Anyone else intimidated by the skinny's at the gym??

[TKW 501]

I got 3 month "free" membership at the fittness center (small but has lots of choices) in the Hospital where I had my surgery done. Lots of other lap banders there (which is kind of nice) and just an all around different crowd than at a regular gym. However,when my free membership is up, I'll most likely join one of the gyms in town.

[ddavino 0]

Wow... what pressure. I just guess men like myself look at this a little differently. I go, I work out, I get my job done - and then I go live the rest of my life. I think it has to be about our socialization as men and women. No disrespect intended, and I do hear the struggles. I am not a slave to exercise, but it sure helps my health and gets my head off the scale, out of the mirror, and on with living whatever time I have left.

Dennis

[bambam31 168]

There's mean people everywhere and of every size. Don't let those people stand in your way to success - use it as motivation!

Brad

[Babe 0]

I hear you JMin! I do feel intimidated at times by the skinny minnies and I HATE the mirrors in the group classes - so evil! To be honest, I always find them scarier if I haven't been to the gym in a while or if i'm feeling fat that day. I just feel like everyone's looking at how big and out of shape I am.

The Y I go to just got renovated and no has cardio machines with tvs - BEST.INVENTION.EVER!!!! Omg, I'm in heaven! Cardio goes by so much quicker and I can completely tune out the odd looks I get or the patronizing comments. And when I'm weight training or doing floor work, I just turn on my iPhone and listen to music or a great podcast. I'm hoping to try out a Zumba class one of these days...

[KAS1971 0]

I guess it depends on the gym .. I joined mine more for the Water aerobics more then anything else. It took me a LONG time to decide I didnt care if I was gonna be the biggest whale in the pool and come to find out I wasn't. After some time I met a girl there who is in her 30's .. maybe a size 8. Come to find out she is intimidated by the skinnies as well .. the skinnies who intimadatee her are probebly intimidated by other skinnies as well. No one is ever happy 100% .. people always want someone elses eyes, or that hair or a perkier butt .. Go with your own goals in mind and leave with your head held high that your 1 step closer each day.

[bodyfixer 15]

Im at my gym 6 days each week for 2 hours each day

Living in Indonesia as I do EVERYONE is thin and my first few weeks were difficult but it got better

Asians tend to keep quiet when a white guy is around in the gym and my gym was no different

There were the sideways stares and whispered comments behind hands and the chuckles when I did not use a machine correctly

The second time I made the mistake and the whispers and stares started I simply said in fluent Bahasa Indonesia (the local language) that if I was wrong then they should have the manners to show me rather than ridicule me behind my back

The jaws dropped and eyes widened when they realised I could understand every word they had been saying for weeks. Embarassment set in for a while but a few self criticisms from me eased the way

After that there was a rush to help - even the personal trainers were offering free sessons - which I accepted

Now we are all good friends and work out together -the little AND the (not so) large

[ansoninc 16]

I joined 24hr last Monday. I've gone to the group classes every day last week, and now this morning.

Don't get me wrong, I love working out and have a great time...BUT the skinny's make me super jealous! I hate looking at myself in the mirrrors, but it's kind of hard not to when they're all around you in the class.

Some people seem unfriendly, which doesn't help. Others are pretty nice. (This is a note to myself to be nice to new people when they start.)

How do you deal with it? Workout and ignore everyone else? It doesn't help either when I'm taking Zumba and don't know the moves yet like everyone else!

The best i can say is to Hell with everyone else. i am at the gym to do what i have to do for me. If you think people are staring at you at the gym and thinking bad things, they could just as easily be admiring you for doing something about your weight. I have a personal trainer i see twice a week . She developed a program for me and works works with me by setting up the machines and making sure I do everything right and kicking me in the butt when i slack off. She is the best money i have spent. I do make sure that I have decent workout clothes. I don't buy the high end ones, because that seems to make you stand out more. I prefer to blend in with the rest of the "gym rats". I do find it amusing to see the women come in with the designer gym clothes and full make up. That is what people end up looking at.

[Tinagrl 0]

Yes, i have the same problem but probably worse. I haven't been to the gym since my last diet attempt but man was it awful. I had a near panic attack every time i went to the gym. It took me about a month to even go INTO the gym after i got the membership.

After that i would go strait to the locker room get changed into my bathing suit and went to the pool, got in the pool and hid in the pool. Eventually I got to the point where i was ok, but it took me a while.

One time i went to another gym where they didnt know my...same company diff gym...and there were two kids working the counter where you show your gym ID to them to get into the gym?,

Well they said something and i was leaving, i turned around just to look behind me, felt the need to and one of the girls was pointing at me laughing. This made my issue worse even. I know she was like..."fat cow". My partner was SO mad at them she was raving to the gym managment about it....why not make it worse you know?

Anyway, im hoping i dont have this same issue when i get banded next month. I want to start working out asap after my surgery. Whenever the doctor says i can

Good luck in the gym and wish me luck too.

Laters,

Tina

[L12 13]

Don't worry about the skinnies at the gym--someday you will be one of them! I hope no one is actually making an attempt to be unfriendly to you. If so, just ignore them if they want to play a completely pointless popularity contest--live in the grownup real world, not their eternal high school illusion. However, speaking as a someone who is now skinny, I just don't like talking or socializing when I exercise; I've always been that way, regardless of weight. Just remember it's not always personal if someone doesn't engage in conversation with you, even if you are a nice, friendly person.

[honk 780]

If a worker at the gym was openly making comments about me yeh there would be a HUGE problem. Normally I am a oblivious to other people at the gym because I could really care less what they think of me. Yesterday however I was really proud of myself for just leaving a situation alone. I go to the gym everyday but not at the same time. There was a woman in the locker room who has commented on my weight loss before (fine). At one point I told her that I'd started exercising because of a knee probnlem. After which she went off about "Well you've got to loose weight or your problem will only get worse!" Hello! I am exercising right? Do I not look like an adult (I'm almost 41)? I get the idea! So I basically ignore her and get on with my work out. Yesterday she says "How's the swimming going?" "Great I respond" while locking my locker. "So have they talked to you about what your waist measurement should be for hip size?" To which I honestly said "No". I know all about that ratio but 1)my doctor has'nt mentioned it to me, 2)I need to loose a lot more weight before we starting worrying about that. If you have a giant hole in your house you fix the hole before you ponder what color to paint when it's fixed.

[stealingskinny 0]

I wouldn't take it personal. When I was "one of the skinnies" I wasn't trying to be unfriendly. I just went to the gym to do my business and go straight home. If I recognized someone I knew, I'd speak to them. Otherwise, I worked out, kept my head down, and left. After you go for awhile you start to see who the "regulars" are at certain times and at certain classes and maybe you start casual "how's the weather" conversations with those kind of people but I don't think anyone is being "high school" snobby.

I just joined a new gym today and was totally pumped about the dark "media" room they have. It's dark and has a movie screen you can watch and has elliptical machines and treadmills. I have no plans on watching the movie but it'll be nice to get in there with my iPod and not worry whether or not anyone can see the sweat stains forming down my back.