you don't tell me what brand/year/country you are going by. Measurements.
(3) People suggesting that a perfectly healthy woman complaining of being "fat" might want to seek out professional help is not "rude" it's an appropriate response.
(4) you said you just started going to the gym- don't cut your calories. You need to feed your body to build muscle. You don't want to be skin and bones. You want to have a nice healthy figure, which comes from having a certain amount of lean body mass and from a certain healthy percentage of body fat.
(5) cut yourself some slack! You kicked *kitten* to get this far!

Signed,

Someone who weighs more than you, is shorter than you, and doesn't consider herself "fat"

sounds like BDD... its a hard thing to deal with cause the way you see yourself or the way that you view your numbers on a scale are COMPLETELY different than what you are in reality. You have probably seen yourself in a certain light for so long and have wanted to be something else for so long that you can't see past it no matter. might wanna stop working on the scale and start working on your mind a bit im a not judging at all by the way, i am saying this from experience. i got down to 125 from 255 and i thought i was the ugliest grossest and fattest girl ever still. even when i was big i was very pretty and just unhappy with me. it wasn't until i changed my thoughts around and (maybe not for you again not judging but) went to see someone i finally started to see myself in a new light. you are gorgeous honey, you might wanna turn up your lights good luck

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31489881/ns/health-womens_health/t/phantom-fat-can-linger-after-weight-loss/#.UPE6ZKyLkx4

that was a excellent article!