Thank you so much Suzanne and Bill!
I'm really glad this section of the 3fc's forum has been created! I don't expect all that much traffic here, but I hope it will be used a friendly space for new guys who come to this board and might feel slightly outnumbered here
If you stop by here and would like to introduce yourself, that might be a great first step.
I'm Matt (as you might have guessed). I'm 37 and have been on the 3FC's site for a very long time. I came here in 2002 and in 2003 I lost about 150 pounds or so. Like so many others, I slowly gained the weight back and stopped coming here to these boards. I did make some occasional appearances here and there, but I was generally absent and back totally into my old ways. These ways included some pretty severe issues with alcohol abuse followed by late at night binge eating. I hated myself and my life and I used alcohol and food as a way of just getting through the day.
I got serious about my health again in the fall of 2007 after a couple of highly embarassing situations. I realized I couldn't fit into most restaurant booths and or fit into chairs that had "arms". I could barely walk and felt like I was close to having a heart attack or some other serious medical condition. I didn't know my starting weight since my scale only went up to 450 pounds and I assume I was probably closer to 470-480.
Slowly, I started walking and made very minor changes to my diet. I stopped going to the bar nightly and took up other hobbies that could occupy my "danger zone" time of right after work. I joined a non-profit movie theater and became active in that as well as some other volunteering activities. After a couple of months I found out that I could weigh myself on my scale again and that first weight was 446 pounds (that is my starting weight here that I use in the signature). That first year I dropped about 150 pounds and got back to where I was in 2003.
I then came back to 3FCs and made other changes to my life to continue the progress. I started doing charity event walks as well as other physical activities. I then joined weight watchers, mainly for the ritual of the weekly weigh in the accountability aspects of the program.
Over the next couple of years (with some up and downs) I managed to continue to lose weight until I hit my initial goal weight of 180 pounds. I've taken up running now and my life is totally changed. I find that whether things are going good or bad, they always get better when I check in here and post. I've made a committment to keeping accountable and I know I can fall off the wagon and slip into old patterns very easily.
I'm looking forward to meeting many of you!