Samantha was motivated to finally change her life; she had been stuck in a toxic pattern of overeating and inactivity. But she pushed herself to overcome this habit and started going to the gym.
Source: Daily Story
And when she reached her goal weight, the young woman felt invincible until she noticed that everyone in the gym was staring at her… and not in awe but in disgust! Samantha had no idea why until she looked in the mirror.
Always Overweight
Samantha had spent her entire childhood, teen years, and adulthood known as the chubby girl. But now that she had a stable and secure job and settled well into her life, she wanted to change this label.
Source: Daily Story
And this meant that she needed to drastically change how she ate, socialized, and much more. Of course, this was all easier said than done, but Samantha knew she had to do this to reach her goals.
Change Of Lifestyle
Step one of her plan for losing weight was cutting out excessive drinking. So while she allowed herself to drink a glass of wine or two, Samantha stopped mindlessly drinking every Friday night when she went out with her friends.
Source: Daily Story
She also stopped eating junk food and started making more meals at home. This saved Samantha money and helped her eat healthier and cleaner. And after doing all this for just a month, she already saw results.
Starting Gym
The only step left was to join a gym, and while Samantha had already started losing weight and gained a lot more confidence, she still felt very hesitant about going to the gym. It intimidated her, leaving them alone where people would judge her based on her fitness.
Source: Daily Story
But she knew she wouldn’t get the body she wanted without going to the gym. So, she put her fears aside and paid for a gym membership. Samantha knew she was doing the right thing for her health, but little did she know what would happen next!
First Day
After work, Samantha quickly changed into her workout clothes and prepared for her first day at the gym. She was mentally exhausted from work and was looking forward to working out as she spent most of her day at a desk.
Source: Daily Story
And to her utter surprise, her first time at the gym went entirely smoothly. She had phoned ahead, talked to the receptionist, and told her about her fears concerning going to the gym, and rather than undermine her concerns; the receptionist went above and beyond to make Samantha feel at home!
Gym Employee
This simple first step laid the groundwork for making Samantha comfortable at the gym. Afterward, whenever she didn’t know how to use a particular machine or exercise correctly, she would turn to the receptionist.
Source: Daily Story
Thankfully, the kind gym employee was always patient and available for Samantha. And slowly, the young 20-something became more confident doing the exercises alone. Not just that, Samantha also gained a friend in the receptionist!
Regular
And with this new update, Samantha was closer to getting to her goal weight than ever before. She consistently ate healthily and went to the gym three times a week.
Source: Daily Story
She considered herself a regular at the gym, and the place that once scared her became her solace. Every time she had a hard day at work or felt frustrated, Samantha chose to work out to deal with her emotions.
Hard Work
All her hard work paid off, and in just three months, Samantha had gotten herself in shape. But to her, it was the journey she had fallen in love with rather than the result. First, the young woman fell in love with going to the gym.
Source: Daily Story
Even now that she didn’t “need” to go anymore, she still chose to. And as we already mentioned above, she had also made friends there, and it all fit nicely into her routine. It wasn’t just the receptionist she bonded well with; she also was friendly with other people who came to the gym.
New Activewear
Samantha decided to treat herself by buying a matching workout set. She had been eyeing it for a long time but never could justify the high price, but now that she had reached her goal weight, she felt like she deserved the treat.
Source: Daily Story
And when the activewear set arrived, Samantha loved it instantly. It was one of the few pieces of clothing that looked better in person than online. She was so excited to wear the set to the gym that she pushed her workout to earlier in the day rather than in the evenings.
Feeling Herself
After being conscious about her body for so long, Samantha finally felt herself in her new clothes! She secretly expected everyone in the gym to fawn over and compliment her.
Source: Daily Story
But as she walked into the gym, she noticed that her friend, the receptionist wasn’t at her desk. Instead, there was a young teenager who looked unimpressed and annoyed. And as Samantha walked to swipe her card in, the teen eyed her up and down!
Rude Teen
And not in an adoring way at all! Samantha wanted to curl up in a ball and hide! But she reminded herself that she had worked hard on getting to this point in her fitness journey and wouldn’t feel shy because of some snobby young teen!
Source: Daily Story
So, the 20-something responded to the looks by smiling back at the teen and gliding through the locker rooms. In her mind, Samantha considered this a win! But she still felt great and wanted to show off her outfit.
Warming Up
She quickly put her things away, double-checked that everything looked good, and even snapped pictures. Samantha was still on cloud nine, and as she headed into the weightlifting section, she prepared herself to turn heads.
Source: Daily Story
Samantha quickly warmed up, and before she started her workout, she searched for the other gym regulars. She wanted to say hello and show off her look! And when she found them assembled next to the water fountain, Samantha quickly walked toward them.
Snickers
But as she approached them, she noticed that people were staring at her but not in the adoring way she had hoped for. Instead, they were snickering and giggling! And by the time she reached her friends, five people had already looked at her twice!
Source: Daily Story
She tried to ignore them again and again. Finally, she reached the water fountain and said hello, but even in her friend’s eyes, Samantha noticed a strange reaction. They looked concerned and even put off!
Strange Reaction
By that point, the young woman felt already shaken, and having her friends not say anything positive about her new activewear set only made her doubt herself even more. And when one of them asked her if she was okay, Samantha became even more closed off.
Source: Daily Story
What was happening? Her gym buddies always went above and beyond to make Samantha feel happy and secure, even when she wasn’t feeling herself. So, why were they acting this way today?
Excuse
Samantha quickly made an excuse of running late and needing to start her workout quickly. She tried to go over and over why everyone was staring at her. Did she smell bad? Did she have something stuck to her shoe?
Source: Daily Story
Had she started her period? She checked and double-checked everything. But everything looked normal to her, yet the people kept snickering at her and giving her odd and confused looks.
Treadmill
The young woman had planned on lifting weights, but judging by how everyone was reacting to her, Samantha decided to forgo the public mats and headed straight to the farthest away treadmill she could find.
Source: Daily Story
She quickly started her run and focused all her angst and frustration. Her mind was going a million miles. Why was everyone giving her strange looks? She had done nothing unusual apart from the new activewear set.
Filming Her
And Samantha had tried it on before she went to the gym, and she had looked great in it! So, indeed it couldn’t have been the new set. The young woman tried to drown out her thoughts by running hard and fast.
Source: Daily Story
Forty minutes later, Samantha was done and sweating profusely. The intense run had helped quiet her mind, and she was grateful for it. But as she walked to cool down, she looked to her side and noticed a man trying to take a picture of her!
Laughing
He was pointing and laughing at Samantha! And the young woman could do nothing but stare back dumbfounded! What was happening?! Who was this rude person, and what was wrong with her appearance?
Source: Daily Story
The old Samantha would have run away, crying, and while she could feel herself get flushed with embarrassment, she was equally mad! Even if she smelled bad, looked bad, or had something stuck to her shoe – this was no way to react!
Reflection
So, Samantha abruptly stopped her cool down and marched straight toward the man. And that is when she caught sight of her reflection in one of the mirrors. The fair-skinned young woman tended to get red after a strenuous workout, but this was something completely different!
Source: Daily Story
Both of Samantha’s ears had puffed up to twice their size. Her shoulders and arms were covered in hives, and her stomach was converted into red spots. And during her intense workout, she sweated so much that her hair was practically wet and stuck to her forehead!
Back Home
The young woman looked like she hadn’t showered in days and had some disease! Samantha stared at herself, stunned! She had looked great in the locker room! What had happened? She quickly returned to the locker room, grabbed her things, and ran home!
Source: Daily Story
And it was only when she was back safe and showered, did her skin finally calm down. And as Samantha lay in bed trying to figure out what had happened, did she finally realize to look again at the activewear’s label? And that is when she noticed it; the entire set was made with a material that Samantha was highly allergic to, and in her haste to show the set-off, she failed to notice this! And now she had ended up embarrassing herself utterly!
This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment. Characters and events are the products of the author’s imagination. The images shown are used for illustration only.