About to joing a gym to tackle my obesity and become healthy

The gym is one of those places you feel like people are staring at you, but most of the time no one really is. Most people recognize and appreciate an attempt at progress, we all have to start somewhere. Who knows, maybe they have been right where you are now. In general, I have found more nice people at the gym than rude ones. Have a great time!

I've been going to my gym (YMCA) starting long before I lost weight, and I was not only obese, but also post-bilateral-mastectomy (without either reconstruction or prostheses, so completely flat up top). Even in a swimsuit, where both the fat and the flat were very obvious, I never felt like I was given any different attention than anyone else, either in classes or solo workouts.

Most of the time, the "standard level of attention" is that people will maybe say "hi" if you pass close by in the hall and eyes meet, and in classes the instructors often talk to new people to get them started and occasionally introduce them to the class.

At my Y location, there are all ages (babies and toddlers at tot-watch to people in their 80s at least), many races, many nationalities (not unusual to hear Spanish, Korean, and other languages spoken), hijabi women, biker-dudes with lots of tattoos, people of all weights, developmentally-challenged people with personal aides, disabled people using assistive devices, and lately there's been a fit-looking little person who's probably 60 playing racketball with the other guys. Very diverse. I regularly see obese people in the cardio machine area or locker room or pool (some of them visibly shrinking over the months ), clearly working on getting fitter and healthier, and no one pays them any special attention that I can see.

There isn't a lot of conversation, except between people who are friends, beyond just casual pleasantries if someone's using a close locker or something like that.

I know it seems really daunting at first, but keep in mind that everyone was new once, and a bunch of the people who look fit now weren't always that way themselves. Most people are too self-absorbed to pay any attention to us.

Any reasonable gym should be willing to show you around the facility before you join, and you can do that in street clothes. If possible, go at the time of day you might like to work out (call ahead to see if you need an appointment, sometimes they need to make sure there's an extra person to show you around), and see what the crowd looks like. Some gyms are more general, a few are more focused on something (like powerlifting or whatever), and a visit will also let you know what equipment they have, how well-maintained it looks, and what the overall vibe is.

The first visit is the hardest. Before long, it's routine. You'll do great!