I promised I would write more about this topic and here we go.  I have you six reasons people hate exercise in my previous post, and I’m giving you six more to get to an even dozen. You know–like donuts. 

Okay here we go:

7.  I don’t look like an exerciser:  Many of us have allowed media and popular culture to give us a pretty skewed idea of how exercisers look.  We imagine tanned, perfectly sculpted bodies, in perfectly coordinated fitness gear, presented in moodily lit settings.  Sure there’s a few people who look like that when they exercise, but most of them are at professional photo shoots or advertising/modeling agencies.  In fact, exercisers come in all shapes and sizes and colors and clothes.  Want to see what I mean?  Check out the amazing photos of folks on the Fit Fatties Forum.  There’s people of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities working out in everything from their stylish Flying Rhinos shirts to lifting weights in pyjamas. 

8.  I can’t find gear in my size:  Finding exercise gear for larger bodies can certainly be a challenge, but it’s not impossible.  You can find plus-sized exercise gear for everything from dance to diving in sizes up to 5 or 6X at Junonia.  Other plus-sized options include Old Navy, Just My Size, Walmart and many others.  And don’t assume that you are too big to do certain things, find out.  I’ve seen posts from people on the Fit Fatties Forum saying things like: I thought I was too big to ride horses, but it turns out I just needed to find a bigger horse.  Or I didn’t know somebody my size could scuba dive, but I found a company that takes out plus-sized divers and rents plus-sized dive suits.

9.  I’ve tried exercise lots of times and it didn’t make me thin.  So why bother?  I’ve heard this one lots of times.  And the truth is that in many cases, exercise won’t make you thin.  In fact this is one of the number one reasons I’m so annoyed with all of the advertising that implies that if you buy this exercise product, take this boot camp class or do this DVD you’re going to look like a supermodel.  Because chances are, you won’t.  That said, there are a million other reasons to exercise.  It helps you feel better.  It helps you sleep better.  It helps keep you from getting sick.  It helps your mood.  It helps you manage stress.  It helps you have a better sex life.  It helps you live longer.  It helps you maintain a better quality of life.  Seriously, do I need to go on here.  Exercise may not make you look like a rock star, but exercise still ROCKS!