I'm a 30 year old IT professional which I actually just started doing; before that I was a gifted amateur. I saw the approach of my 30th birthday and didn't like how healthy I was (read: not healthy at all) and a very good friend wanted me to join her and some co-workers in a weight loss competition. I decided to take advantage of the situation and haven't looked back. I lost 38lbs. in that initial competition and almost twice that since then in about 13 months altogether.