I've never been over 200 lbs in my life. For my height and the shape I'm in, 200 was a threshold I did not want to cross. Ever.
When I got my new driver's license (on which I'd listed my customary 185 lbs), I noticed that my face looked a LOT fuller and, though I didn't have a double chin exactly, there was definitely something peeking out below my jawline. I weighed myself and found that I was at 199.6 lbs. The fat threshold was imminent!
I started doing the Weight Watchers point system (slightly modified to fuel workouts) and P90-X. Within about 2 months, I lost 30+ lbs and felt great. Then I injured my shoulder and had to stop working out for a bit. After a month or three of recovery, I found it difficult to get started again. My metabolism kept burning like a furnace, though, and I kept the weight off for over a year despite the fact that I was not working out and was beginning to eat poorly again.
Now, about 2 years later, I found myself back in the high 190s and feeling cruddy. I started Weight Watchers points (the new system), but only managed to lose about 10 lbs and then hovered there. When I would talk about this with friends, they would say "well, you know, when you get older, it gets harder to lose weight." I found that to be really depressing and my motivation drained.
Then, randomly, I ran across the news story about Matt winning the $50,000 for the contest here on Bodybuilding.com. That was the hook, but it was his pictures that really inspired me. He was slightly older than me and started out in more or less my same shape. And, the nay-saying of my friends aside, he transformed himself from a tub of goo like me into Captain America shape in just 3 months. That's when I knew that if he could do it, so could I!
My friends are still fairly negative about the prospects. And my girlfriend keeps offering me chocolate and ice cream and various snacks. But I'm tuning all that out and just keeping my mind focused on the task at hand. Eat right. Work hard. Transform.