Fat Girl at the Gym

[Anonymous]

My DH was the fat guy at the gym for a year. He lost 100 pounds, still goes 5-6x a week, and on a weekly basis has some regular (usually a fit/muscular guy) come up to him and comment on what an inspiration he has been to them. I haven't been as dedicated as he is, but try to hit the gym in between pregnancies, and agree with PPs--"fat people" at the gym are not worthy of snark or scorn. What else should you be doing?

Keep your heart rate up, that's what counts. Try mixing it up with the elliptical if you get bored. Ooh, and ditto on Zumba. I do that from time to time, and it's great because if you can't keep up, you can just pretend to be lost (like a lot of other people) and nobody would notice.

[Anonymous]

You rock!!! You go girl!!

I struggle with my weight and whenever I see someone overweight at the gym I am cheering her/him on.

Please tell me you have checked in with a doctor prior to starting the exercise regime. I hate to be a downer, but a weightloss blogger passed away recently while exercising at the gym (thetokenfatgirl.com). I know the chances of this are rare and for all I know she had a condition that caused this, but better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

Nice job, OP! Keep a record (a photo per month, maybe?) for yourself so you can track your own progress and be INSPIRED. As for anyone else, to hell with them!

Keep up the great work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Losing weight is 20 percent exercise, 80 percent what you eat.

Least helpful post of the evening.

[Anonymous]

As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Losing weight is 20 percent exercise, 80 percent what you eat.

Least helpful post of the evening.

Not the poster quoted but I read this too. Not the exact percentages but that humans have developed to be able to compensate for additional physical activity. So the key to losing weight is diet. Of course, you need to keep exercising but diet is very important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

Yeesh. How about adding muscle, looking better in clothes, having more energy, and feeling good about yourself? Are those not good enough reasons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

It's dumb advice for someone who needs to lose 25 lbs or so. But when a person needs to lose 100 lbs +, it's not dumb advice. At 240 lbs, the amount of energy one can expend at the gym is not nearly enough to make a dent in weight loss. After a few weeks, a person gets discouraged becase there is not much change and that leads to a vicious overeating cycle. Believe me, no one gets to 240 without binge eating. The PP who put up the stats are correct and I agree - change what you eat first.

As far as noticing the "fat girl" at the gym. I used to believe that too, that no one would notice but now that I am no longer the fat girl well I can at least be honest and say that yeah I do notice and friends make a lot of snide remarks about them to me now that I am no longer fat so it's just not me that notices.

[Anonymous]

I run lots of miles at the gym, and I am fast. (and pretty slim.) I am generally too absorbed in my own workout (and my Us magazine) to care who's walking, running or whatever on the other treadmills.

I would never judge the fat girl at the gym. if I noticed her at all (I'm self-absorbed), I'd be glad she was getting her workout on, just like me and everyone else there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

It's dumb advice for someone who needs to lose 25 lbs or so. But when a person needs to lose 100 lbs +, it's not dumb advice. At 240 lbs, the amount of energy one can expend at the gym is not nearly enough to make a dent in weight loss. After a few weeks, a person gets discouraged becase there is not much change and that leads to a vicious overeating cycle. Believe me, no one gets to 240 without binge eating. The PP who put up the stats are correct and I agree - change what you eat first.

As far as noticing the "fat girl" at the gym. I used to believe that too, that no one would notice but now that I am no longer the fat girl well I can at least be honest and say that yeah I do notice and friends make a lot of snide remarks about them to me now that I am no longer fat so it's just not me that notices.

Don't listen to this mean person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

It's dumb advice for someone who needs to lose 25 lbs or so. But when a person needs to lose 100 lbs +, it's not dumb advice. At 240 lbs, the amount of energy one can expend at the gym is not nearly enough to make a dent in weight loss. After a few weeks, a person gets discouraged becase there is not much change and that leads to a vicious overeating cycle. Believe me, no one gets to 240 without binge eating. The PP who put up the stats are correct and I agree - change what you eat first.

As far as noticing the "fat girl" at the gym. I used to believe that too, that no one would notice but now that I am no longer the fat girl well I can at least be honest and say that yeah I do notice and friends make a lot of snide remarks about them to me now that I am no longer fat so it's just not me that notices.

Seriously? You are coming off as a snarky bitch and you need to go away.

In January of 2012, I was 275 pounds at 5'2". I started by doing the Advocare 24 day challenge and working out on the elliptical 5 days a week. At first, I only lasted 10 minutes but I eventually worked my way up to 1 hour. Fast forward to June 2012 and I was down 65 pounds in just 5 months and was able to do the elliptical for an hour at a incline of 12, resistance 10. On top of that, I did the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I am now down to 130 pounds, having lost 145 pounds in 14 months. Exercise IS a big part of it. Sure you can just cut back on what you eat and you will lose weight, but not as fast and as much if you add in exercise too. Also, exercising and doing weights helps cut down on the "loose skin" issue.

OP, good for you. Please don't listen to the idiot above. I guarantee NO ONE is judging you. You are in a gym and working out to make yourself healthier. When I now see bigger girls and guys, I always smile at them and think that they are a huge inspiration! Keep it up!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

It's dumb advice for someone who needs to lose 25 lbs or so. But when a person needs to lose 100 lbs +, it's not dumb advice. At 240 lbs, the amount of energy one can expend at the gym is not nearly enough to make a dent in weight loss. After a few weeks, a person gets discouraged becase there is not much change and that leads to a vicious overeating cycle. Believe me, no one gets to 240 without binge eating. The PP who put up the stats are correct and I agree - change what you eat first.

As far as noticing the "fat girl" at the gym. I used to believe that too, that no one would notice but now that I am no longer the fat girl well I can at least be honest and say that yeah I do notice and friends make a lot of snide remarks about them to me now that I am no longer fat so it's just not me that notices.

+1

Exercise is so important for many things, but it doesn't help with weight loss. Weight maintenance, sure, but not loss.

[Anonymous]

You go OP! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a former fat girl, bigger than you, honestly I can say you are wasting your time at this point if you are going because you think you will lose weight.

Put all your energy right now into changing your eating habits. Once you get under 200 lbs, then add in exercise.

This is dumb advice. You can do both. Exercise makes you feel better and increases your self esteem.

And when I see a "fat girl" at the gym, I normally don't think anything. But if do happen to notice I think good for her! People who workout regularly are generally very happy to see others incorporate exercise into their lives.

It's dumb advice for someone who needs to lose 25 lbs or so. But when a person needs to lose 100 lbs +, it's not dumb advice. At 240 lbs, the amount of energy one can expend at the gym is not nearly enough to make a dent in weight loss. After a few weeks, a person gets discouraged becase there is not much change and that leads to a vicious overeating cycle. Believe me, no one gets to 240 without binge eating. The PP who put up the stats are correct and I agree - change what you eat first.

As far as noticing the "fat girl" at the gym. I used to believe that too, that no one would notice but now that I am no longer the fat girl well I can at least be honest and say that yeah I do notice and friends make a lot of snide remarks about them to me now that I am no longer fat so it's just not me that notices.

You need some new friends. This is what insecure, meanie LOSERS think and say.