Sick of the 'Just join a gym' comments

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princessrisariri
princessrisariri Posts: 162 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Set the scene, today at work all the guys are discussing what takeout to order today and ask me.
I say I cant I am doing a calorie count diet and have some food in the kitchen downstairs
Queue an argument I never asked for and leads into me just having to defend myself then everyone going off in a huff!

'Why don't you just join a gym'

'Well I would have to run for xhours to burn off anything so it hardly seems worth it'

'Well it will get you healthy'

'Gym alone is not enough you need to watch what you eat'

'Well you will get more healthy so thats all you need'

'Maybe I dont just just to be healthier, maybe I want to be thinner'

'Well you need to eat 2000 a day or you are not healthy'

'No I need to eat less than that to lose weight'

It goes on and on and on. Until i snap with 'I dont care I just want to be thin and how the **** am I meant to get to a gym enough to burn 500 cals a day when I work 14hours a day and take the bus everywhere?!'


The point being once I drop a bit of weight I will look into a gym I just don't feel comfortable enough in myself for it and I want people to support whatever little steps I am taking, but I just sound like excuses and whinging to someone who has a car and can drive everywhere/is a healthy BMI sized male who just likes going to the gym a bit but eats like ****.

It seems whenever you tell anyone you are dieting some person who has never had trouble with weight always stick their own ideas in and I want to scream 'I have picked something I think I can stick too as that is better than something that wont fit my lifestyle and what works for you might not work for me!'

Smug gits /rage'
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Replies

  • chimp517
    chimp517 Posts: 185 Member
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    Ill tell you their routine at the gym.
    Day 1: Chest/biceps
    repeat
  • needles85365
    needles85365 Posts: 491 Member
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    why didn't you just say no, and eat the food you brought. No debate or argument. Sanity restored.
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
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    Do what you gotta do...Don't worry about what other people say. They all will have opinions..The only one that matters. Is YOURS!!!!!!
  • janeaskinner
    janeaskinner Posts: 1
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    i have a long way to go and my partner is of the same idea you just need to do more exercise well i know this and being a office worker i don’t really do a lot of walking and stuff and to top it all im a desk muncher but i have had a bit of a break through

    a mate of mine asked me to go to a zumba class and well i went thinking it would be a night nare and lots of look at the fatty finger pointing

    you know what i loved it i felt great to and there where allsorts people there i tried the guy and hated it but you know what sometimes you just need to find something you love to do and go from there
  • Nicki_101
    Nicki_101 Posts: 73 Member
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    Wow, what a mess.....lol. I no longer explain myself to people, I have tried, and if they can be stubborn, so can I. You will learn to recognise the people who have all the answers and the ones who really want to learn. Don't feel you need to justify yourself to anyone. Being firm in your decisions without feeling the need the justify will earn you more respect, and if others cant respect that, then maybe you don't need them as your associates or people with whom you share your information.
  • susanp57
    susanp57 Posts: 409 Member
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    Never volunteer the info that you are calorie counting, on a diet, whatever. All you needed to say was, "I bought my lunch." If they want to start a discussion, point out that they don't get to decide and you don't have to explain. It's called a personal life because it's personal.
  • 55sc
    55sc Posts: 46 Member
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    Why do you feel you have to explain? Just answer that you brought your lunch today and are not interested in takeout and leave it at that. Don't get into a debate.

    You can work in exercise throughout the day without going to a gym. I take short walks to the upper level of my building every hour or so. 10 minutes here and there add up. If you can get off the bus the stop before yours, you will add a short walk to your commute. If you add hand weights, you can increase some muscles while you are at it. I also have a treadmill in front of the TV, I use hand weights while I walk to Jeopardy.

    Exercise will help you be thinner and healthy, though your food choices will make the most difference in your weight.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    Set the scene, today at work all the guys are discussing what takeout to order today and ask me.
    I say I cant I am doing a calorie count diet and have some food in the kitchen downstairs
    Queue an argument I never asked for and leads into me just having to defend myself then everyone going off in a huff!

    'Why don't you just join a gym'

    'Well I would have to run for xhours to burn off anything so it hardly seems worth it'

    'Well it will get you healthy'

    'Gym alone is not enough you need to watch what you eat'

    'Well you will get more healthy so thats all you need'

    'Maybe I dont just just to be healthier, maybe I want to be thinner'

    'Well you need to eat 2000 a day or you are not healthy'

    'No I need to eat less than that to lose weight'

    It goes on and on and on. Until i snap with 'I dont care I just want to be thin and how the **** am I meant to get to a gym enough to burn 500 cals a day when I work 14hours a day and take the bus everywhere?!'


    The point being once I drop a bit of weight I will look into a gym I just don't feel comfortable enough in myself for it and I want people to support whatever little steps I am taking, but I just sound like excuses and whinging to someone who has a car and can drive everywhere/is a healthy BMI sized male who just likes going to the gym a bit but eats like ****.

    It seems whenever you tell anyone you are dieting some person who has never had trouble with weight always stick their own ideas in and I want to scream 'I have picked something I think I can stick too as that is better than something that wont fit my lifestyle and what works for you might not work for me!'

    Smug gits /rage'

    don't let your current size prevent you from starting a gym routine. I was almost 100lbs overweight when I started at the YMCA last year. I have only lost about 30lbs, but I have changed my body quite a bit! I was the girl who wore baggy tank tops and long shorts...now I wear tighter tanks and yoga pants :D and I still have 50lbs to lose.

    No one at the Y bothers me...except the old guy who messes with me 'cause I nag him to wear his oxygen ;) and another lady was teasing me for *only* using the stairmaster for 5 minutes.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Quit explaining yourself to them. Say no thank you and if they persist tell them they're being rude and walk away. No means no and you don't owe anyone an explanation.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Quit explaining yourself to them. Say no thank you and if they persist tell them they're being rude and walk away. No means no and you don't owe anyone an explanation.

    Bam!! Awesomeness. Why do you owe them any explanation? Tell the to GTFO!
  • cleotherio
    cleotherio Posts: 712 Member
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    Never volunteer the info that you are calorie counting, on a diet, whatever. All you needed to say was, "I bought my lunch." If they want to start a discussion, point out that they don't get to decide and you don't have to explain. It's called a personal life because it's personal.

    ^^this x 1000
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    Been there, done that, and have the membership card to prove it.

    I have learned one thing - NEVER, EVER, EVER LET ANYBODY outside of folks who are really into fitness and nutrition know that you are counting calories, whether you are heavy or thin. There of course is simply saying no thank you and walking away, but some folks are dense and won't drop it at that. It's not always that simple.

    You still will have to deal with food pushing, and it's tough. Even if I truly don't want something (different than trying to evade temptation), I sometimes get it shoved in my face anyways. It made me irate at first, but now I've just learned to roll with it - this is a lifestyle with 1,000,000 more benefits that dwarf this kind of rigamarole.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Quit explaining yourself to them. Say no thank you and if they persist tell them they're being rude and walk away. No means no and you don't owe anyone an explanation.

    Bam!! Awesomeness. Why do you owe them any explanation? Tell the to GTFO!

    Agree. I just smile and nod and say "I got this" when people offer advice. If they persist I tell them "It's my choice, thank you. End of conversation."

    That's all you have to do. I promise.
  • princessrisariri
    princessrisariri Posts: 162 Member
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    Because when I said No, they said why, I said diet, they said 'don't do that go to the gym'.. and it goes on.
    You cant walk away when sat on a desk with people for so many hours every day and consider them friends too and they didn't take no they pushed and questioned. I'm sure they think they are trying to help then it ends up ruining the friendships when I have to defend myself to stop getting nagged to 'come on just order, you know you want to'

    I just expect too much for them to be supportive and say good luck or even just 'cool'
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    being in a caoric defecit while not resistance training is horrible for the metabolism... someone 50+ lbs overweight can get away with it but someone trying to shed 20-30lbs needs to do some sort of strength training while trying to lose body fat.
  • Allyice
    Allyice Posts: 122 Member
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    I joined a gym, I just don't go lol. Was a waste of money for me, I'd rather take a walk outside.
  • SoonerVet
    SoonerVet Posts: 65
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    Yeah I've found that telling people I count calories has 1 or more of these reactions
    1. Confusion
    2. telling me "you don't need to diet!"
    3. "oh come on, it's just a _______!"
    4. Angry at me for ruining their good time by bringing up calories
    5. Telling me how they used to count calories and it never worked
    6. Laughing with everyone else about how they don't worry about silly things like dieting

    And it's always a time-waster and it always ends up with people thinking you are obsessive/anorexic/etc.

    so although it's SO annoying, I agree with everyone else. It's best to just make something up that they can't respond to/argue with.
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
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    tell them to go pound sand.
  • princessrisariri
    princessrisariri Posts: 162 Member
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    being in a caoric defecit while not resistance training is horrible for the metabolism... someone 50+ lbs overweight can get away with it but someone trying to shed 20-30lbs needs to do some sort of strength training while trying to lose body fat.

    Im more than 50lbs overweight...when I lose 10lbs I will look into it then.
    I do the walk from the next bus stop, run instead of walk up the office stairs, walk home from the shops type things but I would need some advise about resistance training, I don't own any weights and need help to know what to buy, how often to use etc so I don't just waste my money
  • angiemarie_xo
    angiemarie_xo Posts: 11 Member
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    Hmm.

    Well, I generally pick and choose the people I tell about my diet. Why? Because the people I know think it's simply the same .. just join a gym. But it's not that simple. Proper diet and exercising combined will get you there, among other things.

    In this case, I would have just said "no thank you, I brought my lunch today." ONLY because, like I said, I pick and choose who I tell. I'm easily embarrassed by the topic of my weight or weight loss, so it's been my go-to for years. If you're firm, people tend to back off.

    But, remember, you're doing this for YOU and YOU ONLY. You don't need to justify anything to anybody. Let them think what they want ... you got this!

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