I am male, 5-10 and 230.

I used to just walk at the gym and feel like the "runners" felt like I was in their way and using their equipment....now I can run 5 miles without stopping...my joy is watching those skinny people come and go on the treadmill next to me while I just keep going...

I have a good story that will make you all feel good....

I started at the gym and I was 184, I'm 5'10 and I have a small frame. All that weight was flab and I was really self conscious. But I cranked up my headset and tried (really, really hard) to fight the feeling that everyone was watching me jiggle. I just ran and ran and did my thing

Fast forward 6 months and 44 pounds later. I still get self conscious when I know there's a "thin" person around me. Now...there are a lot of new people there. Some thin, some trying to lose weight. Now that I'm not in the "big" category anymore...let me tell you...I am at the gym and my friends have always been thin, and look at people that come in and outweigh me by 100 pounds and all I think is good for you! I don't look at their butt or their sweat or anything....I want to tell them they rock for being there. I'm totally not bragging, just telling you what I've realized upon having superfit friends and seeing someone new starting out.

Two weeks ago...this little wisp of nothing (like 100 pounds soaking wet) came up to me while I'm stretching and says "Wow, you've lost so much weight. I'm jealous, you have such stamina". At first I was freaked out thinking "oh my god, I'm not invisible" but then I got to thinking...huh...she noticed me for how far I'd come...NOT because she was making fun of me (which I'd assumed since I'm at least 40 pounds heavier and 8 inches taller, and I felt ginormous next to her)

So...I just thought I'd share so that y'all can see that no one is really looking at jiggle, sweat, panty lines, flab or anything else . It just takes faking confidence until you actually believe it!!!

I am not crazy about working out in front of others - one of the reasons I have never joined a gym. But it bothers me much less now than it used to, even though I am at almost my heaviest now. I am doing this for me, not them. I am doing this to be strong and healthy for my family, to be around a long time. And this body, no matter its imperfections, has carried and delivered a healthy baby, and walked miles and miles. I will never be thin, but I will be strong.

Despite that little mantra, yeah, I feel self-conscious sometimes. But I usually run alone, outdoors (feel trapped on a treadmill), and I become too focused to notice what others are saying.

Well, I don't wear any type of shorts--ever! I can't imagine how awful having my thighs rub together for the duration of even a short run would be (and body glide doesn't work that well on the thighs--I've tried it wearing dresses with no hose in the summer). I'd be way too self-conscious in compression shorts. On occasion, I envy the coolness of shorts, but not enough to even think of trying them.

I also envy small-busted women--I have to wear a regular bra under a sports bra to control the "girls." Binding & hot, but this combo does the job. BTW, I'm aware of Enell and like products, but don't want to spend that much money. If I ever get to and stay at goal weight, I'll consider something like that, but not now.

I have a bad, shuffling running gait. Coupled with the fact that I am very, very, slow makes most observers think I'm walking; power walking. I'm not. At the end of a tough 1/2 marathon I don't care when somebody says, "go walker," but I absolutely hate it when it happens during a regular training run! Yet, when I catch a glimpse of my shadow, I see what they mean. Still, it doesn't do much for my confidence.

Always at the start of a race I wonder what the heck am I doing there with all those fit, young, thin, strong, fast, people! Neither does the fact that they are frequently tearing down the course when I finish!

I've run steadily since 1999, most of it at a heavier weight than I am now, but sometimes it is hard. I would have quit a long time ago if I didn't truly enjoy it.

Mary

I went for a run with one of my good friend's wife. She is in my opinion 100% fit, beautiful and has an extremely low self esteem. We were talking and she was complaining about her thighs, then her butt, then her arms (you can see her arm muscles even when she doesn't flex). I finally said "What are you talking about? You look great. Everybody thinks you're beautiful, your husband couldn't be happier, why all the negativity? If you are trying to look better, you must be doing it for other women."

I think that's true to a certain degree women try to look good for other women... Guys generally like the way girls look way before they like the way they look themselves. I would much rather prefer a fit girl with a little cushion to a skinny model with no fat... Women just look better with a few curves.

As for me, I have some of my own self-conscious issues but I did realize that day that my issues aren't so bad. And if someone make a snide remark about the way I look, it may sting a bit, but I get over it quick. I'm out there trying to make right all the pounds I've wronged.

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