Fattest girl at the gym

I wish I had time to read everybody's posts! This has been a really good one I've been in your shoes. Yes, I did feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb. When I ran my first 1 mile race, I WAS the person that finished last. Also, I did meet 4 people who changed my life in the gym. I said hello, I admitted I had no idea what I was doing and asked for help. She's still one of my best friends ever and she's seen me through a 40 lb weight loss. The 2nd of my 4 gym rat buddies actually got me hooked on running. The other 2 gym rat buddies, well let's just say it was 'gym gaffes' that introduced us. One of those gaffe's was me going airborne from a defective treadmill, but that's another thread. So I agree with the person back near the beginning who said "start by saying Hello", I encourage you to do that. It gets easier to go to the gym and rock it when you know some of the names that go with the faces.

I totally understand you. I have been walking the roads where I live. once I drop 20 lbs I plan on hitting the gym more often.

hang in there and you will be fine.

I get super sweaty and disgusting. I'm sure people are grossed out, lol. Just do your thing, and be proud of the changes you're making.

Feel ya, honey! I take group classes, rather than a traditional gym, and not only am I the fattest girl in all the classes I take, but in a few of them, I'm the ONLY fat girl. Period. Yeah, sometimes I get embarassed, mostly when it comes time to run stairs or do burpees and it becomes painfully obvious that I'm in the worst shape there. But then, other times, I stop and think: I'm the only fat girl here. I may not be able to keep up with everyone else, and I may have to modify some of my moves, but I can still put in an hour of bootcamp without dying. Everyone else leaves just as sore as I am. And (a benefit of small classes where you see the same people every week) most of the girls are super encouraging. Not just noticing the progress I've made, but not letting me give up when I DO get discouraged.

I'm also doing C25K, and every week, Sunday morning, I pass the same dude-bro on the same block going opposite directions. Every week, since the first time I saw him, he puts up his hand for a high five as we pass each other. No other interaction, and I've never seen him anywhere else lol. But to him, I'm not a fat girl trying to jog, I'm just another runner who deserves a high five. And he gets it, cause why not?

My question is, do you think your anxiety, shame, and guilt will go away with weight loss? Or is it something that will be re-directed once you're at your goal weight? I can understand feeling embarrassed, but it's never been a debilitating experience for me. I'm thinking there may be more at play than just gym anxiety.

Oh, the soul-crushing social anxiety isn't strictly a gym thing for me...... but it's all tied in together. I have (some of my) crappy self-confidence because I'm fat, and I'm fat because my self-confidence is keeping me from being in the gym (or outside walking/running/playing sports). The question is whether there's enough money in the world to buy all the therapy I need to fix it.

But with blabbing all of that, I was hoping that all of the analysis I've gone through over it might have something useful to offer to somebody else. It's never about what anybody else thinks of us that makes us anxious - it's about what's going on internally.

So I don't know that talking about what other people do or don't think about heavy folks working out will help everyone with self-confidence issues.

If it helps, get to a weight that you're comfortable with via calorie restriction before joining a gym. Also, look into fitnessblender.com, they have exercises that require no/minimal equipment.

"GOD that woman is skinny! How can she even function?"

(I gotta say, I've seen three different chicks who looked like beanpoles on the cardio machines and thought the same thing - Shudders)

Wow. that's an incredibly rude and ugly thing to say about someone else's body.

I was 310 pounds at my heaviest, so I have been the fattest girl at the gym, at Weight Watchers, at life. I used to let that keep me from going, but I decided to stick with it. It wasn't easy. I have been lucky to have multiple people come up to me at the gym and tell me that they admire my dedication. At Crossfit, I have been the slowest runner and get all kinds of encouragement from the amazing people there. Yes, I am overweight and not a perfect size 6, but they see the work I am putting in when it is harder for me than for an average person.

Girl walk up in that gym with pride! Everyone is there for the same reason. To lose weight, be healthy, be fit, get fit, gain muscle. I bet you that most of them didn't even look like that when they first walked into a gym for the first time and were uncomfortable too. I can also bet you that not one of them will judge you. If anything they would probably be thinking "good for her getting her gym on." One has more respect for a big girl inside the gym, then a big girl eating a big mac and a large fry not giving a damn. Be proud that you are working toward your goal and do not let that deter you in any way

When I first went to our local gym I was terrified. In fact the first time I went I only got as far as the door and then turned round and went home in tears because I was too busy imagining gasps of horror from the beautiful people the moment I hoved into view. Second time I made it into the gym and discovered just one chap in there doing weights who just smiled and said 'hi' as though I was a normal, regular person who was perfectly at home in a gym.

Now, after a few months, I've realised a few things:

1. Though 245lbs, I was a lot fitter than I thought (I'd always walked miles a day) and in fact I was kicking the *kitten* out of some of the thin women who'd just started at the gym but were incredibly unfit. Takeaway: thin doesn't necessarily mean fit.

2. People who are at the gym to work rarely notice anything else going on around them. They don't care about me and my fat issues. Takeaway: people who are focused on their fitness, focus on THEIR fitness and not yours.

3. Some people are at the gym for all the wrong reasons. Those are the ones you see texting/chatting away to their mates whilst putting in minimal effort on a cardio machine. Round this way they're the ones with the trendiest gym gear, the perfect (unsweated up) hair and make-up in place. Takeaway: People look far more disdainfully upon people hogging gym equipment when they're actually not putting any work in than they do at a 'fattie' being in the gym putting the work in

Now I'm in full-on 'screw it' mode, don my swimming costume once a week as part of my fitness program and go do my 50 lengths of the pool and anyone who doesn't like it can bite me :bigsmile:

I'm (now) one of the girls in their sports bras and shorts. And do you know what, I totally respect the girl that's come in to start her weight loss journey in the gym. I respect her in my fitness classes far more than the fellow skinnies.

I was the fat girl once too.