Too Fat to go to the gym??? WHAT!?!?

That being said, I want SO BAD to just hug the overweight person for getting out there and being a much more disciplined person than I am!

Would they be offended?

Depends on the person. I would (in all honesty) probably have been offended, because I was in a bad place emotionally at the time. Anything you said to me would have been misinterpreted in the worst possible light for sure. I've been obese pretty much from the time I was 12 years old until pretty recently, and I'm well north of 40 now. I've been in an emotional bad place about my weight for most of my life, and the bullying I received in grade and high school as a result of my weight made sure that I was set up to assume that everyone was against me, a misconception that lasted well into adulthood.

But I can only speak for myself, there are probably people who (if you explained how inspirational you found them to be) might offer YOU a heartfelt hug as thanks.

That's why I look back at a lot of my interpretation of looks and smiles from others with some level of regret. I now understand that many of those people were silently cheering me on. I didn't back then because my own self-imposed sense of lack of self worth assumed that pretty much everyone saw me as I saw myself, which was not a nice self-image.

But I never went to the gym to impress anyone. I went to the gym because I was sick and tired of not being able to do all the things I wanted to do because of my own laziness and poor emotional state and the poor physical condition it left me in. I went to the gym because I had already wasted what were supposed to be the most exciting years of my life being fat, and I needed to make the most of what I've got left.

I've seen it and overheard it.. mainly from people who have too much time on their hands and arent working out like they should. it's usually in passing (like you overhear some conversation about "did you see what that one girl was wearing in class?") so i've never stopped and told them to shut up. if it were something that i had to listen to for an extended time then i'd definitely speak up.

i wouldnt let that stop me though. i pay my gym dues just like they do and if i ever heard anyone making fun of me (i dont care what they say as long as i dont hear it) then i'd quickly tell them to kiss my fat *kitten*.. besides that i've always been good at snaps and insults so if someone were to make fun of me for 1 thing, it's almost guaranteed i can quickly come back with 5 for them

very true!

the thing is - if you are pretty large, or obese, or morbidly obese - people will stare at you, judge you, whatever, no matter where you are. The grocery store, the mall, post office, gas station.

Thats just a part of the package. Not nice, but reality, people should not use it as an excuse for not trying to do what they can do, to better themselves, improve their fitness etc.

Heck if you are to thin, to blond, to buff, to short, to tall, people stare also, and judge.....

We all started somewhere, and really non of us have arrived to our goal - we should all still strive to improve everyday, in many ways, not just the physical.

'

I agree with this 100%. I really don't think it matters where you're at.... people judge others ALL the time.. it's just life. People can be cruel, but ignoring it is the best way to go! You're doing the right thing in the right place!

Here's my tuppence worth from the UK:

1. I am six foot tall and big with it (of course, when I was younger, either I had 'big bones' or could 'carry the weight'. No folks, I just got fat. Why should I be concerned about what people think now that I am seeking to lose weight and shape up? I never gave those same people a thought when I scarfing a king-size pizza somewhere .... double standards folks.

2. Hurrah to the girl who mentioned about gym clothes. Nike only do in this country up to a size 18. Susan Powter was an advocate of big girls stripping down in gyms because then a) you can really SEE your body and b) you can see it change shape as you move and lose ... yes, not to everyone's taste, but you can't argue with the theory. Although I love my big old baggy grey t-shirt, i know that when I start to feel fitter, I want to SEE the results - not hide it under a XXL T.

3. Finally - and this is the rant over and on behalf of all the non-skinny, gym bunnies of either gender ... NO MATTER HOW SLOW WE ARE MOVING IN THE GYM, WE ARE STILL LAPPING THE GUY STILL ON THE SOFA. Kudos to us - and I think that's what most gym goers actually think.

Rant over folks but keep the controversial threads going!!!!

Enjoy your weekend!
x

Huzzah!

Glad you enjoyed it ... I had an experience at the Y (YMCA) recently where there was a significantly larger male working out in the corner ... I kept trying to catch his eye to give him a smile or a nod ... but he never looked up ... in either case, he is awesome to me. But yes, I loved the blog too ... it was powerful, and true.

This is how I feel. I came across this blog and thought I'd share ...

http://flintland.blogspot.com/2012/05/hey-fat-girl.html

This brought a tear to my eye. Thank you for bringing this up. I really appreciate it. :flowerforyou:

I have never been athletic, so going to a gym was a huge step for me. I never felt uncomfortable around the other people working out, but when I first started going to a gym (this was a few years ago), I asked one of the trainers who was covering the floor to show me how to use some of the machines properly, and she got so huffy with me. She hopped on and off the machines so fast that I couldn't follow exactly what she was doing. She finished by telling me to book an appointment with a trainer to learn how to work out. In hindsight, I should have complained to management. Isn't that why they have staff on the floor, to answer questions and give advice? But at that point, I felt quite inadequate and I left after doing a short stint on the elliptical. It's bad when the staff isn't encouraging the clients.

What a great topic! As a thin person trapped in an obese body, I have gone through most of the same negative emotions I've read here. I didn't want to go to the gym because I was sure all the trim, fit people there would be judging me. I finally convinced myself to go anyway and do what many others here have said. I just focus on my workout and who gives a hoot what some immature, inconsiderate people might think or say. I'm working out for my own health, not for their approval. As a young person I was athletic and thin, and it's hard to accept that I can't do the things I did then. These days I just do what I am able to do and keep on til I reach the next goal. MFP has been a wonderful website and I'm so glad I found it and all the helpful people here cheering each other on. Thanks to all my MFPals and to others who have inspired me and also made me laugh with some of their comments.

i dont go to the local gym just because im a night owl and its easier to do exercises at home and since im up all night anyways and frankly id go to gym if i wanted to I've got a who gives a rats attitude towards other ppls opinions of me

I never got that at the gym. Thank goodness because that may have discouraged me from ever going back. I didn't start running outside until recently and haven't gotten any rude remarks...yet. But I run early in the mornings when the rude people are still sleeping.

Put earbuds in and just do your thing. Completely ignore everyone around you. If you don't have your earbuds and someone makes a stupid remark, just say "huh?. what'd you say?" If they repeat it, just keep saying "huh? Can't hear" and point to your ears. Look sincere in your "effort" to hear them. They'll end up looking like the fool they are.

I'm over 400 pounds and just joined and started going to a gym this past week. Everyone has been great so far. I haven't heard any comments but I don't think it would bother me anyway. I'm not going there to make them happy so I couldn't care less what they think.

I have experienced being made fun of by athletic people pretty much right away at the gym. I have a similar situation to what somebody said in an earlier post about the two girls staring at you, laughing, and bumping elbows while you work out. I get up at 5 am to go work out and rather than avoid those kind of people by going earlier... I am forced to share the gym with them. It isn't just in my head because I always work out with my mp3 player but I could still hear them gossiping about me and I can't help but notice them laughing. I don't feel the least bit intimidated because at the end of the day I go to the gym only for myself.

The way I see it though they don't understand my situation because they have never been fat. These girls are like 105 pounds. I was born an overweight baby, I was an overweight kid, and my whole family is overweight. Go ahead and laugh at me tell your jokes but I don't sit on the couch and blame genetics. I made a decision to change my eat habits and put myself on an intense work out program. I have lost 35 pounds since and am well on my way to getting in shape. If you want to make fun of me for bettering myself go ahead. Anyways they don't give a **** at my gym the worker gives me dirty looks too and they put a chocolate bar machine right at the front door lol.

Just allow the fat guy to tell you that you aren't working out properly. Now THAT is funny. I have seen them too and they always do the same machines every single day. It's always one hour on the elyptical machine where they have clearly reached their plateau and don't even really work up a sweat. They are too busy playing gossip girl to get a good work out in. I don't even pay attention anymore because if you are watching other people at the gym... you are not working out hard enough.

This guy kept staring at this morning... It was making me a little self conscious... Then he comes up to me and says "Damn Girl look at you go! I think you lost some weight just in the last few days I've seen you here!"

Awesome start to my morning! Those stares aren't all bad.

Damn straight. I had the same experience a time or two. Someone telling me I had obviously lost weight, which is awesome, and someone telling me I was doing great on the treadmill when they saw me running.

Those stares aren't all bad