Hi Maggie!
You and I sound a lot alike. I was 285 pounds at 41, then down to 200 at 43 and with 2 fewer feet of large intestine. Oh well, at least I wasn't diabetic anymore...
Then I had to go and work construction all summer long in my own kitchen. I put on 25 pounds of solid muscle and 15 pounds of good, old fashioned beer gut. Most guys would have loved to have the extra beefcakiness, but it sent my dysphoria throught the roof, looking so manly. This led to more drinking and bouts of extreme depression and anxiety. I soon got a gender therapist who got me straightened out quickly. One thing that hit me hard was when she said that transitioning is not that big of a deal, people do it all the time and 99% of the time they wish they hadn't waited so long to do it. You may lose some people along the way, but those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter. Anyway, I've been on HRT for 9 months now and I feel amazing. It sure beats being a statistic, which was where I was definitely headed.