How to get back out into the world =/

I am having issues with getting back out of the house after spending years hiding.  I suffer from severe anxiety, but I really need to find friends again and have no idea where to start to find real people anymore.  All the "dating sites" tend to be a magnet for perverts in my experience.  It's really irritating at this point.  I don't have single friends to go out to places with and I'm not a drinker so clubs and bars aren't my thing.. Anyone have any suggestions? and also after losing a lot of weight how do you feel confident with a body that is completely different to you??

Well, I can't help with the body confidence thing, but as a fellow agoraphobic I can totaly relate to looking around and realizing your old friends have moved on.

First, I don't need to tell you but will anyway...you kick ASS for deciding to go out and make some

I'm hardly a social butterfly but I've met a lot of cool people through hobbies I'm into; dog rescue and scrapbooking. The cool thing is, the opposite sex usually comes into the picture if you decide to get together outside of your hobby, say if you're invited to a cookout or to watch a football game or something.

Is there anything you like to do that people get together to do?

Do you belong to a gym?  I think it's kinda easy to make friends there if you do the group classes.  The same ladies stand in the same spots for every class so we end up talking and getting to know each other while waiting on class to start...  Like the previous poster said, just make conversation with the people around you where ever you go (gym, school, work, church).  You'll have at least that one thing in common with them already.