Ya just gotta overcome your embarrassment and exercise at the college or else exercise at home. As far as extra skin is concerned, there might be some extra but then again there might not. I know that I have some issues and am begining a 3 surgery process to correct it.

But ya know what? Don't worry about it. Better to be thinner and healthy with some extra skin than
heavier with streched skin.

As far as the excess skin, chances are you will have some. But you may be surprised and see it's not quite as much as you expected and are willing to live with it. OTOH, you may feel that surgery is something that you want to do.

Now as far as the gym, I agree with Charlotte, you've just got to suck it up and exercise at the college or do it at home. You might want an exercise partner but realistically, you might not find one. Don't let that be the reason that you don't start exercising.

I can really relate to the exercise avoidance thing. I had a gym at work, but really didn't want to use it, as I didn't want to show my fat body in front of people I knew professionally. I was really out of shape.

But the cool thing is, that whilst weight loss can take an age, fitness improves quite quickly in comparison. In a year I have gone from being able to swim 12 lengths in an hour, to a mile (64 lengths in an hour) I can run instead of walk, I can do pilates and yoga and more than keep up with the class.

And I'm not embarrassed anymore. I have had so much encouragement from the guys at the gym. You know what I have learned? Every gym instructor (and I have had about 8 in my journey so far) has said how brilliant it is to have someone who really needs their help and is really motivated. So often "skinnies" don't put the effort in, as they aren't that committed to the end result, unlike us.

So do it, and be proud that you are doing it for yourself and your current and future health.

Oh and the excess skin might be an issue or it might not, as teahoney and chica have said, but don't let that stop you. Unfortunately you won't know whether you are a "loosey" or a "tighty" til you get there!

On the gym thing: I always tell myself when I feel huge in the gym that most other people are thinking "way to go!" because that's what I think when I see someone who's heavy working out.

Hey, they've gotta respect that you're doing something about it & not sitting with a doughnut in each hand.

I have issues with the loose skin, I worry about it. But from what I've heard once, you get to your goal weight. I've heard it suggested to stay at that weight for a year and if you still have loose skin then consider your options.

We don't have a real gym here, we have the community rec dept workout room which I looked at in December and it's pretty dismal.

I started off doing pilates at home and it really helped to build my stamina/endurance, i felt stronger and it prepared me to start other exercises. I now walk everyday, do my Taebo and Biggest Loser workouts, still do a variety of pilates, I bought an elliptical, use small weights, stability, weighted balls, resistance bands and tubes and got to my parents to use their weight machine, i can only do 5 moves on it but it works and I bring my small weights to get a circuit going.

Good luck and you will have lot's of support here, so stick around.

Jezebelle - I worry about loose skin as well...so far I've lost almost 50 pounds (I am at approx. the same weight as you) and it hasn't been a huge issue yet, but I can tell that once I lose another 50, it's probably going to be an issue. However, I've been psyching myself up on that future, so to speak: at first the loose skin issue was such a de-motivator for me, but in time I learned to accept that it's a very real possibility, but that I shouldn't let it stop me from becoming healthy.

I lift weights regularly at the gym and having the right trainer made all the difference. My trainer took me very seriously and pushed me and is great at letting me know how impressed he is with my progress. He also enouraged me to lift heavy weights instead of relegating me solely to light weights. He consistently gave me new weight lifting programs every 6 weeks-ish. I too have been self conscious about going to the gym, but if you force yourself to go in the beginning, and stick with it, you become more confident. For example, I've become so comfortable with the weights in the gym that I go into that section with *a lot* of confidence - because I know that I know a lot about weight training, probably at least as much as any of the people in the weights area...knowledge is power! If you can, spending some time with a trainer at the beginning is very helpful in becoming comfortable with all aspects of the gym.

I have also heard that you should wait a year or so after reaching your goal weight before considering surgery for your loose skin (if you have any). This gives your body time to naturally take up the slack, so to speak. You may be surprised that a lot of loose skin will naturally "go back" to where it belongs. True, you may still have some, but it may be much more "liveable."

Hi and welcome. Congrats on your pounds lost already, and here's to many more!

Regarding extra skin, I try not to worry about it. I want to lose weight regardless, and I'm sure you do too. If it's there at the end, just deal with it then! One hurdle at a time!

Regarding exercise, I know exactly how you feel. I joined Curves because I didn't feel comfortable at a regular gym. Maybe you could look into something like that. I'll probably join a regular gym in the future, but Curves is working for me with strength training and getting in the habit of regular exercise.

Good luck!

Hi, Jez,

I was really nervous about joining the gym -- it's about a year for me now that I've been a member. I'm glad I did it. The first time was the hardest, after that I realized every one was a lot more concerned with their own looks and routines and not paying much attention to me (plus there were all ages and sizes at my gym). You can always do a trial run to see how much you like it, if I'm understanding correctly you don't have a financial stake in it, so if it turns out to be not the place for you, you can always do something else. Good luck.

I've done the gym thing - and, for me at least, it seems harder to maintain that motivation to go. It comes and goes. So I started walking twice a day because that was easier for me... and now I've added ballroom dancing a couple of times a week. I also bought an exercise ball, some dumbells, therabands, and one of those jump-ropes looking resistence bands... so I can do things at home. AND I finally figured out that I have FitTV so I have that as well... so I can do all that, and if I still want to go to the gym, I can... I think that the key is adding more movement... stuff that you'll want to do, stuff you'll be consistent about... the gym's not the only activity available... other than that.... just do it. : )

Everything you ever wanted to know -- from the Maintainers forum
The Skin FAQ

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36040