Even when I was a kid & thin, I lacked coordination and gym class was miserable as I was often verbally teased & even physically roughed up (when it was team sports & my lack of coordination resulted in bad results for the team). I used (& sometimes still do) feel extremely self-conscious about exercising where other people could see me. I find music helps take me out of that self-conscious frame of mind. I get into the music and stop thinking that everyone's looking at me and getting to run & flee like extras in a Godzilla movie! I tell ya, during Fashion Week here in midtown Manhattan, it's easy to feel like Godzilla!
And if it's a gym or park where lots of people exerise, one thing which helps is to remember most people are so into their own workouts/self-conscious that they're really not going to be that observant of others. Again, I've found music helpful. One time at the gym, I noticed people laughing, smiling in my direction & I was thinking back to the school gym. Instead, I made myself do a reality check. Seinfeld was playing on the tv near where I was working out. They were laughing/smiling at Seinfeld, not me!
And I can understand what people are saying about attracting attention. I put most of my weight on in my mid-late 30s (before that I wasn't obese). I used to get a lot of street harassment from guys, which seemed to taper off once I hit my highest weight 250. Well, last week, it was warm & I wasn't wearing coat & I was wearing an outfit no more suggestive than that of my avatar. I got some hey baby kind of stuff from some guys in car while waiting for the bus. I was hoping hitting my early 40s would have put a stop to that even with the weight loss, but no such luck. I'm not looking forward to having to deal with that again as it gets warmer, but I'm not going to let some horny yahoo guys in a car dictate my weight/health. It's bad enough they make me feel uncomfortable on the street, I'll be damned if I let them affect my health. Though I will indulge in a Thelma & Louise style manners lesson fantasy!
With maybe kick boxing instead of the gun, both to comply with local gun control laws & aerobic conditioning!