Welcome Veronica!
At 59 I knew for sure that something had to change. The choices were to shrivel even more into something very sad, or very dead. First thing I did was shave my body hair and look in the mirror. Damn near threw up. Immediately started eating mostly vegetarian, running (sort of) doing push ups and sit ups. Six months later I started HRT - which is another story. I'm sixty one now, 5'9", fit, weigh 155 having lost 40 lbs - that took me 10 months, don't get too drastic and try to lose too much too fast. Diets don't work, lifestyle does. Pay attention to portions!
Your goal is to become the real you, and this whole thing takes seemingly forever. Also start electrolysis now! You're talking 200+ hours, and this is not something you want try to do too quickly. You can end up with scaring. Next month (May) I go full time at work, and submit the passport and financial paperwork to make Julie my sole personna. It makes me almost, no not almost - very, giddy.
Twenty months on HRT, I look fine, I blend in fine, I feel better than I have in decades. This is not without cost, a marriage, some friends, even some family. But the choices were very sad, very dead or jumping into the void knowing that caring docs, therapists, and the women here, were there to catch me. Oh one more thing, I expected to go slowly and carefully also. Maybe you can, but a year or so into the process, I felt like a girl, like an actual girl! And wanted much more as soon as I could manage it. I'm proud of you for these first steps, if you want to chat with an old but pretty jazzed girl, drop me a line.
Cheers,
Julie
