I'm okay for breakfast and lunch, but when dinner time rolls around, that's when I feel guilty.  I count everything and I"m always at 1,200 or just under...but yet still the after-dinner guilt.  I'm there with ya, girl!

i totally feel the same way. i'm not even trying to lose anymore, just trying to maintain. after i eat i'm always like, crap will this make me gain? how much can i eat for the rest of the day? what are my counts at? it's probably not healthy..but at least i know im not alone :)

sorry no. Feeling guilty after you eat is in no way normal..especially after eating what, 90 calories worth of salad and melon? What you describe is a serious symptom of an ED...

I wouldn't say that feeling guilt is a serious symptom of an ED-- certainly, extreme guiltiness is one of the signs of an eating disorder, but it isn't necessarily pointing to that.

I struggle with this, too, now that I'm maintaining my weight. It's just so difficult to get out of the mindset of looking for healthy alternatives, ways to fit in just a little more food and still be safe, work out to offset that dessert, etc. Because the original problem was with making bad food choices, and not thinking about it-- naturally, we want to avoid falling back into that.

I'm hoping that with time, and with practicing listening to body cues, it'll even out and eating according to hunger will come more naturally. Good luck, and don't let your mother's negativity affect your choice to choose positivity and health!

well the thing is she said "no matter what she eats" she always feels guilty. She's not talking about when she makes bad choices or desert. I think it might be normal to feel a little guilty after eating something that you normally don't have (and didn't plan on) but after a salad and cantalope that's really problematic. it also doesn't sound like a very healthy meal because where's the protein. =(

smiles16 I am the same way i check the scale every day but i have been trying to cut back as well. Especially since i workout at 6 days a week and even if the scale doesn't show it, the way my clothes does. So don't let the scale be your only judge. 

I may not have worded my last post the best way, I don't always feel guilty, but sometimes i do when i know i shouldn't.

And I do let myself eat things that I enjoy sometimes.

I know its bad to feel guilty, especially since I am in no way overweight, I am just trying to flatten my stomach and firm up. I'm  5 4 and I weigh 123 pounds. I'm not trying to drastically lose weight or anything, I have just put on a couple of pounds since coming to college and I want to be in great shape again like I was when I arrived. 

Thanks for your posts though guys. 

I log everything I eat in advance, too.  It's a great tool to prepare for the whole day in advance. 

Think of eating this way though - you have to have fuel for your vehicle to operate right?  Right.  So you have to supply your body with fuel in order to perform anything well.  I've gone through those periods when I refused to eat - lived on caffeine and nicotine and discovered how really bad I felt then.  Black circles under my eyes - hair not shiny - no energy - and I decided then that if I can look at this as a science almost - to see the foods my body needs to function at it's maximum potential then I'm okay.  Then I feel guilty when I splurge - but that's probably normal.

You gotta watch out for the guilt thing. My mom also obsesses about weight and food and stupid stuff like that and makes both my sister and me feel like @#$% all the time. No one should ever feel guilty after they eat meals like you are describing. And if you do feel guilty, you must override the guilt and you must know that what you ate was fine. Dont ever let other people project their guilt and misguided attitude towards food get to you. It will be your downfall. Everything you do you must do for you, and who gives a damn about what your mother thinks. Mothers who have distorted attitudes about eating tend to project it onto their children, and this is when children begin to develop eating disorders. Be it chronic overeating, or anorexia or bulemia. It is clinically proven and written in many books. So if you happen to be one of those poor people who happens to have a mother who: a) talks about their own weight or appearance negatively b) weighs themselves everyday c) comments constantly about your weight or appearance d) they follow stupid diets themselves and want you to join in or e) tell you you would look better or improve your life in some stupid way by 'losing a few pounds', then watch out and make sure you KNOW this is just them projecting their own insecurity onto you , and if you let it get to you then there could potentially be a problem. Dont fall into the same trap they did. Listen to what your body wants, and if it happens to be a chocolate muffin even, then go ahead, just dont overdo it, and whatever you do, don't feel guilty. ever.