Fat people in the gym

Encourage them, tell them they are making improvements. Teach them to help them

You don't understand. No, no, and no. I've known super obese Polynesians who were heavy lifters, brothers, ran a moving business. Healthy blood, normal BP, good endurance. At the gym and at work were treated with respect. Take them anywhere casual and absolute strangers express their "concern" and give UNWARRANTED, UNPROVOKED advice on their "health." No. You don't know anything about a fat stranger at the gym. Doc gave my buddies seal of approval, told them it's all Gucci unless they start to feel adverse effects. They don't need your condescending reminders that they are"too" fat, unwanted, and must be exercising for weight loss, amirite? Because God forbid a fatty like riding a bike! Are you even aware that weekly exercise has health benefits even for those who don't exercise enough to lose weight? And not all fat people eat burgers and fries and cake. You can get fat by eating too many calories of any food. Reject the stigma. Learn some respect.

Actual many of these people you say I don't know Ive actually been thanked by them for wanting to encourage them and help them

You got lucky they were on the same page. That doesn't excuse the prejudices towards fatness and belittling mentality. I got fat on prescribed dietary meal supplements post hospital. I had heart failure and went from a BMI of 23 to 33 because I had been living with a blood disorder that was undiagnosed and was not retaining nutrients. I was healthy and in recovery from my heart giving out. I never stopped running. I have been a distance runner for years, and the comments I got when I was recovering from near-death were so healthist, fat-biased, hate in the guise of "support." Because no one can tell you run 30 miles a week when you're fat, and they're always astonished when you tell them because all we ever hear on media is fat=bad, unhealthy, pity, unattractive, low self esteem, unacceptable, needs to be reversed. And for the record? Weight loss is a personal choice, not a moral one. I don't think anyone was any less human or valuable in their fat body as opposed to the "earned" thinner one. We should be encouraging people to value humanity over size based aesthetics, not telling people they aren't Ok now but could be acceptable with workouts over time.

Just because someone attacked you doesn't mean all of us are like that. Your letting what happened to you dictate how I support individuals and in hindsight are attacking me because I choose to offer a hand to someone.

No. I'm fighting an entire cultural bias against people who aren't represented with any dignity in mainstream media. You are still entirely missing the point that human value does not change with size, that size does not make you a better human, that even fat people suffer internalized fat bias and think they are awful and need to change to be considered human. And currently? They're right. Because of mindsets like this that reinforce value as a matter of body fat % and not personhood.

And how do you know this, have you done any research or is this opinion based on your own personal experiences

Since OP has been there I understand where he is coming from. I think is genuinely trying to be encouraging.

I know its a sticky subject and some will be offended and some will not. That's life and everything that one says isn't going to go well with everyone.

It is what it is. As adults all we can do is accept it and move on. lol

Or

debate about it online.

Carry on..... lmao

Encourage them, tell them they are making improvements. Teach them to help them

You don't understand. No, no, and no. I've known super obese Polynesians who were heavy lifters, brothers, ran a moving business. Healthy blood, normal BP, good endurance. At the gym and at work were treated with respect. Take them anywhere casual and absolute strangers express their "concern" and give UNWARRANTED, UNPROVOKED advice on their "health." No. You don't know anything about a fat stranger at the gym. Doc gave my buddies seal of approval, told them it's all Gucci unless they start to feel adverse effects. They don't need your condescending reminders that they are"too" fat, unwanted, and must be exercising for weight loss, amirite? Because God forbid a fatty like riding a bike! Are you even aware that weekly exercise has health benefits even for those who don't exercise enough to lose weight? And not all fat people eat burgers and fries and cake. You can get fat by eating too many calories of any food. Reject the stigma. Learn some respect.

Thank you so much for saying this. I am one of the "fat people in the gym" and I can whip some a** in there, believe it - male or female, people have trouble keeping up with me. I have had people come up to me in the gym with a sticky-sweet smile on their face - usually it's older ladies - and say something "encouraging" to me, and I can tell when they do it they just feel SO GOOD about themselves for being nice to the fat girl. B****, I have been in here every Wednesday and Sunday for an hour for the last year - AND this is the first time I've seen YOU in here, so don't throw me some BS about "keep up the good work!" I AM KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK. It may not show in my size, but I am keeping it up. My weight loss is slow. I am working on it every day. Just because I don't fit someone's ideal of what a "gym rat" looks like, it does not mean I am not serious about my fitness - I am serious as cancer. I am dedicated. And I don't need anyone's pity or condescension masked as "encouragement." Because you know what? In addition to kicking a** in the gym, I have a master's degree, my income is well over six figures, I have an awesome marriage and great friends and a smart, healthy, happy son I am unbelievably proud of. My life is just fine, thankyouverymuch. So take your "encouragement" and shove it. If you want to do something for me? Leave me alone. I'm not at the gym to make friends; I already have plenty of friends (BTW, if you're looking for me and my friends? We're the cool girls sitting at the best table in the the hottest restaurant, wearing the expensive shoes.) And if you REALLY want to help me out? Wipe off the damn machine when you're done with it. My high-paying, prestigious job is demanding, and I don't have time to take sick leave because I pick something up from the snot and sweat you left on the handles.

Now. Someone get me a guest spot on "Louie."

On the one hand, it's cool that you want to try to be a positive force in a world full of negative.

But to be completely honest, I'd rather not be bothered when I'm working my *kitten* off. If you wanna work in, need a spot, anything like that, feel free to ask. But otherwise, it doesn't really do anything for some people...self included.

So, I shouldn't roll up and complement your form?

I haven't worked out at a gym. I got a membership, the next day, had a hernia, a few days later had surgery, and now can't lift more than 10 lbs for weeks. Okay enough tear jerking back story...

After reading this thread...not sure if I will go to the gym when I recover. I won't have a clue about gym stuff, and really don't want to be stared at or patronized.

Encourage them, tell them they are making improvements. Teach them to help them

You don't understand. No, no, and no. I've known super obese Polynesians who were heavy lifters, brothers, ran a moving business. Healthy blood, normal BP, good endurance. At the gym and at work were treated with respect. Take them anywhere casual and absolute strangers express their "concern" and give UNWARRANTED, UNPROVOKED advice on their "health." No. You don't know anything about a fat stranger at the gym. Doc gave my buddies seal of approval, told them it's all Gucci unless they start to feel adverse effects. They don't need your condescending reminders that they are"too" fat, unwanted, and must be exercising for weight loss, amirite? Because God forbid a fatty like riding a bike! Are you even aware that weekly exercise has health benefits even for those who don't exercise enough to lose weight? And not all fat people eat burgers and fries and cake. You can get fat by eating too many calories of any food. Reject the stigma. Learn some respect.

Thank you so much for saying this. I am one of the "fat people in the gym" and I can whip some a** in there, believe it - male or female, people have trouble keeping up with me. I have had people come up to me in the gym with a sticky-sweet smile on their face - usually it's older ladies - and say something "encouraging" to me, and I can tell when they do it they just feel SO GOOD about themselves for being nice to the fat girl. B****, I have been in here every Wednesday and Sunday for an hour for the last year - AND this is the first time I've seen YOU in here, so don't throw me some BS about "keep up the good work!" I AM KEEPING UP THE GOOD WORK. It may not show in my size, but I am keeping it up. My weight loss is slow. I am working on it every day. Just because I don't fit someone's ideal of what a "gym rat" looks like, it does not mean I am not serious about my fitness - I am serious as cancer. I am dedicated. And I don't need anyone's pity or condescension masked as "encouragement." Because you know what? In addition to kicking a** in the gym, I have a master's degree, my income is well over six figures, I have an awesome marriage and great friends and a smart, healthy, happy son I am unbelievably proud of. My life is just fine, thankyouverymuch. So take your "encouragement" and shove it. If you want to do something for me? Leave me alone. I'm not at the gym to make friends; I already have plenty of friends (BTW, if you're looking for me and my friends? We're the cool girls sitting at the best table in the the hottest restaurant, wearing the expensive shoes.) And if you REALLY want to help me out? Wipe off the damn machine when you're done with it. My high-paying, prestigious job is demanding, and I don't have time to take sick leave because I pick something up from the snot and sweat you left on the handles.

Now. Someone get me a guest spot on "Louie."

You say your working on it everyday good for you and do you think saying you make a lot of money is suppose to impress someone? or saying you eat at fancy restaurants makes you cool :huh: I do free weight so I won't need to wipe off machines and if your so proud of your accomplishments post a profile pic of yourself ill change mine to show my results

While, frankly, I am impressed at my ability to make a lot of money - because I busted *kitten* in college, and in graduate school, and in my career, to get where I am, I don't think it makes me a better person. My parents were lower-middle-class and we went without a lot of things when I was growing up. Everything I have, I've worked for. I worked hard to achieve what I have done. It doesn't all fit into a "profile pic" on MFP. I would hope everyone would realize the sum total of their life achievements can't necessarily be represented by a bathroom selfie of their abs. All respect to the people who choose to represent their weight loss/physical fitness achievements that way.

I'm VERY proud of my accomplishments. But VERY protective of my privacy, as my job and my husband's are both high-profile, and have us in the public eye in our community and in our professions. That's why I don't have my picture on my profile. With my luck, some intern would end up using it as my bio pic in the conference program, the next time I'm an invited speaker.

I don't think eating in fancy restaurants makes me cool - but I do feel proud that I can walk into a restaurant and pay for whatever I want to order, without putting it on a credit card I'm not going to pay off. I am also proud that when I walk into that restaurant, I get to counteract people's assumptions that fat girls don't do anything but stay home alone with their cats, and eat cookies.

I'm also proud of knowing the difference between "your" and "you're," - although, after six years of college, that's probably kind of a low bar of achievement - but that's a whole other story.

And even in the free weights section? You still drip sweat. So clean it up, please. Because I use the free weights too. It's common courtesy - nothing about being "too good" to do anything. I'm not your mama, so I shouldn't have to clean up after you.

Any more questions or statements on your mind? Here's a good article on the your/you're issue, just in case you need it: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-You're-and-Your

The big issue here is whether or not you would feel compelled to give the same kind of motivation to someone who is not fat. If the answer is no, then don't do it. You're being wildly condescending. If the answer is yes, then go for it. At least for me, I have no problem with someone telling me that I rock, as long as it's not based on some perceived inability to rock because of my weight. If you're thinking "wow, that person is killing it CONSIDERING THEIR SIZE" then you're being a jerk.