I feel fat. Why?

March 14, 2021 10:35 AM

Sometimes I "feel fat," which means (to me) that I feel uncomfortable in my skin, literally, as if my skin is stretching. What is the physiologic mechanism behind this?

Objectively, I am a relatively slim person so I don't think that I am actually stretching. But sometimes, for example after eating poorly for a couple of days, or right before my period, I "feel fat." This is not limited purely to the skin stretching feeling, but also might feel as if my face is puffy or my legs are swollen. It is distinct from the bloated feeling that comes with my period.

I know that many other people say they "feel fat" but I don't know whether they experience this same phenomenon. I'm curious to know what the physiology is behind this. Is it stress or hormones or is it actually weight (fat?) settling into my skin?

It is sometimes relieved by exercise (or formerly, cigarette smoking).

posted by shamefulsock to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Well, if eating poorly means eating a lot of high sodium foods, you could absolutely be retaining fluid which can stretch your skin depending on how severe it is.
posted by obfuscation at 10:38 AM on March 14, 2021 [5 favorites]

When you retain water (like from pre-menstrual hormones or eating a lot of salt) you can retain it in other places besides just the places that you think of as "bloating". Fingers, feet, ankles, face, etc. I get the skin-stretching feeling in my feet and hands especially.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 10:40 AM on March 14, 2021 [3 favorites]

Pay attention - if this feeling is cyclical or comes around monthly, it's probably hormonal. And there's a few different things like water retention and bloating that can be related to your cycle. I also have a time of the month (not always exactly the same time or every month but is often enough that I feel it's hormones) where I feel like my skin looks dull, hair is flat and another time when my skin looks pinker and healthier and my hair is shinier and easier to style. Like, what is going on? And sometimes I'm pretty sure that I also have a perception of my body that increases it. Like, if you're feeling poorly, you'll focus inwardly on how you feel and ways to make yourself feel better and that increased focus can kind of mess with your perception, too. When my body feels great or feels completely neutral, I ignore it and go about my day. I also have a couple days a month of utter depression where I'm sure I need to make major life changes and then they magically go away and I usually get two days of "wow, it's actually awesome" and increased productivity. When I am doing well with my diet (healthy choices, taking a few vitamins, taking evening primrose around my period), and keeping on exercise (even stretching helps) then I find the symptoms lessen.

If you are retaining water, your weight will go up, even a half pound if you are slim will feel heavier. There are a lot of period tracker apps out there. It's worth it to keep an eye on your symptoms for a few months and see if you can identify those times and either make a few changes to support yourself or even just recognize -- oh, this will pass. If it doesn't then it's something to look even closer at.

Also, for what it's worth, when I was younger, while I did experience hormonal cycles, they weren't as pronounced or at least they weren't as noticeable to me as when I hit my middle to later 30s. In fact, if you had asked me if hormones made any changes to me at all, I would have scoffed when I was 25. Even though, in retrospect, of course they did but I think I was too busy and too full of energy to care.
posted by amanda at 10:59 AM on March 14, 2021 [2 favorites]

I would assume it is bloating and water retention.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:26 AM on March 14, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses. I won't threadsit but will add I am curious to know specifically what hormones this might be. Is it estrogen or progesterone or adrenaline? Sometimes the feeling comes not after eating salty foods but sweet ones. Sometimes the feeling is targeted to a specific area, for example, my face or my thights. I would think that salt/water retention wouldn't be so focused, or is that just my anxiety that compounds the feeling?
posted by shamefulsock at 12:43 PM on March 14, 2021

Estrogen increases prior to menstruation, and estrogen can imitate aldosterone, the anti-urination hormone. If you're urinating less (retaining more water and Na+), you'll feel more bloated. Estrogen functions this way partially in anticipation of losing blood during menstruation, which also includes, of course, water loss in that blood. When your estrogen levels dip down to your average levels, you'll feel back to normal.
posted by erattacorrige at 2:11 PM on March 14, 2021 [2 favorites]