Maintaining Weight

I've just hit my target weight of 120 pounds (I am a 25 years old male, 5'5')...I've been on a pretty strict 1500-calorie diet for a few months now.  I still wanna maintain my workout routine without losing anymore weight...I'd consider myself moderately active and from what I've read I need to consume about 2200 calories a day to maintain my weight.

Problem is, after being on a 1500 calorie diet for so long, I am simply having trouble eating 2200 calories of food now without feeling A) bloated and/ B) guilty.  I'd like some advice on how to get my diet back to normal...

First off, congrats! 

I have to ask, though (and forgive me for being rude), what made you aim for 125?  By the general "rule of thumb" that's on the slender side, even for a woman.  I also notice that you achieved your goal by eating the absolute bare minimum daily calories.  Just noticing these trends send up some red flags in my mind, and by way of trying to be helpful, I'll just suggest that you might find it harder to reach a comfortable maintenance equilibrium than some other folks who were a little more lenient with themselves reaching their goals.  All I'm saying there is be ready to work, because maintenance is HARD.

Okay, now let me try to be helpful:  First, I can tell you must be very disciplined.  You need to tell yourself that you HAVE to eat 2200 cals a day.  That's the goal and you HAVE to do it, even if you don't feel like it.  Your body needs it.

That might be hard all at once, so ease into it if you feel you must.  Increase by maybe 200 cals a week.  But make a plan or a schedule and stick to it!

Also, be prepared for fluctuations.  Over the course of a week my weight can vary easily by 5-7 pounds...maybe even more.  Maintenance is a looong term process.  The daily, weekly, or even monthly fluctuations DO NOT MATTER.  Going over your cals for 4 days in a row DOES NOT MATTER.  What matters is your long-term health and happiness.

Also, watch out for destructive thoughts.  Maintenance is mentally challenging, especially at first.  Beware of thoughts like "I need to exercise more now that I am eating more," or "I feel gross today, I'll eat my normal 1500 just for today."

And on the practical side, upping calories can be physically hard, too.  My biggest hint would be to increase not the quantity of food, but the "quality."  Incorporate some healthy fats.  Rather than trying to forcefeed youself a whole cabbage to get those extra calories, treat yourself to something nutritious and calorie-dense.

Okay, /ramble.  Hope there was something helpful in all of that.  Good luck!

Thanx for the response!  The aimed for 120 because I am asian...and I read that asian people supposedly have a lower BMI range.  Despite all that tho, i think I still should have allowed myself some occasional indulgences instead of being so paranoid about every calorie...

Increasing the quality of food sounds like a great idea, i think i will try that out!