# I want to exercise, but...



## SylvanFox (Sep 7, 2011)

...I don't want anybody to see me do it! I've tried running around the neighborhood a few times, but there are always people around and I can't get over thinking that they are just looking at me and thinking "Look at that fat girl run!" I know this is irrational, and I know that if I just keep going, there won't be any fat girl to laugh at anymore... but when I see someone, I stop running. 

I keep trying to find streets with no people on them so I can do a steady run without feeling nervous, but it's hard to find places with no people in Brooklyn.

It's especially about my clothes! I always feel like such a loser since I moved to New York. People here are all about clothes, and I don't have money for Dolce & Gabanna or Givenchy. I really don't have real work-out clothes. I have to run in regular clothing. My weight is affecting my job search. I need to just do it, but I can't stand it for people to see me! It doesn't make sense, and knowing that doesn't help! Agh!


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## Zeeshan (Sep 4, 2011)

Simple fix

Open Youtube

Put computer in front of yourself

Get into workout clothes

Search Tae Bo

watch weight melt


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## snowflakeinmay95 (Sep 18, 2011)

I have a similar fear. I'm scared to exercise in public because.. I don't know why. I guess I don't want people to call me a health nut and also I'm scared of looking stupid while running. I swear I've never run in public since grade 9 gym class. 

I go on lots of walks and I use a treadmill, weights in the comfort of my home. I also bike- people don't just bike for exercise, they do it to travel, so it makes me feel less weird.


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## LadyDarkness (Jun 5, 2011)

I feel the same, although I have been to the gym recently. I feel uneasy, though.


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## shadowmask (Jun 22, 2009)

Losing weight is a lot more about diet than exercise. Of course, it's understandable if you want to do it for health reasons. Maybe you could get a jump rope, do pilates/yoga, or try to find a cheap elliptical machine or exercise bike on the internet.


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## nycdude (Mar 20, 2010)

Me too, I live in Manhattan and I see people everyday. I wanna run and I will try tomorrow.


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## Parkman (Feb 3, 2011)

Maybe you can go to planet fitness?


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## nazgul (Sep 18, 2011)

I have the same problem, i can't run during the day. So usually i run very early in the morning like at 4 or 5. But my therapist said i should try to run during the day. I did it today, it wasn't easy :no But somehow i did it and later felt so good


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## SylvanFox (Sep 7, 2011)

nazgul said:


> I have the same problem, i can't run during the day. So usually i run very early in the morning like at 4 or 5. But my therapist said i should try to run during the day. I did it today, it wasn't easy :no But somehow i did it and later felt so good


Hmmmm.... maybe if I start off running at those hours, it will be easier to eventually run at other times...

The Tae-bo idea kind of works too... except I don't always believe that these overly-advertised things help... though, thinking about it logically, there's no reason Tae Bo should be less helpful than any other exercise.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

SylvanFox said:


> ...I don't want anybody to see me do it! I've tried running around the neighborhood a few times, but there are always people around and I can't get over thinking that they are just looking at me and thinking "Look at that fat girl run!" I know this is irrational, and I know that if I just keep going, there won't be any fat girl to laugh at anymore... but when I see someone, I stop running.
> 
> I keep trying to find streets with no people on them so I can do a steady run without feeling nervous, but it's hard to find places with no people in Brooklyn.
> 
> It's especially about my clothes! I always feel like such a loser since I moved to New York. People here are all about clothes, and I don't have money for Dolce & Gabanna or Givenchy. I really don't have real work-out clothes. I have to run in regular clothing. My weight is affecting my job search. I need to just do it, but I can't stand it for people to see me! It doesn't make sense, and knowing that doesn't help! Agh!


I am not sure about name-brand workout clothes - they get sweaty and have to be washed anyway. :stu

In this day and age - more people should be running with their bodies, not their mouths. I can tell you that you don't have anything to worry about - I have had just about everything under the sun happent o me when I run the streets - daytime and nighttime, in the summer and in the winter.


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## pheonixrising (Sep 7, 2011)

I know the feeling. I try to find places where there will either be nobody or just one or 2 people. I used to run down the road I live on, but the people driving past freaked me out too much. So I do more trail running now. I also do some exercise tapes. They really are great. I can workout in the comfort of my own home (as long as no one else is around). And I have lost some weight and built a lot of muscle. I want to join a gym, but not until I feel like people won't stare at me and wonder what the fatty is doing.


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## candiedsky (Aug 7, 2011)

I fight this feeling every time I step outside to run. I don't have a treadmill because they're damn expensive, and I will probably never join a gym in my life because that's just too many people in there with me (on top of that, I'd be exercising and then be super paranoid of everyone looking at me) and I'd lose my concentration...

I hate it when I'm running and I see a car up ahead and I know it will pass me. But after every run is over, I feel a little better. It's a mini-triumph. 

The key for me is dressing so I don't feel like a total fat **** in my running clothes... i am in great need of some new running shorts.


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## SylvanFox (Sep 7, 2011)

I just did a few exercises I found on Youtube... Tae Bo and Gilad's Bodies in Motion. I liked Tae Bo better, it was more vigorous. 

Exercise makes me feel so good, when nobody is around to crap it out!


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Try this one.


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## Ohnoes2191 (Aug 26, 2011)

jonny neurotic said:


> Try this one.


Wow! Lol I wish I could do that O_O I have a horrible wrist so simple push ups are out. I feel the same as OP though. Fat girl walking alone? *insert strangers' laughs here* I used to drag my boyfriend along at 5:30 AM to walk with me, til he got tired of it lol. Now I don't exercise at all. I need to get back in the game!


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

SylvanFox said:


> ...I don't want anybody to see me do it! I've tried running around the neighborhood a few times, but there are always people around and I can't get over thinking that they are just looking at me and thinking "Look at that fat girl run!" I know this is irrational, and I know that if I just keep going, there won't be any fat girl to laugh at anymore... but when I see someone, I stop running.
> 
> I keep trying to find streets with no people on them so I can do a steady run without feeling nervous, but it's hard to find places with no people in Brooklyn.
> 
> It's especially about my clothes! I always feel like such a loser since I moved to New York. People here are all about clothes, and I don't have money for Dolce & Gabanna or Givenchy. I really don't have real work-out clothes. I have to run in regular clothing. My weight is affecting my job search. I need to just do it, but I can't stand it for people to see me! It doesn't make sense, and knowing that doesn't help! Agh!


As a runner, if I see an overweight person running (and I have), the only thing going through my mind is "she is going to lose that weight pretty darn quick!". The rest are jealous - and I have been shouted at, catcalled, honked at, cussed out, water bottles thrown at my head, smokescreened by big trucks, pulled over by cops, etc. If I can get through that, you can get through anything! :yes.


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## Samtrix (Aug 22, 2011)

Running early in the morning sounds like a good idea, that way you get gradual exposure. I'm a big advocate of bodyweights and kettlebells, and you can easily do those at home. Just youtube some videos or order some from DragonDoor if you can afford it. Maybe you can find a class, like yoga, or martial arts. I found taking a martial arts class helped me with my confidence, since everyone there is doing the same as you.
And don't worry about the clothes, there are more important things to worry about.


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## lostdude42 (Mar 30, 2011)

jump rope is just as good if not better for you than running, maybe use the rope for a few weeks to build up confidence then head out there to run


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## FTFADIA (Jul 26, 2011)

I have the same negatives thoughts of people making fun of the fat person running. I would like to believe it's all in my head but I know it's definitely not. My friends/brothers all say the same thing whenever we drive past a fat person running: "Run fatty run. Hey FTFADIA, that use to be you!"

Like others have said, work out at home, its what I do now and I love it. lose a few pounds gain confidence and then start running outside. That's what I did and now I have little worries about running outside.


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## samuel89 (Oct 6, 2011)

I have the same problem, and i will get up very early in the morning like 4.30am for a run, its good after running for just 2weeks my SA is in better control. ( that was like last year)

I'm planning to jog every morning , just think of all _positive thinking, remove all negatives thinking...

Maybe u can start write down all benefits from jogging in a list.

And your topic titles sound not so _ _positive ..._ *I want to exercise, but
... remove that "but", its so negatives lol.*


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