Hey, Fat Girl.

ellebish

This is AWESOME!!!

Read at work and almost teared up.

Great post!!!

jessielynnmn

That was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing. It makes me want to lace up now!

tedinger4given

This is amazing

wrinju

Wow... made me very teary!

badlydrawnperson

Ace post thank you for sharing - it made me teary too. So many of us are self-conscious and it's hard to put yourself out there when you're used to doing everything you can to not draw attention to yourself. I still tense up every time I have to go past people when I'm out running, although I have now progressed to being willing to run in daylight... just! :-)

Tracepa98

i hope this is a true story even if it is not, i hope that it is what we all feel when we see someone new to the gym or the sidewalks, and i hope this is what people feel/felt about us as we all got started!

I wasn't the "fat girl" at this time, but in HS, i was deifnitely out of shape. I was self conscious, terrible at sports, and very very shy. Gym class was my worst nightmare every day. I remember in 9th grade, we had to run a mile on the track every day for gym before we started whatever lesson we were on. And I remember I hated it because I was so slow and it was so embarrassing; I just wanted to disappear. This girl in my class who was on the track team and ran cross country, I remember her running up next to me one day and saying "come on, run with me. I know you can do it!" And she ran with me that day. She pushed me to go faster than I thought I was able, but she slowed down for me (obviously since she was a distance runner she could have out paced me in second), ran with me and encouraged me to push myself. When I finished, I'd finished the mile the fasted I'd ever run it up to that point and I remember she congradulated me and told me "see! I knew you could do it!" We didn't be come bestest friends in the whole world or anything like that, and I was still shy and insecure and gym class was still terrifying, but she absolutely made my semester, and I'll never forget that she did that for me. It boosted my confidence and got me into running recreationally in HS, and now that I've gotten back into it almost 10 years later, I remember it every day when I go for a run and start to feel self conscious. People who are already athletic and in shape--you have no idea what a difference in someone's life you can make just by smiling at them from across the track, or giving them a thumbs up, telling them good job, or even just running with them. Sometimes for them, it can mean the difference between deciding it's the last day they're going to bother doing this, and pushing on to a healthier life.

I had a scenario similar to yours with running the mile in gym class. For several years I would just walk it with my usual core group of friends and we all had terrible times. But watching my other classmates run by like the breeze got me motivated and I wanted to do more. So i did stints of running and walking and my friend Amelia who was quite athletic (and diabetic!) stayed my by side and that year I finished it in my fastest time!

That blog post made me tear up as well. Because that's exactly how I felt trying to go to the gym for the first time alone. Hoped I wouldn't be noticed and that people weren't thinking badly of my weight. But Ive been going to the gym now for over a month, my endurance is building and I can really get a pace going on the treadmill or elliptical that I hope would make any passerby proud. I find its tough to make friends at the gym as everyone is internally focused on their workout and the ear buds come out, music starts to play and they start moving to the beat. I am proud to be like that now that I have instilled in myself that fire that keeps me pushing harder.

Much love and hugs to all the "fat girls" like myself out there that are starting their journey for a better life. :flowerforyou:

mebohan

bump

bluefox9er

Iv'e read this before on Mfp and it made me teary eyed both times. I see 'the fat girl' on my runs sometimes and she never makes eye contact, keeps her head down and keeps going... I am in awe of her.

texasgal22

Encouraging post! so glad to see it motivating others. I was a kid in jr. high when the song RESPECT by Aretha Franklin was a top hit (shows my age!). We did our gym exercises to that song. I do believe that I learned to "respect yourself" in the gym. Weight does have a tendency to bring judgement from others but praise God! there remains a lot of GOOD people out there.

sreimer07

I love it!!!!!

bluefox9er

AWESOME!! i wish every overweight person that feels this way would read this.....this is just what they need to hear.
ty for sharing!!

I don't believe this post should be specific to 'overweight' people. This post has a much deeper meaning that applies to *everyone*.

joecollins9385

bump

eazieske

GREAT POST THATS SOUNDS LIKE ME PUSHING MY SELF BREATHING HARD THANK YOU!!!!!

Shannon_Nicole83

Love it! Thanks for posting :bigsmile:

Lightbulb1088

This gave me goose bumps! What agreat story! thanks for sharing it.

GeekGirl23

Ok this about made me cry... because I am that fat girl. I don't alway hold my head high and it wasn't until I found Jazzercise that I really started feeling those changes and seeing people be inspired by me.

It's hard when you put all the effort in and feel that people are still "Judging" you. But there comes a point where you need to not care about what others think and just do it! because when you do, things like this happen. People become inspired by you and you make progress for yourself.

Cheers! and here's to becoming better human beings to each other!:flowerforyou:

srhershey

Just beautiful and well written. This makes me change my mind about running in my neighborhood. I sometimes take my dog for a jog and will stop and walk when I see a car coming or people walking, then start jogging again when the coast is clear.

shannahrose

I'm lost for words. This is incredible and so true.

tumblyweed

tears.... thanks

jenluvsushi

Thank you for sharing!

skinnywithin

goose bumps and tears................................thank you so much for sharing this !

Blessedbythebest1

So touched - awesome! Yet so true, it takes a lot of courage when you are overweight to do something beyond your capabilities but sticking with it and having that determination wins all hearts..love this!

Suni3276

love it!!

Lucianna_D

I love this.. You have me all teary eye!!!

LesleeBeAlive

This makes me happy.
Puts into perspective life in general.

Thank you.

bombedpop

This is super condescending. Y'all find it inspiring? Srsly?

You know that gym goers are more their own workout, not staring at fat people.

poshcouture

THIS brought tears to my eyes. THIS is how I feel when I run. THIS is how I feel every time there's a seasoned/fit runner pass me on the bike path. Truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

justjenn1977

I'm in tears...

I want to run... Shin splints in the winter... Severely sprained foot that has me currently grounded... My doc just told me it might be better to wait fifty more pounds before I try again.. I'm sad...

But I'm not giving up...

No sir

marthadztx

LOVE!!!

Ncdaniel16

Love this....ALOT!!