to fat to exersize

I find it very inspiring to see people that are overweight doing their best to get in shape. My thought process when I see someone like that is "you go girl/guy!"

Do your best to ignore those ones that are making you feel inadequate because they probably have issues in their lives that we just can't see.

You're the better person for getting out there and making that effort. Be proud of yourself!

I have 2 responses...

1) What's more important to you, your health or what people think of you? Get out there and do what you need to do. In his book "the winter of our discontent" John Steinbeck says (paraphrased) We wouldn't wonder what people thought of us nearly as often if we realized how seldom they actually do

2) I have far more respect for a large person trying to get in shape and lose weight than I do for a 20 something year old who has the natural metabolism that makes staying thin easy at that point in their lives. It's true what they say; that as you get older it gets harder to stay thin and easier to put on weight...

Go out and do your thing. People who have a problem with that have a problem period.

There is this who started working out at my gym, taking group classes and has to weigh 400+. I have nothing but respect for him and anyone else who is trying to make thier life better. For every cruel remark you hear there are hundreds who will admire your courage.

I get out and walk every day, but I still prefer to do it when the snarky high school kids are safely locked away in their classrooms. Also, it really helps to find some workout clothes that make you feel better about your body. People only pay attention the first couple of times out anyway. Now I get thumbs up from strangers who see me out there all the time.

My experience has been that if you are on the road with anything less than 3000 pounds of car surrounding you, you are invisible (and I have the scars from going through a car windshield to prove it). Get a purple hat and a red top...research has proven that color combination makes it impossible for others to see you and always assume drivers don't see you. Spring is about to be sprung...get out and enjoy yourself.

I volunteered last year at a 5K race. Pretty small, only a few hundred people. So most of them were pretty hardcore. My daughters and I worked the finish line food tables. By the time things were almost over, we had to leave. On our way out, we passed the finish line, where the last person was finishing. She was a really large woman, who walked the course. It was her first race of any kind. Her entire family was waiting for her at the finish line. The kids had balloons, and her husband had this big batch of roses. People had gathered round to cheer her on. There was screaming, and cheering, and yelling, and clapping, while she just cried and hugged her family. It was one of the greatest race day moments I've ever seen, and I was grateful I got to experience it. With my kids, no less.

In the running community, people who have to struggle to accomplish what comes easily to most are considered heroes. Sometimes of epic stature. For every shmuck who bothers you while you're training, you'll get back 10fold people on race day who cheer you, congratulate you, tell you how inspiring you are. And every one of them will mean it too.

Dayum. I'm in tears here.
What a fabulous story!

Me too. Such a wonderful story.

But honestly, I have yet to encounter any negativity, what I've gotten is thumbs up from real runners....because I run at a slow pace, lol.

A small correction to your post... "But honestly, I ahve yet to encounter any negativity, what I've gotten is a thumbs up from OTHER real runners..." If you're out on the road..you are a real runner. Or for that matter if you're on the hamster wheel in the gym...running and runners are defined by the act of moving your body forward on your feet under your own power. Pace is just a number.

hey guys i am having a little trouble,

I would love to get out there and run every day to start off my day but i have two problems

1) i have trouble actually leaving my door,
and when i get the courage to leave the house
2) i am so scared people are going to make fun of me like this super fat chick running and puffing and dying

has anyone else had this problem

how did you over come it?

HalP

i was the same way....so i started walking in the evenings about 7:00 or so that way no one could really tell who i was. Now i walk whenever and i have a 2 year old who now screams at me that she wants to go for a walk in mornings and i have a 11 year old who i walk with in the evenings so we have our time together....so all in all start in the evenings if your scared of embarassment and get a buddy! Also in the evenings i just do intervals so that i am not completely out of breath....run short then jog and walk to catch breath :happy: good luck!

I have over 100lbs to loose so I understand the feelings of not wanting to go outside and be seen by others, specially when doing something that makes you feel so vulnerable. On the flip side of that, when I see someone even larger than me out walking or jogging around I think to myself, "Wow! good for them!!!" and I want to run home put some sweats on and join them!!

You are definitely NOT too fat to exercise. If you want to stay within your house to get started though, I recommend checking out Leslie Sansone walking videos on youtube.com

You are beautiful though, so don't let what other people may think hold you back!

you are never too fat to exercise..exercising is MOVING. try leslie sanzone's walk at home video. if it hurts to stand then SIT and do them..YOU are MOVING!! if i can do this-YOU CAN!! just dont stop doing what you can.. HUGGZ and GOOD LUCK!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

I used to think the same, and today managed a 1.5 mile walk at almost 400 lbs. I don't know if it is because I walk with my gf (or any other friend who comes along to encourage me) or whether dog walkers are just nicer because we walk our jacks together I don't know. Can you find a running/walking buddy to go with you? I have found over the years that snarky comments are more likely if you are on your own and there are more than one of the mean people being rude.

I get it too. At my highest weight, I didn't want to do any activity in public that would emphasize how out of shape I was. Having said that, realize that most people, the vast majority in fact, won't even notice you except in passing. Of those who do, many will think, "Good for you." and the ones who don't are likely people who are completely out of shape and could not be bothered to work at dealing with it. I have seen some heavy people out jogging while I am cycling. I have nothing but respect for them.

Go for it! When I see people running on the street, it doesn't matter their body format, I just think they're awesome for getting out there and getting it done!

However, I understand if you really don't want to run publicly. I have friends with the same feelings. Maybe you could invest in a treadmill?

I'm over 300lbs and have been in the morbidly obese category for a good few years. I wanted to lose weight but even when I asked for a gym membership at 16, I barely went because I felt I looked stupid up against the thinner, older women that were coming in.

Eventually what I did was I started walking the mall. I didn't go with any of the groups that get there before opening, I went by myself during normal business hours, turned on my mp3 player, and walked as quickly as my legs would let me around the inside perimeter of the mall a few times until I got tired or a muscle cramped. No one knew I was exercising and no one stared or bothered me because hey I wasn't the only big person in the mall walking around.

Just recently I started going back to the gym and while sometimes I feel silly when there's a handful of people around the area I'm in, I turn on my music and ignore them. Yes I huff and puff and I drip sweat but so does everyone else in there.

It's seriously hard and looks borderline impossible, but you can't let what others may potentially think of you stop you from doing what you want and need to lose weight and be happy. I'm not saying put yourself in a situation you're not comfortable in or that will have negative effects on you, but it's no good sitting in your house and staying scared of the outside world when, in reality, a vast majority of the outside world couldn't care less about you using a jogging path or anything else. And those that do, they're beneath you.

Long story short you have to start small and work on taking steps further and further out of your comfort zone in order to get anything done. I did my years of crying because I was the fat girl and I'm done with them. You need to find the point where getting healthy matters more than getting your feelings hurt.

I really wanted to start running outside but someone told me that I ran funny. It really bothered me because I kept thinking about what others thought of me as I was running. ( I know I shouldn't!). So now I wear a hat and sunglasses when I run with my headphones so I can't hear or really see anyone else. It has helped me! :-)