Okay so compared to some of you I am barely wet or a swimmer yet,, but I have started swimming again back in Sept of this year and am going 4 mornings a week. I am pretty proud of myself and can see that this is something I am going to do for life. A. because I like it and B. because I have to for both my physical and mental health.
So as my friends and co-workers realize what I am doing I am surprised that 75% of them think I am crazy. Why would I do that? Getting up so early is dumb? I am never going to keep doing this. I am over 40 so I should be happy with who I am. OMG it makes me crazy:frustrated:. The other 25% might think the early morning practices are crazy but they think what I am doing is wonderful. ( though they would never do it :lmao:)
I just do not understand why people think they can tell me what they think especially when it is negative and really none of their business. My one girlfriend who is in kick A$$ shape said " they are jealous" they are used to seeing you how you are. To know that you are going to change your body and just be more mentally strong makes them realize that they are weak. I laughed but maybe she has a point.
Another wise friend said, " they have not gone through what you have in the past couple of years: Thryoid cancer and a daughter diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa ( degenerative eye disease) so they dont know that you need to do this for you.
I think there is a time in ones life to step it up and really enjoy and push yourself or stay the same and watch your body and mind start to deteriorate. I AM READY FOR CHANGE.
But I just wish people would stop giving me their 2 cents when I never asked for their opinions in the first place.
Please tell me this has happened to others, or I am just lucky to be surrounded by lots of would be Dr Phil's?
Katie
Everyone at work knows that I swim seriously and am training with the kids team in town. They have also seen my go from 220 lbs to now 165 (over the last 3 years) and the changes. Many of them are trying to lose weight but are going the eating alone route or in some cases taking the bariatric surgery route, rather than adding exercise to their routines.
I try telling them eating alone might get you lighter and help you lose fat but your still just a flabby as before. If you exercise you gain muscle, look better, feel better and can eat what ever you want. That is why I just love taking my 2pm walk to the snack machine for a snickers or something like that and just enjoy it all the way back to my desk. They are all just hating the fact I can do that and still continue to lose weight faster than they are.
Revenge tastes sweet when it is chocolate!!!:thhbbb:
I think she does have a point. It's almost a "misery loves company" kind of thing. Not that they are necessarily miserable, but they are satisfied being out of shape because, for the most part, they are probably surrounded by others who are also out of shape. Hearing that one of their partners in "out-of-shapeness" might be making a change for the better puts a *** in their armor.
When someone tells me that they can't understand why I train as much as I do (or at all, for that matter) I usually nod and think, "Good. Your comfort zone is not a place I'd care to know." I've never uttered that out loud, but some people are pretty mean in the way they put down exercise, so the day may come... when I have to duck...
Reading this thread has been good. It's a slow Saturday morning and I haven't done anything yet. Now I'm psyched to hit the pool (and run and bike) this afternoon. :)
Edit: I forgot to add, I make sure to get my daily allowance of chocolate too!
It is human nature to resist change.You are changing and that makes them uncomfortable and they want you to change back.
My wife said a friend asked her"is Allen still swimming" and she replied"yes,he's still breathing."
I think she does have a point. It's almost a "misery loves company" kind of thing. Not that they are necessarily miserable, but they are satisfied being out of shape because, for the most part, they are probably surrounded by others who are also out of shape. Hearing that one of their partners in "out-of-shapeness" might be making a change for the better puts a *** in their armor.
I agree with this analysis. People who are overweight and/or out of shape want vindication that they are just "gracefully aging" and you threaten that notion.
People should do whatever they want to do with their free time. If some want to veg out in front of the TV and not make time for exercise, so be it. They live with the consequences. If you prefer to exercise, as I do, go for it and ignore the nay sayers. Unfortunately, some people just cannot bear the success of others, so they are flat out mean. (I was just accused of self aggrandizement for simply wanting to compete in a meet for god's sake.) Do what you want and the others be damned. IMO you are doing something healthy and making good choices. Stay with it!
Also, even the most supportive non-swimming friends can only tolerate a discussion about swimming for brief moments. Probably best to save your swimming discussions for swimming friends, forum friends, etc. Otherwise, you get the glazed eyes.
Dorothyrde is right about this not just being a swimming thing. I swim and run--and get comments sometimes about how bad running is for me, how I'm going to wreck my knees. Given the problems in this country with overweight, I think a lot of people feel threatened by anything that bucks the trend. And women who work out are especially seen as a threat: once I was in the gym lifting and some man said, "you'll get musclebound if you do that."
It's something people don't want to deal with and so they put down those who make the effort.
Don't let them mess with your mind! You rock! In fact, kudos to all the forumites here who have given me inspiration to keep on keeping on! :cheerleader:
Katie,
Take a deep breath and DO NOT PAY ATTENTION to those folks. YOU know the reasons why you swim and they are GOOD ones. So keep at it and let the little people go on with living thier empty lives and YOU live your life to the fullest.
Paul
The bad news is don't take any food or drink from your female co-workers because it will probably be poisoned, they will hate you so much.
Female, male co-workers, doesn't matter. It's guaranteed that just about every item of "food" offered at my workplace will be poisoned with trans fat, enormous quantities of sugar, saturated fat, and/or salt.
As Richard Feynman famously said, "What do YOU care what other people think?"
I am not sure that nonswimmers DO think their opinions matter; they are engaging in chat lite. On the other hand, swimming daily does seem to edge toward the esoteric. In part, I expect, it's the effort: imagine going someplace, changing clothes, getting wet all over, changing clothes, driving back -- it's a mini-trip to the moon, all compressed into a tiny segment of time. A friend swims: 10 laps on Sunday. She's perfectly happy and has improved over time. Maybe swimming -- headfirst into the subterranean (Hands of the Black Masseuse, anyone?) elements -- lacks the virtuous glitter of ballet, yoga, or figure skating, all of which should be done daily, too. I dunno. :dunno: I would find someone who played golf every weekend totally weird, but I might make the effort to discover the motivation.
Air temp in Chicago is 86 deg., the lake is in the 60s, and I am sick. :violin:
Regards, VB
I soooooo hate people telling a woman they will get muscle bound from lifting, grrrrrr. First of all, muscles are beautiful, secondly, women cannot get huge like men, grrrrrr.
This summer I was coming in to work in bike clothes, and I got a Wow from a co-worker. The comment was Wow, how do you get those legs!!
This summer I was coming in to work in bike clothes, and I got a Wow from a co-worker. The comment was Wow, how do you get those legs!!
Sing out loud, grrrl!
VB
