How to not look like fattest person in gym?

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Replies

  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Take an even fatter friend?
  • jadey_lady
    jadey_lady Posts: 32 Member
    I am easily the biggest person in the gym when I go, and you know what? I don't care because I'm proving to those people right there that I think I am good enough to be just like them and that I won't let judgement from them (which honestly, they probably don't even judge you as you think they do) stop me. If anything, I prove to them just how amazing I am. They don't think I can do 60min on the elliptical? I prove to them I can.

    You do the same. Prove to them you are there for a purpose and that purpose is to care about yourself and your goals.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    Stop caring what other people think and do whatever it takes to make you truly happy with yourself. That's the opinion that matters most.
  • gmoneycole
    gmoneycole Posts: 813 Member
    It's simple really. Move more while you are there and eat less while you are not. And with time you won't be close to the fattest and will be getting closer to the fittest ;) Best of luck to you!
  • l_ashley
    l_ashley Posts: 154 Member
    Just do it. I promise 99% of the people in the gym don't care about your size. When I see a bigger person in the gym working out, I feel proud of them for starting their weight loss journey. Then I go back to my own routine and stop thinking about it.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    I felt like that for sure when I started. And maybe for awhile I even was. I talked my husband into going with me the first couple of times, even though he didn't have much interest. Gradually though I've gotten smaller and more people have joined (with the new year), and now I'm not the fattest. And what is even better is that I can tell that I'm in better shape than some people half my size, and that feels pretty awesome.

    It does get to the point where you are just really focused on what you are doing, and you just want to get it done and over with so you can go home and eat...so don't take it personally if people there don't seem overly friendly. They are just self-absorbed.
  • SillyC2
    SillyC2 Posts: 275 Member

    now if you do find someone who is worthless and does look at you and snicker or say something to their buddy.....

    just walk by them and stop.... and ask them if they just farted???? tell them you heard it and would appreciate them not doing that in YOUR gym.... I did that one time and havnt stopped laughing yet...

    You are my hero! I think I'm going to do this to "Let's sit on the this bench for 30 minutes while holding the 20lb barbells and talk about how we're going to warm up" guy. I swear, this guy.... he's always at the gym where I lift, ALWAYS, and good god he spends more time chatting with his friends on the equipment than I do working out. Last week, I spend 40 minutes in there lifting. He came in with me, and by the time I left, he and his pals had only just begun set 1 of their warmup. I kept having to ask them to move. Politely, I invited them to "work in" with me. But they never "worked in" (this is where they lift while I rest, and I lift while they rest). They never worked in because they never even worked.

    So, OP - nobody cares about whether you're a fat guy at the gym. Other gym members want to work out with "good citizens". And this means:

    1) Wiping down the equipment after you're done.
    2) Give people the space they need to do their workout. Walk well around someone who is currently lifting.
    3) Put any weights you use back where you found them
    4) Pay attention to whether others wish to use the equipment. Don't use the machine next to you as a place to store your stuff, and try to cooperate if you're lifting weights.

    To the extent that anybody is eying over the "new guy".... it's likely NOT your size or shape, but they're scoping you out to see whether you're following the rules. And that will happen no matter what size you are.
  • frecklesandfries
    frecklesandfries Posts: 32 Member
    I imagine it must feel really intimidating to approach a gym when you hold the belief that you are the fattest in the gym. I just want to let you know that its a huge first step that you are even walking in and just know that the community here is very proud of you! I think what might help is to focus on the cognitive distortion that you are the "fattest in the gym" and consider reframing how you see the gym For example, look at the people in the gym and think "this is what I can accomplish" as opposed to beating yourself up. But most importantly, know that this is a very common feeling felt by a good percentage of people at the gym regardless of their size and you are not alone in this. I hope things start to get better, love for you to keep us updated!
  • ImpishVanity
    ImpishVanity Posts: 224 Member
    There are a ton of people of all shapes and sizes at my gym. If anything it just motivates me more to see non-fit people there. It's what the gym is for :)
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    Go in, lift like you need to, do your work and leave. Even if you're not lifting as much as them, the odds are, if they're paying attention at all (which they likely aren't) they'll see you consistently kicking *kitten* and will respect you for it.

    Go in, do your business, forget the world exists. Just be sure you wipe down your equipment, rerack your weights, and you're good to go
  • Spaghetti_Bender
    Spaghetti_Bender Posts: 509 Member
    Just walk in there confident and determined...................then go do your workout. Don't let anything or anyone intimidate you.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
    I promise you that no one is going to mock you, not even silently. A) They are too busy with their own routine. B) EVERYONE has been the new kid at something, somewhere, sometime in their life.

    I shall share my story: I fell off an apparatus. I was at the gym, and set up a sit-up bench for inclined sit-ups. It was the type of bench that has the foam things to hook your feet under at one end. I was starting easy, only a 5 degree incline. So I hop my very ample *kitten* onto the bench, swing my ankles under the pads and crunch up. Now, I have a lot of...let's say...excess...in my abdominal area, plus I have the weakest abs known to man or woman, so I can't manage a full sit-up, just a crunch, but every little bit, right? I'm crunching, and I am putting all I have into it. I crunch up, and my muscles are shrieking, they are ready to give up, but no, I gotta go for one more crunch. I go for it, but my abs fail. Halfway up, they just stop. I can't make it any further. I strain, push as hard as I can, but nope. I've used everything. I fall back into starting position, gasping, red-faced, and rest for a second.

    Now, if you've ever been on one of these, you know you have to do one more sit-up to get off. I hadn't planned on that. See, you have to be able to get up high enough to grab the handle and unhook your feet, which, remember, are higher than your head right now. See the problem? Yeah, I couldn't do it. I ended up wiggling one of my feet loose, and literally falling off the bench to the ground.

    At my gym, the sit-up benches are smack in the middle of the serious weightlifting area. Where all the big guys slinging around ginormous free weighs hang out. It had been nearly impossible to walk in the area and get on that bench, and now I had fallen off.

    I bounced back to my feet, trying to take a lesson from my cat and act like I totally meant to do that. I raised my eyes and found myself face to face with one of the Serious Weightlifters. He raised an eyebrow, winked, fist-bumped me, and said "Get it, Girl. Half the battle's getting through these doors."

    So even if you are the biggest person there, even if you do something silly, the odds that you will get anything other than respect, are super small.

    TL;DR I fell off a piece of equipment because I wasn't strong enough to dismount correctly. I got encouragement from a very fit person afterward, and not one person laughed, pointed at me, or did anything to make me feel bad.
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
    When I first started, I prepared myself for remarks.... that never came. Seriously, no one is going to notice you. I WAS once the biggest person in my gym and no one said boo to me.

    I was prepared, though. If someone HAD said something to me about my weight, I would have been all, "What better place for a fat girl like me to be... than at the gym?"

    Go. Work out. After a while, you'll feel bad if you DON'T, because it really does feel great. :)
  • RunMyOregonBunsOff
    RunMyOregonBunsOff Posts: 862 Member
    Baggy clothes slide down a lot and get in the way when I'm running so I were my tighter (fit before I was pregnant) running clothes any way. I normally run out in public about 3 times a week and before I go I always say a mental apology to the people in my neighborhood for inflicting the sight of me running in these clothes on them but I always add on the thought that every time I get out there and get it done, I'm that much closer to saying you're welcome for the privilege of seeing me out running in tight clothes. ;)

    You may feel self conscious but every time you go, you have that much less to be self conscious about!
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
    I sometimes find people who are bigger than me at the gym really inspiring. I see what they're doing and think "if they can do that I can too" and it makes me push myself harder. I agree, I sometimes worry about what other people think, but then I start working out and focus on that and I forget all about it. I think it helps that I have a trainer, so I figure if anyone thinks anything about me they think "good for her, getting healthy and getting a trainer." At least that's what I hope they think :smile:
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Any tips?

    I want to leave right after walking in most times.

    How do you go about not look like fattest person in gym? Maybe baggy clothes or something?
    Lewis Black would tell you to work out at IHOP.
  • Miffylou
    Miffylou Posts: 307 Member
    You don't know what size or what those other people looked like 12 months ago or even 6 months ago. So I don't judge. To tell you the truth I don't even think about the others in the gym as I'm concentrating more on what I'm doing.

    Just go, have fun and enjoy it.

    ????????
  • littlelaura
    littlelaura Posts: 1,028 Member
    If you waste your time worrying about what others think you wont ever achieve anything.
    Just go do it already!!! You are worth it. Once you get your workout groove on you will be glad you did.
  • cursiny
    cursiny Posts: 907 Member
    Just walk in there confident and determined...................then go do your workout. Don't let anything or anyone intimidate you.

    This....
    I put my headphones in and Jack up the music and forget about everyone else
  • healthyme_2013
    healthyme_2013 Posts: 25
    Go in...know that you deserve to be there as much as anyone. Stay focused on your mission. This is for you and not for anyone else. What you wear does not matter as long as it's comfortable. Believe it or not, most people won't even notice you there. They will be too focused on improving themselves. If they do notice you, you'll just have to show them you are as committed as they are.
    You can do it! Take that step, you'll be happy you did!
  • crazie4lulu
    crazie4lulu Posts: 762 Member
    we all have to start somewhere. you dont have to be great to start...but you do have to start to be great!!!
  • GummyHuman
    GummyHuman Posts: 193 Member
    How to not look like fattest person in gym?

    Keep going.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    You probably wont be the fattest one...just the most self conscious. Just go.
    And the baggy clothes? Fools no one. Wear things that fit you well and be proud that you are taking care of YOU... because you deserve it!
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
    When I see fat people in the gym I cheer "Go Fatty Go!".

    In my head anyway. I don't actually say it out loud.

    Seriously, do not use being fat as an excuse not to go to the gym. No one cares. Or it makes them feel better about themselves because they can smugly think "Well, at least I'm not that fat".
  • stephyy4632
    stephyy4632 Posts: 947 Member
    I don`t look around when I`m at the gym I`m there to get in , get done and get home lol no time to check out the other people and what they are doing. ( short answer just focus on what you have to get done and don`t worry about anyone else )
  • 1pandabear
    1pandabear Posts: 336 Member
    I wear black. Ha ha. Seriously I do wear black about half of the time at the gym. You deserve to be at the gym just as much as anyone else there. You have the right to be proud of yourself having the self discipline to work out at the gym. You are going to the gym, good for you!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Keep working at it until you're not the fattest person in the gym anymore. Done.
  • SaintGiff
    SaintGiff Posts: 3,679 Member
    How to not look like the fattest person in the gym?

    1: Join a gym that is right next to a Wal Mart. Particularly a Wal Mart with a McDonald's in it.

    2: Get out of your own head. Everyone thinks they are the fattest, most out of shape person there. The odds of you being right are pretty slim. And if you are right, then take comfort in the fact that you are the only person there who is right. Then work your *kitten* off until you are no longer right.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Baggy clothes are just going to make you look bigger. Just wear something comfortable, no one cares if you are the biggest person there. I'm pretty sure I was one of the biggest women at my gym when I started, but no one was anything but nice to me. If they see you working hard they will respect you regardless of size =)
  • spikrgrl503
    spikrgrl503 Posts: 247 Member
    I honestly couldn't tell you what anybody who goes to the gym looks like. Except one, there's this 75 year old man that I see in there all the time. He, quite frankly, amazes me.

    A lot of this is in your head. Go and do your thing! Better to be at the gym then on the couch

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