gmanbat

So sorry for your loss. You are in my prayers.

Gosh, I hurt for you, Lisa. I've seen that helpless look in my wife's eyes when I got diagnosed. Happily, our faith sustains us and has served us well through this. Looks like you have that too. At 65 I can tell you, life in this present form is short for all of us. I will pray hard for you tonight.

At least we know warm weather is around the corner. I liked the rain. We just planted a lot of flowers and tropical plants and I was getting tired of watering them.

I love Tarpon Springs! I was about to say, "great restaurants" but then realized it would contradict my earlier rant about my relatives obsession with eating at them. It is quaint and quirky. Think we'll go there soon, close drive for us.

You are extremely early on in your transformation. Your body is still dumbfounded about what happened, still in the "What the....?" stage. It hasn't had time to even set a pattern. You are recovering from an operation, much swelling, drug effects, Water retention, and adjustment. Relax and give your body some time. Follow guidelines and get ready for a new life.

I am a guy, hence the name G-man-bat. I have saggy inner thighs as well. They are not a big concern to me but they are there nonetheless. I used to have muscular thighs and that was replaced by fat thighs and now they are skinny thighs. I am 65 and any hope of building up the muscle to take up the skin is scant. I do not have the testosterone and steroids are not an option. I shall have to beef up my personality or come into a great deal of money as compensation. I think my wife would prefer the latter, she thinks I have too much personality as it is.

Yes, indeed. The belly on the males in my family has always been a trademark of our kind. I opted to un-brand myself but found that the Belly monarchy was adamant about abiding. In fact, as the rest of my kingdom succumbed to the exodus of fatty material, Castle Belly remained unscathed and stood in defiant and enhanced prominence. The relentless pounding of exercise artillery and the simultaneous famine of the sleeve-born siege finally reduced the stronghold to a mere limp shell of it's former self. It was no longer first to enter a room, an annoying hindrance to shoe tying, an exposing hiker-up of all possible t-shirts, a mood killing spacer to marital intimacy. The king is dead...now stay dead!

Proverbs 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. Truth is truth.

Awesome post! I would bet on you overcoming many or all of these obstacles. Some, your added strength and lessened weight will take care of. Some will take much work and compensation from strengthened surrounding muscles. One thing is sure, your life will improve tremendously. Your obstacles are more challenging than mine were. The after effects of cancer treatment left me far overweight, tired, sick, depressed. My granddaughters pushed me in a wheelchair around Universal Studios. I could not fit in the rides. I just watched the world go by. A year after surgery my bravest granddaughter and I were running to the rides. I fit in no problem. Life did a 180. No more, sick tired, depressed. Grampa was alive again making good memories for the ones I will someday leave behind. You have fight in you...good. Fight for life the way you want it and the way you want it for those you love, You can do it!

Ya, the gurgling. I just figured the plumbing was changed so the drain takes more time and makes a noise.

At over 2 years out I still have to check and see if my ribs are still accessible. Somewhere in my brain is an image that needs to be erased. I have xxl shirts that I put on occasionally and I check and see if they are still too big. My scale is stable and I am still slim but I still have a lingering fear of the fat sick guy taking over again. Bowling was funny. I realized when I was big that I could no longer bowl. The weight of my belly did in my balance. Now that I've lost the weight it is still hard, I am still compensating for the belly that is now gone. I need to go all night bowling like I did when I was a teenager and get over it.

True on the transient. There are pockets of community feeling but a lot of moving in and out and snowbirds. I liked Dade City and I like Zephyrhills but I have not made any friends other than relatives and their friends. For kids I would be careful moving here anyone reading this and considering moving. There are good schools and communities but you need to do your research.

Good start! So glad you are doing well!

You know, that is very common here. Amazing that you stayed for 16 years. Many folks sell out and move here and hate the steamy heat. Then they have to move away and take a hit financially. Tampa is the most moved to city in America second only to Atlanta. Could be the most moved out of city as well, I don't know. There is a forum called city-data where Floridians give potential Floridians hard advice. I consulted it frequently before my move. One of the main pieces of advice is ...spend a summer here. Or, if you can't afford that, spray yourself with Water and stick your head in an oven for a half hour. I had extensive experience with Florida and Louisiana and understood what it is like to live in the South. It's not for everybody.

So sorry, Lisa. My prayers for you guys. I posted a link to your contribution site on Facebook. I encourage others to do the same. I got a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2009. I was informed that even with treatment I had 3 years left, tops. Still here. Don't give up hope.

Interesting observation. Restaurant priorities certainly change once food is shoved down the list of important things. Food is important for life....food is not life. I have some dear relatives who visit me here in this land of sun and fun. Florida offers many, many fun things to do besides the theme parks and beaches. What do my relatives want to do? LOOK UP RESTAURANTS! Yes, we have many ethnic eateries and high class noshes of every variety here but....it's just eating! And eating at restaurants eats up money big time...money that can buy a lot of happy memories down here.

I may be an odd duck but I love the heat. I worked last summer outside digging and running a wheel barrow in the worst of it and, outside of the cramps at night, it suited me fine. You just have to keep chugging Water and gatorade and hit pickle juice when the cramps start.

Zephyrhills here, east of Tampa. My wife and I came out of Winn Dixie the other day feeling crappy. Too darn cold in there, bones ached, felt like we did when we were frozen yanks. We thanked each other for moving to the heat and the sun. She's Annette and I'm Frankie.

Good for you! Mapping out your journey is a wise thing to do. Immediate and long term strategies concerning diet and exercise, meal planning, clothing plans, help possibilities, who to tell, who not to tell, how to handle compliments and jealousy, ...lots of stuff. You'll get through this and be sporting some major smiling soon.

My prayers for you both! Hang in there!

Perfect! I believe I could use that. Hopeful they are not armed.

Fiddleman has it covered. In the mean time, if you really want your scale moved I can do it for travel expenses plus $500. For an extra $100 plus fines and court costs I will throw it off of the tall building or monument of your choosing.

Mid-Florida here, 2 years now. I still have Ohio fresh in my mind and so I don't consider it very cold here. However, I am 65 and hate the way cold hurts my bones. For the piddling cold I turn up the electric blanket at night and wear layers in the day.

It's a good thing Sharon has such a stable, articulate, and level headed husband.

Welcome!!!!