The biggest enemy to weight loss: Judgement free zones

To start, I am going to say right off the bat I am a fit individual. I understand this, and I realize many people here may not want to hear a word I have to say because anything I say does not apply to their situation. I'm here to give you the perspective of the "gym rat", "THAT guy who grunts when he lifts", or "the *kitten* at the ________". Granted, I'm not really an *kitten*...but I bet you're thinking that.

I counter this with this argument:

When I was younger, I was shorter and weighed more than I do now (~180). I was a fat kid. I was fat in elementary school, middle school and in high school. So even after my growth spurt, I was still heavy. I had almost no muscle mass, and was "skinny fat" so sure, I looked fairly normal but when I took my shirt off (which I never did) I was nothing more than soft skin and bone.

Fast forward now, I am 170-178 depending on the time of day (food, creatine water retention, workout, etc) and sitting around 11-13% BF (Probably 12 now). How did I get there? Did I drink juice all day? Did I do a high intensity cardio workout? Did I take pills? No.

I took a massive hit to me ego (trust me, it's quite large) and went into the gym. I was the weakest one there (talk about BB benching about 45lbs here guys). I worked out fairly hard but still didn't watch what I ate. Come college, I was a little more lean, but still had fat around everywhere and still didn't take my shirt off (pride).

Well, this is when I turned to the greatest resource we have available, the internet. I searched high and wide and found out what I needed to do. I needed to lift weights, watch my diet and put my pride and ego on the back burner. I went to the local Gold's Gym and started a basic strength routine consisting of 4 lifts: Squat, Deadlift, BB Bench, Overhead Press. That's it.

I couldn't do any lifts as much as some guys there. There were people there who looked like Arnold (to me at least), and were squatting over 500lbs, benching the same and massive muscles everywhere. I thought, "They must think I'm weak, a wuss and worthless." Surely this was a "Judgement Zone."

BUT THAT WASN"T THE CASE. They helped me. They coached me, pushed me and treated me with respect, because I wanted to better myself, learn and get stronger.

It was then I realized the true problem with my weight loss: ME. I was the biggest hinderence to losing weight.

THE PERSON WHO MAKES YOU FEEL THE MOST CONFIDENT IS YOURSELF

You go to the beach, you see a dude who's ripped and tanned or a girl who's so sexy and toned the sand turns to glass where she walks. You feel horrible, because you aren't them. You decide to go to the gym the next day. Who do you see at the gym? Those same people you saw on the beach! You feel horrible again because they're sweating, lifting massive weights and her butt looks SO damn good in those hot little spandex shorts that barely cover her -...er, ahem...sorry

Point being? They haven't said a word to you, but they make you feel horrible about yourself. Right? WRONG! You put those thoughts in your head.

Now, of course some people will be *kitten*. Screw them.

If you go to a gym, put TRUE effort in. Don't waste time, don't piddle around and look like you have a mission, a goal, a killer instinct in your eye and you are doing everything with 100% intensity - do you know what those people at the gym are going to say? "HELL YEAH! GET SOME!"

JUDGEMENT FREE ZONES = CHALLENGE FREE ZONES

I tagged along with a friend to Planet Fitness to help him get started lifting. I gave him a routine, nutrition guidelines and helped him the first couple of days (almost) of lifting to get him started. Well, first day we go I push him. He's lifting relatively hard and heavy for his capability, but I kept saying, "PUSH! PUSH! KEEP YOUR FORM! DON'T CHEAT YOURSELF LET'S GO"

I got kicked out of Planet Fitness. Why? Because I "judged" him and apparently others around me felt bad. I didn't say a single word to anyone but my friend. Wasn't yelling. And was very polite to others in the area (wiped my equipment off, re-racked weights in the correct area, etc). But I was kicked out, because people felt bad that I was pushing my friend, making him lift heavy weights (and he grunted a bit!!!!!!!!) and made him stay 100% effort.

If you don't grunt even a little, you're not trying hard enough.

IF YOU GET ONE THING FROM THIS POST

Everyone who goes to the gym feels self conscious. Everyone is there for a reason. No matter your age, weight, w/e...if you give 100% effort at the gym, respect the gym rules and etiquette, and don't waste time, people will treat you respectfully.

On the flip side, if you go their, no matter your age/weight/gender, w/e and sit on a machine for 20 minutes laughing, talking or on your cell phone. Don't wipe stuff down, take up weights and give minimal effort while wandering around aimlessly, then of course you will be judged: be judged as inconsiderate that is.



Weight loss is slow. It's tedious and requires effort. Sure, not everyone can squat. Your knees may not be able to handle it or your current weight may not allow for those mechanics to work. Previous injuries may prevent you from deadlifting or benching, or what have you. But effort is dependent on you. Discipline is a means to consistent effort. And those both come from you.

So when you look at others, feel bad about yourself, or think you can't do it....look YOURSELF in the mirror, say, "Hey *kitten*, stop it!"

The best tool in weight loss is patience and time.