Welp, here we go.

[JonahMountain]

Another lonely New Year's Eve, in a room full of people.
The clock has struck midnight, and streamers are falling, and champagne is spilling and couples are gazing into each other's eyes as I gaze on at the rest of them.
My friends, of course, as usual, have split off with girls.
Despite being the life of the party for two hours, I...have not.
I had them in tears, girls laughing at my jokes and amazed by my agile dancing despite resembling an ox in blue jeans. Then they went off with my silent friends who looked better in a long-sleeved shirt.
Now my own tears, the tears of a clown, are forming, only stifled back by the realization that, here I am, once more in the same situation I've been in so often.
They say fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?
I've fooled myself twice. Double. Double-double. Animal style.
I've convinced myself that being fat is just like being a woman or black or tan or tall or smart or Czech or Zooey Deschanel. That it was just a thing.
I've convinced myself that being 290 pounds just ran in the family, that there was no running in this family. Then I looked around, and saw some chubby people at a family wedding, but not...this. Not...me.
I've convinced myself that despite five years of football and six years of baseball, I can't get back into it, that my career is too demanding and that my body couldn't handle any more stress.
I've convinced myself that the world turned me this way, that I focused so much on my intellect and humor and writing that my physical state was allowed to turn into what it has.
I did all that, at least.
Because it ends now.
It has to.
Screw it.
Time to get un-fat.

Any help/suggestions/comments/concerns/jokes you can provide would be much appreciated.

 

[Trusylver]

Welcome to the forum and good luck as you begin your journey

 

[MrVee]

Welcome aboard Jonah!

You don't have to be overweight. It's true that some bodies are just different than others and a healthy weight for one might be overweight for others, but that doesn't mean you have to accept any extra weight you're lugging around. Losing weight is always an option for that, though it can be hard.

As for New Year's and luck with the ladies, I won't lie: losing weight will help. But I did lousy with the women back when I was thin, so there's more to it than that. What that 'more' is, I couldn't tell you. It probably would be good not to have your self esteem heavily tied into your success with the fairer sex, but that's easier said than done. All of this is to say, lots of us go through this.

Anyhow, eat less and exercise more and you'll start to lose weight. For advice on how to be a hit with the ladies? Eh...