Hello, I'm Richard. I'm 18 and I live in Nebraska. All of my life I've been a heavy guy. Last time I weighed myself, I was 385 lbs. I'm 6 ft tall, so I really don't look that heavy, but looks can be deceiving. Throughout my life, my weight has brought me down a lot, even pushed me to the point of suicide (I didn't do it, after therapy I realized I'm better than that). My classmates used to make fun of me a LOT (in 9th grade they put a bra in my locker). Because of a combination of weight and bullying, I've never really had any self esteem and I still don't. I'm looking to change all of that, but the first step is admitting that I have a problem. And I do. I do have a problem. However, I just feel like it has a stranglehold on my life and that nothing will ever change. I've wantd to fix this problem all of my life, but I never had the appropriate motivation. But that changed. A few nights ago, my throat started feeling tight as I was trying to sleep. I also couldn't breathe as well. I'm pretty sure it's linked to my weight somehow (i.e. sleep apnea). I woke up in the middle of the night scared out of my mind. I realized that I don't want to die by the age of 20, so I'm taking the first steps and trying to turn my life around. With that said, I would appreciate any advice that you guys/gals would have for me. Thanks.
-Richard
-Richard