Fat folk at the gym

Seanymph

In our area there are lots of 'community gyms' - your GP surgery will know where they are, but were I work we run one.

It costs £2 a session, no subscription or contract, and it really does have a huge cross section of people in it.

Hezzawithkids

OP - though not a big fan of gyms myself your post reminded me of something I saw posted on My Fitness Pal once. I've cut & pasted it here for you, hope it helps!

Hey Fat Girl!

Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy. You’re slow, you breathe hard and your efforts at moving forward make you cringe.


You cling shyly to the furthest corridor, sometimes making larger loops on the gravel ring by the track just so you’re not on it. You sweat so much that your hair is all wet. You rarely stay for more than 20 minutes at a time, and you look exhausted when you leave to go back home. You never talk to anyone. I’ve got something I’d like to say to you.


You are awesome.


If you’d look me in the eye only for an instant, you would notice the reverence and respect I have for you. The adventure you have started is tremendous; it leads to a better health, to renewed confidence and to a brand new kind of freedom. The gifts you will receive from running will far exceed the gigantic effort it takes you to show up here, to face your fears and to bravely set yourself in motion, in front of others.

You have already begun your transformation. You no longer accept this physical state of numbness and passivity. You have taken a difficult decision, but one that holds so much promise. Every hard breath you take is actually a tad easier than the one before, and every step is ever so slightly lighter. Each push forward leaves the former person you were in your wake, creating room for an improved version, one that is stronger, healthier and forward-looking, one who knows that anything is possible.


You’re a hero to me. And, if you’d take off the blaring headphones and put your head up for more than a second or two, you would notice that the other runners you cross, the ones that probably make you feel so inadequate, stare in awe at your determination. They, of all people, know best where you are coming from. They heard the resolutions of so many others, who vowed to pick up running and improve their health, “starting next week”. Yet, it is YOU who runs alongside, who digs from deep inside to find the strength to come here, and to come back again.


You are a runner, and no one can take that away from you. You are relentlessly moving forward. You are stronger than even you think, and you are about to be amazed by what you can do. One day, very soon, maybe tomorrow, you’ll step outside and marvel at your capabilities. You will not believe your own body, you will realize that you can do this. And a new horizon will open up for you. You are a true inspiration.

I bow to you.

andygb

missile wrote: »

You do not have to go to a gym to excercise.

I would suggest you walk more take the stairs. Swimming is very good, particularly for those who are overweight. Many find motivation difficult to excercise alone. Check out any local clubs, e.g. there is a FREE walking club and a swim fit class in my home town.

I can confirm that simply walking WILL NOT lose weight. I walk around 8 to 10 miles a day at a fast pace, and all it helps to do is stabilise my weight.
My OH and me are joining a gym tomorrow, because she needs to improve her cardio vascular fitness and I need to lose around 25 kilos of lard.
I used to compete in various sports years ago (then had to give up through illness), and a good diet with high tempo exercise will result in weight loss.
I would say this to the OP:
Go to the gym, do not think about anyone there, get a fitness instructor to formulate a plan for you, based on what you want to achieve.
Being fitter and seeing weight fall off will make you feel loads better, and improve your confidence and gthe way you think about your self.

Good luck - go for it!:)

princeofpounds

That part's true about the instructors by the way; mostly they like having some larger clients because there is a lot of job satisfaction in seeing someone change in a way that can transform their life. So they tend to be quite supportive and friendly.

Treevo

Go to your GP and join a community gym as others have said. Ignore the people who tell you not to go to a gym and just walk or swim - that isn't going to help you lose weight. To do that you need to do a mixture if cardio and weight training.

Can you get MyFitnessPal? It's an app. But you can use the website too http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. I think things like this are better than Weight Watchers because you're not being encouraged to eat their branded products which are full of awful stuff. Eat good food. Fresh, clean food and avoid processed junk. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to change your diet when you're eating proper, nutrient-rich food.

belfastgirl23

As a former fat person (yay that's the first time I said that!) I am a gym goer. When I first started I felt exactly like you, paranoid - what do I wear? Will they all be pointing at me and laughing? What if I fall over? Etc etc. I was coming up on a size 20 btw. Anyway it took a LOT of courage to break my gym virginity at the age of thirty something. Things I found that helped:

Actively deciding not to care about being red faced and sweating. DH, who is super fit, always says that if you aren't sweating you aren't working hard enough at your cardio. That's a good thing to have in mind.

Realising that after the first few times you are just part of the wallpaper as others are to you

Realising that the first class you do in ANYTHING is always awful. This is for anyone regardless of fitness level

Discovering three quarter length trousers. Cooler without feeling exposed

Going early in the morning - there are more oldies about in my gym. Mid morning is even better if you can do it. Your gym might be better at different times. Experiment a bit with different gyms and times till you feel comfortable then have a routine.

Don't be afraid of the weights room. As an older overweight woman I'm not competition for anyone. Nor am I eye candy. Surprisingly this is very freeing, I am almost invisible. And it makes a huge difference to both health and body shape. And I love it!

Experiment with different things - swimming, running, weights, yoga. Try it on for size. You might just find something you love and its alleys good to have choices so that when you get fed up with one thing you have an alternative to try

My advice would be not to let fear put you off. It's a bad thing in life generally. If you are serious about losing weight, doing this alongside the walking will make a big difference!

Good luck!

SandC

There are all shapes and sizes at my gym and nobody bats an eyelid. I agree with what everyone else says - anyone who is in there is there for a reason and that deserves respect. You are probably imagining any derogatory thoughts or comments anyway but the sort of person who makes them is generally the sort of person who has their own insecurities.

I would advise joining the gym and trying to follow the WW plan as you recall it without joining a group, if that worked for you in the past.

One thing about exercise is that whilst you have to do a serious amount to lose weight without adjusting your food/drink intake, it does instill some good habits. For example, if you are at the gym straight after work then you are not making yourself a slice of toast before tea at home. You will see other people making progress and that might spur you on to do more or to look at your diet as well. The two go hand in hand to an extent, so long as you don't go down the route of rewarding yourself with food for a gym session - don't!

As for sweating - when I leave a class I've sweat so much my hair is wet. I don't care. I sweat when I was 4 stone heavier and I still sweat now. But I recover quickly and cool down fast. I often wonder why some others just don't sweat but I've come to conclusion that we are all different. You can see the ones who won't push themselves to the sweaty limit cos they are self conscious about it. But if you're like me and you start even in the warm up then you're going to do it anyway so why worry - see you've an advantage straight away!

Best of luck.

blossomsuz

Go to the gym.

I am amongst the few bigger ladies at my gym and tend to go round about 8pmish when it is quieter.

You may feel like people are staring at first but you soon get over it and start to enjoy your workouts. If I am not red faced and sweaty when I finish then I havent done a good enough job!

Of course you always get the posers that are there to look at the opposite sex but just ignore them.

Good luck and happy gyming

VestanPance

I'm one of the skinny folk, endurance runner, swimmer and cyclist. I don't go to gyms as they bore the living hell out me. I prefer to exercise outside in all weather.

That said nobody will care one bit about your body shape when exercising. I've seen people starting off running well over weight and all I've seen anyone do is say well done for getting out there. I've seen people complete Ironman triathlons who are carrying extra weight.

One thing to note is if changing body shape is you objective then make sure you are doing the appropriate exercise for that objective. Any cardio work like I do is not ideal for changing body shape quickly. This is why many quickly lose interest. They don't get quick results as they are doing excessive time on the wrong exercise.

If you want quick weight loss aim for a high protein/low carb diet and get someone to devise an intensive weights regime for you. If you want a slower transformation look at the cardio exercises such as cycling, running and swimming.

krlyr

How about a bit of both? You know WW works for you so use it to kickstart your weightloss and get into back into the swing of it and into good habits, as well as needing smaller gym clothes that should last longer. When you feel confident you can maintain good eating habits, or your weightloss starts to plateau, ditch the paid WW and continue on your own, and join the gym. Perhaps aim to lose x amount at the gym before switching to cheaper exercise - e.g. once you drop some weight, running may become less uncomfortable and you could save yourself the money. Look at the C25K running regime, you could start this in the gym on the treadmill then later join a running group or find a running buddy.
Good luck with it whatever route you take