How do I get over my shyness about jogging since i'm overweight?!
Question: I let a lot of extra weight creep up on me while I was pregnant with my son. Now I am taking it off through diet and exercise. I prefer to speed walk or jog so I can take my dog along. Problem is, I live in a small town where everyone knew me when I was much thinner, and i'm embarrassed that I will run into an old class mate or something while i'm out. And I know they will just be amazed at how much heavier I am. I cannot drive someplace else, because I have no license due to epilepsy. So i'm torn between staying inside and being heavy, or going running while I might look silly. I guess what i'm asking is how do I deal with this? I'm 31 yrs old and weigh 180, where I weighed 130 before my son. It's a big difference.
Answers: I let a lot of extra weight creep up on me while I was pregnant with my son. Now I am taking it off through diet and exercise. I prefer to speed walk or jog so I can take my dog along. Problem is, I live in a small town where everyone knew me when I was much thinner, and i'm embarrassed that I will run into an old class mate or something while i'm out. And I know they will just be amazed at how much heavier I am. I cannot drive someplace else, because I have no license due to epilepsy. So i'm torn between staying inside and being heavy, or going running while I might look silly. I guess what i'm asking is how do I deal with this? I'm 31 yrs old and weigh 180, where I weighed 130 before my son. It's a big difference.
Do you have access to a treadmill (or can you buy one)? I've lost over 100 pounds and at the beginning I was way too embarassed to walk in public. I walked on a treadmill until I lost about 30 or 40 pounds and then I joined a gym.
Small people have no idea how hard something like this for bigger people. It's very intimidating.
As Nike says ... just do it.
I guess to me, you have no reason to be embarassed. it would be embarassing if you weren't doing anythign abotu what you perceive to be a weight problem. But since you're acting on it, i know i would look at you and think "good for you sweetheart! keep it up!"
Sounds like you have two options: stay inside and be a fat f--king hog, or suck it up and start jogging. It shouldn't take you more than a year to get back into shape. And being seen jogging while fat is better than being seen at a restaurant because it looks like you're doing something about it.
Honestly, just take pride in the fact that you are doing something for yourself. Most people gain weight with pregnancy, so you are not alone. Just be honest with people if someone stops you. It sounds like you are saying that you never leave the house, which is not a good thing
The way I see it is, hey, at least you are out there, making a big effort to be healthy! You could be making the choice to sit on your couch and eat potatoe chips, like so many other people. I truly admire people for pushing themselves and making a healthy choice to go for a jog, no matter what their weight. What's shameful is not doing anything about it, and letting the body waste away. One suggestion is to go early in the morning when hardly anyone is out.