Hello John,
In addition to that which has been written by others here....
john 157 wrote:I want to lose some weight but feel insecure and self conscious in the gym at my current weight.
Firstly, this is very common. The irony being that a gym is supposed to be a place that people can go to achieve health, not get healthy in order to attend in the first place! Many people do find a gym makes them feel insecure.
WHen people are or believe themselves to be overweight, they start to engage in numerous 'thinking errors' that detrimentally effect behaviour. A couple of examples:
1. Mind-reading: Going to the gym and you 'just know' that the couple stood at the water cooler giggling are talking about you.
2. Catastrophising: Believing that things are far worse than they are - "Oh no, everyone here thinks I'm overweight and lazy, they all must hate me."
3. Generalisations: Believing that all the slimmer, fitter people in a gym have poor or low opinions of those who are overweight in the slightest.
Therefore, when you make it to the gym, start to dispute those kinds of thoughts, get into the habit of seeking evidence and being logical about those kinds of thoughts: Where is the evidence that those two people are really talking about me? Is it really logical that everyone in the gym is thinking bad things about me? (even the guys watching the telly, reading books, sweating on the cross trainer? Those who have not even seen I'm here yet?)
Websites such as getselfhelp.co.uk have free handouts and lists of typical thinking errors that you can use to help highlight them if you catch yourself thinking that way. You can then focus on your own workout rather than being distracted with such thoughts that serve only to make you feel insecure.
Please note, most people are much busier focusing on their workouts and getting on with their own lives to really be that concerned about who you are, and what you are doing. The reality is that very few are likely to be focusing on you for longer than a few seconds when you pass through their direct line of vision. WHat's more, those that do consider you, are just as likely to be praising you and respecting you for getting yourself into the gym, than they are thinking anything detrimental.
I would also like to add; their is a big wide world out there. The outdoors can be your gym. Walking, running, cycling, swimming, gardening, taking the stairs and much more besides can all be done without going to a gym.
I wish you the best moving forward with your weight reduction goals.