Men's Group

We are among the fattest states. I think that low self esteem and poor body image go hand in hand, and many people here, both men and women, seem to just "give up". Especially men, the guys who pour themselves into too tight, old jeans and throw on an old t-shirt, neither of which has worked since they were 20 lbs lighter.

Really not trying to sound as shallow here as I know I come across, it's just something now on my radar screen in a way it wasn't before. Ok, two reasons, I now see it in other people and wonder if it is based on depression. And, for myself, it's kind of a fear now - I don't want to be sent "back to prison" so to speak, so I pretty actively do things that push myself in the other direction. Some of it's kind of extreme, such as I've spent a small fortune on new clothes since I was "sprung", including some outrageously expensive suits (my punishment for working across the street from a high-end mall with Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, Sak's, and Macy's). With my new routine at the gym, I do take 3 showers a day, so nor running around dirty. The biggest thing for me, though, has been weight loss. A contributing factor was the fact I had gone from a post-abdominal surgery weight of 155 back in 2008, to 210 last summer, and I was one if those guys, overweight and felt like crap physically. Happy to say, panic attacks took about 15 lbs off of me, but I 've gotten rid of another 30 through diet and exercise.