Quote:
Originally Posted by luv
I, too, hate treadmills. I hate gyms. I much prefer being outside. I don't care if I look funny walking, jogging, riding a bike, or outdoor skating. 1. Maybe it's a reminder to people that everyone starts somewhere, and 2. they only have to look at me for a few seconds.
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Don't worry about how you look. When I'm running/training and see a heavy person doing the same, it makes me respect them because I'm sure it's hard physically AND mentally to get started.
I read a discussion on another site recently about this, and an in-shape poster mentioned that he/she always tries to encourage the obvious newbies. The response by a fatty was that doing this just made him more self-conscious because he knew that he was getting encouraged mainly because of his weight.
I understand it, but that kind of thinking is counter-productive and creates a self-perpetuating cycle. Go work out, and be proud that you're out there kicking ass.
When I first started to get serious about working out, I used to run with a girl (woman) from across the street. It would be hot as hell, and we'd sometimes see super in-shape women wearing next to nothing or buff guys running with no shirts on. The girl I was running with made a comment about it one time, and I told her that if we looked like that, we wouldn't be wearing shirts when it was that hot, either. Now, I don't wear a shirt when I run if it's hot out.
I'm not ripped or anything, but I look pretty damned good if I can say so. It's WAY more comfortable to run without a big sweaty t-shirt on. I went for a run yesterday wearing a white t-shirt because it was cool out. A few miles in, the clouds broke, and it got hot and humid. I was sweating my ass off and soaked right through the shirt. I remember thinking, "now I remember why I hated wearing shirts when running". It sucks.
Rambling aside, my point is that it's important to have goals...not just, "lose X pounds" goals, but little triggers along the way. Things like, "I want to run a mile in under 10 minutes", "I want to run a 5k", "I want to run at under a 9 minute pace", or even, "I want to be able to run in weather appropriate (small) clothing and not feel self-conscious about my looks when doing it" are all great motivators. I'm using running as an example, but the same mindset can be used for anything. Sometimes it's hard to notice your own progress until you create these milestones for yourself. That way, you can look back and think, "I remember when I threw up after running a mile because I sprinted at the end trying to break 11 minutes, but today I ran a 5k in under 30 minutes". Success feeds on itself.