How is weight loss for people over 50?

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

Northernsun, Can you share your weight loss in relation to your fills? Did you lose a lot the first few months? And I was wondering if you are on any type of hormone replacement.

I am asking because at 3 months after banding, the only weight I have lost was what I lost while on the liquid diet for 4 weeks post op. I am 54 also. Someone told me that taking hormones can stop the weight loss, yet others have told me I will start to lose as soon as I get another fill. I had one so far, but I don't think it did anything.

[kareyquilts 1]

Northernsun: Congratulations! How long did it take you? What secrets of success can you share with us?

[Northernsun 4]

Denise, I have also heard hormones make a difference but I am not on any so can't say for a fact. the one thing i have learned -especially from reading all the posts here is we are all different and are going to loose at a different rate. There are times I feel like I am failing because i have lost slower then others both on this board and people I know personally. My DH and DD are both so supportive and tell me all the time how much I have lost. I was told to aim for 2 lbs a week- I just started the menapause process- my weight can fluctuate by 5 lbs on a daily basis so I tend to think in ranges instead of pounds. I have had a lot of fills- about every 3 months or so and i have now started to excersise but i still plateau for awhile then my range goes down some and then I plateau again. But even tho I plateau- i am still loosing inches. Anyway as i ramble, i think the main point is that while this site is wonderful for information and great support, we are all different in our weight loss. I wish this band was a "magic bullet" but I think it is as close as we will get! It is a tool and we have to learn to use it. While i eat much less and watch the things I do eat, i still have trouble being a bit of a "grazer"- tho i tend to graze on rice cakes!

Have patience! Good luck!

Gayle

[kareyquilts 1]

I second what Gayle has said! It does take a while to get your fill level to a point where you are satisfied on less food. That being said, I think that you can still watch your calorie intake and exercise until the band kicks in and starts to help you more. Good luck!

[househuntress 1]

I'll be banded this Monday April 9th. My Doctor's sheet on what to do and not do is...soak in a tub only take showers.

Well.......I don't have a shower. AND how hard is it to get up out of a tub after surgery?

When I took a bath this morning..I tried to determine what muscles I was using. Yep mostly stomach muscles. Hopefully some of you can tell me what you did.

I'm a 54 year old soon to be bandster!:clap2:

[kareyquilts 1]

Househuntress: I don't think that the problem is only that it will be hard on your stomach muscles to get in and out of a bath tub, but also that the sutures shouldn't get wet for a while. I guess they would get wet in a shower also. Your stomach will be sore for a while, but nothing intolerable.

[Carlene 12]

I'll be banded this Monday April 9th. My Doctor's sheet on what to do and not do is...soak in a tub only take showers.

Well.......I don't have a shower. AND how hard is it to get up out of a tub after surgery?

When I took a bath this morning..I tried to determine what muscles I was using. Yep mostly stomach muscles. Hopefully some of you can tell me what you did.

I'm a 54 year old soon to be bandster!:clap2:

You can buy a hose with a spray end that slips over the bathtub faucet. This will turn your tub into a shower, instantly. I use one to bathe my dogs. You get them from the medical supply pharmacy.

[DynamoMini 1]

Carlene - what a great idea! I didn't even think of that hose solution!

You have been so successful. Are you at goal? I can't wait to get 97 pounds off of me. but the biggest issue for me is to keep it off.

[Carlene 12]

Carlene - what a great idea! I didn't even think of that hose solution!

You have been so successful. Are you at goal? I can't wait to get 97 pounds off of me. but the biggest issue for me is to keep it off.

My goal was actually to lose 110 pounds, but I've pretty much given up on that. My issue is keeping it off, too. Fat people are also very smart. We learn to eat around the band. I can eat Cheetos. I have to not buy them, or I will eat a whole bag in about two days.

[DynamoMini 1]

Eating is always the issue. It is in the head not the stomach. I hope I can learn to switch "head hunger" into creative energy. I think the beginning is easier than the end, yet you get up everyday -97 pounds and should congratulate yourself. You have done really well. Your health has to be better. I won't be able to have trigger food around me. I see it, I want it, I eat it. I relate, although it isn't Cheetos with me. I'm not sure but I will have to identify those trigger foods as time goes by.

[Scarlett 0]

Eating is always the issue. It is in the head not the stomach. I hope I can learn to switch "head hunger" into creative energy. I think the beginning is easier than the end, yet you get up everyday -97 pounds and should congratulate yourself. You have done really well. Your health has to be better. I won't be able to have trigger food around me. I see it, I want it, I eat it. I relate, although it isn't Cheetos with me. I'm not sure but I will have to identify those trigger foods as time goes by.[/quote

I know what my trigger foods are...*MY MOTHER*!! I am 3 weeks into the lap band and doing super with my eating. My mother calls and where do I find myself...pantry grazing and finishing off a bag of chips. (Thank goodness there was not to many)

How are you doing with your mom Dyn-mini?

[DynamoMini 1]

I am gonna have "the talk" with her this week. I have banned her from coming to the surgery, because she spews poison and I'll be vulnerable. I am going to lay it out for her. She can't talk about my weight or diet at all. I don't want to hear anything positive or negative about those subjects from her. If she can't do this I will even move away. I am going to take care of myself. Now, she is turning 82, and plays it a lot. I'm too old to change, BS I think, it is a matter of desire. I will not be the brunt of her stuff any more. This is a hard won platform I've come to. But I am so happy I am there.

Thanks for asking.

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

Northernsun, Can you give us an idea of the amounts/kinds of foods you eat?

What is a normal day's eating like for you? I have read on here that in order to keep losing some people are eating less than 1,000 calories a day.

[BJean 16]

Man. I'm really struggling! I've had a bunch of fills, only small amounts at a time. The last fill I got really has given me noticable restriction. However, because I am so limited at meals, I have found myself eating ice cream and other Desserts that are very easy to get down. I'm not losing weight. And in fact, since my last fill, I've gained a little. I don't know why I am not working better WITH my band. I tend to think more like, what all can I eat, instead of what little food I can get by with and not be hungry.

Anybody got any helpful pointers?? Anyone having this same problem?

I am on hormone replacement but I honestly don't think it is causing my problems. I've been on HRT for years and years because I had a hysterectomy when I was 48. I'm 60 now.

Surgery date: 9/11/06

pounds lost: 40

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

The only thing I can do is not keep bad foods in the house. I bought some chocolate rice cakes that I thought would be good because 9 of them are 60 calories. The problem was, I ate the whole bag.

The only way I can deal with head hunger is not to keep things in the house. I have a fudgesicle just about every night that is 40 calories. It's no sugar added and I believe fat free.

I just got a fill that gave me restriction for the first time so I am probably not the person to ask. I haven't lost anything in the last 2 months and everything I lost was when I was on liquids for 4 weeks post op. So I am gung ho right now to eat as little as I can to start losing.