Those days when you just feel like a toad?

I'm not at goal (yet ) but have made really great progress in that direction and, most days, I feel great - stonger and leaner than I have in at least 10 years. BUT - today I just feel like a slug. I didn't eat badly yesterday - we did go out to dinner at a place that doesn't offer nutritional info so I picked chicken lettuce wraps off the appetizer menu (while all those around me were having oooey-gooey, deep dish pizza Yay me for resisting) - seemed to be the healthiest choice available since even their salads had all kinds of little extras that didn't sound quite OP (carmelized pecans for example). I've never seemed to have problems with salt/sodium but I went super skimpy on the soy sauce anyway because I wasn't quite sure what all was in the sauce the chicken was steeped in but I still woke up this morning feeling like a water balloon. And, that feeling seems to be transferring to what I'm seeing in the mirror I swear I even feel like my jeans are tight (even though I can still pull the waistband out far enough that I can check what color undies I'm wearing without unbuttoning the jeans). Never thought I would think of the scale as the voice of reason but it is about the only thing that reassured me I didn't gain back 40 lbs overnight.

Some of you maintainers have been holding steady for quite a while so I thought I would ask you if there's hope that this cruddy BLOB feeling is going to stop happening?

I too am not quite at goal, but I'm pretty satisfied with my weight, fitness and overall appearance at the moment. But I'm with you, there are days where I feel like a total toad.

I don't think it will ever completely disappear. From my skinny friends to my much bigger friends we all have days were we feel like complete $hit (pardon my french)...

All we can do is try to deal with it. Does anyone have any ways they deal with those blobby days without resorting to *cough* eating *cough*?

Yes, I have those days....I'm not sure they ever go away, but I try to remind myself that those feelings are in my head and focus on things I can see and measure. Like the scale, or other objective meaurements. Your jean idea is great. And then I take a deep breath and focus on my behaviors as best I can--sticking to what I know rationally is what my body needs, protein, fruits, veggies, good carbs, water, exercise....and that feeling passes, like it always does. I hope that as I experience and get over that feeling more and more it will concern me less.

i seem to be having a toad month. i try and recognize it as a sign that i'm getting too wrapped up in myself and just need to focus on my routine and eating in healthy moderation. it's when i get hung up on numbers that i feel my worst.

it's annoying. i dont think they ever go away...damn those days!

Don't we all have those days? I mean, even people at normal weight, who have always been normal weight, have "fat days". I definitely still have them, and don't see them going away any time soon. I think they're fairly normal, though.

My added bonus now, having BEEN so heavy, is that when I'm feeling gross like I'm having a "fat day", I can remind myself what ACTUALLY fat feels and looks like, and get some perspective.

Just asked the same question myself! I am at goal, have been for 8 months, still have days that I can't believe it. I KNOW i've gained. Get on the scale. Says the same. Try on my "skinney" jeans. Still fit the same. It's body image and I'm not sure when i will feel thin. some days i do ok, some not.

Yup, it happens. But the great thing is, the days you feel bad may come and go ... but so do the good ones . I think that our self-esteem improves over time, it becomes based on more than our looks, and we get better at seeing reality instead of our old hang-ups. When I have those days, I briefly think about whether I've been treating myself well (eating well, being active, sleeping well, good friendship time, and so on). If not, I have something to focus on. If yes, then I just pick something small and nice to do for myself, ignore the bad feeling and keep going, 'cause it will just go away.

See, I knew I could count on you guys to get my head pointed in the right direction without just throwing out the "oh, you're not fat" thing I would get IRL Feeling physically uncomfortable really is so much more tolerable when you are mentally calm. Thanks!

I have both fat days and thin days, just like I have good hair days and bad hair days. I don't think they ever really go away. As far as I can tell, I'm the only one that perceives the difference (both in terms of my weight and my hair). But the great thing is that now, on my fat days, I can look in the mirror and see that I'm still thin (although sometimes I need to change out of my slob clothes, which usually contribute to the fat day feeling). Before I lost weight, it was the opposite: on my thin days I would look in the mirror and see that I really wasn't as thin as I felt.

And there are some days when my weight is up for no reason that I can see. So long as my eating has been on plan, I try not to get too worried about it. It usually goes back down on its own.

They've never gone away for me, and sometimes is real, not just in my head. But at this point, I also know that it is temporary and I know how to control and stop it. Unknown restaurant meals and sodium bloat won't do damage every once in a while, but repeatedly, it will. And we all know that!

For days when I feel particularly like a pachyderm, I have my "before" jeans. I can almost fit in one leg of them. It's reassuring to actually see that I did not regain overnight or even over a week

Mel

Yes I definitely have those.. I'm not at goal yet but I'm pretty comfortable at my weight right now, I mean I have tons of energy and all, but there are days I definitely feel like I'm back at 192 (my highest). Especially during TOM... ugh. It's all perspective though... I definitely feel like that when I'm having a bummy day at home, but once I dress up a bit and go out, those feelings go away.