How is weight loss for people over 50?

[DynamoMini 1]

BJean - you cracked me up. Yeah - when did we become one of them??????

Water is a great place for hurting knees and hips. You really do get a work out.

I have worked with a trainer for two years. It keeps me honest, motivated and poor. Actually my trainer is wonderful and we take an hour session and split it into two sessions, so I work out with her two (30 min)days a week and do aerobics (40 min) five days. She wants me worked out before we do the lifting stuff. Now I have moved to bands because they are better for my wrists and knees. I am gaining the same muscle mass, but not injuring myself. It is easy to hurt yourself at the gym, and a good trainer knows what to do to help you. It is worth it, to me, to have someone measuring my progress (part of the the "get Michelle" healthy team), but you may be self motivated and a session or two might be enough to knock out a routine.

The weird thing is is that I miss exercising when I don't. So I guess it is good.

Hugs to you all - I am worried about the 6 month plateau - but then it is a lot better place to be than where I am now, which is 18 pounds shy of the top weight. So enjoy your strole in the park - then you will start down the hill again.

Michelle

[Margi 0]

Hi all, got my staples taken out yesterday, doin good, having a problem with the 60-80 grams daily of Protein, dont know what to use, dont want to spend a fortune on it, any have any ideas, what do you all use???

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Denise, you probably are in a plateau phase right now. I believe that both the body and the intellect do go through these periods. When I was living in France and trying to learn French I noticed that I would go through spells of mopping up the language and these would be followed by fallow periods, periods of real frustration for me. Have you been paying attention to your NSVs or are you just relying on scale numbers?

I haven't really had any NSV. When I first got banded and lost 22 lbs from 4 weeks of liquids, I pulled out a pair of pants that had been tight on me. I started wearing those and I can still wear them. Nobody has noticed that I have lost weight. I have only lost 5 lbs in the last 3 months, so I can see why nobody has noticed.

[momlambert 77]

Hi all, got my staples taken out yesterday, doin good, having a problem with the 60-80 grams daily of Protein, dont know what to use, dont want to spend a fortune on it, any have any ideas, what do you all use???

hi Margi. I've been trying to go 80-100 g of protein because I feel better and less hungry when I do. Lots of people have said they don't like Isopure but I really like the chocolate powder mixed with milk--I have it every morning and look forward to it every day. Mixed with milk it's 33 grams. I also like cottage cheese and buttermilk or even just 1% milk. They are the biggest bang for your buck. Isopure makes a drink that looks like Kool-aid. I think that must be what people talk about when they say they don't like Isopure. I don't care for it but drink it sometimes when my protein is low--I have to mix it 1:1 with Water because it's way too sweet for me.

Anyway, that is what I do. Good luck! Karen

[green 6]

I haven't really had any NSV. When I first got banded and lost 22 lbs from 4 weeks of liquids, I pulled out a pair of pants that had been tight on me. I started wearing those and I can still wear them. Nobody has noticed that I have lost weight. I have only lost 5 lbs in the last 3 months, so I can see why nobody has noticed.

Well, this is a real drag, grrl!:cry You seem to be doing all the right things. Maybe you have hit your plateau really early in the game. Have you talked to your surgeon's office about this? They might have some ideas.

[kareyquilts 1]

I love this thread! You gals are funny! BJean: This week I have lost 4 pounds, so I hope that the platueau is over. I will probably only maintain next week, but we will see. One thing that I noticed was that I was probably getting more calories than I thought. Like going to Olive Garden and having a bowl of Pasta e fagoli Soup and 1 breadstick. I told you on the September thread that I came home and looked up the calorie count. I was blown away. 140 calories for 1 breadstick and 588 calories for the bowl of soup. I had been traveling a bit and eating out and even though I thought I was making good decisions (small portions, no desserts) I think that there are a lot of hidden calories in food when you eat out. This week I went back to Water aerobics (after my health scare) and lifting weights and walking. The exercise along with more careful attention to my calorie intake has made the difference. I also think that my body was ready to get back into the weight loss mode. I had hit a set point, my body hasn't weighed less than this in at least 5 years. Another thing that I'm wondering is, how should I put this? I think that I looked at myself and thought that wow I look so much better than I did and I was happy with how I was looking. Now, I'm use to my new body (it does take some adjustment time) and now I can see that yes, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I'm looking and not hating my body, but just realizing that it's time to get working again, not give up and get to my goal. I didn't go through all this to just make it to the overweight category. I'm not sure if I expressed what I want to but I think I needed the platueau time, even though I didn't want it and now I'm ready for the next big push. I'm really enjoying water aerobics and all exercise is getting easier. We will just have to share our journey, failures and succesess!

[kacee 3]

Hi guys....I'm a pending bandster (May 23) in Houston and really looking forward to this adventure (but then, I am the type of person who LOVES big change)... I'm on the slippery slope to 56 and fought this mess all my life. I am more than ready and I am going to make this work!

[DynamoMini 1]

Welcome kacee - this is a great thread for information, more information, and a chuckle or two. Good luck with banding. I am 57 and sailed through the surgery two weeks ago. I am thrilled.

margi - I have been using AES Protein Powder mixed with soy or skim milk and either pudding, or frozen strawberries, bananas etc. I get a big bag from costco, but I know that Vitamin Cottage has it too. It doesn't cost that much that way and with the milk or soy you are adding at least 6 - 7 grams of Protein. I am now eating again, so I have an egg in the morning with a little cheese, then the Protein Shake (between noon and 8 pm), maybe a salad with chicken then a meat with a veggie. I feel good. So I am going by that. I don't have much restriction now, and will have my first fill May 17th.

So being a newbie - take everything I say with a grain of salt and a smile.

Hugs to you all - it's a glorious day in Colorado,

Michelle

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Well, this is a real drag, grrl!:cry You seem to be doing all the right things. Maybe you have hit your plateau really early in the game. Have you talked to your surgeon's office about this? They might have some ideas.

I have another fill scheduled for 5-21. I was afraid to get it, but I have decided I am going to get it. I force myself to eat tiny portions, but I am not full on small portions they way I hear other bandsters say they are. The last time I lost 3 lbs it was right after I got a fill. It's the only thing I can think to do. I have heard a lot of people say they didn't start losing well until after they have had 3 fills. I just hope it helps me too.

[green 6]

I have another fill scheduled for 5-21. I was afraid to get it, but I have decided I am going to get it. I force myself to eat tiny portions, but I am not full on small portions they way I hear other bandsters say they are. The last time I lost 3 lbs it was right after I got a fill. It's the only thing I can think to do. I have heard a lot of people say they didn't start losing well until after they have had 3 fills. I just hope it helps me too.

Keep us in the loop, girl.

[DynamoMini 1]

Denise822 - I am interested in how much restriction you feel with each fill. As I haven't had my first one yet, I really don't know what to expect. Could anyone out there enlighten me? I hope I feel the restriction like I felt four days after surgery. I was in a really good place, very small servings with no hunger pains. I bet you will find the next fill really helpful.

Good luck,

Michelle

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Denise822 - I am interested in how much restriction you feel with each fill. As I haven't had my first one yet, I really don't know what to expect. Could anyone out there enlighten me? I hope I feel the restriction like I felt four days after surgery. I was in a really good place, very small servings with no hunger pains. I bet you will find the next fill really helpful.

Good luck,

Michelle

I didn't really feel any differently with my first fill. I started experiencing food getting stuck from me not chewing enough or taking too big of a bite. It taught me to take little tiny bites and chew til it's goo. But I really didn't feel like I was getting full from small portions. The 2nd fill, for about the first three days, I felt stuffed after eating. I guess that' s because there is swelling around the stomach after a fill. Now, if I am not careful, food still gets stuck. Once it's not stuck anymore, I feel I could eat a regular sized meal. I don't do it though because I worry about stretching the pouch. I try to just eat a cup or less. I am not starving anymore, but I wouldn't call it full. I have read on here where people are very full from just a tiny portion, and that's what I am looking for.

[BJean 16]

Karey: amazing. I had the same experience as you. I felt so much better after losing 40 lbs. I knew I looked better and had gone down in clothes sizes. Then I finally saw a photo of me with other people and realized that I really am what the scales say I am - still way too big. I need to lose a minimum of 40 more lbs. I feel like I am actually beginning to feel better about it though and easing back on track. Today I did over an hour in the pool and feel much better physically and emotionally because I did the exercise and ate better today and yesterday.

I am so proud of you for losing 4 lbs. I hope I can follow in your footsteps this week! Thanks for the inspiration. My next major hurdle is to get below 170. It has been about 6 years since I was under 170. I've been bouncing around in the upper 170s for a couple of months.

[Devana 0]

I have another fill scheduled for 5-21. I was afraid to get it, but I have decided I am going to get it. I force myself to eat tiny portions, but I am not full on small portions they way I hear other bandsters say they are. The last time I lost 3 lbs it was right after I got a fill. It's the only thing I can think to do. I have heard a lot of people say they didn't start losing well until after they have had 3 fills. I just hope it helps me too.

I, too, am afraid to go in for a fill. I've had 3 so far and still feel very little restriction. As much as I try, I just can't limit myself to the half cup portions. I feel like I need intense behaviour modification like having electrodes attached to my lips or something like that.

With my last fill, we discovered that there was not as much in as we had estimated. So I don't know if I have a slow leak or we just miscalculated.

The reason I'm afraid to go is that I was so tight after the last one that I was waking up choking for a couple of nights and it scared me. I guess my saliva had nowhere to go other than down my trachea. That soon passed, however, and I can eat any bloody thing again.

[DynamoMini 1]

Now - the relief I was hoping for seems up in the air. Does everyone have trouble getting a balance of restiction without being strangled?

My first fill in 5/17, I am a nervous ninny about it. I want restiction, but not strangulation. Should I be scared?

Michelle