My best friend actually went through a similar ordeal, being large then working it off as he got into High School.
I went in the reverse after I got out of High School, heh. Never too late to correct it though, unfortunately it's mostly center-mass, and I injured my back doing some tree service with a friend of my step=father's. That may make it a bit harder to work. Think I herniated a disc back then, but no health insurance prevents my knowing for sure or having a chance of getting it fixed at the moment.
Threaded Mode