Hi all !

Welcome back!

Question? Why are you so embarrassed that you quit and leave?

We’re all in the same boat here. This is probably one of the least judgy corners of the internet you’ll find.

My diary is open. You can see my good days and my bad days for six months (if you’re that bored and have that much time on your hands).

I’m not going to waste the energy worrying about what random strangers may think, when there’s other, better, random strangers whose brains I can pick for wisdom and advice.

If it bothers you, set your diary to “private” so no one else can see. Problem solved.

Maybe go back and rethink what you’ve said. I’m betting it’s not embarrassment, but a mental berating of yourself, in which case you need to make changes in addition to exercising and eating. And that’s where the hard work really begins.

Please use these boards. Read them, absorb, participate. Your odds of success are directly proportional to community engagement , imho.

And one last little bit’o’preachin’…….if you’ve just joined Planet Fitness, I’m guessing you’re diving into exercise. Please remember, sore muscles mean (often substantial) temporary weight gain as your body retains water to heal those sore muscles.
We can be talking upwards of eight, ten pounds, depending on level of soreness. Newbs often think “oh, this sucks! it’s not working, I’m gaining weight!” Not knowing it will all “rinse out” a few days after that torturous muscle pain disappears.

That’s the one thing I wish I’d known on Day 1, because that newb was me newb.

Sandifinallygetsfit wrote: »

Thank you so much for taking the time to write. You are 100% correct in that I’m mentally berating myself. Always have. Fearful I always will. I have alot of changes that need to be made physically as well as mentally. Hopefully I’m on the right track.
Thanks for your words of advice. 🥰

Oh sweetie, I am you.

We are our own worst critics.

Our local hospital had a parking deck fire and parking is limited, so I rode my bike up for a routine scan. I was wearing yoga gear for a class immediately afterwards. No bike parking (!!!!!) so I had to chain it to the rail at the doctors building and go through the entire hospital complex to get to the Wellness Pavilion.

I’m walking through the operating theatre halls, heart area, gift shops, cafeterias, etc and felt like people were staring at me in my minimal clothes. The familiar self/other cringy judgy feeling came over me.

But then I thought,” Dammit, not a single other person in this building devoted to health had the gumption to ride their bike here” so I started to swagger and swing my bike helmet. I’m sure no one else knew (it was only a small swagger), but in my head it was a win.

The criticism is all in our own noggins and we have to remember that.

The Body Dysmorphia (still seeing yourself as fat in the mirror), the feeling you have to look for cars or tables with enough space to slide sideways through, the feeling that everyone is looking and judging you for being too fat or too thin, worrying that the Bunco ladies think you’re secretly bulemic when you pile your plate for the second time. We can worry ourselves into nubbins over stupid stuff. And it’s all in our own heads.

Beleive me, the mental changes are the ones we have to wrap our heads around and are a lot tougher than the physical ones.

If you can reframe your thinking, that’s when you’ll start making headway.