Locker-room Phobia
A post from Tammy K: Help! I'm totally TRYING to follow your advice to skip working out at home and go to a health club instead. But the only time I can get to the gym is at lunch or right after work, and I'm too embarrassed to get naked in front of strangers. What should I do?
HEY, TAMMY K: Yep, I think working out at home is SO difficult . . . because there's just too many other things you could/should/would rather do . . . I find that even cleaning the soap scum out of the shower is somehow preferable to doing my Pilates DVD. But the locker room thing IS a big issue. I mean, there was a time when I could barely stand to look at MYSELF in the mirror. Why should I put anyone else through that?
Let's back up: Round of applause for getting to the gym in the first place--that's the hardest part. But how to keep modesty from sabotaging your fitness routine? Here are some suggestions:
--Remember, it's not always all about you. Chances are your locker-room companions are in a rush to make it to that Spinning class on time and don't even notice. And they're probably just as self-conscious as you are (because just about EVERY woman has some hang up about her body, even if she's stick-thin).
--Avoid the mirror. What's the old saying? Out of sight, out of mind. Try to find a spot in the locker room away from the mirror, or make it a point to avoid sneaking a peek at yourself. If you're not faced with a full frontal of all your flaws, they won't weigh so heavily on your mind.
--Use a bathroom stall. I've been known to sneak into the wheelchair-accessible stall when it was empty. I'm sure that's bad karma (if not a punishable offense), but you gotta do what you gotta do. This is a last resort, mind you--don't make it a habit. (I've seen other women use shower stalls too.)
I hope this helps--and if anyone else has suggestions for Tammy, please post! Let me know how you're doing, and keep up the great work!
Lisa D
aka Former Fat Girl
HEY, TAMMY K: Yep, I think working out at home is SO difficult . . . because there's just too many other things you could/should/would rather do . . . I find that even cleaning the soap scum out of the shower is somehow preferable to doing my Pilates DVD. But the locker room thing IS a big issue. I mean, there was a time when I could barely stand to look at MYSELF in the mirror. Why should I put anyone else through that?
Let's back up: Round of applause for getting to the gym in the first place--that's the hardest part. But how to keep modesty from sabotaging your fitness routine? Here are some suggestions:
--Remember, it's not always all about you. Chances are your locker-room companions are in a rush to make it to that Spinning class on time and don't even notice. And they're probably just as self-conscious as you are (because just about EVERY woman has some hang up about her body, even if she's stick-thin).
--Avoid the mirror. What's the old saying? Out of sight, out of mind. Try to find a spot in the locker room away from the mirror, or make it a point to avoid sneaking a peek at yourself. If you're not faced with a full frontal of all your flaws, they won't weigh so heavily on your mind.
--Use a bathroom stall. I've been known to sneak into the wheelchair-accessible stall when it was empty. I'm sure that's bad karma (if not a punishable offense), but you gotta do what you gotta do. This is a last resort, mind you--don't make it a habit. (I've seen other women use shower stalls too.)
I hope this helps--and if anyone else has suggestions for Tammy, please post! Let me know how you're doing, and keep up the great work!
Lisa D
aka Former Fat Girl
posted by Lisa Delaney at
7:06 AM
6 Comments:
I change at work in the bathroom before I leave for the gym - I'd rather walk through the office in gym clothes than change in the locker room!
I have to admit that Lisa is right. I'm usually so busy trying to get ready that I don't pay attention to the other ladys. Those ladies are there for the same reason you are: to lose weight, keep it off or to become healthier.
I was the same way. I lost 95 pounds before I ever stepped foot in a gym. The problem that arose from it??? yeah, talk about saggy skin! Thats not all though. YOU must build muscle to burn fat off and speed the metabolism! I dont care what anyone else says. If it werent for my beginning to workout regularly, I would not have kept this weight off for almost 13 years now!
It was tough to get firm, and still my stomach needs some help, but honestly, it will save you alot of time and heartache if you just get in there! Heres how i look at it, at least you are doing something! I say to an overweight male or female in the gym...good for them!! They are putting in some effort to make a positive change and I feel happy for them. I know how they feel. And i weigh 135 and I am so insecure about myself that I still change in the bathrooms, and I dont wear skimpy clothes either. (I am also an instructor). Hey, I am there for a reason, and its not to impress anyone! I have work to do. I walk right into that weight room as well, all the meat heads get out of the way! I know what I am doing and all I did was READ!!! That is how I learned how to weight train.
Ladies, we all have power, no matter how big or small we are! You are respected by me, thats for sure!
AMEN to "wu sniper"! I've found that a positive mind-set is the key for me when it comes to changing in a locker room. No doubt the stick-figure changing next to me is worried about her "huge" behind just as I'm worried about mine. If someone gets a giggle from my jiggle then at least I did one positive thing that day!
Okay, do I think I am a “fat girl”? No. But I do, and have always, carried an extra 10-15 lbs. that I can never seem to loose. I exercise, eat right (am always hungry no matter how much or how little I eat) but still can’t loose it. I am 5’2” and weight 128 lbs. I absolutely refuse to hit 130 lbs. (even if that means loosing a limb to have less weight on me). I recently got married and my husband always says “you look perfect the way you are” which is sweet but when bathing suit season comes around and I see all these size 2 girls around me I don’t feel so perfect. Plus, the couple we do the most with, the wife is my height that around 100 lbs. Not to mention the fact that she can eat like a cow and still maintain that 00 waist line. I know I will never be like that, my body shape is different from hers but how can I get some of this weight off.
OK, here's my situation over the years...
When I was in high school we were required to shower after gym class. The showers were those group showers that were right in the middle of the locker room with no privacy of any kind, everything was on full display to every girl in the locker room. On the bright side there were 25 other girls that were also naked, so it's not like I was the only naked girl in there. But on the down side I was the only overweight girl in the whole gym class.
I couldn't believe how many of the other girls could prance around totally nude without a care in the world, or even stand there totally naked having conversations with each other.
I HATE, HATE HATED showering and being naked in front of the other girls, but I envied their ability to be so comfortably nude in the locker room.
When I got into my mid 20's I lost all of my excess weight, and I then weighed 118 pounds, and not to brag, but I looked great.
After that I became what I had envied in the girls in high school. I became quite the locker room nudist to be quite honest. I wasn't really trying to show-off. And I definitely wasn't getting any kind of sexual gratification out of it, I am straight. But it just felt so fantastic to finally be able to walk around totally nude in a female locker room the way that my classmates had.
Maybe no one else can understand what I mean by this, it's hard to explain really, but seriously, I just loved to be naked in the locker room after my weight loss.
In my mid 30's however, I gained a substantial amount of weight after the birth of my first daughter, and I've never lost all of it. I now weigh around 150 pounds.
But, you know what? I have never totally reverted back to the shy self that I was in high school. I may have lost my love of being nude in the locker room, but I realized that there are much more important things in life than worrying about other females seeing me nude and overweight.
I don't feel any need to cover up just because there are other ladies in the locker room with me.
Like a couple of the other ladies said, everyone's there doing their own thing, and not worrying about you or paying any attention to you. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You have just as much right to shower and change in that locker room as any of the other ladies do! Your certainly not hurting anyone else if you choose to be naked while your in there. And I honestly believe that you will grow comfortable with the nudity issue faster than you might think.
I just wish that I knew in high school what I know now about not worrying about what others might think, and that their not even thinking about you in the first place.
Good luck!
Carol
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