I would LOVE to go to one of the classes at my gym, they have a huge schedule and the classes sound great! But every time I pass by the room, all I see in there are skinny, fit people and I'm kind of embarressed to go in with my out of shape, big body. I wish I could take a friend a long for the first class I want to go to, but that isn't possible. I keep planning when I'm going to go for the class, but I just end up walking past the room up to the elliptical because I'm so embarressed.

Any encouraging words or pieces of advice anyone could give would be awesome. Thank you!

I know exactly how you feel. I wanted to start taking yoga for a while before I finally walked into a class for the first time. All I can say is that once you walk in the door and get started, a lot of your anxiety will go away. Remember that there's no "maximum size limit" to participate in exercise of any kind. Remember how you felt about going to the gym and being overweight? Once you started going, didn't those concerns fall by the wayside for the most part? You have just as much right as anyone else to go to those classes. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable if you go in a few minutes early and talk to the instructor, or talk to the instructor at another time. Just voice your feelings -- "I've wanted to come to this class but I feel self-conscious, so I'll just slip into a spot in the back," or whatever. Just by saying it you can take a lot of pressure off yourself, and you will probably get a welcome and some encouragement from the instructor which will help even more.

Just as church is not only for the sin-free, neither are gyms and group exercise classes for the already-skinny.

I hear ya on that one...

I recently switched gyms after 12 years, and my new one has a MULTITUDE of great classes. I haven't really gone to many gym classes, other than spinning, for some time so I was a little apprehensive to say the least - that everyone would be 'skinnier' than me, that I would fall on my a$$, or otherwise make a spectacle of myself.

Fortunately I swallowed my apprehensions and dove in and have not regretted it for a moment!

If you get the chance before or after the class, take a moment to speak with the instructor and ask questions. Generally in a class situation, the instructor should demonstrate modified versions of the exercises for beginners/first timers.

Or find out who the group fitness manager is at your gym, and get to know him or her. The GFM at my gym is VERY open to suggestions and doesn't want ANYONE to feel like they shouldn't be in a class for fear of ridicule. And why should anyone do that - you're there to IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH and that's NOTHING to snicker about.

And ya know what? I bet there *are* people of all sizes in the classes you're looking at; sometimes we tend to see only part of the story, KWIM? And even if it IS true, I would bet anything that there are other folks at your gym who would LOVE to attend those classes but feel the same way you do. Often it only takes one brave soul to start attending classes...then others will join in!

As Nike says: "just do it!"

I used to feel that way, too, but I've tried my hardest to get over it. Besides, at any given time there are at least a few other people in the gym that appear to be in the same boat as I am, so I don't feel so bad. At least I'm in there trying to get healthier and not sitting on my behind at home watching tv!

Haley--I see that you are in Texas also. I don't know where you are located, but if you are anywhere near me and need a workout buddy or just someone to IM for general support, just let me know.

Jennifer 3FC joined a gym and she was apprehensive at first, too. She's out of town right now, or she'd post to share her experience. She was really surprised when she got in there. She said no one noticed anyone else at all, everyone was just focused on their own routines. She went into the weight lifting room and she said the room was filled with skinny, scrawny boys and she was the only fat chick there. But she said she knew that they didn't like being skinny boys any more than she liked being a fat chick, so it didn't matter. All it took was a week, and she was addicted.

I'll bet most of those skinny, fit women you noticed didn't start out that way Maybe you'll make friends there, that can share advice, their own success stories, and that will cheer you on as you get fitter!

Thank you all so much, I found a class tonight at 5:30 and I am most definitely going. Everyone has to start sometime, right? Thank you for all the encouraging words!

Changa, I'm from Houston and am here for the summer, but I go to school in Austin, where I see you also are. If you need any support or anything at all, feel free to IM me, as well!

I am so glad that you decided to take the plunge - you won't regret it. I know I haven't! Classes are really a lot of fun and can really break up the monotony of treadmills, stationary bikes, and elliptical trainers. I remember very vividly feeling exactly like you described. Bear in mind that just because all you see are skinny people doesn't mean that is the only body type in there. And guess what? In my worst shape and at 214 pounds I out stepped plenty of the "skinny" gals in some of my classes. And there were plenty of women heavier than I was who outstepped me!

So, go and have fun. If you don't love the first class you try pick something else. These days there really is something out there for everyone. Good luck tonight!

It took me 4 years of trying to start attending the classes at my gym regularly. The issues were similar to yours, but I also suffer from social anxiety, so apart from being uncomfortable, I was always on the brink of a panic attack. Sometimes I would attend a class a few weeks in a row, and then run away not to come back for months... so I can understand perfectly well how you're feeling.

Glad to hear you've decided to go, and I hope you enjoy the class and decide to come again and go to more!
But even if you don't like the experience, try to go again, for yourself - this is what helped me in the end. At some point I was just so unhappy about my weight and the way my body felt and looked that I thought, heck, I'm doing this, for myself.

A few hints I can think of...
do try to take a friend with you or even try to befriend someone at the gym (having someone with you really does help, especially if this person is in a similar situation as you!);
go to as many classes as you can one week and see how you like them and the instructors;
if you like the instructor, try more of their classes;
if you like the class, see if there is another one with a different instructor and decide whom you prefer;
pick classes with easier difficulty at first to make yourself comfortable with the equipment and routines (in my gym they have levels 1 to 4 and at first I started going to Step 1/2/3, which would become too overwhelming and too difficult and harder as the class progressed, so I was discouraged and disappointed; but I started doing much better in this class after attending a few Step 1 classes)
depending on your preference, you might like busier classes with more people attending, or ones that have lower attendance - try to figure out which ones have which, and then attend the ones you're more comfortable with

Good luck!