I'm 30 years old and I never really dated. I haven't had weight loss surgery, I'm trying to lose weight on my own without surgery and doing well. I've went from 470 to 430 in about two months. I'm not ready to meet women yet as I wanted to be under 300 before I do that. I'm not sure how to do it. I've always avoided socializing but I feel a big reason I gained so much weight was due to loneliness. I created an online account but didn't add any information or pictures, just wanted to look. I see a lot of women I am interested in but I have no idea how to introduce myself or what I should say. If it progresses to a date I have no idea what to do or where to go on a date. I don't know when I should kiss a woman or request a second date. I feel like I shouldn't need to be figuring this out at 30. This seems like something I should have learned in high school. Is there like a tutorial for this? I feel like it just gets harder to find someone after 30 and throw in the fact I have virtually no dating experience.

Hi sgc,
You began this post nearly 2 years ago. Your requests for advice haven't changed in those 2 years even though you've been given very similar advice many many times. If you keep doing the same thing you are going to continue getting the same results and that is what's happening here. Your stories and answers are repeats of what what said months, and now years, earlier. People who have commented earlier have quit commenting. New people join this forum and they begin offering similar advice that you've already received so this post keeps going. I gave you my suggestions but they were turned down so I quit commenting. At some point you have to step up to the plate and take action. If you have social anxiety then work on that with a therapist before you begin dating. Sometimes I wonder if this is just a game you are playing on all of us who take this forum seriously. SO, if your posts are serious I suggest you go to counseling to work your own issues out. Social Anxiety can't be cured in a forum. I wish you the best.

I started the thread two years ago before I had even decided on surgery. At that time I was trying to lose weight on my own. I wasn't even looking to date at that time, but I took the advice given here and put myself out there anyways. It was more just looking around. I didn't include pictures and didn't email any women but had women email me and went on a date. I decided to have the surgery and took the advice here and wait until after the surgery. I just started in March getting serious and brought this thread back because I was ready to get serious. This time I decided to post pictures and email women. I even said when I brought this thread back I was basically talking aloud and knew the original people posting here were gone. I have seen a counselor and she prescribed me Paxil. I have gone to social events at work that I never would have went to before (which I did mention in this thread). Today we had our annual employee meeting that I never went to in my previous five years but went to today. I'm pretty socially inept but I get the hint. I'll just let the thread die since it's a game to some people apparently. I've got all I'm going to get from here so I'll figure out.