If you are thinking of joining a gym but are worried what other gym goers will think of you be reassured. No one cares. Well maybe that is a little harsh. It is just that they are concentrating on themselves not you. Some of them are concentrating a little to much if the mirror posing and selfies are anything to go by. And for those of us of a certain age our invisibility is for once a positive. 

No one is interested in what you are doing in the gym. But if you belong to a gym where members are recognised and showcased it can be a little demotivating when your name is never mentioned.

Facebook and Instagram are saturated with images of transformation. They are mostly very impressive. Anyone that has lost weight and got active to become slimmer and hopefully healthier has to be congratulated. I’m not so enamoured by fitness model ‘transformations’. Whilst you have to admire their commitment and self control anything that stops a woman menstruating is not, in my opinion, desirable.

Losing weight and getting active is very easy. In theory. You just need to be in a calorie deficit and move more. In practice it can be extremely difficult. Especially the calorie deficit part. And sustaining the change in lifestyle is even harder. How many people do you know that have lost weight to only put it all back on. Or have thrown themselves into a training programme only to abandon it after a few weeks. I have never belonged to a slimming club where the consultant looks anything like their ‘after’ photo.

I have been active for years. I had my first personal trainer twenty years ago when they weren’t as prolific as they are now. I have been a member of various gyms since then. Most of the time I hardly broke out in a sweat so I’m not sure how effective my activity was but I was doing something. And of course during that time I tried various diets. None of which worked long term. It was only in 2014 that I cracked it. I lost weight and more importantly kept it off. I had a little hiccup when I had heart surgery where I lost too much weight, put it back on and more. But I never went back to where I had been.

And that is where I have stayed. I lost my weight by participating in a transformation challenge delivered by my gym. A combination of a nutrition and training plan and support. It is still work in progress as although I look lean my body fat percentage is still high. I am a skinny fat person. I have dropped from 38% to 34% in the last few months so I’m hoping to be a more acceptable 32% by the end of the year. 

But there are no prizes for persistence and maintenance. There is no story. And at my age there is even less of a story. It is a little demoralising but I’m not particularly bothered. However, for the Instagram generation I am mindful that it can lead to thoughts of ‘why do I bother’.

The bottom line is that being fit and healthy is something you do for yourself. Nobody else. It is only you that can truly appreciate how much better you look and feel. Having your efforts acknowledged by others is great but their silence should not deter you from getting and staying where you want to be.