Under in calories, but feeling "fatter"....

Seriously? Do you even know what the word "valid" (or "invalid" for that matter) actually means?? Because you keep using it, but it makes absolutely no sense. Validity has NOTHING to do with whether or not a statement is true or accurate.

Personal experience can be misleading. Just because you've experienced something doesn't make it the truth. And references OTHER than personal experience can absolutely be true. Most of what science tells us we believe and accept as true, even though it doesn't come from any form of personal experience, and most people personally have no way to verify that actually is true... but that doesn't make it any LESS true!

Sorry to the OP and anyone else who might not care... I teach logic, and I just can't let stuff like this go.

Yes you're right It also doesn't make it "MORE TRUE. EITHER" I am ultimately trying to say, there has to be certain things to take place to make something true. We all are starting in difference places, doing different things, have different issues. THere is no "one size fits all" approach. A simple example is, "if i eat more calories i lost weight" for someone this might be true, for someone else this might be false. Due to their current situation. It's possible due to their current situation their input is different and results in a different output. This can happen in both cases. So what causes the weight loss or weight gain in this situation? It's not about calories it's about something else.

I used to feel like that often until I found this site and adjusted my settings here to track my sodium intake. One day I had almost 5,000 mg of sodium!! So I watch that now, and don't feel bloated.

As for exercise, I seem to lose more when I exercise LESS. Then again, if you reduce the sodium and still exercise daily you might actually feel like eating more.

As for "muscle weighs more than fat," I really wish people would stop saying that. One pound of muscle = 1 pound, and 1 pound of fat = 1 pound. You might gain a little bit when you first start exercising, or when you do a new exercise, because there are enzymatic changes in your muscles that make them hold on to water more. That won't last long though.

Good luck!

I think the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" is referencing the fact that although a pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat, it takes significantly less muscle to equate to a pound, as opposed to the larger mass of fat that it would take to weigh the same.

OK, back to the original poster now.....

Don't eat too little - remember that your body needs good fuel just to keep you breathing and digesting and your heart beating and blood pumping.... when you add in your regular daily acitivities and any exercise you are doing, you may not be eating enough to stay healthy. This is why MFP gives you a warning if your calories drop too low.
Everyone is going to have a different amount that is right for their body - for me it's about 1500 net cals per day (I'm 5'4" and 167 pounds), on 1200 cals per day I would be SERIOUSLY grumpy

If you are confident that you are eating the right amount of healthy food for you, then keep on doing it. Sometimes it takes some time before you see changes on the scale.

If you are bloated - are you drinking enough water? Do you have any food intolerances? I would be hesitant to suggest cutting out a whole food group like wheat or dairy, but if this continues you might want to have a chat to your doctor to see what they can suggest.