Same here... I have gained a considerable amount of weight since I graduated HS (2007). I always get down on myself about it, but then look at the other side of it as I wasn't this strong back then. Sure I could afford to lose 40 or 50, but I think I'm better off now than I was 3 years ago when I first started working out serious.
I still have another ~20 pounds I should lose (was at 204 this morning)
That's kind of how I feel about it. At least I'm in here. I've made vast improvements in strength since I first started working out. People who know me say they hear about me going to the gym all the time and expect me to be shredded. I weigh about the same but I've doubled in strength.
The thing I had to come to grips with is that there is no such thing as overnight muscle definition, lol. We live in such an "instant" society that we're taught by almost everything we read and see that results should be instantaneous. To build muscle and build definition, it just doesn't work like that. I can see changes in my body, but I also know I have a long way to go.
The key for me is the "vast improvements in strength" you mentioned. My bench max has increased by 57 percent in the last 18 months...military press has increased 137 percent. The hard part for me has been deadlifts and squats. My groin pull last summer and the long recovery from that really stunted any growth there. I've seen my deadlifts increase, but I've got some mobility work to do before getting back to squats. If I try to do them as-is, it puts way too much strain on my back.
i weigh 10lbs heavier then HS. i almost got to the 200 mark before academy but lost 20 getting ready. i never got on a scale but if you look at photos of before i started traing and today holy **** i was a fat face
if you mix a good core strength circuit with standard weight training, results will be awesome (eat what fuels your body, not crap)
I look back at some past pictures of me, and I just chuckle. My wife showed me a photo from 2005 of me in a suit (which is a rarity), and I just laughed. I was hoping the suit was making me look chunky, but I know better.
And that last statement is ridiculously true, and it's what I hate most about myself. My will-power and discipline in my diet is just pathetic. Pathetic. I'm trying to do better with that now, so we'll see how it goes.