How is weight loss for people over 50?

[BJean 16]

I've had 6 fills. My doc is very conservative so he doesn't add much when you get a fill. The last one left me nicely restricted. Only problem is that since I couldn't eat much at all during meals, I wound up getting so hungry that I started eating the stuff that goes down easy and is very satisfying. Like chocolate and other high calorie foods in a very small package. I've actually gained weight!!! I don't know how to achieve this "sweet spot" everyone talks about. It's like my body says I must have X number of calories and it's going to get it no matter what my head tells me to do.

I was banded 9/11/06. I had lost 40 lbs. and then the past 2 months (or more) I've been fighting it every step of the way.

[DynamoMini 1]

BJean - what you are telling me is that we all have to fight to lose, no easy pathway. I was hoping not to feel hunger and for sure, not to surrender to the trigger foods of before, but I can see there is mental work that I have to do, everyday to change my lifestyle and eating habits. 40 pounds is a tremendous victory - you can do this. We have to believe that we can do this thing. Today I have said, "I can do it!" at least 20 times. Part of getting my tush outta the toilet - focusing on gratitude. I get negative really quickly.

I appreciate the info about fills. We'll see how they rock my world.

Hugs,

Michelle

[momlambert 77]

Hi all. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I went for my first fill this morning but they determined that I don't need one yet--probably still swollen enough to get some restriction. Fine by me. I'm not losing fast but I am losing and can only eat about a cup of food without being full. No PB's yet and I want to keep it that way. She said that it happens very often that they don't fill people on their first or second fill appointments.

This weekend I was "testing" my capacity (as requested by the dr.'s office). They want us to eat a cup of food (no more than that) and see if we want more food or not. Also try a hamburger patty and chicken breast, bread, etc. to see how that works (tiny bites, of course, and no liquids for 2 hours). I ate a half of a hamburger (with both buns) and was full. Also one piece of pizza (without the thick, end part of the crust) and was also full. And yesterday I had a big chicken kabob and couldn't eat the last piece of chicken.

So on I go. The office did say that I might go another 2-3 days and all of a sudden feel like I wish I would have gotten a fill so I'll keep my senses alive and see what the future brings. Good luck, everyone! Karen

[BJean 16]

karen: I like that quote at the bottom of your post. I think I should stick it to my 'fridge and pantry!

Michelle: the 40 lbs. I lost was pretty darned easy. That's what makes this so hard to come to terms with. You've hit the nail on the head though. A lot has to be mental, since we know we can exist on many fewer calories than what we're used to. My doc says to keep in mind that people in China live on a double handful of rice a day and thrive. I can't eat rice but I'm trying to think about how much food that is. Certainly less than what I'm ingesting if I'm gaining weight. Saying you can do it, repeatedly is a very smart idea. The subconscious is listening!

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

I am completely frustrated. I was convinced I needed another fill. Today, I was eating tuna at lunch with a little bit of light Miracle Whip. It got stuck. I wouldn't think that would get stuck because it's more of a mushy. Then I went out for dinner with my kids, had about 3 bites and got stuck again and brought all my dinner home and had a Protein Shake.

I don't know how I am going to handle anymore saline in there if everything I eat gets stuck. I don't know why I am not losing either.

I made an appointment with the dr. for Monday, not to get a fill, just to talk. I want to have a resting metobolic rate done and see what I can find out from that.

I am beginning to hate this band!

[Devana 0]

How did your appt go, Denise?

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

How did your appt go, Denise?

I wrote that yesterday, but my doctor's appointment isn't until next Monday.

I am very anxious to get in there and talk to him.

I didn't put a second mortgage on my house to only lose 22 lbs.

Does anyone else have trouble with food sticking all the time?

[BJean 16]

Denise: I only have a problem with getting stuck when I begin eating my meal too fast. Actually it doesn't seem fast because it is how I always used to eat, before the band. But now I know that I have to go very slowly when I start a meal because I never am really sure how my body will react to whatever it is that I'm eating. It isn't always the same. Like I can have a baked potato one day and have absolutely no problem but a couple of days later I can't eat more than a couple of bites before I have a problem. So if I don't get in a big hurry I can sense a bit of tightness and slow down or stop eating completely.

That's what happened to me today at lunch. I had to bring all but 4 bites of my food home. I got 4 bites into a baked potato and had to excuse myself from the table. I was very hungry when I sat down and the potato looked and smelled great. I just got in too big a hurry. I keep forgetting that my bites shouldn't be larger than half of a carrot coin and that it should take me 30 minutes to eat a meal, not 15.

[momlambert 77]

karen: I like that quote at the bottom of your post. I think I should stick it to my 'fridge and pantry!

Thanks, BJean. That's exactly where it helps me the most--do I want that piece of cake/pie/candy/doughnut etc. as much as I want to live a healthy, happy life? I have to remind myself a lot about what is really important to me. Good luck!

[DynamoMini 1]

Hi!

I had a strange day - good but strange. I worked out really hard yesterday and took it easy today. i took my Vitamins and pills on an empty stomach, so felt yucky because I had to delay Breakfast an hour and a half. So then an egg, 1/2 c Beans and cheese. Very full. Two bites of hamburger patty at 2 and the dog climbed up on the chair and ate the rest when I was in the bathroom. I didn't care. I went to dinner with a friend. We ate Thai food. Edamame, then peanut sauce chicken. I ate five bites of chicken chewed to a pulp, a few bits of veggies, then two small bits of brown rice. That was it, the golfball was in the throat and the dinner over. Nice leftovers. I did get a Protein Shake down three hours later. So, I think my band is working again. I wonder if working out activated it, or moved it to a more sensitive spot. Because, yes Houston, THERE IS RESTRICTION!

I love my band and know I can do this. Keep saying that and you can.

Hugs,

Michelle

[dxeln 0]

Debi,

I am 50, still not banded, am waiting for psych eval, stress test was abnormal, so now I have to see a cardiologist. Sounds like you're going thru some things I have. Good luck.

Dixie

[green 6]

From everything I have heard about weight loss via the band, this is a procedure which is expected to take two years. The weight loss during the first six months is the most dramatic, then the process continues but much more slowly. This second phase will be a frustrating experience because we are used to a considerably more rapid weight loss.

As for my experience with the band, I rarely have the experience of feeling full on only one half cupful of food. I do envy those lapbanders who do. Neverthess, I am eating far less than I used to and I am able to leave uneaten food on my plate. This is very good!

I have also noticed that the band has become part of my body and thus is now moody and capricious. Sometimes I can eat and sometimes I get a golfball or PB. It is a very weird experience, that's for sure, but the result is that I find that I am paying more attention to my body and in particular my digestive tract.

I have lost quite a bit of personal lard since I had the band installed last September. I went from 200 lbs to 170 lbs at my last weigh-in which was in late February, the time of my last fill. I may have lost a little more since then but I don't really know: I don't own a scale. Still, I do have more weight to lose and I can't bring myself to hand over my big clothes to charity; I am afraid that I am going to boomerang back up there and am going to need them again. And it was very hard for me to find fat grrl clothes that I actually liked in the first place!

[mary smith 0]

Hi, I am 63 and was banded June 27 th. I have lost 40 lbs so far. It has been slow but now that I am tighter, I am losing better. I had a fill about 6 weeks ago and still do not need to go in for one yet. Goog luck!

[Oregondaisy 2,020]

If we lose the most weight the first 6 months, then I am in trouble . I haven't lost anything the last 3 months and I have had the band for 4 months.

I eat small portions and do everything I am told. I do over an hour of cardio

per day and I am not losing. I am beginning to think my body is not capable of losing weight.

[green 6]

Please do not give up hope, Denise. I know that you are having a slow go of it. You must talk to your doc and see a nutritionist, I think. The nutritionist can go over your calorie intake. The doctor should know about the difficulties you are having in order to see whether these are due to some other, hidden medical issue. I know that there are women who post on this site who have discovered - post banding - that they suffer from PCOS. This condition severely hampers weight loss. The reason I suggest that you have a nutritionist review your diet is so that when you do see your doctors they can't simply choose to ignore your problem, not because I think that you are doing anything wrong, by the way. It is just that you do want to have all your ducks in a row when it comes to dealing with the medical establishment.