‘Fitness freaks bad for your figure’ – Low self-esteem bad for your mind

14th May 2008

‘Fitness freaks bad for your figure’ – Low self-esteem bad for your mind

posted in Body Image, Eating Disorders, Fitness/Exercise, New Research |

I tore out this snippet I found in one of those “health” magazines at my doctor’s office. You know the kind… the ones that purport to be about health and yet the first half of the magazine is devoted to “losing weight” and “looking better.” Yeah, well, it was either that or read Nicole Ritchie’s gushing about her new baby.
Arm wrestle

Gym-goers who look out of shape aren’t the best role models, but they might actually inspire you more than people with buff bodies. University of California, San Diego, researchers found that women who exercised next to plump peers worked out two minutes longer than they did when working out next to fitness freaks. Lead researcher James A. Kulik, PhD, thinks the women wanted to show off next to (or avoid becoming like) someone less fit, but they felt demoralized when next to a woman who was more toned.

What strikes me most about this snippet is that because the “non-plump” gym-goers are compelled to exercise more, the tone of the brief seems to condone and even promote the behavior, regardless of the destructive motivations driving it (it was included on a page with other weight-loss advice and tips). Both hypotheses — the woman who wants to “show off” in front of a fatter woman or the woman who uses her “plump peer” as the yardstick by which she measures her own self-worth — indicates a degree of self-insecurity and self-anxiety, feelings that an extra two minutes on the stairclimber won’t ever whittle away.

I looked up the study and found it ironically enough to be published in the July, 2007 edition of the International Journal of Eating Disorders – abstract here. Some additional context: The study included female undergraduate students (who may be more susceptible to this kind of behavior) and sought to measure the the effects of peer comparisons in a naturalistic setting or on objective behavior one body-image perceptions. The results?

Exposure to a fit peer had undermining effects on women’s body satisfaction and exercise duration, whereas an unfit peer produced no compensating greater body satisfaction but did elicit longer exercise duration relative to controls.

The thrust of the study measured body dissatisfaction, and so it’s inclusion in an eating disorders journal isn’t strange. What is curious is the “health” magazine’s positive slant on it as evidenced by its very title, “Fitness Freaks bad for your figure.” Maybe a more appropriate title would have instead been “Low self-esteem bad for your mind.” Instead of recognizing the negativity revealed in the study published in an eating disorders journal, the magazine chose to appropriate aspects of it to further promote “health” and weight-loss. Once again, what would be considered disordered and even mentally ill for thin people is liberally disseminated as healthy advice for fat people. Who needs pro-ana sites when mainstream media normalizes disordered eating and behaviors?

My gym membership now is through our company’s on-site gym and I’m usually the only one working out in the late evening hours. My last gym membership where I worked out with other people was during the heydays of my eating disorder, when I habitually compared myself against every other woman anyway, so, my perspective may be a bit skewed. I do acutely remember one particular instance, though, from a few years ago, partly because I journaled about it. I usually ended my workouts with my own hillbilly version of yoga in a darkened, unused aerobics room. I was stretching on the bar when another, thinner girl about my age came in and started stretching also. I don’t think she was paying me the slightest bit of attention, but I soon began mimicking her movements and deliberately stretching farther than she and longer in a physical and mental game of endurance. She soon left and I “won.”

Have your workouts ever been subject to influence by the woman working out next to you? Do you feel like others pay any attention to what it is you’re doing at the gym?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 10:42 am and is filed under Body Image, Eating Disorders, Fitness/Exercise, New Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On May 14th, 2008, J said:

I like how the study refers to the fat exerciser as “unfit” and the magazine claims she’s a bad role model.

First, if this fat girl on the stairstepper is staying on it as long as the not-fat girl next to her, it seems that, at least, she’s not any less “fit” than the not-fat girl.

Second, since the magazine appears to want to promote weight loss, isn’t the fat girl who goes to the gym a great role model?

Semantics, I know, but it really annoys me when body fascists can’t even keep their own twisted logic straight.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 11:35 am

2 On May 14th, 2008, J said:

And in response to the question at the end of the post, I work out near-daily and am fat, although definitely not the fattest person I notice at my gym. To me, it seems like the people I observe being influenced by what others are doing at the gym are almost always thin. There are a few people who go to my yoga class who seem to think yoga is a competitive sport, to the point that I’ve seen a guy topple over because he was apparently determined to stay in tree pose longer than the rest of the class could. My fellow fatties seem to be content to focus on their own workouts.

I will admit to having a smidge of satisfaction when I notice that I have better endurance, strength or form than a skinny college girl next to me, though. And sometimes when I can’t hold a certain yoga pose due to an old wrist injury I wonder if people are silently thinking that it’s because I’m chubby. But then I look around the room and usually notice that four other people, all thin, also couldn’t hold the pose, so I think that’s just my insecurities getting the better of me.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 11:41 am

3 On May 14th, 2008, Marste said:

I have to say that even now I will work out longer next to someone with a body that isn’t “perfect.” But my reason is just the opposite of the study’s hypothesis. It’s not that I’m looking at the super-fit person next to me and feeling that “I’ll never be like that, so what’s the point?” I look at that person, and my old “Eating Disorder” brain starts in with the humiliation: “She’s looking at you. She’s probably glad she’s not such a fat cow. Look at you, jiggling along. There! See that! She TOTALLY looked at you! You’re disgusting! You shouldn’t even be seen in public!” And on and on and on. I’ll gut it out through EXACTLY the amount of time I have to stay there and them I’m out of there. I can only take so much of that voice before it either starts making sense to my brain or before I just start sobbing hysterically (and if no one was looking at me before, believe me, they’re looking then!).

On the other hand, if I’m working out next to someone who doesn’t have the social definition of a “perfect” body, I’m not competing with her; I’m actually encouraged by her. The “good” side of my brain kicks in with, “Hey, she looks kind of like you! And she’s running without even taking a walk break! Wow, look at her go – I can do that! Maybe not now, but there she is, looking like me, doing really cool stuff! That means I can do it too!” And so on. When THAT voice is going in my brain, you’re damn skippy I can do some extra time on the treadmill – that’s when it’s FUN.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

4 On May 14th, 2008, Rachel said:

Second, since the magazine appears to want to promote weight loss, isn’t the fat girl who goes to the gym a great role model?

When Mo and I went on the M & J Show, she made the point about how even when fat people exercise, they’re ridiculed. My mom, afterwards, brought this up and told me this is one of the reasons she won’t go to the gym. She is afraid that people will stare at her or worse, laugh at her. So, even when fat people do those things they’re lectured to do in order to conform to the thin status quo, they still can’t win, it seems.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

5 On May 14th, 2008, Tangerina said:

Ahhh. Pet peeve: using the word “fit” to mean skinny. I’m hella fit, as in I’m running a half marathon next weekend, but if I was working out at the gym I don’t think some sneaky researcher lurking behind a bush would mark me down in the “fit” category cuz I don’t have smoking hot abs or whatever. The more I think about this, the more dumb it is. They really mean that they went into a gym and identified who they thought was conventionally attractive by some random standard, cuz I doubt they were administering fitness tests or anything. This is lame science.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:27 pm

6 On May 14th, 2008, Rachel said:

I don’t think the study researchers defined who was and wasn’t fit. Rather, I think researchers relied on the study participants to define who they thought to be fit and unfit, and the ways in which both had on their own sense of body image. Any kind of study that relies on people to define the study focus is subject to flaws. As it is, I think the study still has its merits, though.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

7 On May 14th, 2008, withoutscene said:

I think this is a larger problem we have with our conceptualization of health. That health is comparative…when really, health is individual. But from the time we are young we are taught that to be in better “health” we have to compete with others or measure up to some standard or whatever. Your measuring stick should be yourself and you should push yourself if you are trying to do more physically, but you should also not be so desperate to “feel” worthy of the healthy stick that you injure yourself or your self-esteem.

Women comparing their bodies is also a big issue. We are taught to measure our beauty against one another. We are taught that it’s okay to use the fat girl (or person) to make you feel better or look better or for weight loss inspiration. Yeah, we all know fear of fat and body shame are just the BEST motivators….ugh.

Now, the problem with fat haters both wanting you to lose weight, but not wanting to have to watch you exercise (or exist) is a whole other can of worms.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

8 On May 14th, 2008, Toni said:

I know I engaged in the same behavior when I was doing typical gym workouts. Next to another “plump” person, I felt okay to be working out. Like we were in the same boat, kindred spirits. Sure that s/he understood what it was like to try and get “fit”/lose weight (which was my goal when I last worked out in the gym).

But if one of the buff trainers started talking to me, or a good looking guy or a thin woman got on a machine near me, I started to freak out. They’re watching my thighs jiggle. They’re laughing at me, wondering why I even bother. That they had been watching me for months, and couldn’t understand why I was still fat after 7 2+ hour workouts each week. That they were thinking about what I must be eating to stay fat despite all that activity. So I’d give up a lot earlier.

Now, I stick to swimming. I tend to go at odd hours when it’s mostly stay-at-home moms wrangling a bunch of kids, or retired folks. I feel a LOT more comfortable, despite still being the largest in the pool. But if I’m there when the high school swim team is, I sometimes get out of the pool after just 10 minutes.

It’s silly, I know, but just because I accept my body as is, I don’t believe that many other people do, and I’m afraid of being ridiculed (even though it’s never actually happened).

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

9 On May 14th, 2008, meghan said:

Wait, is the article saying that in order to get the most out of your workout, I should _try_ to exercise next to a ‘plump peer’ instead of a ‘fitness freak’? Because how does the ‘plump peer’ feel – wouldn’t I be ruining her workout, by becoming the comparative ‘fitness freak’?

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 1:02 pm

10 On May 14th, 2008, Mickey said:

I don’t think the other gymgoers affect my workouts per se, but they definitely affect my attitude towards the gym. My previous fitness center was heavily populated by gym-bunnies and beefcake, and I felt desperately out of place, so I didn’t go. I just recently signed up for a membership at a women-only center where my PT is located, and I like it oodles, as it’s only women, and they come in all shapes and sizes, but tend to lean towards the non-gym-bunny physique. I imagine I’ll be much more likely to drag my ass in to work out there.

11 On May 14th, 2008, MrsDrC said:

So there are two sides to the coin. If you are the “fitter” one you are bad for your “plump peer”, they didnt seem explore that aspect. It seemed to be from the point of view of the “fit” person and warning them to not workout next to “Fitness Freaks”.

I’ve always been the plump peer and soon gave up gym’s in the whole. I got darned tired of being stared at, whispered about, and questioned about “what it’s like to be fat” when trying to take a steam in the sauna. I did however love to showup the “fit” people, and proove I could keep up.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

12 On May 14th, 2008, parergon said:

the last time i regularly went to a gym, i would go at the time when the gym was emptiest, so that i didn’t have to deal with the urge to work out competitively. but when there were other people around, regardless of whether they were fit or not, i tended to go into tunnel mode. (i was recovering from an eating disorder, & bodies — all bodies — really freaked me out.)

also, i tend to run, when i do, either really late at night or really early in the morning, so i don’t feel other peoples’ hypothetical judgments about my body or my (admittedly not the greatest) fitness level.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

13 On May 14th, 2008, Bree said:

I don’t go to gyms to workout. I prefer to walk or dance to high-energy dance music in my room. I’m sure I could use a good gym workout for toning, but I’ve heard too many horror stories about fat people getting harassed when trying to work out. I am considering going to the senior center to work out, because that’s for people of any age and it’s just $25 a year. I sincerely doubt that place would cater to the hardbodies.

Fatphobia is pathetically interesting. Fatphobes want us to exercise, yet don’t want to see us doing it in public. Maybe the solution is for these people to build us home gyms and provide the machines, at their cost of course. Then we can happily work up a sweat without actually being seen.
[/end sarcasm]

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

14 On May 14th, 2008, pennylane said:

I hate that “fitness” or “health” magazines are primarily about weight loss. I love working out but even magazines that are about specific sports (like Runner’s World or Inside Triathlon) tend to have at least one story every damn month about losing weight. This month I was reading Inside Triathlon’s “Body” issue that had a section on amateur/pro triathletes who have great accomplishments–and with it was a little box that had their height/weight and training regimen. WTF? It’s interesting to see how impressive athletes train but my ED brain kicked in so that no matter how fit I am in the sense of working out, etc. I was shamed by how different my body is not in performance but in arbitrary numbers. Sorry–personal rant.

Funny story about gym watching–when I was in graduate school I used to weight train fairly early in the morning in the free weights room in the basement that was a total dude zone. It would usually be all guys plus me and another woman who was super strong. One day I was in there lifting weights and noticed one of the dudes was waiting for a machine that the woman was on and when she moved to a different exercise he got on the machine, looked at her, and then picked a higher weight setting on the machine. He couldn’t budge the bar and moved it to what she had it set on. He could barely move it. Finally he set it 20 pounds lower and sheepishly did his set really fast–and then set it back up to what she’d been doing. I laughed out loud. (PS. I generally don’t judge at the gym–just the dudes in the free weight room who would talk really loudly about the bodies of chicks they’d seen at last night’s parties and then would grunt really loud while lifting and drop the weights. Just so you know they’re Totally Strong Dudes.)

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

15 On May 14th, 2008, Caitlin said:

There’s quite a merry sense of comradery where I work out (though I haven’t had much time for it of late). Downstairs is the big intimidating cardio room with the huge mirrors and the dozens of treadmills and bikes and that, and that tends to be where the super-fit gym buffs hang out. But there’s a smaller, quieter room upstairs with a much more laid-back vibe, where we’re all just there to do our own thing and enjoy our workout. It’s lovely.

My main exercise is from dance these days, though. I’m usually by far the biggest in the room, but I’ve been doing the class for almost a year and a half so the skinny newbies tend to pick me to follow. Hella satisfying to see I clearly look like I know what I’m doing (even if I usually don’t).

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

16 On May 14th, 2008, Rhiannon said:

I don’t work out in the gym anymore because I compete with my fellow gym goers. I don’t do yoga in classes, or bike beside someone, nothing. This competition is so ingrained into my psyche that I can’t even bellydance with others without stressing over it! And I am generally the most accepting of my body out of the rest of my family, even though I’m the largest. It just shows how screwed up this whole thing is.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

17 On May 14th, 2008, Rachel said:

My university built this huge, fantastic new recreation center which opened about two years ago. Because it’s part of my tuition, I started going there but felt very uncomfortable. It seems like it was more a social club and place to pick up dates than it was a fitness center. I wasn’t really concerned that others were looking at me, but I just felt uncomfortable and out of place. Then again, I’m not one for group classes, either. I like my company’s on-site gym because it’s small and intimate and I like working out alone. For me, working out is like a form of meditation, only one in which I also sweat. The solitude allows me to focus more on my body and feeling connected to it.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

18 On May 14th, 2008, twincats said:

When I was going to the gym, I was always so focused on what I was doing, I could look right through people and never notice them. I never even thought about that until one day a gal I used to live next door to when we were kids approached me and said I had done that to her! Once she got my attention, I recognized her right away, though. We did classes together for a while after that and laughed about it a lot.

The locker room was a different story, however…

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm

19 On May 14th, 2008, Joanie said:

I used to go to a local gym, before they closed their doors. It was a real hard-core type of place, not a meat market. I loved it, and I was often the largest person there. There was one woman who absolutely terrified me–real “gym bunny” type, not an ounce of fat on her, and she could go on the cardio machines forever. I felt like crap whenever she was there, which seemed like every single time I was there, no matter what day or time I went. Finally, out of desperation and self-preservation, I decided to befriend her. I asked her name, and started chatting–about the weather, local happenings, etc. Turns out she was very nice. If she was mentally thinking awful things about my jiggle or my largeness, it didn’t seem to matter once we got to know one another. It was a turning point for me at that gym, because I know if I hadn’t done something, I would have stopped going out of fear of what *I* thought she was thinking.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 4:03 pm

20 On May 14th, 2008, Rachel said:

Twincats: Blogger Leslie Goldman of The Weighting Game has a book out called The Locker Room Diaries. She spent five years speaking with diverse women (in locker rooms) about their bodies. Not so surprisingly, women of all sizes and ages and body types have hangups about how they look.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

21 On May 14th, 2008, mo pie said:

Actually, this weekend I had something like this happen to me! I usually don’t look at bodies so much as I look at the displays on the elliptical–I was working out next to someone who had the machine on a way higher setting than me. She was also very, very tiny. And also worked out half an hour longer than me. And was sipping a green Jamba Juice as she worked out. It didn’t make me feel bad or anything, I was just idly speculating on her regime. I had a fantastic workout, though, so I don’t know what that means.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

22 On May 14th, 2008, Davita Cuttita said:

For me, it’s vice-versa.

I feel bad working out next to people bigger than me because I’m wondering if they’re judging themselves against my frame (5′7, 130lbs). I suppose this happens because everytime I work out with my Mom she always vocalizes how much she’d like to look “more like me” or I’ll be around really nice fat girls who ask me how to diet and stuff…which I don’t. I just…lots of women in my life feel bad about themselves when they look at me and it breaks my heart because they’re so beautiful just the way they are.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

23 On May 14th, 2008, La di Da said:

I used to go to a women-only gym that wasn’t too bad except for the weight-loss program it was selling (I left because the marketing and sales push for it became impossible to ignore). There were a few ‘gym bunnies’ that would wear expensive trendy lycra outfits and makeup(!), who would sit on a bike, read a magazine, and not break a sweat. They didn’t usually last long because no one cared to look at and/or envy them, I think mostly the rest of us felt sorry for them rather than spiteful, in a ‘wow, it’s really sad that every woman in this gym has body image issues, even the ones that have socially-approved bodies’ kind of way. There were a few women that seemed initially confused that I, the fattest woman there, could last longer and go faster than them on the cardio machines and do higher weights, etc, but generally they got over it. Maybe I expanded their worldview a little, instead of causing them to think ‘oh my god, I hope I never look like her’. Maybe. The most annoying thing, actually, was the reception and non-trainer staff that assumed that I was there every day because I was desperate to lose weight and always asked me how I was doing with my ‘goal’ and were befuddled when I’d say “Awesome, I just bench pressed X kg!” – and also seemed to hold the attitude of ‘oh you poor thing, you come here nearly every day but you haven’t lost any weight’. Maybe that was their personal attitude, maybe that was how they were told to behave by management, I don’t know. So to avoid that, and the repellent weight-loss program sales push, I decided it wasn’t worth it to give my money to places that enabled the disordered bits of my brain.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 6:41 pm

24 On May 14th, 2008, Giovanna said:

At my college we had a brand new refurbished gym and I was one of the very few fat people who showed up to exercise (seriously, I never saw another girl or guy who was heavy there). Most of the girls wore really tight exercise clothes, like sports bras and spandex shorts, so I felt comparatively freaky not only for being fat but because I wore incredibly baggy sweatpants and t-shirts to hide it. I used to go with my roommate, who while thinner than me had much lower self esteem, and I’m positive that she used me as her “plump peer.” And I admit that being around all those perfect figures did make me feel discouraged; I’m not sure if it was because their presence compromised my self esteem or because their disapproval was so palpable. I didn’t fit in with the gym’s true purpose, which was to be ogled by all the guys working out. Anyway, I eventually stopped going and joined a Curves instead, which I like better because no one there cares about what you look like–I can go in my oldest sweatpants and no makeup and never feel self conscious. There aren’t really any “fitness freaks” there, although there are some very fit women–most of the ladies there seem to go because they just want to be healthy.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

25 On May 14th, 2008, la mestiza said:

Rachel, I totally know what you mean about the university gym. I went to my school’s gym twice and everyone looked like MTV extras. I started going to my neighborhood YMCA instead which has people of all ages and sizes and felt so much more comfortable that I never went back to the university gym. My size isn’t too far from the norm and I still couldn’t handle the intimidation. Also, (for a reason that sounds totally dumb as I type it out) I feel like I look my ugliest when I work out, because when I pull back my hair, my big ears and scar on my forehead are exposed and my big nose looks even more prominent. Even though I feel much more comfortable working out at my neigborhood gym, I still don’t want people to see me or notice me, I just go and pretend I’m invisible (which is better than feeling too ashamed to go at all?) i sound really sad.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

26 On May 14th, 2008, HeatherRadish said:

Lead researcher James A. Kulik, PhD, thinks the women wanted to show off next to (or avoid becoming like) someone less fit

Interesting. I can’t access the abstract, so I can’t see the methodology. Were there questions about this on an interview instrument?

I know I prefer to exercise with large women of age, but I’m not showing off or worried about becoming like them (*I’m* old and large)–it’s more of a “Hell, if they can do this, I can do this.” Which a thought I never had as an undergraduate.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 10:06 pm

27 On May 14th, 2008, Rhonda Simon said:

I used to take extra pride in myself, (when I used to belong to a gym), when I could run harder and longer on the treadmill than thin girls. After sharing this with my family I realized how stupid that was. Exercise should be about fun (I’m serious), and health, not the silly competition we all have a tendency to engage in.

posted on May 14th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

28 On May 15th, 2008, Jackie said:

Well I felt when I went to a Curves near me, and had a super-skinny girl telling me what I was doing wrong, did discourage me from going. I have had enough problem from being judged by thin teeny-boppers in high school.

I know all thin people are the bullying type, but if you’re a plus-size person fresh out of the overly judgemental world of high school, the last thing you want to see is someone who looks like the girl who bullied you in high school, saying you’re exercising wrong.

That’s why I think maybe someone plus-sized would feel more comfortable having someone else plus-sized as a trainer. For one, they can understand why someone would have less than perfect form for doing some of the exercises. Also, they won’t make the person feel like they’re being judged for not exercising well like a thin person.

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 2:09 am

29 On May 15th, 2008, Charlynn said:

It’s not the workouts at the gym that get me – it’s the locker room talk. It’s a seemingly never-ending stream of talk about weight, food, body shape, etc. and it drives me crazy. The actual shape of those talking doesn’t seem to matter – no matter how tiny (or not) someone is, they’re obsessing about getting smaller, not necessarily healthier. And the real kicker? There’s a personal trainer there who congratulates her clients on how much smaller they’ve gotten, not on how they’ve improved their cardio endurance or put on muscle. Doesn’t anyone in there realize that smaller is not always better? I’m starting to wonder.

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

30 On May 15th, 2008, Sherie S said:

Personally, I have to confess I would never go to a gym. I have heard to many stories of fat people who have either been emotionally abused, or condescended to. I refuse to be an environment where I am automatically considered a second class citizen. All my life I had to apologize for anything I did right. When I was a kid school came natural. But if I were to have gotten an attitude over it, I would have been hated even more than I already was for being a fat smarty pants who aced tests. I had to walk on egg shells with my non college educated family, and assure them over and over again I was NOT smarter than them just because I had a degree. But of course it was perfectly o.k. for them to feel superior to me because they were thin. (And ate like horses!) I still take flak for being blonde! At almost 50, I refuse to play by the double standards that puts me at a disadvantage. Until the attitude in gyms change to reflect their gratitude at having us full figured goddesses in their presence or at least start treating everyone equally, they won’t see my beautiful 220 lb rear!

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

31 On May 15th, 2008, Catgal said:

Hmmm. I am by far the fattest woman at my gym, and I don’t know if I should be insulted or flattered by this.

I have been working out with a personal trainer for about a year and a half now twice a week, and my fitness level has vastly improved, my weight has not.

I do take comfort in the fact that my trainer tells me that I kick some of her other smaller clients asses with the type of work out that I do. So it makes me feel better. She tells me that I must do more cardio, but I hate it, and am not willing at this time to put in that 3rd night at the gym.

And I totally agree about the locker room! That is where I often feel the most uncomfortable. It amazes me how many people have no modesty and wald around stark naked in there! It’s very disarming.

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

32 On May 15th, 2008, Mindy said:

I tend to do this when I go to the pool. Often, I’m the chubbiest one in the pool but am also the fastest swimmer and stay the longest. I make sure that whomever is swimming next to me knows I can tought it out, especially if that someone is a young guy who, when I first get in the pool, has a look of disgust on his face. It is childish and probably not healthy, but I was a competitive swimmer and that racing attitude will always be there, I guess. I have to admit that it feels good to shock people when they realize I can keep up with them and for as long, and maybe it helps someone change their thinking, if even for a moment.

The locker room, though — ACK! I’m one of those shy girls that changes in one of the changing rooms or in the shower or something. I hate having all the skinny girls size me up. I know, I know — everyone is supposedly more worried about themselves than what anyone else looks like. I really don’t believe that.

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

33 On May 15th, 2008, twincats said:

When I was going to the gym, I was about 100 lbs. less than now. In the gym itself, I was oblivious, in the locker room, I always did the “at least I’m not as fat as her” comparisons. Makes me cringe now!

And now I can’t get the Jill Sobule song “Lucy at the Gym” out of my head!

posted on May 15th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

34 On May 25th, 2008, Deborah said:

There’s always this presumption that if your fat, you can’t possibly be a good athlete. It was great to see Marissa Winokur battle it out on “Dancing with the Stars” showing the world that big girls can glide gracefully across the dance floor as well as their thinner counterparts. Yes, you can be fat and fit. Society may try to make us feel like we don’t fit in, but the more vocal we are to demand representaion in the media, fashion and sports, the better chance we have of being accepted as part of the melting pot of the world.

posted on May 25th, 2008 at 11:51 am