I wasn't always fat. As a kid (13 or younger) I didn't have any eating problems, in fact I was underweight, I needed to GAIN weight, so my parents gave me protein powder to gain weight, which didn't do it. My parents aren't really overweight, my mom is a little bit after she had kids, but my dad is in good shape.
I started to gain weight when I got addicted very badly to an online game called Gemstone III (Now called Gemstone IV) It is a massive multiplyer MUD game like World of warcraft, but all text. I can't believe that I got so attached to a text game, all text, that I would spend $70+ on events for the game (real money) to play in the game. It was addiciting because you could interact with other people. In my youth, I was very immature (still am) and would pick fights with people in the game, or make arguments, and eventually I got permanently banned, after playing about 4 years. I started typing when I was 7 on a program called read write and type...after being banned from gemstone my typing speed increased alot (You have to realize I would play sometimes 3 days straight with no sleep, 24 hours a day)
It was like a drug to me. Life in the game actually mean't more to me than real life. I had no friends in real life, and it seemed to pull me further and further into insolation. One day I looked at myself and realized I was 70 lbs overweight. How did I become from being so skinny to being almost morbidly obese? I wouldn't excerise, I would sit at my computer and (eat) at my computer. There was a Carls' Jr literally across the street from my house, I would go there, bring food back to the computer, and eat it a the computer.
After I was permently banned, that wasn't the end. No, no, it wasn't that simple. After having my credit card blocked, I eventually had another "friend" of mine (before I realized he was using me) to sign me up for an account. I had to start over from scratch in the game, which can take years to get to the highest level. This person was a selfish, egotistical idiot who in turn for signing me up in the game demanded I give him 50% of the silvers I made in the game (in game currency) to him for him to sell in real life. Basically it was his 'business' by using me.
After playing again over a year and a half, I had my 21st birthday. I went to las vegas and got to meet pen and teller, one of my idols. Looking at the picture I couldn't believe it. I had fat fingers, and a size 48 inch waist. I couldn't fit into suits to do magic (Alot of the good coin magic involves suits, or sleeves, lapels, coat jackets, etc, I couldn't find one my size) This was a turning point for me.
I quit gemstone, posted a thread on the unoffical GS forums who I was, and I never went back. The game had some benefits. From playing it and typing so much I was able to type over 127 WPM with 99-100% accuracy. Really fast typing with good accuracy. But that was the only good out of it. I sold 40 million silvers in the game (I was a wealhy merchant in the game) for about $200 US cash dollars. My friend got half, I was supposed to get the other half. As soon as I quit, he said I would get it. Low and behold, a few months later, he says that since I basically quit on him I was screwed, and he wouldn't give it to me. What a jerk.
At that point I decided to turn my life around. To this day I am still addicted to the game, badly. But I was banned, I can't go back, and they said they will never un ban me. Ever since Ive played Gemstone NO GAME , nothing, not even real life is near as much fun as that game, even other online games. I tried WOW and hated it.
So far It's been about 2 months and I've lost 24 lbs. I'm feeling better about myself, but I still have no friends, no girlfriend, no car, no job. I just completed a vocational computer training school and am hoping to get a job soon...saving up for a car then I plan to go to college.
