How to not look like fattest person in gym?

I like this screen shot...



Look forward to seeing your success thread in the future OP.

OMG I love this this almost made me cry ROCK ON OP :flowerforyou:

I used to feel really self-conscious on the treadmill. It seemed everyone else who used them could run like a gazelle, while I could barely manage a slow jog. I was sure they were all judging me and criticizing me.

Eventually I realized that those other gym patrons didn't care that I couldn't run as fast as they could. They are there to focus on their own fitness and well-being, so I should just stop feeling bad about myself and be proud that I'm doing my best.

Your workout is about YOU. Do it for YOURSELF. Be proud of what you ACCOMPLISH each and every day.

I was 340 lbs and was the biggest person at the gym - I still went ... who cares? Just do you and what you need to do...

I have been on MFP for a little over a year and this is the most inspiring thread I have ever read! I have happy tears rolling down my cheeks and I am inspired by everyone who has posted, We all started out at some point. Starting out and then repeating. Yay for this thread! :drinker:

screw that. just go in and do your workout.

i'm a fat girl who wears compression gear so i'm sure i look like the michelin man, but i crush my workouts. anyone who doesn't like it can kiss my fat (although shrinking in size) a**

and yeah i've caught people gawking at me, especially when i'm running on the indoor track or doing plyo jumps, but most of the time those people are doing level 1 on the bike peddling at 70 or doing a zillion tricep kickbacks with 3 pound weights, so who cares what they think

Everyone is too busy worrying about themselves and if people are looking at them.

:flowerforyou: OP please please pluck up the courage and go. I know its scary, I know its intimidating and I know how embarassing it feels. I was the biggest woman and am still one of the larger ones. I started swimming and walking on a treadmill. Swimming, whilst I was big I could kind of hide as I'm a decent swimmer. That and I'd swim twice as many laps as most people - to the extent that one day when I got out and walked past the spa pool one lady commented that I made her feel guilty and to keep doing it.

I started lifting weights (still on the machines not free weights yet though) and kept getting positive comments off some of the guys lifting about how good it was to see a woman lifting as much as she could. Slowly walking on the treadmill turned into me puffing and panting, gasping and wheezing through C25K. One of the ladies commented on how much my running was improving. Then someone else made a similar comment, then someone asked if I didn't mind them asking how much weight had I lost. They then told someone else and suddenly I was getting positive comments about my fitness and my weight loss from a few people. Now I get asked if I beat a PB or did a longer distance in my weekend runs. The encouragement from complete strangers has been unbelieveable and fantastic! In all this time (10 months now) I have had only 1 bad experience from one rude and ignorant lady who I think thought she was back in school and could bully the fat kid - she soon learned she couldn't when I told her to wind her neck in. She's since dropped out of the gym, I still go 4-5 times a week (and now run outside twice a week).

Its easy to hide behind being fat to stop you doing stuff, I did it for years and in the process got fatter and more unhealthy. The first few weeks feel weird and scary, like starting a new job or new school. But then you realise you have a routine, that there are newer faces than yours in the gym, you're losing weight and not blowing just walking up a flight of stairs. its worth the initial discomfort. As for clothes I wear a compression top & shorts to reduce the wobbles with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that fits over the top.

Good luck

I would buy some nice gym kit. You might end up sweating a lot and functional gym t-shirts are so much more comfortable than cotton. I would also shop around. Some gyms are much more friendly than others. The gym I go to sometimes is full of retired people. They obviously get on with their workouts but also stop for chats. It can be much more motivating to be at a gym where you can be sociable as well as focus on your workout.

I'm ALWAYS the fattest person at the gym weighing over 400 pounds. Who cares. I'm not there to worry about what everyone else is thinking about me. I'm there to get fit and healthy. And hey it's kind of amusing when you're out working much thinner people. Just cause they're skinny doesn't mean they are in shape!

Hey! Do NOT worry about this at all haha =-) I understand why you would....I was the same. I used to get nervous that people were watching me or that I would be doing something wrong etc. My PT told me that actually people have a lot of respect for anyone who is going to the gym, whether that was someone in great shape or not! Go for a while and you will see that everyone is just focussed on them. x ps. when I have a fat day I wear black shorts and a white top ;-)