Bit the bullet... but in a good way

One thing has been on my mind a lot lately... joining a gym. I kept going back and forth between knowing (or hoping, or both) that it will help me get more exercise, and rationalizing why I shouldn't join. My excuses were, the weather is nice these days and I can always exercise outside, we have a good amount of work out equipment at home, I've been pretty good about exercising recently, and probably most notably, I am just damn scared. I've never had a gym membership before, and was afraid that I would go in to check it out and people would just scoff and laugh at me, like wth is this fat chick doing here?
So, I got a friend to go with me to check out the women's gym near my place, and I joined. I am still super scared, they are closed on Sundays so the first day I go will be Monday. I do think it's going to help me get more exercise, I can go there straight from work. Wish me luck

P.S. did I miss something on the board today?

 Congrats!!!   If you're joining a women's gym - those kinds of places probably have the least judgmental people working out (after all, women who join them are usually trying to avoid all the weirdos at your typical commerical gyms). But, people go to the gym to work out, not to stare and judge others, so try not to let those thoughts cross your mind :)   

Thank you, I'll try not to think about what others are thinking about me
Got any tips for a first time gym goer?

 Some gyms offer complimentary introductory sessions to show new members how to use all the equipment. You should ask so that way you know how to use everything that is there. If you can afford it and they offer it, even try a few personal training sessions to really get acquainted with the machines and equipment and get a workout plan put together. 

Start slow. Dont feel like you need to rush and act like an all star athlete from day one. When I first joined the gym in 2010 - I would go and literally just walk at 2.0 on the treadmill for 15 minutes. 

Try group exercise classes if they have them. You might find that you really love some of them and the most important thing about exercise is finding something you love and can sustain over a long period of time. I personally just hate the gym and get soooo bored, so I have to do things outside and classes once in a while to break it up. 

SET SOME GOALS. Most important advice I'd give you. If you just go for the heck of it with no aim, ni purpose, it's really easy to just say "i'll skip today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc" but if you are working towards something - like, increasing time/distance/speed/weights/reps, etc, you will feel more of a reason to get up and go. I keep track of all my progress so when im super depressed about a stall I can look back and see that hey, in the middle of all my stalls, I always increase my mile time by 20 seconds. I can look back to the way way way beginning and see that I have made huge progress. That has been by far a greater sense of pride than just the number on the scale for me. 

THANK YOU SOOO much! I am definitely bookmarking this
The gym does have a couple of group exercise classes each day, the woman that showed me around was telling me about the instructors and how intense the classes are, that the less intense classes tend to fill up quickly, and such.
I do get some free personal training sessions, I thought that I would think about what goals in terms of fitness I want to set, and get a bit of a feel for the gym before I schedule those. What do you think?
Honestly this is so completely new to me, this fitness thing! I don't really know where to begin in setting some goals. I think maybe the first goal I would like to accomplish is just being able to do some heavy cardio for more than 30 mins. I also would LOVE to be able to jog.
I definitely want to do more weight training and stretching too, I have started weight training at home with hubs as my instructor... but he's a muscular guy who's never had to watch what he eats in his life so I think a professional showing me what to do would definitely help.
I am also glad I posted this because now I definitely won't back out of going on Monday!
My goal for Monday is to try the elliptical... I've never really used one, and if that doesn't work then to use the treadmill

 Feel free to get comfortable before asking - sounds like a good idea. 

If you really want some accountability, join us on the Exercise and Fitness Forum - there is a daily posting of everyone's workout, and for the most part, people are pretty consistent. That was the place where my serious inspiration for exercise came from. 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm definitely going to check out that forum!

Congrats on making that major step! It's a big one. I will tell you it 's the best thing I've done since getting sleeved to help me in my WL journey. You are just about as far out as I was when I joined a gym. My WL didn't go through the roof, I just kept losing at a steady pace, BUT, I had never even imagined how fast my clothing sizes changed. It's amazing how quickly your body tones and tightens with a good workout plan. Since staring at the gym (end of Feb. beginning of March) I have lost 4 sport coat sizes, 6 pants sizes and went from a Large to Small shirt. In suits and dress shirts I wear slim and ultra slim fit! That's what going to to gym and working out have done for me.

I'm super proud of you. It's a big scary step and you did it!!!!!

Thank you, it is super scary!
Wow, that is an amazing transformation in such a short time, you are awesome!
One of the benefits of joining this gym is some free personal training sessions (and various spa benefits but I'll save that for another day ) so I'm hoping she can give me a really good work out plan. Up until now I've been doing the best I can, but I really want to get as much out of this experience as possible!
Now to just get over my anxiety about going...

 What kind of workout plan did you follow early in your journey?