In between classes today, went for brunch with some classmates. There was a newly-opened gym nearby, and the promotion sounded attractive, so these friends went for a tour and just went along because there wasn’t anything else to do.
The five of us, we’re what self referred to as porky when we were in the car on the way to the place we had brunch. So imagine 5 porky people taking the gym tour…
Yeap, we definitely attracted stares from people in the gym and probably not the right kind either. Was actually slightly interested in joining the gym, because the promotion seemed pretty good (which turned out to be not good at all, typical of misleading advertisements), and going with friends to the gym after class will be the best kind of motivation to get fit. But as we walked around the gym, it’s obvious that those stares, we would be getting them perpetually should we actually hit the gym together.
And as the fitness trainer went about talking about the machines and the classes and what they would do to our bodies, couldn’t help feeling defensive about self’s body. On one hand, it’s ridiculous as there’s no doubt that am not exactly the healthiest of people and could stand to lose a few pounds. On the other hand, the gym, with mirrors instead of walls and superior-looking gym buffs hanging around snidely leering at our porkiness, seem to say with their eyes that everything about self’s body is wrong and this is where you can start to fix the mess you’ve made out of porking that we don’t really belong here, because the gym is for fitness freaks like us who actually care about our health and not porky people like you who want to come here to look like us.
Okay, that was clearly nothing but the stretch of self’s paranoid imagination, but you get the idea. It’s no wonder fat people dislike going to the gym. Honestly, many fat people go to the gym not thinking they genuinely want to lose weight and get fit, but they want to be forced into doing that. Going to the gym means they have to fork out money, and this is the factor that binds them into going to the gym. Because otherwise there are other cheaper options to get fit, isn’t it?
They really should have a gym only for fat people.
bloggerdygook 
Comments on: "Do you feel protective of your fat?" (18)
I go to a gym. 😦
I agree part of the reason why I go is due to the money-commitment, but there are other reasons as well.
And I hate those stares from those plasticky cyborgs who eat (wait they chug protein shakes only) sleep dream gym 24/7.
sulz: haha, don’t go after you finish paying for the package. 😛 see, every gym got those cyborgs you’re talking about.
imagine if we stay near the beach… what need do we have for a gym then!
Eh? Beach? What’s the connection? Not everyone’s into water sports and beach activities. 😦 I love swimming but I hate the sea and beach (because obviously not owner of body that can prance around in skimpy bikinis. Or swimsuit even.)
sulz: walking the length of the beach should be enough exercise for the day mer… and this girl can’t swim some more, haha.
but in reality there’d probably be a gym near the beach anyway!
There’s a saying that people go to the gym to be seen. The mirror’s to reflect the trainer – so that he/she doesn’t have to face you all and you have to double think move left or right. But then, some people use the mirror to admire self or catch someone’s private parts.
If u really want to get fit in a gym, who cares what other people think? As long as you reach your goal and maintain healthy lifestyle, you’re the winner already.
sulz: that’s true. but surely mirrors aren’t exactly needed in the gym area, but more for the dance room where the trainer does the workouts and such. this gym had mirrors everywhere, except the locker room lah. so technically the private part thing can’t see, hehe. just the shape maybe!
it’s easy to say but much harder to keep up the attitude! while we shouldn’t let these people bring us down in our quest to get fit, it’s also normal to feel discouraged by them.
Frankly, mirrors are supposed to be there to remind people to keep the right posture, even on the machines.
BUT, like everything else in the world, it has other unorthodox uses. 😛
oh, that’s what they are for? thought it was to remind people like self how porky am and learn to hate said porkiness so will punish self on that bicycle thingy more à la bridget jones. 😆
True, talk is easy and free :p That’s why those who really keep up going to exercise in gym and not ogling muscles (or body parts) + socializing only.. are admirable.
Just beware of those perverts and sex maniacs prowling the water cooler. Yuck. Also, don’t tell personal details to your trainer bcoz some of them would joke about it and share among other trainers. Of course, not all trainers do that lah.
sulz: yes, those people are focused! aiyer, those trainers are very unethical is they do so! what kind of personal details by the way? you mean like vital (why is it called vital when it doesn’t seem that vital in the first place?!) statistics and weight?
i am admittedly protective of my fat, and yes, i know how you feel. i mean i’m not on the small side, neither am i large–i’m an in-betweener and still stared at by folks at the gym. could just be local culture, i reckon, to stare.
but after many years of feeling perpetually imperfect, i have come to accept the fact that as long as i eat and exercise in moderation (both rare occurrences though), and don’t overindulge in alcohol or sweets, i should be all right.
and my fats? screw anyone who tells me i need to get rid of it, it took me a while to accumulate ok *snooty face*.
make sure you exercise for the right reasons. sod what anyone else thinks 🙂
sulz: ya la, those stoopid cows. and that’s why am not joining a gym or anything right now. feel like if am doing it, it’s not because seriously want to do it for self but rather to please other people in self’s life and to gain approval from them, which is so the wrong reason!
huh, you eating is a rare occurence? no wonder so hard for you to accumulate fat. 😛 heh, just teasing.
well, we can always say up yours to those who leer. fat is a stored form of energy, and so we (as in, we fat people) have more energy than the people who have so-called perfect bodies.
practically speaking, if an asteroid hit earth today and wiped out food supply temporarily, we’ll be the ones who’ll survive, and then repopulate the planet. then fat will become normal. suits ’em fine.
sulz: haha, ever the optimist aren’t you? asteroid indeed! but actually you have a point. read this article recently claiming that a fat person who has suffered a heart attack recovered quicker and better than a thinner counterpart.
yet at the end of the article, the researchers and doctors kept reiterating that that is not reason for people to stay fat or become fat. so go figure, haha.
I cant wait for an asteroid to hit this planet of misguided fitness freaks.
That will show them.
schizo
sulz: hehe, you’re not one of them fitness freaks, dr schizo? you’d think those crazy hours for your internship would make you pretty fit.
i’m actually trying to lose weight, but for the time being, i’m quite protective of myself and my fat.
as an afterthought, though, if the asteroid did hit, we’d all be slim at the end of the calamity. so there 😀
sulz: just as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, you go get physical! 🙂
but we wouldn’t be able to blog anymore! cannot!
hahaha good one. i meant me eating in moderation. because i need to snack like 20 times a day, preferably on something high in sugar, calories, or carbo.
there is now a very good impetus for me to stop snacking, esp in between classes—the sheer lack of money! haha. tickets to australia are mucho expensivo >.<
sulz: then how you stay so thin ah? think if you snack 20 times on french fries in a day, means 20 sticks of fries is it… haha!
must sacrifice for love mer…
I mean ur private life / gossip. Stats like weight, height, eating habits – they need to know.
Hey, let’s not bash the thin (me) that we’d die if the meteor hits Earth :p It’s the personality that counts more. Eating frequently on healthy food, less carbo & less portion each time works.
sulz: wah, who want to tell their private life stuff to the trainers? like hairdressers only, haha!
hehe, of course we’re not teasing you ler.
i am a health freak i think a couple of extra pounds is very health. for example i can balance my pager on my belly when i sit down to read so easy access.
running around as an intern has given me legs arnold would be proud of.
sulz: you and your crazy deadpan remarks! 😆 yea, you can be the next villain in the die hard movies.
I am not a fan of public gyms. I have lifted weights most of my life and I usually wind up taking offense at some kid just out of school supervising my gym workouts. Plus I hate public showers where people usually share their foot fungus. But unless you are trying to become Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton Terminator like clones, public gyms are expensive and unnecessary. If you really want to get in shape you start with the free stuff. You get up in the mornings do some stretching exercises, a few leg lifts, maybe some isometrics and then go for a walk. And it is all free, unless you want to invest in a dowel rod or some rope to assist in the isometrics. If you are a beach person swimming is a great way to exercise and build muscle tone. And you just keep at it and increase the effort incrementally until you reach the point and look you desire. If you do desire to be an economy version of the Terminator, weight lifting sets are inexpensive. But you do need to have a friend join you when you lift. Without a spotter (not the Mr. Monk kind) weight lifting can be dangerous. The tough part is the same tough part of attending the gym, the diligence to continue the routine on a daily basis.
sulz: yeap, exercising doesn’t need to cost so much, but it’s the cost that motivates you sometimes! 🙂 it’s harder to see money go wasted than making use of free facilities like the park, knowing that it’ll forever be free.
but if one has an exercise buddy, it’ll be a lot more fun doing it on a regular basis that’s for sure.
die hard
Live easy
eat greasy
die hard
wtf? we rule, dammit. fat people RULE!
but then, the probability of a holocaust are quite low.
so i’m gonna lose some adipose. got some inspiration going on at my side.
Some trainers become like friends to those people ahh gym goers. So trainers actually know a lot of them but if the gym’s culture is leaving it up to you to exercise and no monitoring, then there’s less chance of you blurting secrets to them. I think exercising at home or outdoor’s cheaper but then gym has those muscular trainers to guide you 😉
Unfortunately, most (if not all) of them are gays!
sulz: wah, you know so much, you must have went to gym is it? 😛 or maybe you have friends to tell gym gossip.
maybe to have the best of both worlds, one could start the exercise habit by going to the park, then when that person developed the habit can try going to a gym, so the commitment has already been established that way.
Kakaka. I had a friend who was dating a gym instructor. I’ve stepped into gyms for sauna & steam haha. I’d rather spend the $ to buy nutritious and organic food, entertainment but gym these days incorporates swimming pool, yoga, pilates, martial arts, etc which is quite a good deal 🙂
sulz: at minimum rm160 a month, it better be a good deal!
i dont go to a gym. I need one nearby thats cheap and with people who make me feel good about myself
thin peopple go to the gym so tyhey can see bad shaped people and feel good about themselves
Its not nice but it is true
-Smiley
sulz: don’t we all need gyms which make us feel better about ourselves? yeah, unfortunately there are shallow people like that, but try not to let them get you down. 🙂