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How Exercise Changed My Life (that doesn't have to do with my body)

I write a lot about how fitness is my biggest passion. And it basically is. However, there is one other thing that comes in at a very close second. That is empowering women. I am a girl's girl. I want women to feel great about themselves; be confident, feel loved, and have a strong sense of motivation. We live in a world where women are pinned against one another. We are almost genetically inclined to come out of the womb ready to tear down the woman next to us. I am not wired that way. I want that to change so that change starts within me.

The media is all about a woman and her looks. On magazine covers you always see women and something about their physical appearance. This woman gained X amount of pounds, this woman lost her baby weight in record time, this woman has a killer body, and it goes on and on. Physical looks and sex almost define a woman in this world... it seems.

When I was a teenager, I fell victim to this in a huge way. 

When I was growing up, I was an "ugly duckling". I was teased and bullied a lot. I hit puberty when I was about 7. I remember in second grade having a big butt and needing to wear a bra. I loathed it and I was so embarrassed. Thus I wore baggy clothes that were far too big for me. I never wanted any of my clothes to show my body. I had big glasses too and never cared how my hair looked. I was pretty content. My neighborhood was nothing but boys and I was close with my younger brother, so my days were spent playing sports, riding four-wheeler's, and playing video games. I thought nothing of it.

Time goes by and I grow older. The summer before 8th grade, when I was 13 years old, for the first time, I exercised and started to lose weight. I began to like my new found muscle and curves. I then started wearing contacts, and learned about hair and makeup due to making more friends who were girls. I also bought more fashionable clothes that fit me. That year, things changed a lot for me in school. I had more "friends" than ever, boys were taking notice, and I felt a way about myself that I had never felt before. I was becoming addicted to the attention. 

I learned that if I looked pretty, people would "like" me.

My last year of middle school was great, but then high school comes. I transfer out of the school system I grew up in the second month of my freshman year. I then joined MySpace in 2004 to keep in touch with all of my old friends. That was when I first laid eyes on a model on there. Her screen name was "ForbiddeN" but her real name is Christine. She was the most popular woman on My Space and was featured on talk shows and magazines from it. I thought that was so incredible and I wanted to be just like her. She had platinum blonde hair, extremely tan skin, huge boobs, and a skinny body. I wanted to be that. 

However, that did not quite happen. My freshman and sophomore years in school took a turn for the worse because of all of the bullying I went through and abuse from my then step-father (my mother has since divorced him). I was walked to class by the Student Resource Officer because I would skip class or show up late because if I walked to class alone, people would yell at me, throw paper, and things like that. My mom came up to the school countless times on my behalf, and having the SRO aid me to class was the only option to help the situation. I was a cheerleader and during basketball games people would sit on the bleachers while I was on the gym floor doing a cheer or dance routine, and make faces at me, point at me, and laugh. Another time, I had to run on a mile on the track outside one day after school since I missed gym class the day before. The football team was running the steps on the stadium and every time they would see me run past them on the track, they would yell really mean things. My list could go on for what happened for those two years. I exercised at the gym during that time, but I ate my feelings. I ate a lot. I binged, a lot.

When I got my license the summer before my junior year of high school and started working, my weight was under a better control. I was able to enroll in the co-op program so I only had to go to school until 11:15 AM everyday and then I graduated early. I was finally fit, attractive, and I was getting good attention. I had never been "pretty" before or had good attention, so this was unbelievably euphoric. 

Physical beauty and promiscuity ruled my entire life. I was not going out in the world sleeping with everyone, but I made sure people noticed my body. I made sure I stood out. The attention became an addiction, and I was so stupid at the time to not realize that the only reason I was getting this attention is because men wanted sex. Not because they liked me or thought I was an awesome person to befriend; they simply wanted to get  in my pants. I was so caught up in the moment that I did not have the intelligence to differentiate attention because of my body and attention because of someone liking me for who I am.

I rebelled a lot during this time period. I put my father and step-mom through so much pain. They are devote Christians and put strict curfew's on me, but I constantly disobeyed everyone. My mom was more laid back and gave me more freedom, however I ended up taking even that for granted. I got to the point where my parents had to sell my car for a couple of months to try and teach me a lesson. It was a horrible period of my life. One that I am so, so ashamed of. I was so obsessed with the attention I was getting that I let everyone else around me, who loved me, hurt. You see this attention was unheard of for me. I grew up as a tom-boy and ugly duckling. Then I was bullied and teased relentlessly throughout high school, so when I all of the sudden become "hot and sexy", the attention was a drug for me. 

It was not until I started my weight loss journey at 19 years old in September of 2008 that I finally snapped out of it. After nearly a year of hard partying, drinking, binge eating, and fast food trips, my body suffered a tremendous weight gain. I literally could not believe I had gained over 100 pounds in a 14-15 months. I was so caught up in a partying lifestyle that I did not realize what was happening myself. I felt so stuck. I was only 19 years old and was 276 pounds. I thought to myself: "how in the world can I bounce back from this?". My plan was to not get so overwhelmed and take it one step at a time. And that is what I did. I told you guys how I initially lost weight: hard research, obtaining my NASM certification (not because I necessarily wanted to train people, but I wanted the education), clean eating, and hard training. I made one healthy choice at a time.

Every day that I would go to the gym, I felt myself getting stronger and more fit. I would see myself in the mirror drenched in sweat and think "damn I look beautiful". I did not look beautiful because I had perfect hair or makeup, I looked beautiful because I was working hard. I was out of my comfort zone, but doing the exercises anyway. I never had the best gym clothes. My body was never the best in the gym. However, I stayed dedicated. That impressed me. That made me feel like I could do anything.  I would be so scared going into the gym sometimes, but I would make myself go. I would make myself not care what anyone else was thinking or saying. Because no one out there can make me lose weight except for myself. If I wanted to get fit, I had to put in the work. I was on my own personal mission. No one knew the pain and agony I felt inside. So I pushed on.

The gym in a sense has changed my life. It changed the way I viewed myself. It helped me learn to love myself for who I am, not because of the way I look. I know that may sound kind of crazy, because exercising helps our outward appearance so much. But let me tell you this, you will never move mountains without a strong a mind. Your body can do whatever you want it too, it is your mind and inner strength that must conduct it.

Over time I watched my body transform and that transformation changed the way I thought. I suddenly realized I could do anything I wanted. The gym was hard work and I was so uncomfortable in there sometimes, but I did it anyway. Imagine where else I could use the mentality! I realized that I have a worth and my worth was not my outward appearance. I made people start to respect me. I made people get to know me for who I was on the inside. I realized that it was my determination and dedication that changed my body. It was my hard, raw work that did this. That is an incredible feeling.

That is what saved me in November when part 2 of my journey began -- the confidence the gym taught me. I knew I was overweight. I knew I did not look the way I used too. More so, I knew I could get back to the place where I used to be. I knew I was better than the old me who binges when they are sad, who gets hurt when people talk about me, who feels sorry for myself - I am better than that. It was time to cut off my self loathing and hit the gym again. All of my clothes had grown too tight, I was embarrassed seeing people I knew, because I knew they could tell I was bigger, but I pushed anyway. I know in my heart that I am strong, confident, and intelligence. I have all of the tools I needed to get back to where I was. It was time to dig deep again and find that inner love I used to have and put it to use.  

As I would watch other woman battle with these same weight issues, I wanted to wanted to help them. As I would see other women battle with their on self-worth, I wanted to help. I wanted to scream to everyone who was going through what I did; "I know your pain! I know it all too well. Please listen to me because you can get past this". I suddenly wanted to tell every woman in the world that we are not creatures to be used as a dolls and for sex. We have hearts and minds and that if we work hard, we can do anything we want. 

The gym saved me from a downward spiral and a dark place. It not only transformed my body and health, but my mind and morals.

*My blog hop will be back next Wednesday. It has been a rough week with my father's cancer as his time is quickly approaching. I am in and out of town and blog posts have been previously scheduled. 

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My 10-year gym anniversary - how it all started.

It was in March of 2004 that I ever stepped foot into a gym.

I actually began working out when I was 13. The summer after 7th grade, before 8th. When I first started exercising in 2003, I used my mom's old exercise videos. My mom was a BIG crash dieter. She would buy 10 different exercise tapes, 5 different supplements (MetaboLife with Ephedra anyone?) 19 different outfits - and never stick with anything. Lucky for me, I got all of the hand me downs. I would wear the floral design tank tops with matching knee length spandex shorts and get to work. I would do an exercise tape (a lot of Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, and The Firm. Denise Austin was my favorite because I wanted to look just like her. I thought she was so hot) then go run outside. Running outside pissed me off a lot of times though. I always used my disc-man so I could listen to music. I had to hold it in my hand because I did not have a clip. And when I would run fast, the CD player would always skip.

I religiously did my exercise tapes and running at home. After about 6 months, my mom noticed my dedication and decided she would buy me, my brother, and her gym memberships so we could all workout together. She picked my brother and I up from school every afternoon since she only worked Friday-Sunday as an ER Nurse Supervisor. Our new routine after school everyday would be us three going to the gym. It sounded great to me. My brother was not excited. We joined the gym "Body Fit" in Eden, NC - one town over from where we lived. Body Fit is an extremely tiny gym and it is where my passion first began. Below are pictures the gym, courtesy of their Facebook page:

I loved exercising at home, but the gym brought a brand new level of excitement. It was incredibly stimulating, versatile, fun, and I loved how I felt after. I was instantly hooked. I looked forward to going ever single day after school. My brother and mom only lasted about a month. I begged her to let me keep my membership though. She obliged, but it was hard. The gym was 20 minutes away from our home since it was in the next town over. Thus she would have to drop me off, find something to do for an hour, then pick me back up because going home was a waste of gas and time. However, she did it. On Friday's when I would go to my dad's for the weekend, she would drop me off and dad would pick me up. Dad would take me on the weekends as well. He would drop me off, go home, then come back and pick me up. My parents did that for over a year so I could continue to exercise at that gym. 

It felt good to move. It felt good to get out the stress of the day. As I have previously written about before, I was bullied in school a lot. The gym was my savior from it. Instead of turning to alcohol or drugs, which were sadly readily available, I chose music and exercise. It was a liberating feeling to blast my music through my disc-man and sweat out my high school problems. 

I was so embarrassed that my parents had to pick me up though. Everyone thought I was so much older than I was, so having my parents drop me off and pick me up was so *uncool*. I could not wait until I was old enough to drive to the gym myself and put my key ring up on wall like everyone else did. Ha!

On my 16th birthday, I was at the DMV 30 minutes before it opened so I could be the first in life to get my license. I passed with flying colors, then I started my first day of my first job; Food Lion. After working, I drove myself to the gym. I felt like such an adult and I proudly laid my keys on the key ring board that was mounted on the wall. 

Shortly after my 16th birthday on July 30th, 2005, I switched gyms. I joined a gym that was in the town I lived in - Reidsville, NC. I trained there from 2005 to 2010. I left that gym when I was 20 years old and moved to where I currently live, Charlotte, NC. I made so many friends there and I learned so much. I almost felt like I grew up in that gym. I had many, many mentors there varying from the owners, prior bodybuilder's, powerlifters, and everything in between. That is where I learned to train hard, lift weights, and become dedicated. It makes me want to cry writing about that gym. Everyone there was like my family. 

From 2008-2010, I worked at a popular gym chain called "The Rush Fitness Complex". Since it was 45 minutes away from where I lived, I did not always drive there to train on my days off. 

When I moved to Charlotte in March of 2010, there was a brand new gym being built beside of my apartment complex; literally right across the parking lot. It was huge, and I could not have been more excited. I felt like I really lucked out being able to have a gym so close and able to walk there a lot of days. LA Fitness (formally known as Urban Active Fitness) opened in September of 2010. I was elated that it was finally opened. I watched it grow from dirt and cement to a huge fitness facility, and I was ready to train. I went there the first day it opened and the rest has been history. I also worked there in 2012 as a second job!

I posted this picture on my Facebook in 2010 before it opened. They held an open house so you could tour the gym, see what it is about, and sign up. I of course went so I could get a first look!

And to this day, nearly 4 years and 1 name change later, I still walk to that very gym! The below picture is from my blog a couple of weeks ago when it was beautiful outside and I walked there. 

Exercising is a lifelong hobby and weight loss is an ongoing journey. You are going to have many ups and downs. Sometimes you may get some low that you feel like you can't get back up. Kind of like how I felt all of 2013, but what matters is when you just keep going. I push hard every single day and you can too. Every second is a second to make a good decision and get it right. One healthy choice at a time.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

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A friend and fun filled beautiful weekend recap!

Friday was a busy, busy day. It always seems to be! But I felt great. I woke up at 5:30 AM and hit the gym before work. I never do that, but I knew I was going out directly after work, so it needed to be done. I was proud of myself. As a lot of you guys know, on Friday's I go to my doctor to get a B12 injection and I always have them weigh me. I love being accountable and I work very well under stress. So that moment of getting on the scale on Friday's is like my war, ha. I was excited for my weigh in. I had a great week, I ate clean and trained hard. My body was feeling good and I was wearing clothes that I have not been able to wear in a while. I get to the doctor, get my injection, then have my weigh in. I lost one proud.

One pound? Are you freaking kidding me? I know one pound is better than staying the same or gaining, but I felt so much more than that. My doctor came in and he could tell that I felt down. I explained to him why. He told me that my fat mass was a lot lower than last week and that the only reason the scale is not showing the results the fat mass is because my water levels were so elevated. Which is a good point. I was "very bloated" if you know what I mean and I could definitely tell I was holding water. He told me that next Friday when the water weight is gone, I will see a good difference. I can't wait to kick butt this week and hopefully have a great weight loss at the end of the week. Thus far, my total down since November 25th: 26.1 pounds! 

When I left work on Friday, I met my best friend Kelly and my friends Jeannie and Holly at this fun place called "Duckworth's". It was half price wine and it is always fun to unwind with your girlfriends.

I did not stay out too late, because well, priorities. I enjoy getting "tipsy" but not drunk. However it was such a good time though!

Saturday I woke up pretty early. I was lazy around the apartment and hit the gym at noon for 45 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit. It was an awesome workout. When I was leaving the gym, I had a coupon for "Rack Room Shoes" emailed to me so I had to rush over to the mall and pick out a new pair of gym shoes. I LOVE "Nike Air" for the gym. They are so comfortable and good quality. I love the style!

I also picked up a new charm for my necklace. I love this choker type necklace that I have and enjoy buying new charms for it. I bought a 3-star charm for it. 

When I came home from the gym and mall, I took and shower got ready. I met one of my good friends Alexis at one of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood; Cantina 1511. We were there for over 3 hours. She and I go out every couple of weeks and never have a shortage of anything to talk about. I love that girl!

We both had the same thing for dinner. A mushroom, spinach, and goat cheese quesadilla with a side of avocado. This quesadilla was not only absolutely delicious but super filling too. I could only eat two pieces of it and I have a big appetite, ha!

Today has been Sunday Funday. Ha! My day has been filled with errands, cleaning, and the gym. I don't really care about the Superbowl so... whatever. Ha! It has been such a beautiful day though and not too cold. I'm cherishing it. My errands never end. I grocery shop at 3 different places. I just realized how ridiculous it is!

Since it was such a beautiful day, I made the best of it. I live super duper close to my gym, so I took advantage of it and walked. A little pre-cardio to get my prepped for my cardio and leg work out!

A little vitamin D does the body good because I had an awesome workout! I love leg day!

Now the Superbowl has just started so I am going to cook some dinner and since HBO has updated their movie list, I am going to watch "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". How was your weekend? Don't forget to join the link up's going on tomorrow!

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Weekend Recap: My 50 y/o Mother's 1st Tattoo & Cucumber Vodka

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was great, but definitely did not go as planned. Initially I had a couple of friends coming down from New England to stay the weekend with me. But thanks to the north getting a freaking snow storm, that was cancelled. It completely sucked, but oh well. Next, my good friend and co-worker Karen made plans for a girl's day with me Saturday then a movie Sunday. However, her son ended up getting in big trouble at school. In her words "he is grounded for life" thus she has so stay home with him all weekend to "supervise". Another bummer, but I made the best of it!

First off, how amazing is this month's Ipsy bag? I received mine Thursday night. It has to be my favorite yet! I love everything in it. If you don't know about it, it is a monthly makeup bag that you receive via mail for only $10 a month. You get a makeup bag each month along with 4-5 beauty products. It is amazing. If you want to join, please use my link; just click here!

Friday morning when I was getting ready for work, I could not wait to try my new products. I used the grey eye shadow from Pop Beauty and the lipstick from NYX. I am beyond in love with the color of this lipstick! It is a cross between brown and purple and it is absolutely beautiful. I am about to use the polish now to do my nails. 

Friday I worked all day as usual then when 5 o'clock finally came, I hit the gym with my best friend Kelly. We did 45 minutes of cardio and our ab routine. By the time we finished, I felt pretty tired. I usually am on Friday's after the week. I bought "Revenge" season 2 DVD (My favorite show ever) at Target on my lunch hour so I decided to watch that while I did things around my apartment. My washer and dryer were finally installed Friday afternoon as well. I had TONS of laundry to do - three loads to be exact, ugh!

Meanwhile, my freaking 50 year old mother and new grandmother was out getting her first tattoo! I could not believe it! Here I am "being a good girl" on a Friday night and my MOTHER is out getting a tattoo!

I still do not know how I feel about this. I mean, it's weird. I have tattoo but I was 18 when I got it and it is easily covered and hardly ever seen. Her's is on her forearm. I find it hilarious, but weird nonetheless. She is already talking about another one and I told her absolutely no way. She has to listen to me, too. Now that I am older, our roles have reversed quite a bit, ha.

The tattoo is in honor of her battle with MS.

Saturday morning looked a little bit like this:

It was so rainy and so gloomy so I decided to fold the mountain of laundry and run my Saturday errands. Groceries, Target, GNC, and Ulta. Except I forgot my Ulta coupons so I had to go today. Target has the cutest sweaters on sale for $15 bucks too! Later that afternoon I pushed myself at the gym. It was a hard work out. The weather was awful and I just wanted to stay cuddled at home. But I didn't! I did 40 minutes of cardio and an upper body weight circuit.

Then it was time to get ready for a night out!

My friend Alexis and I started out at this new spot in my neighborhood of Charlotte called "Bradshaw's Social House". We had dinner and cocktails and enjoyed life music. After we were there a while a few of my friends decided to join us!

I sipped on a on a drink called the "Caroleena". It is SkinnyGirl Cucumber Vodka and tonic water. I know it sounds kind of weird, but it was surprisingly delicious and light.

After Bradshaw's we went to my favorite place to dance; Cosmos. It is in the same strip as Bradshaw's so that was convenient. I even ran into the girls who work at the office of my apartment complex and danced with them! It was so random, but so fun.

This morning I slept in until 10:30. Ugh! I never sleep that late. But I did not go to sleep until after 3 AM so I needed it. When I woke up, I hit the ground running. I cleaned my apartment top to bottom then went out to run errands.

I was on a mission to find the perfect centerpieces to dress up my dining room table. My chairs were supposed to arrive Friday, but in true Liz fashion they're late. Since I am a "diva on a budget" I hit up Ross and Dollar tree to complete the look for dining room table.

I am super happy with how it turned out. Everything on my table, combined, was $35!

All of the candle holders in the center, plates, napkins, and napkin holders are from Ross and the tea candles and place mats are from Dollar Tree!

After spending over an hour of hunting, comparing, and figuring out what I wanted, I was finally finished. I went to the gym after. I am so thankful tomorrow is my rest day because my body is so tired. I only did 40 minutes of cardio today. It was supposed to be leg day, but my body is too sore.

I refueled with my favorite salad ever after the gym. It's the "steak and bleu cheese" salad from Panera. Yum!

The rest of my evening has been spent prepping food and getting things organized for the week that is about to ensure. I will say though, this upcoming week is the last 5 day work week for 2 weeks. That is something to be celebrate!

Who else is SO excited for the "Revenge" mid-season finale tonight?! I cannot wait to see how this wedding goes down!

I hope you guys had a great weekend!

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Battling Gym Insecurities and My Recent Struggle

Who has gym insecurities? Who reading this, truly wants to work out at a gym, but is scared to death? You have so many concerns that you just tell yourself to forget the idea of ever joining one.

I did. I told myself that many, many times.

When I was 15 years old, I joined a gym. I had been working out since I was 13. I was a very overweight child. When I was 13 my exercises were "Denise Austin" videotapes and running laps on my four wheeler track in the backyard (It was nice growing up in the country, ha) but when I started cheerleading my sophomore year of high school, I wanted to really get into more cardio exercise and weight lifting. I was lifting girls constantly as I was a spotter and we wore our cheer outfits on game days to school. I needed to look good. It did not help the bullying I received though. 

Moving on. When I joined my gym I had no idea what I was doing. I mean, come on, I was on 15 years old. But I took initiative and I learned. I worked out religiously from 15-17 years old and I loved it. I looked great, gained a lot of muscle and lost a lot of body fat. Then I graduated high school early, in January of 2007. 

From January of 2007 until September 2008, partying, working, and binge eating consumed my life. I rarely went to the gym during that time period and had forgotten a lot of the things I taught myself about health and fitness. In September of 2008 my weight was reaching an old time high and I visited my doctor to see about my treatment for depression.

My weight had gotten so bad that I would not buy new clothes. I could not handle my reflection in the mirror in the dressing rooms. I would cry. I would sit in the dressing rooms and just cry. I would shower with the lights off so I would not have to see my naked body in the reflection of the big bathroom mirror. I would stop going out with my friends because I felt so ugly compared to them. I would make up excuses so I could just be alone, binge, and feel sorry for myself.

I decided I had to change. My doctor was going to prescribe me a pill (so easily how they do that) to help with my depression. But a light bulb went off in my head and I knew the root of my problem. I had to make a difference in my life. I will never forget that Tuesday afternoon in my doctor's office. I can tell you what I wore. I can tell you what I ate. I can tell you what I did that day. That is how monumental that day was to me.

It was time for me to hit the books and the internet to start teaching myself how to eat and exercise again. Healthy eating was OK to get back into. Sure, I was miserable for a while, but it was easy to go to the grocery store, buy the food, and then prep food and eat it. I did OK with that.

But going back to the gym... I was terrified. I was going to be in front of people that used to know and I was going to be over 100 pounds heavier. What would people say, what would they think? I could not remember how to do half of the exercises I used to do. 

I knew I had to go, though. I had to get over that fear. It's truly just that simple. I had tons of gym clothes at home, so I dressed myself and it was time to go back to the gym. Nothing fit. It was unreal how my work out clothes looked on me. I used to wear them all of the time. And now putting them on, you could see my stomach bulging through, my legs barely fitting in the pants, and it was an disaster. It was enough to make me almost never go back. But I bought new clothes and it was time to make a difference.

Some of my top questions and comments from women since I have started writing and sharing my story and journey is about how they are terrified and intimated they are by a public gym. And I get that. I was there! I am still that way sometimes. But there truly comes a time in life where you have to let go of your fears and excuses and just do it because you need too. Not everyone has the luxury of getting a hard, solid workout from home. Gym memberships are not always expensive either. Planet Fitness, which is almost everywhere now is only $10 a month. And most gyms I have ever seen are no more than $35 a month. The bottom line is, if you WANT something that bad, like to lose weight and get fit, YOU WILL MAKE it happen.

Today I wanted to write about some of the gym insecurities that I dealt with and had to make myself overcome, as well as some of the issues that I know a lot of other women experience as well.

The gym is not a beauty contest

This probably the biggest insecurity that I dealt with personally as I know a lot of other women do. The gym is not a runway. The gym is not a fashion show. The gym is not a beauty contest. Repeat that to yourself 100 times and make yourself believe it. That is what I did. If a women is in the gym with full on makeup and perfect hair, she is doing something VERY wrong. The gym is a place where you come to work out and sweat. I know not one person who works their ass off in the gym and looks glamorous when they finish. Sometimes women think they are doing the right thing by looking like barbie when they are working out in the gym, but you look like a joke. You cannot be taken seriously. If you know me or see my pictures, I am all for makeup, but the gym is not the place for it. I do not wear uber expensive gym clothes in the gym nor do I ensure my make up looks perfect. The gym is a time to work. The time to push your limits, the time to overcome challenges. 

When I feel beautiful in the gym,  I am soaked in sweat. I added one more rep. I did an extra 10 minutes of cardio. I sprinted harder than I have have before. THAT is beautiful in the gym. Your determination and dedication are things of beauty in exercise, not the make up on your face, the label on your clothes, or the style of your hair.

All of the girls in the gym have much better bodies than I do.

This issue continues from the above, and to this I say, SO WHAT? They obtained their fit and muscular bodies from exercise and healthy eating. They were not born that way, we all have to start somewhere. Comparing yourself to other women in the gym will tear you apart. Do not focus on anyone else in there but YOU. Do you want a body like theirs? WORK FOR IT. For me, seeing women in the gym with hot bodies, motivates me even more! I want that, so I am going to push even harder. Try making that negative feeling of jealously or insecurity, and make it positive. If you keep working hard, you will have it too. And every work out is one step closer.

I don't know anything about working out, so I am not going to go. I will look like an idiot.

No one starts out at the gym knowing everything about exercise. No one is born with an expertise in exercise knowledge. Go learn. You are not looking like an idiot if you are reading the directions labeled on a particular exercise machine. That is taking an initiative; that is being motivated. If you take a couple of weeks to get familiar with free weights, exercise machines, and cardio machines, you will gain knowledge to where you do not have to do that forever. 

I took a notebook into the gym. And I did not care if anyone thought I looked crazy or not. I wanted to learn. I could not afford a Person Trainer nor did I want to rely on one. I would take notes about certain machines, tips for myself, and progress I made. I would try each machine and learn the proper form (which is IMPERATIVE). The best way to learn is just try it out. 

I do not want men staring me down.

I think a lot of times our own insecurities get the best of us. We do not feel positive or confident going into the gym so we feel as if the whole facility has their eyes on us and are watching every move we make. Most of the time people in the gym are in their own little world. They are fighting their own inner battles and worried about their own workouts. But sometimes we will get the occasional creeper who is standing there watching you work out. Do not let that keep you from joining a gym or going back to exercise. Weight loss is about YOU. It is not about anyone else. If it is that bad, go tell someone who is employed by the gym or move to another piece of equipment. Or if you are really ballsy, call he/she out on it. I would never let someone who could possibly be "staring" at me, keep me from reaching my goals.

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Have you overcome gym insecurities? What are you still battling that keeps you from the gym?

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