Flattering!

Except, just maybe if I was with someone that I knew loved it, sometimes some mocking might be super hot, but that would have to be built on top of knowing 100% that they loved it.

Possibly she didn't even know? If she'd been rejecting 'fat her', maybe she was also rejecting everything associated with it, including having a fat partner?

But then as she felt more secure and comfortable with somebody who is treating her well (i.e. you!), maybe that all changed?

Of course the only way to know is to ask, either outright or more subtly. You know, either "You know I love your cooking, but you know I've put on weight since we got together. I don't want to enjoy myself to the point that you aren't attracted to me, so I want to know how you are feeling about what I've gained and if I need to watch my waist more?" or else "I think I need to go shopping for a larger size of jeans" and watch her expression and what she says and try to read how she's feeling about it.

I'm a feeder/feedee/general-weight-gain-enthusiast as well as a fat admirer. My wife loves food and is a small bbw, but has no fat related kinks. We've been married for over 25 years, and if we'd had the usual ups and downs I can say (with relief) that none of that was because of this kink mis-match.

We were married before I knew there were other people out there who shared my interests, which maybe helped because I never expected to get to live out my kinks. She did let herself grow from a size 12 to an 18 after we got together, so I got to enjoy that and remember it with gratitude ever since, as well as enjoy the softness that she still has. She has naturally gone down and up a number of times by maybe 25 pounds, and a smaller swing each Summer/Winter, and those cycles are enjoyable too.

I think the key part is that she doesn't make me feel any shame for loving the weight that she's gained. She may not be personally into it, but she doesn't mind that, say, grabbing the softest part of her thigh turns me on, or that I love to run my finger along the softest part of her upper arm. And with great care on how I interact I get to come to fat places on the web where I can discuss weight gain with others who do share these feelings, letting these thoughts out of my head occasionally.

Like the Rolling Stones sang
"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime
You'll find
You get what you need"
that was certainly my experience. I need to be able to appreciate some fat and to be able to express my desires this way sometimes, there is a lot of other stuff that I want, but I don't need it. And that has made things work out quite well overall.

Well, I have a new fantasy in my repertoire now

You have pretty much lived my dream scenario, lol.

Did you gain deliberately, or just something that happened?

Good luck! It has been great reading your updates, and I hope you'll check in occasionally even if you are losing some.

Like with a weight loss diet, a weight gain diet takes planning. Your body is used to a certain amount of food at certain times and you have existing habits for when and how much to eat. To beat those, you need to plan.

Some of that is just food planning, thinking ahead to make sure you have snacks at hand and filling meals, some of it is how to overcome your habits. Is it training yourself to ask yourself "should I be eating something right now?" Is it setting reminder alarms on your phone? Is it putting snacks where you will see them so that you remember? Is it paying attention to calories to make sure you are eating enough each day?

There are lots of strategies you can use, but it takes some planning, organization, and a bit of willpower to make them happy.

The fact that he struggled to lose weight when he was younger doesn't mean that he won't/can't be into it. There are certainly people who grew up chubby and worked hard to 'fit in', but who never turn against fatness, rather just hide that away as hidden desires. Not saying that desire is always a kink or fetish, a lot just, for example, marry a fat partner and let their weights drift up over the years, or just dream of that.

Obviously I don't know the case with your boyfriend, but try to relax and let him speak for himself, and trust him to be honest with you. But also maybe ask him where his desires are, regarding you and regarding himself (and obviously make sure you know where your boundaries are on what you'd want for him)

If he's not good at talking about these broad topics, maybe go into some specifics and see how he responds. There may be plenty of things about a bigger you that he could really get into.

I was a chunky kid, and I remember being called "fatty, fatty, 2x4" in kindergarten or grade one.

As far as a more clinical "overweight" comment I think it was a dermatologist that I saw for my severe acne when I was 17, who seemed convinced that I ate a lot of high fat food and told me that I was too heavy and should lose some weight (I was all of 170 pounds at 5'8", which would just barely be in the overweight band by BMI). She prescribed a drug that helped anyway, but every visit she'd ask me how my diet was going, when I'd never actually agreed to diet nor made the slightest change in my eating.

I have this dream where some billionaire buys out one of those retirement communities and repurposes it for other people with mobility issues, especially for super-fats. Already built for easy access, with paths designed for golf carts that would handle scooters well, etc.