I was never in great shape but never in god awful shape. Though when I noticed that I was about to hit the big 200 club I realized it was time for a change. I asked on of my friends that used to be overweight for some help and we started hitting the gym hard.
Soon after I started losing weight I joined MMA and now I'm in the best shape of my life and only improving.

My confidence level has gone up because of working out. I enjoy the satisfaction of going to the gym instead of going out to drink with buddies. It's really great to see everyone slowly falling out of shape while I'm constantly improving and getting more and more attention.
I also use it to focus on myself and not any miniscule problems that may be occuring in my life.