Im REALLY embarrassed about exercising in public. any advice?

im a girl, 6 feet tall, and i weigh between 160 and 165 lbs. im pretty confident with who i am; im outgoing, smart, independent, and artistic. so this issue has nothing to do with me feeling completely and totally insecure with myself, EXCEPT for the fact that im out of shape and overweight. im not obese, just about 15 lbs overweight. i used to wake up at 5 am and go to the ymca to work out 5 days a week; it was great. but i would fall asleep in class everyday because i woke up so early, and my mom canceled our ymca membership bc i stopped going to keep my grades up and she felt like we weren't using it enough. so now i want to exercise at home by running/walking outside at about 6 or 6:30 am 4 or 5 days a week. the only problem is that i breathe heavily when i run and im worried i'll see people i know and im worried about what they'll think. its childish; i know, but i don't know how to get over it! i want to lose the weight and feel confident with my body and overall health. help!!!
Additional Details
thanks for all your replies everyone :) i noticed a lot of people mentioning music; that sounds like a good idea. and you're right, if people are thinking negative thoughts about me doing something really positive, wth and who cares. i'll try to keep this in mind. again, thx everyone!

M_2	In the morning try running-in-spot, in your room or something. Run for about 10 minutes. Get a yoga mat or something you can set down on your floor and do 15 crunches. 10 push-ups. 20 bridges, and then get 5lb. weights and do about 15 with each arm, its an all over work out, quick, easy, and in the privacy of your own home! (Wow did that sound like an info-mercial or what) lol.

ellen degenitals	exercise in private

Karen T	Exercise in private, at home....go running at night. Quit worrying waht other people think. The only person's opinion of you that matters is YOURS.

studmuffin_10	wow. you write a lot don't you? You should just listen to music when you exercise out in public it will keep your mind off that kind of stuff.

skeezbucket	the more you do it the more comfortable it'll become. just make sure you dont over do it and exercise right. i see a lot of guys in the gym who put more weights than they can handle because they want to look strong, but instead they end up looking silly when the get stuck. i know that's not the case for women because women works with lighter weight, but you get what i'm saying. remember your doing it for yourself and no one else matters. so do it right and doi it proud.

victoria	What a vicious irony...you need to work out to lose weight and gain confidence to go to the gym, but you need to first go to the gym before you can lose weight! My solution, get an exercise tape and follow it about 4-5 days a week...or, if you're in a neighborhood where it's easy to do, just jog around the block. Once you lose the weight, start going to the gym again and keep up a healthy workout schedule to stay in shape!

Corey	just get over yourself and do it. not to be mean, but people are not going to be paying that much attention to you. they have their own lives to worry about. just bite the bullet, and do it!

bin there dun that	If you are running/walking you won't be standing still long enough for anyone to really see you. If you are excercising and not just going for a stroll, there is no reason to stop and talk. Just say "excercising" nod your head and keep on going. You are setting a good example ... why would anyone think anything negative about the way you breathe when you are running? They won't be around you long enough to really notice anyways!!

ez123ed	Get a good tread mill and stay home. And you can still run when the weather outside is lousy.

christigmc	think of the upside. After you exercise and lose the weight you're going to be the one with the nice body. You might start out as the one feeling embarassed but in the end they're going to be the embarassed ones. Plus a lot of people are jogging at 6am in the morning. so you have several more people joining you. I used to roller blade 5 miles a day around my neighborhood. The neighborhood kids did sometimes tease me. but in the end, some of the neighborhood adults told them to follow my example.

dagokid3500	dont worry about it

Prince	Shy will be over after a week when same people will be met in the mornig. Happy new year.

31 Weeks with #2	try to learn how to control your breathing. It will help you exercise better because you will not be so out of breath.

Bella♥	dont worry about what ppl are thinking....but they'll prolly be thinking, good for her she's trying to stay healthy which is prolly more than what they can say!! :]

mer.	well if you're feeling embarassed, maybe you could go with a group of friends. and if people do see you they should look up to you not down because you're stepping up to the plate nad doing something about your weight. and its okay to exercise because the benefits are priceless. && try not to think about what people are thinking of you. good luckkk!

sara e	It is probably a lot less effective, but you could try running on the spot inside. Or you could start to jump rope instead of running, because that's another great exercise to lose weight. If it is within your budget, you could buy a treadmill. Or you could get a gym membership if you would feel more comfortable working out around others who are doing the same thing.

Samantha	Everyone has problems with their body. And if someone you see has something bad to say about fixing your problem well then they just are not a good person and you shouldn't listen to them anyways.

bob	You should listen to music when you are running. it will help you ignore other people

Rubber Ducky	doesn't seem like anything to be embarassed about. Maybe ignore everyone else and just think about you being fit.

wildkat4510	Well you can do it in your own home. Walk around your block Really do not be embarrassed. I was 286 pounds and got down to 190. I was embarrassed too, but people really do not care, they are to busy with their own lives.

Emma	Sounds like you might have a little social anxiety. It's not a completely unrealistic fear; people can be judgmental. In your case, though, there doesn't seem to be much room for them to pass judgment. If you were 225 lbs. and doing the same thing, then I would understand. Bring some music and concentrate on your workout, which should drain out any concerns about what other people are thinking.

Sam S	Why not excercise at home. Or better yet with some friends who understand.

mheylee	don't care about what other people say.. just do your stuff coz in the end it's still you and your overweight body that matters. so better exercise now. :)

ABCDEFGHIJK	I Am Embarrased Aswell. I Find It Hard To Cycle On The Street So I Take My Little Sister With Me And My iPod.

Spencer	I'm in way worse shape than you, but I'm not embarrassed about my body. Don't worry about what others think-it's your life.

Schmitty V	well, first of all, for us average folks (that is, not marathon runners or runners who run every day yet), running outside is much, much different than running in the gym and it actually a lot harder, so you're bound to be breathless -- and then if you start to get all freaked out about it while you're running, you'll probably make yourself more breathless. Maybe you should try a combination of running and walking. Run for a half mile, walk a half mile, run for a half mile, walk for a half mile, that way you can build up your endurance and catch your breath in-between runs.

Tia	home exercise

Joe-M	Walking outside shouldn't be an issue for anyone - unless your neighborhood is not safe. In fact, the people who see you walking will probably admire you for it. You can also do calisthenics at home. good luck!!

jameslankford	the more you do it, the more confident you will become..do it everyday!

Yes We Can	if you're breathing hard it's cause you're working hard, like you're suppose to.