Too embarrased to go swimming

24

Replies

  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
    Yeah I have this issue too. I used to go few years back regularly but now my hairy back & chest is stopping me!!! Should this be an issue guys?


    You'd be surprised how many women think man hair is sexy!
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    I never ever swim in public. ): It's something I wish I could get over but I don't even wear SHORTS or short sleeved shirts so I really don't think this is something I will be able to overcome.
  • lilacsun
    lilacsun Posts: 204 Member
    Yeah I have this issue too. I used to go few years back regularly but now my hairy back & chest is stopping me!!! Should this be an issue guys?


    I'm not a guy but I can answer this one. No, hair should not be an issue. My hubby is a hairy guy and he looks great! Men are hairy naturally and it is okay. All this metro shaving/hair removal is nuts. Some of us ladies do not mind guy hair. Just go and have fun.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Going to Hawaii has totally cured me of swimsuit self-consciousness. In fact, after probably a decade of not wearing a bikini I finally decided to go buy one after being there. And I wore it and I totally rocked it in my own head even though I really don't have the body to be rockin' it in anyone else's head. It's all in the attitude. Those gorgeous beaches are full of very large girls and women in very tiny bikinis and they just looked so beautiful because they were absolutely not the slightest bit uncomfortable with themselves. They are absolute works of art simply because they know they are beautiful. I'm guessing they have a culture where 'skinny' is not in, because they were big and happy to be big and saw absolutely nothing wrong with being big. And they all looked totally healthy and happy. Sometimes you just have to embrace the body you have. You can love yourself and still work to improve yourself.
  • LadyJos
    LadyJos Posts: 29
    Simplyeater has got it right, Just keep saying 'screw'em' and think about the results. Before you know it, you will be walking in there with confidence and feeling & looking great!!!!

    "The only one who can tell you "you can't" is you. And you don't have to listen" ~ Nike
  • aquamarine78
    aquamarine78 Posts: 16
    I love swimming as well. I hate myself in a bathing suit. But I still force myself to get over it and get in the water. I used to go to this gym when I lived in Japan. Everyone was thin!!! I really stood out. I was the only white person and I was overweight. That was a hard place to walk into. But everyone was pretty nice. People would ask me where I was from, I started to make friends and eventually I didn't worry so much about how I looked and I concentrated more on how I felt about doing something that I love. Is there anyone you could go with? It might be easier with a buddy.
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
    Most people are too focused on themselves and how their fat (real or imagined) looks in a bathing suit to notice you.
  • janet0513
    janet0513 Posts: 564 Member
    Just do it! You are there to get healthy. Who really cares what others are thinking and honestly most people aren't gonna give it a second thought. If it makes you feel better then go at non peak hours and once you are in the water they can't even see you. It will get easier each time you go. You have just as much right to go there, don't sell yourself short. I love to swim (and I am not even very good) and I go for me :) Live like a fit person and soon you will be one!
  • SheilaN1976
    SheilaN1976 Posts: 266 Member
    i used to love swimming growing up.......now.....i wont even put on a one piece bathing suit. I haven't been swimming in years now. I hate the way i look in clothes so i am not about to put on a swimsuit.
  • painauxraisin
    painauxraisin Posts: 299 Member
    Hello!

    I've been having lessons with my friend. He's teaching me to improve my stroke :wink: . Seriously. He's helping me to improve the breaststroke and I've just started the front crawl. I never look in the mirrors at the pool and just concentrate on improving. I don't think anyone is really taking any notice of us getting in and out but we do have a tendency to worry what people think. These days I feel more of a twit because I have to wear a swim hat! Makes me look like a roll on deoderant! Concentrate on the reason you're at the pool. Let us know when you've been.
  • erinxo13
    erinxo13 Posts: 892 Member
    I'm starting an aquaftiness class tonight and I'm actually really nervous. I decided I was going to do it and then I realized how scared and nervous I was about being there and probably being the biggest one there... a friend is taking the classes with me. I totally understand how you feel.... I'll let you know how tonight goes... I'm already freaking out:blushing:
  • tubbyelmo
    tubbyelmo Posts: 415 Member
    How many people at the pool will know you? I tell myself that, and just make sure I go pretty quickly from the changing room to the water, swimming will help with your confidence levels too, beating the nerves/fear will be a victory in itself, please try!
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Ya I feel that way and I still dont belong in a swim suit but when you are training for triathlons you have to put in the time and so I decided hey I know I look disgusting but this pool wont swim itself.
  • chicadejmu
    chicadejmu Posts: 171 Member
    First of all, look around. Everyone else is overweight too lol. Skinny people are hard to find these days.

    And then, go buy yourself a swim shirt or rash guard. There's nothing wrong with that, it provides you more UV protection and I'd imagine you'd feel more comfortable with a shirt on.
  • cmcorn26
    cmcorn26 Posts: 253 Member
    One doesn't live life until they have left their comfort zone. Are you living or letting life pass you by? I used to swim 10 miles a day when I was younger. Then I stopped doing things, got fat, now the onlynway to lose weight is to go do it again.
    You WILL feel great, the water is so comforting......no jolts to the joint, quiet except for the sound of your heart and breathing, muscles moving....gosh, makes me want to go swimming right now.
    hAVE FUN!
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I'm lucky - I swim at a rehab pool and with100 lbs still to lose, I'm still one of the fittest people there. But I still had to make myself go the first few times. Take a deep beath and dive in - puns intended! You're there for you and swimming is great exercise - and it feels great! I'd bet that after your first swim you'll be beating yourself up for not going sooner.
  • RDawn7
    RDawn7 Posts: 38
    Hi, if you love swimming the way you do it would be an excellent exercise motivator for you. Swimming is great exercise. stop caring about how other's will perceive you, because in this world there is always and I mean always someone that will find fault with you. Do it for yourself and only for yourself.
  • Sunshine81Mke
    Sunshine81Mke Posts: 7 Member
    Hi,
    Hm, maybe if I offer my perspective, it might help (I hope):
    So, I used to be on a swim team, four years, and it is my love, my passion, my comfort zone. So, even though I am officially an obese person lol (i should not laugh actually) regardless of how I look I still go swimming. I guess it is something between water, pool and me, and I don't even notice anyone there, or if they are staring, I guess it does not bother me the slightest. In fact, I feel most comfortable, it is weird, I know, but it is what it is :)

    However, my issue is going to the gym and wearing short shorts because my legs are not skinny...so, trying to figure that out (we are such a complicated human beings :)

    Another thought is that since you loved to swim, it might be the fact that you want to be best at it...and somehow, you are trying to find a way to be best (read: perfect) first, and then you would feel like now you deserve to go swimming? Could be that, but at any rate, just go for it and just work it. Yeah!:happy:

    "Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" :)
  • putridperrier
    putridperrier Posts: 3 Member
    Have your partner/significant other help you shave it. It should be an issue. You can also use something called the "Backspa" that will allow you to do it yourself. In the end, you should just put on some waterproof MP3 players on and zone out the distractions and onlookers.
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
    I know it's embarrassing to get in your trunks and jump in that pool, just think though how many calories you can burn swimming and how much easier it is on your joints and your range of movement you gain. I can't say no one will laugh or snicker but you can't live your life worrying about what someone else feels about what you look like. Do you best to get out there and use that pool to get those pounds off and to feel better about yourself. Good Luck!!!
  • KickassAugust
    KickassAugust Posts: 1,430 Member
    Wait. I've heard the perfect response to this one... let me find it.
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    I lost all modesty the moment I started triathlon. I wear spandex 6/7 days a week and there is no way to look good when you're coming out of a 1.2 mile swim running out of the water with snot dripping out your nose and looking like you're about to die in every leg of the race.

    Honestly just go. No one cares/is looking at you and the more you go the better you'll feel about it as you get more and more comfortable.
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
    Just go for it!!!
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I stopped wearing a bathing suit in 10th grade, when I realized what I looked like in one, which in hindsight probably wasn't as bad as I thought. I refused to go swimming anymore, and I used to be on the swim team and spent every day during the summers in the pool as a kid. The last few summers after watching my kids in the pool, I realized how much I missed it. I went to FL in June, bought a bathing suit, and got in the pool for the first time in 30 years. 30 freakin' years I let pass by. 14 of them I could've spent in the pool with my kids instead of just watching. Put your damn suit on and get in the pool!
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    People at a swimming pool are generally focused on swimming - not on looking at the sizes of other swimmers. And once you're in the pool, your body is underwater - no one can even see it. They can potentially see you walking to the pool from the changing room, but a lot of people are short sighted, and they take off their glasses to swim, so they're unlikely even to see you then. I take off my glasses to swim, and I can't see anyone. Realistically, people are a lot more invisible at a swimming pool than in the gym.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Well... I know you'll feel better if you just go and hop in the pool :)

    Face your fears, you'll be stronger for it. I'm sure you're your own worst critic anyway. Go and do something you enjoy which is also good for you - hop in that pool!
  • skuehn48
    skuehn48 Posts: 3,040 Member
    I am a great deal overweight but I work in my swimsuit everyday. I manage an Aquatic Physical therapy facility. I see all sorts of patients and clients everyday and I think " Good for them! They have gotten into swimming garb even though they may be uncomfortable or scared and they are doing something to improve their health". Remember what others think of you is none of your business. Get in there and swim. It is so good for your body.
  • 2012asv
    2012asv Posts: 702 Member
    I don't swim, but I had this exact same feeling with running in public. One day I literally just put my music on loud enough to block out my own internal garbage and just did it. It felt great. I love running now. Eventually you learn to stop caring about what other ppl think and get excited about what you're doing.

    Hang in there, it is hard sometimes. good lick!
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    I still wear my under armour tshirt when I go to the pool, I get looks but I'm much more comfortable wearing it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Yeah I have this issue too. I used to go few years back regularly but now my hairy back & chest is stopping me!!! Should this be an issue guys?

    Only if the hair on your back is long enough to braid. :laugh: :laugh:

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