Specifically, fat high in Omega 3 and 6, such as fish (e.g. salmon) are ok; "trans fats" are not. Food high in Omega 3 & 6 improves HDL (the good cholesterol), and also takes longer to metabolize than carbs. Since gaining 100 pounds, my belly (and capacity) are a lot larger, and I hate that uncomfortable "hungry" feeling. By eating the right fats as well as well as lots of veggies, I can fill up and still stay healthy.

I've also had to cut down on refined white stuff, like sugar and white flour. This (and my lack of muscle mass) was really the culprit in my deteriorating blood chemistry, not fat or weight. While my current body fat percentage is still way higher than when I was skinny, I also have 25+ pounds more muscle mass.

While I do keep a food diary (to keep track of the carb/fat/protein ratios and what foods make me feel good/bad), and regularly check my blood chemistry, I don't count calories or weigh myself regularly.

Years ago, back when I was skinny, I thought of weight control as a means toward health. I kept this idea in my head even though despite my low body fat, my blood chemistry indicated that I had a problem. Yes, it's possible to have <5 percent body fat and at the same time cholesterol of 250+.

Then I hit 30, my metabolism slowed down and I found myself 50 pounds heavier, then 75, then 100. Suddenly, I was fat. Not just "big all over fat", but 40+ waistline big ball-belly fat. And despite all my attempts to lose weight, I *stayed* fat. My cholesterol was now over 300 and other metrics (blood sugar, etc.) were also alarming. Clearly I needed help.

Ironically, it was a doctor who put my on the road the better health, and at the same time, helped me get over my obsession with weight.

The biggest challenge was getting over my obsession with fat. Fat in my food, and fat on my body. Fat, particularly unsaturated fat from foods like fish, does *not* make you fat. For many people like myself, eating more fat is essential for healthful blood chemistry.

When my doctor told me "your diet is terrible -- you need to eat much more fat!" I could hardly believe it. Initially, I refused to listen. Embracing fat in my diet couldn't possibly work, could it?

Well, actually it could and did. After dramatically increasing the amount of fat in my diet, and starting an exercise program, I felt better and my blood chemistry started to improve. Within 6 months, my blood chemistry was better than it been when I was 100 pounds lighter.

However, even though I felt better, and my blood tests showed that I had gotten healthier, I hadn't lost much weight. My mind rebelled against this -- how could be healthier than when I was skinny, but still weigh so much?

It took me a long time to come to terms with the reality of fat, and health. As strange as it might seem, FF (and all of you) have been part of the journey. Accepting my fat has been an essential step toward focusing on what really matters (health).

Have others struggled with this?

I'm here because I get turned on by the idea of being fattened up -- and this site provides a safe place for me to explore and talk about my feedee sexuality. However, in real life I'm comfortable with my (plump) body and pot belly, although I do try my best to keep my weight under control. It's a struggle because I have a very low metabolism and have a RMR of only 1500 calories/day even though I weigh 210+ pounds, and work out like a fiend. I have three cousins who are 400+ pounds, so I'm the "skinny" one in the family LOL

I can only get hard and then come while thinking about being fattened up. For a while, I tried to "normalize" by trying to develop more conventional fantasies. While this did allow me to "perform" conventional sex with partners not into feeding fetishes, ultimately I was never able to come, and so the sexual "spark" was never there.

While I've only dated one female fat admirer, the experience was completely different. On our first date, she placed her hands on my middle when we hugged and felt my belly rolls. A shot of electricity went through me and I just *knew*. Later when we went to the movies, she got me a big popcorn basket and in the darkness, she slipped her hand under my shirt and gave me a belly rub. I was in heaven.

Since then, I have tried "belly foreplay" as a way to initiate sexual contact. This only works with a partner willing to go along, but I have found that it doesn't require the partner to be a feeder/feedee, and once I am aroused, sexual interaction of all kinds of much more pleasurable.

People vary in their body composition and metabolic rates, so the calorie and weight guidelines are not much more than that -- guidelines.

For example, people with above average muscle (such as athletes) will typically find that they are "overweight" according to the guidelines, while measurements would show a low body fat percentage.

Similarly, resting metabolic rate (RMR) can vary widely between people of the same weight, height and body composition. I gain weight very easily, and after keeping a food diary which showed that I gained weight on 2000 calories a day (under the recommended calorie allowance for my weight and height), wondered whether I was keeping an accurate diary or not. When I had my RMR tested, I found that it was 1500 calories a day -- so that on a 2000 calorie/day diet, I would gain a pound a week.

Given that reality, my choice was either to try to:

a) maintain a 1500 calorie/day diet indefinitely (probably not possible)
add exercise
c) gain weight to the point where I can maintain.

I've chosen a mixture of and c). As my belly and love handles filled out, at first I felt guilty. But then I stopped gaining, and as time has gone on, the added exercise has built muscle; I even went down a pants size. At the last doctor's visit, even though I weighed in 20 pounds heavier than before, the doctor didn't give me any grief, since he initially thought I had lost rather than gained weight.