Wearing a t-shirt in the pool really isn't a big deal man. The important thing is that you're changing habits. One habit you may have to break is thinking everybody is watching and judging. It will turn out that most people are rooting for you not against you. Good luck getting in there.

walking is very boring. but you might find that swimming is "too difficult" to start off with and you might get frustrated quicker. i consider myself a fit person but when it comes to swimming, i dont think i could even make it to the end of the pool in one go. but then again i have no technique

if you make walking a challenge, it wont be as much of a chore. try walking a certain distance away from your house, until you start getting tired, then you have to walk back. the next day try and go a little further, and so on and so on. take some music to listen to as well.

just have a look around for the many different excercises you can do.

if you are embarrassed in public, even if someone goes as far as to call you names, who gives a fuck. youre doing something that they would never be able to do, youre stronger and more determined than they will ever be. no matter what anyone else says about you or thinks about you. its not going to stop you from achieving your goals. and as griff said, most people will be on your side, thinking "its really great that hes doing this, i hope he does well".

Aqua aerobics is a great way to start an exercise program. Its gentle on your joints, really supportive and you will be more able to complete a *workout*, than say, swimming laps.

Hydro is another great thing that I see at the gym regularly. You can just walk up and down in the hydro pool or just hold onto the side and do a jogging motion.

Couldnt agree with that more!

See your doctor and get a prescription of phentermine. I am trying to take off 100 pounds and this stuff really takes the hunger away. Your doctor may recommend something else. There is no reason to suffer feeling hungry.

Write down everything you eat. It adds up really fast.

Get some protein powder. They sell it at Wal-Mart. you can also buy it at bodybuilding.com. I use the whey protein. It's about 100 calories per scoop.

I have lost 25 pounds. I can hardly tell. Maybe I will notice when I've lost 50.

Getting started is the hardest part. After a couple of months you get used to it.

that's wrong. there are 200 reasons. suffer feeling fat and disgusting, or suffer felling hungry. suffering is important. when you suffer and come out the other side, you feel great.

hey, how tall are ya? you don;t like walking? tough shit! walk it off, candy ass!

Walking is boring, yes. But it's the easiest and cheapest form of exercise.

Stuff like swimming (which I would love to do on a regular basis) usually requires driving to someplace you can do it, exposing yourself to the ridicule of others (although a certain amount of stick-to-it-ive-ness often earns respect in a gym/fitness center setting, even if you don't look like the covermodels who are working out without sweating around you).

If you're looking for something more on the order of "possible to do in the privacy of your own home" there are a number of fitness videos/DVDs that cost under $30 and don't require any additional equipment, and start at all different levels of ability. My cable service has a bunch of free stuff on the On-Demand digital package, including WalkFit, Tai Chi and Yoga segments.

It's all going to be completely fucking boring ... but 20 minutes of boredom a day won't kill you.

I would not follow the suggestion of anyone who says to use meds (other than for a physician identified metabolism issue, or diabetes), either over the counter or prescription. Losing weight is about developing different habits, not about magic pills, which tend to have some pretty scary side effects.

Oh, and I am a past mistress of dealing with cruel heckling, teasing, torture, and the surviving of high school while fat. I always knew I was better than those stupid sonsofbitches.

If you are going to walk it is a good idea to get an MP3 player with some good books on cd or an on-line acct (though I have yet to find one that does not SUCK). Get into a good Sherlock Holmes story and you will walk several miles listening to it without knowing it.
I will rip as much as I have and send it to you, Scout's Honor my friend.
You could do the Appalachian Trail on my Moby Dick and it is awesome... of course I'm a nerd... but I will find something you like!
Regardless of what you want to do, an MP3 player is good and IPods suck... I love my MuVo for a fraction of the price, it works and takes regular batteries... who-da' thunk it!!!!

Walk a mile a day. Just one mile in one go. It's not that far. Just 10 city blocks or so. I've always found that my appetite decreased when I got moderate exercise.

Lay off pop and caffeine. Non-diet pop has a huge number of calories which are invisible because you're not eating them, you're drinking them. Caffeine stimulates appetite.

Pay attention and notice if you are eating to reward yourself or eating because you are anxious. Those issues require work in other areas.

oops one more. Consider getting a bike. Ride places you would normally take the car. You'll like the fact that you're getting there on your own power and you'll be amazed at how much exercise you get without noticing.

Would a bike be able to hold my weight?

Don't want to thread hijack, but I've lost 20-30 pounds since my wife left me (6 months ago). Several things did it:

Lack of money. I had to buy cheaper food, and less food, which also meant less eating out. Less eating out means a healthier diet (so long as I'm not replacing fried foods with fried foods).

Change of diet. When you decide to lose weight, do not decide to go on a diet, then later come off it. Never plan to come off a diet. What this means is stick with a "diet" that you can live with for the rest of the life. What this meant for me was dropping soda (mostly) in favor of cold tap water with lots and lots of ice (to the top of the glass!). I drink soda about once a week. I absolutely love drinking water now.

Motivation. You have to be motivated to do it. Find something that motivates you to lose weight and concentrate on it. Sure, you say you're tired of being made fun of, but passive aggression gets you no where.

Alternately, if you want to take the "easy way" out, consider some form of surgery. However, consult your doctor about this first. My mom was about 300-350 pounds at 5'1" and had gastric bypass surgery, as did my aunt (she weighed more). My aunt lost more weight (she weighed about 50-100 pounds more). Although, consider both of these were middle aged women with medical reasons for surgery (diabetes, back problems).

Speaking of which, do you have diabetes? A lot of morbidly obese people do. If so, that makes losing weight harder.

I don't know diddly squat about weight loss etc. All the advice you've been given seems to make sense. As far as exercise goes, I personally enjoy in-line skating more than anything else I've tried, but that not only requires skates but somewhere appropriate to skate and some experience and/or training to get the to point where you're getting some exercise out of it.

I would respectfully suggest, however, that you consider dropping a PM to Undertoad and ask him to change your nickname. Part of the issue is your self-image, and you can start by not carrying around a name that refers to your size.

I highly recommend the book: The Abs Diet from the writers at Men's Health magazine.

Its not a diet book. Its a manual for how to eat and how to exercise and the physiological justification for the plan they lay out.

Go to menshealth.com and search for "The Abs Diet" and have a look.

Just stay away from the criminal Atkins.

Atkins works for me. It breaks my addiction to carbs and I LOSE tons of weight. I am a carb junky. I must go cold turkey. After the induction period (2-3 weeks) I feel so much better, have so much more energy and my mental attitude is better. I'm doing the 'criminal' Atkins now and I feel goooooood!

Whatever works.

Sure, trade my heart to look good... why not? Oh, that's right, I love my family.
Some low carb is one thing, trading them for high fat is another. Another that is wrong.
And, such a drastic diet is only temporary and should never be taken on without professional help, that means a Dr., not some diet guru.