Too fat to go to the gym?

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Replies

  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
    I got myself a gym membership on the weekend and I have been once, but the whole time I was very anxious, scared and intimidated that all the other members were looking at me. Especially the gym junkies and skinny Minnie's.

    How do I get past this feeling so that I can just go to the gym? Or should I put my membership on hold until I lose some more weight?

    I'm BARELY under 300lbs and I go... so, no you aren't too fat to go to the gym... :smile:

    You've don't have to be great to start, but you've got to start to be great!!! :smile:
  • RevCO30
    RevCO30 Posts: 176 Member
    I didn't take the time to read through everyone's posts so this may be a repeat, but here goes...don't let other people determine your worth. You are worthy of making yourself healthy. Like others have said, most people aren't even paying attention to you, and if they are paying attention to you in a negative way, that's their problem. It's hard to do, I know...I have been/still am there. But get in that gym and give those calories hell!
  • Alex_murphyy
    Alex_murphyy Posts: 50 Member
    The only person too fat to go to the gym is someone too fat to get in the door, and since most gyms have a double door at the entry I'm not sure it's humanly possible to get that large without dying first.

    Snooty hook-up gyms do exist, but at a "real" gym, people are there to get their work out done and go home soon as possible to get to living their lives. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own gig to worry about what others are doing.


    THIS!
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Just go, wear your headphones, do your work out and get out of Dodge. Change your thoughts, change your life.

    You won't get fit by avoiding prying eyes and chances are, no one is looking.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    "Too fat to go to the gym" is called a nice excuse to sit at home and watch TV. If fitness is one of your goals, suck it up and go to the gym.

    No actually, it's called working out at home rather than in front of everyone.

    If you were working out at home regularly and consistently and getting results you wanted- then you would not have purchased a gym membership.

    Working out at home- or at a park- is fine- if you actually do it AND it meets your goals.

    If your goal is to be a power lifter- unless you get yourself a power cage and barbell set up at home- then you aren't going to make progress.



    Soooooooooooooo my answer to you is being to fat to go to the gym is like saying your too sick to see a doctor.


    secondly- once you get used to going- you'll be used to going- people won't realize you're new and no one will care. You're new- and after you go for a while- you'll realize you'll see the same people OVER and OVER again- you may even make friends because you bump into them a lot. It happens- it's normal.

    The only reason you feel the way you do is because you're new- and it's unusual. You'll be fine after a month.
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
    First of all… no such thing as being too fat for the gym. It's like refusing to go to the doctor until you start getting better.

    Second of all… people are usually too busy checking themselves out in the mirror to bother worrying about anyone else.

    Third of all… I usually try to be really conscious about not judging/labeling people at the gym (the "gym junkies" or "skinny minis"), but I admit, the thought does cross my mind at times when I see those regulars. Those super fit and built people who can probably lift with their pinky finger what I struggle to bench. However… I got a huge wake up call when one of those regulars who I had mentally labeled came up to me and gave me "props for the motivation" and told me how much he respected my efforts. My piddly light weights and (at best) moderate paced walks… If I compare myself to others… I feel completely inadequate at the gym most of the time… convinced that everybody is judging me and mentally making those disparaging remarks that I think about myself. It doesn't stop me because I stopped giving a flying a long time ago what anybody else thought of me… But it made my day to realize I was wrong…. that if people were noticing me, they were actually respecting what I was doing.

    Basically, what I'm saying… give those "gym junkies" a chance. Yeah, they're gonna be there. But before you get intimidated by them or are convinced they are making negative judgments about you… don't be too quick to judge them yourself. They may end up being your biggest cheerleaders.

    ^^^^LOVE THIS!!!! ^^^^^
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
    Just keep going. It will pass. Everyone always looks at the new person in every situation in life. The gym is no different. There is no one too fat for the gym. Respect for everyone who goes to the gym and tries to better them self.

    This ^^^^
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
    I got myself a gym membership on the weekend and I have been once, but the whole time I was very anxious, scared and intimidated that all the other members were looking at me. Especially the gym junkies and skinny Minnie's.

    How do I get past this feeling so that I can just go to the gym? Or should I put my membership on hold until I lose some more weight?

    I also found it helpful for ME to find a friend to join with you and go with you... After a while, you get into such a groove at the gym, that you don't need anyone there with you. :smile: Now, I prefer to go by myself... I put my ear buds in and jam to my music...
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    i dunno. I was relieved yesterday when there were no lanes open in the pool.. I snuck out after riding the elliptical
  • drabbits3
    drabbits3 Posts: 140 Member
    Do not even be intimated--who knows how large some of the now "skinny" people used to be?!?!?! And really--you should feel incredibly proud that you are going and trying to get healthy and strong! Nobody should feel they can't be somewhere any time, much less the gym! Good job for getting started!!!!
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    I have anxiety about every new thing I ever do. Going to a gym by myself the first time I felt like I was going to puke, but I did it. After going a few times it got easier and now, it's just part of the routine. I see familiar faces and it's just not a big deal at all anymore. It's easy to find excuses to not do things. You are not too fat to go to the gym. You just have to want it bad enough.
  • The_WoIverine
    The_WoIverine Posts: 367 Member
    Just keep going. It will pass. Everyone always looks at the new person in every situation in life. The gym is no different. There is no one too fat for the gym. Respect for everyone who goes to the gym and tries to better them self.

    I agree
  • _sirenofthesea_
    _sirenofthesea_ Posts: 117 Member
    I got myself a gym membership on the weekend and I have been once, but the whole time I was very anxious, scared and intimidated that all the other members were looking at me. Especially the gym junkies and skinny Minnie's.

    How do I get past this feeling so that I can just go to the gym? Or should I put my membership on hold until I lose some more weight?

    There are still moments I feel like the 'fat girl at the gym' but honestly - I don't even think about it much anymore. I always try and find one person in there that's inspiring me - and think 'if they can do THAT - surely I can do THIS'. Sometimes it's a buff guy lifting tons of weight, sometimes its the little old man just shuffling along at 2.0 on the treadmill - sometimes it's the 'skinnie minnie' (Oh I wanna be her) and sometimes it's the guy that has WAY more weight to lose than me -

    At the end of the day - nobody there cares what you look like - except for you - and when you can figure out how to make yourself be proud of you - you'll quit worrying about it :)
  • tracie999
    tracie999 Posts: 84 Member
    I started going last year at 250lbs, i joined golds and we have a gym at work but i didn't want to go to that as i work with the military and was worried about what people would think of me. I soon got over my fear when one day i was in the work gym and some marines came in and worked in with me, now 62lbs lighter alot stronger and i have respect from the guys for sticking with it and making a big diffrence to my life.

    Go keep going and you will get respect from people.
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
    No one there cares how fat you are. Seriously, and if they do, who cares. Are you going to let something like that keep you out of the gym? Are you going to let a preconceived notion about what someone "might" think about you, keep you from accomplishing YOUR goals? As others have said, if you can fit through the door and you want to be there, then go. No one is going to change you but you. Put some headphones on with your favorite music, tune everyone out, and go kick some butt!
  • Artionis
    Artionis Posts: 105 Member
    This morning on my way out of the gym I walked behind a woman who looked to be into her 70's, weighed I'd guess around 300 lbs, and used a walker. She was wearing her gym shoes. Anyone who thought less of her for being there, I'd give a figurative smack across the head. (NCIS style.) Jerks and narcissists are everywhere, not just in a gym. More important, kind and supportive people are everywhere too, including in the gym. Go do your thing, and be proud of yourself.
  • kareterra
    kareterra Posts: 8
    You're where you should be. You have to start somewhere, might as well be there.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    This morning on my way out of the gym I walked behind a woman who looked to be into her 70's, weighed I'd guess around 300 lbs, and used a walker. She was wearing her gym shoes. Anyone who thought less of her for being there, I'd give a figurative smack across the head. (NCIS style.) Jerks and narcissists are everywhere, not just in a gym. More important, kind and supportive people are everywhere too, including in the gym. Go do your thing, and be proud of yourself.

    Well said, and good for her ++++

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