maybe you could try to take baby steps. like put on a bathing suit, along with a really cool coverup, and some cool shades. maybe the first time you go you could read a book and have some iced tea. and then you can get a feel for the environement and get to know some of the people and see that there are likely people of different shapes and sizes there. then maybe you could build up to eventually taking off the coverup and getting in the pool. i know how self-conscious this kind of thing can make someone, myself included, but try not to miss out on things because of it. try to enjoy this time and have fun!
Go to the pool - tread water, swim laps you'll get exercise and have fun! I goto the pool 3-5 times a week with my kids and I use my misery in a bathing suit as a reason to go and exercise. It has been raining for two days and I haven't been able to go GO! Have fun girl!
i have to agree go to the pool. I used to feel that way. I would find a bathing suit i feel really comfortable in, and just have fun! watch out for the sun, and wear sun screen so you don't get burnt--but go have a blast. I love swimming!
Go to the Avenue website and look at their bathing suits. They have some AWESOME swimsuits that look really good on bigger people. I'm not sure what size you wear, though, so the swimsuits may be too big for you (their sizes start at 14).
You're my height and 5lbs smaller than my eventual goal weight.
Not trying to make you feel bad, but c'mon...
GO GET IN THAT POOL, GURL!!
This is exactly what I was going to point out as well. 170 is my GOAL weight and I felt so good when I was down to that size the last time I lost a significant amount of weight.
As I am losing weight it is making me recognize how much I kept myself from doing before. Coming down in weight, 210 feels great and I'm so much happier with my body. But when I was younger at 210 I felt so horrible at this weight! I think about all the things I didn't do because I thought I was "too fat". I really regret allowing my body image keeping me from doing things I would have found fun or rewarding.
Experience life now to it's fullest so that you have less regrets in the future!
I want to scream when I hear anyone of any size avoiding the pool because of swimsuit fears. I hate that our culture has brainwashed us (women especially, but I know men with swimsuit phobia as well) into believing that we need a tiny, model-perfect body before we're allowed into a pool or onto a beach. As if we have a moral obligation to protect people from the ungodly horror of casting our eyes upon jiggliness.
Jiggliness is not a crime.
What's so frustrating to me is that the water is the perfect (and sometimes the only) place for overweight person to exercise comfortably and safely. There are a lot of other physical imperfections and difficulties that can make a person unattractive in a bathing suit, and often people with those issues also avoid the beach (again because of this bizarre social expectation we have that only perfect bodies belong in a swimming suit). Scars, wrinkles, missing or deformed limbs, asymetrical boidies..... we act as if there's a social obligation to spare others the sight of imperfection.
I've always been fat (since age 5) and I've always loved the water. It was the one and only physical activity in which I could compete with my "normal" peers (fat is actually an advantage in the water, because fat floats).
Now the path to the water felt like a deathmarch, as I was convinced (especially in my teens) that everyone was staring and judging. But once in the water, I felt a freedom I never felt anywhere else.
Don't deny yourself that pleasure.
There are a lot of gorgeous swimsuits that look sexier than your average bikini, yet have more coverage. Girls with curves often have great bustlines. If you've got cleavage, buy a suit that shows it off. Even at nearly 400 lbs, I always at least liked my cleavage in a swimsuit.
I also learned that even at my highest weight, I was more likely to get in the water if I liked my swimsuit. I hate my current suit (black two piece), and I was avoiding the water because of it. I had bought a cute blouse made in a lycra fabric. It has elbow length sleeves, a deep neckline and an empire waist. It didn't work as a blouse, because I was always too warm in it. I started wearing the top over my swimsuit as a coverup, and then decided to use the top as my swimsuit top. I just wear a t-shirt material bra I bought at Lane Bryant as my "swimming bra" and wear the blouse over the top of it. Even at my huge size, I've had women ask me where I found my swimsuit, because they loved that it had sleeves. It looked like a swim suit, because it was made in swimsuit material and matched my swim bottoms (a skort, which I'm also not that fond of, I prefer skirts).
Standing out doesn't necessarily make you look like a freak. Even at my size to have someone admire my odd swimsuit was a bit of a surreal experience. I originally did feel self-conscious, because it was so different, but finding that some people like it as much as I do, really boost my confidence.
You can go to the beach or pool and enjoy yourself. Find a suit that you do like, and don't worry about standing out. Most people won't notice you at all, some people may look and disapprove, and others will look at you with envy. You can't control what others think, but you can control what you think, and you can think confidently.
I am over 40 now and I look back at photos of myself when i was 20 and I thought at the time that I was fat and horrible looking, what I would do for that body now.. my daughter who is 18, 4.9 weighs 97lbs looks at herself and is unhappy with a little pooch she has on her belly (I emphasize the word LITTLE). It makes me sad for myself and it makes me sad for all the young women out there.. why do we tear ourselves down, why do we beat ourselves up .. I would bet my paycheck for the next 40 years that if you stood before all of us we would be in awe...we need to support each other and quit tearing ourselves down, we are perfect just the way we are..
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Originally Posted by neveragainbabe
I'm a college student. What does every college student do in the summertime? Live at the pool. My boyfriends older sister keeps asking me to go to the pool and I keep on making excuses. She is gorgeous, skinny, fit, tan, perfect body. I'm 5'6 and 170 (doesnt look too bad in normal clothes, but in a bathing suit, **** no) and it's kind of embarrassing always saying no. And I'm not gonna go in a one piece and shorts while other girls my age prance around in their little bikinis. I don't even feel skinny enough to wear tank tops! I kinda joked with her like, "ohh haha i refuse to buy another bathing suit til i lose 20 pounds!" You know, trying to make it sound like a universal girl thing, rather than something so dark and awful i struggle with every day. So yeah... my weight is making me feel left out.
I used to be just like you when I was in my late teens/early 20's. Refused to go to the pool or put on a bathing suit, if I had to go I would be in a t-shirt and shorts (the only time I would ever wear shorts btw).
I don't know if it's an age thing (I'm almost 27 now) or if it's because I have kids now and nothing is going to stop me from having a good time with my kids in the lake/pool but I couldn't care less anymore. I strut my stuff at the beach and don't care if someone might laugh at me, that's their problem not mine. I'm sure you look much better in a bathing suit than you give yourself credit for. I'm 5'4" and weigh about 50lbs more than you and I think I look pretty good in my one piece and I know I have a total blast playing in the water and swimming laps... GO TO THE POOL!!! And don't be afraid to rock a one piece if you feel more comfy that way, there are a million hot and sexy one piece suits out there, or try a tankini!
Oh, and as further incentive, walking around in the pool/swimming for an hour... burns anywhere from 300-400 calories I believe.
You know, a frequent complaint on this board is how when you are fat, no one sees you. But you know what? If you think it's all skinny little girls at the pool, you're ignoring the fat people, too! I promise you, there are plenty of people down there that are your size or bigger, and no one is pointing fingers or laughing at them.
I have been at goal a little over a year now. I have moved to another part of the country and all of my friends here believe I'm a naturally skinny person.
Last night, we decided we'd go to the pool today. We didn't have time before, because of the exams. First, I was excited. I love the pool.
Then I thought of the stretch marks and the cellulitis on my legs. I'm 22, bur my legs rather look like I'm 50. I was tempted to make up some excuse, like, I don't have a swimsuit, I got a migraine, whatever. But I realized how stupid that was.
I went to the pool with my friends this afternoon and had so much fun. No one looked at my legs. Or at least I didn't notice. I guess they did look and did notice, but didn't think anything about it.
If I were you, I'd go to the pool. Your friends know what you look like, they won't care.
GO! Have fun girl!
