I, too, am older, 56. I was banded on August 20th. I have lost 20 lbs. from where I started. I'm very happy with that! I too feel hungry frequently, but I also realized that if I sip water frequently, it seems to take away the hunger. Also, on my 'liquids' I'm allowed to have yogurt (no chunks of fruit) and small curd cottage cheese. These 2 have been great to help me think I'm eating real food and find it satisfying. I use Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt because it has 23 gr. of protein. As for vitamins, I got the gummy bears for adults version! I'm looking forward to eating soft foods!