“Feeling fat” can arise in response to social situations too. We may come to realize that we're eating more than those around us and feel the impulse to explain away our food. We might feel as if we're being judged, rejected or perceived as taking up too much space. Sometimes, the judgment we perceive is our own.
Days that you "feel fat" can usually be attributed to water and fluid retention or the size of your last meal and how long ago. Conversely, if you feel thin and light you probably are not retaining any water, you likely haven't exceeded your body's caloric requirements and your hormones are well-balanced.
Fat is Not a Feeling
The physical fat stored in our bodies is not an emotion and therefore is not something that we can 'feel'. 'Feeling fat' is descriptive and a narrative that we share with ourselves or others to describe a (usually) negative state of being. Feeling fat has nothing to do with the scales.
Feeling fat can be a symptom of body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a complex diagnosis, leading sufferers to experience obsessive thoughts and behaviours related to their body and appearance.
Body dysmorphic disorder is characterized by an obsession with a perceived flaw or defect on one's body. BDD can be about any part of your body, and contrary to what some may have assumed, perceived fat or flab is only one of many types of BDD fixation. Sally Anscombe / Getty Images. Aug. 10, 2018, 5:16 AM PDT.
It's often due to fluid retention, abnormal growths, constipation, or pregnancy. Unintentional weight gain can be periodic, continuous, or rapid. Periodic unintentional weight gain includes regular fluctuations in weight. One example of unintentional weight gain is experienced during a woman's menstrual cycle.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
Waist measurement
“A waist circumference greater than 35 inches in women and greater than 40 inches in men could not only determine overweight status but put a hard-and-fast number on one's health,” she told Healthline.
"By the time you hit 10 pounds, your jeans will feel differently, absolutely," Blum says. "Just a little looser. Theoretically, 10 pounds is considered one size." Once you get past that first couple pounds where you might not be able to tell, Blum says, you really do start to lose body fat.
Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.
Some specialists use the term “phantom fat” to refer to this phenomenon of feeling fat and unacceptable after weight loss. “People who were formerly overweight often still carry that internal image, perception, with them,” says Elayne Daniels, a psychologist in Canton, Mass., who specializes in body-image issues.
What should your waist measurement be? For men, a waist circumference below 94cm (37in) is 'low risk', 94–102cm (37-40in) is 'high risk' and more than 102cm (40in) is 'very high'. For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, 80–88cm (31.5-34.6in) is high risk and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very high.
Women with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. The average woman's height is 5 feet, 4 inches. If you weigh 107 pounds or less at this height, you are considered underweight with a BMI of 18.4. A healthy weight range for that woman would be 108 to 145 pounds.
Eating too few calories can be the start of a vicious cycle that causes diet distress. When you cut your calories so low that your metabolism slows and you stop losing weight, you probably will become frustrated that your efforts are not paying off. This can lead you to overeat and ultimately gain weight.
“When you start exercising, your muscles start gobbling up fuel called glycogen,” says Krista Scott-Dixon, Ph. D., Director, Headspace Adjustment Bureau, Precision Nutrition. Since glycogen stores water, you could gain up to 10 pounds in water weight alone, says Scott-Dixon.
"Women and men of average height need to gain or lose about three and a half and four kilograms, or about eight and nine pounds, respectively, for anyone to see it in their face.
Dehydration and Weight Loss
Hypohydration (low water intake) can also lead to increased body weight. In addition, dehydration decreases your metabolic flexibility (how well you utilise lipids and carbohydrates) which leads to weight gain.
Dehydration causes your body to retain excess water, which can lead to 5 pounds of weight gain overnight (5). When you feel thirsty and drink a lot of fluid at once, you'll absorb the extra fluid quickly and it shows up on the scale within 24 hours.
Teens with a condition known as bigorexia are obsessed with bodybuilding and getting more muscular. Bigorexia is a mental health disorder that primarily affects teen boys and young men.
If you're totally preoccupied with a part of your body that you feel isn't right, and you do certain things as a result (e.g. you constantly look at your body in the mirror or compare your body to other people's), you may have body dysmorphic disorder.
For your best health, your waist should be less than 40 inches around for men, and less than 35 inches for women, although it may vary depending on race or ethnicity. If it's larger than that, you may want to talk with your doctor about what your next steps are, including losing weight.