Fathletes unite!

It can be very frustrating to go to the gym as a fat person. For one thing, you never know if the equipment is going to fit your body, plus some people feel self-conscious exercising in front of others. The worst part about being fat at the gym in my opinion though, is the way some people can treat you. Either they are annoyed by your presence because to them you're clearly not a serious athlete and therefore you're getting in their way, or they treat you like a special olympian and make comments like "good for you!" or assume you're interested in dieting tips. Anyway, for the most part I don't have these problems at my gym, likely because I have a trainer and she only has me use the equipment that works for me, plus we're usually talking to each other so people don't interrupt much.

Still, every so often there is the odd person (almost ALWAYS a woman) who feels the need to comment on weight loss or say something about what a "good job" I'm doing. I get that it comes from them wanting to be nice, but it's a little patronizing and it distracts me from my workout.

So what's a girl to do? How do I get across the idea that yes, I know I'm fat and isn't it wonderful that I'm working out, but I'm also an athlete and not just working out to make myself thin? I pondered and pondered this, then I designed this t-shirt:


Hee! I put it up on Zazzle and posted it to the fathletes group on livejournal so other folks could get one if they wanted. I ordered mine this morning...we'll see if it has any effect :)