get over it

Listen, I'm not going to relate this story to be unkind, okay? Here goes - at the last triathlon I did, I was doing some people watching while waiting around the pool deck for the event to start. For the most part, it was a few hundred people that looked like my neighbors - bankers, full time moms, accountants, corporate hacks, etc. There were a few there who looked ready to dominate, to be sure - nil body fat, skin suits that looked permanently bonded to their bodies, total eye of the tiger game face, etc. Since this was a typical cross section of society, there were some people there that had various degrees of a weight issue. One gentleman in particular (and again, not saying this to be unkind) had to be well over 300 pounds, and was wearing a lycra tri-suit that hovered nauseatingly between pink and purple. You know what though? He pretty much blended in. After all, 95% (no, that number was not scientifically derived) of the crowd was in lycra, and most of us didn't have bodies that anyone would put on the cover of a magazine - well, not a glamour magazine anyway; there were some nerdy folk that would have been great on the cover of any tech magazine, some others that probably had a net worth that could put them on Forbes, and personally I think I could grace the cover of Rookie Mistake Weekly (not an actual publication).

If I look at myself honestly, I see a guy that looks just fine. I'm not a youth, so my upper eye lids are a bit droopy, my beard is going grey, and since I used to be fat I'm kinda baggy around the middle. But, I'm healthy and clean and have all my body parts so I can blend in just fine. In fact, at a glance you might not notice anything particular at all about how I look - know why? We all pay SO MUCH attention to what we look like, and often have insecurities about it, that we really don't notice each other's appearance that much at all.

All that said, please do not let body image issues get in the way of exercising outdoors or at the gym. YES, you will encounter a handful of people that look like they just dropped down from Olympus. The vast majority of others out exercising will look pretty much like you. If there are clothes you can wear that would enhance your performance, and be appropriate for the exercise you are doing - wear them! My fave sport is cycling, and I have ALL the gear (see above pic). Yes, it's kinda ridiculous looking. I mean...so you see those compression leggings, matched with striped socks, tight bike shorts with the big pad between the legs, it's silly. BUT, it's the most comfortable thing for cycling, and the long sleeve jersey was perfect for that day's weather, and the compression gear is great for my varicose vein issues.

Will you look awkward and klutzy your first few times at yoga, pilates, barre, etc? Oh, hell yes you will. So was everyone else in there at first, and I've never met an instructor that won't home in on the newbies and help them out.

So that's it  - get out there and get fit, regardless of how you think you look. If you are overweight, what better clothes to wear than workout clothes? It means you're ready to work on it! Later, when you have become more fit, you can look at yourself again and enjoy the change. Oh, and last word - when you do get more fit, people will notice and compliment you, but then after awhile that will stop because 'fit' is your new normal. You'll need to keep at it anyway :-)