I dont' get it. Unless I'm eating super clean, none of the stick to your ribs kinda eating, and staying strictly on plan, do I feel "Not so fat". I know rationally, I haven't gained 20 lbs from one meal to the next ( I know I weigh the same) but I feel so fat!? Full? Heavy? Bloated? Like I want it out in order to feel in control (?) again. Anybody pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?

I know what you mean!

Even if I "fill up" on protein and healthy veg I still feel fat! Sometimes feeling hungry I feel slim, but usually I just want to chew my arm off when I feel hungry! I feel slimmer after a good dose of exercise!

I understand exactly what you are saying. I just feel like a hippo when I overeat. And I feel a lot better (well, thinner) when I'm keeping up with working out and eating healthy. But I have an eating disorder, and those feelings are normal for me, but you got to watch that "I want it out to feel in control." Those are unhealthy thoughts that could lead to a dangerous path. Just be VERY careful with those thoughts. I think a lot of dieters feel the same way, but you might want to be concerned with the "I want it out" feeling. I'm not accusing you of having an ED of course, but I want you to be acutely aware of the possibility.

When I'm totally 100% on plan, I feel slim, comfortable and happy with how I look at the moment. But the moment I slip up, even have like 5 starbursts, I feel bad about myself. I'm sure it's the guilt and loss of control. After my friends wedding this weekend (champage, chocolate truffles, petite fours, cheese and crackers, pinot noir, vanilla bean cake with chocolate ganache..I could keep going here), I felt huge. The reality of it was that I gained 1.5 lbs, but mentally in my brain I feel like I'm back up to 240. I don't know how to change that...I figure when I finally (if I ever do) have a good relationship with food, those thoughts might go away.

I had an off thought ... I have a couple of foods that just don't agree with me. They make me feel bloated and middle-thick.
Potatos and milk are the worst ones.
I may be waaaay off base but is that kind of thing a possibilty?

I do this too. I feel fat and bloated if I eat off-plan even if my weight stays the same. For me it's a feeling of gaining all the weight back from one wrong meal. I always wake up the next morning feeling my stomach to see if I'm fatter. Realistically I know I can't gain that much from one bad meal, but it sure makes me feel fatter.

I feel this way when I eat an unbalanced meal, too. In some sense, it's nice to know that my body is developing a barometer for healthy food, but in another way I feel like telling it, "Chill out, it's just a meal." It's also that 'gray' area that overeaters have to live with ... there is such a very fine line between healthy and unhealthy. It's not like quitting smoking where you *know* you are off plan if you are having a cigarette.

This is definitely true for me (if you saw my post about my birthday week eating). Eating anything off plan makes me feel fat, eating until I feel "too full" makes me feel fat.

I noticed the possibility of it sounding "disorderish" after I posted it. I left it because it was honest. definetly something I will stay acutely aware of. Thanks.

In the past 2 weeks I have been taking a break of sorts trying to get back into weight loss due to my inability to stick to it right now. Testing the waters of maintainence if you will. My mind (and my stomache) are having difficulty determining what is good and what isn't. I have accepted the absence of fast food, prolly forever, and thats fine with me. Its the "tweener" stuff I'm struggling with. I love to cook. And healthy/low fat or not, I'm still feeling plump after a meal thats a normal portion but not just fish/chicken and veggies. This doesn't have to be my diet forever....does it?

Keep in mind that just because something is healthy and low fat doesn't necessarily mean that it is low in calories. Maybe this is your body's way of telling you when you eat these foods that what you consider a "normal" portion should be a little smaller than when you are eating fish/chicken and veggies?

In the past, when I was dieting in an unhealthy way (900 cals per day), if I didn't have the "bottomed-out-empty" feeling, then I felt I wasn't doing it right. Wrongo!! Walking around hungry all the time is a miserable existance.
Even now though, even if all I ate was a Lean Cuisine (one of the full size meals, which now I can barely eat all of), and I'm full, I still have to kinda talk myself down from the ledge, and remind myself that's it OK to fill full if the meal I just ate is within my calorie range. Its like I have to constantly give myself permission to enjoy the feeling of being full, and satisfied.

I can definitely relate to this.

Sometimes it's an issue of eating something that causes bloating or gas. It could be PMS, constipation, or simply retaining water. *Woot, fun!*

But sometimes my mind plays tricks on me. I've had issues with Body Dysmorphic Disorder. When I see a girl who is very thin and petite, it can make me feel as though my entire body is expanding.

On days such as this I enjoy working up more of a sweat. Nothing excessive, but something to help me remind me that I'm fit.

I'm not over eating is the thing. I have a digital nutrional scale. I'm not eating mounds of carbs. I'm simply eating a maintainable amount of calories (1500-1800 usually) and find myself feeling fat if I'm not empty. Its a discouraging future to me, a lifetime of counting, measuring, and what seems like inevitable deprivation. Mostly, I'm scared of feeling satisfied. Like it will spiral into a year from now weighing 260lbs again.