One thing that I wonder is if people who are younger -- 20's and 30's -- lose more weight and lose it faster. After reading boards for weeks -- months -- I've noticed that many of the people with the most drastic weight success stories are younger.

I know that when I hit 45, my weight redistributed. I had about a 12 pound weight gainover the period of about a year without any change in my diet or exercise (which was highly frustrating); in fact I actually started eating less. But then the gaining stablized and my weight has been very constant for the last several years. But where the weight is has changed. There was a subtle but definite thickening of my mid-section that I have never had before.

I definitely eat less and exercise more than I did in my early 40's but I don't lose weight. Grrrr!

So, I wonder if this middle age spread will make it harder to lose the overall weight. I see people who have gotten down to small sizes and am so impressed. But I have to admit that seems completely impossible for me. Don't get me wrong -- I will be thrilled to loose any weight, but the dream of really reaching my goal weight after I have the surgery in a couple weeks still seems like that -- a dream.

But there is that little voice that says 'If you are willing to do something so permanent and drastic, it sure better pay off!' Of course, the same voice often tells me that it's impossible, that I'll be the one person that the sleeve doesn't work for, that I would lose weight if I would just try harder, etc. (So I'm working to ignor the little voice, which is continually so negative!)

Any thoughts? Observations? Experiences?

As someone who lost and was able to keep off over 100 pounds during my 20s and most of my 30s, I can say that in my experience, it has been much harder as I have gotten older. It is my understanding that the metabolism generally slows down with age, so fewer calories are needed to maintain the same weight. That being said, I have been very happy with my progress thus far. It may not be as fast as in my younger days, but it is certainly better than what it was pre-sleeve. For me, it is all a matter of managing my expectations.

:Banane37: hi IslandGrrl

I'm 58 yrs. young, wife, mother but most importantly grand-mother of 3 youngons' . I couldn't have put it better about the metabolism as you get .... I don't like to use that word that rhymes with molder, or holder Anyways, what do they say? Slow and steady wins the race :hurray: Continued terrific success - DOS coming up 12/15/11 - can't wait kathy

But there is that little voice that says 'If you are willing to do something so permanent and drastic, it sure better pay off!' Of course, the same voice often tells me that it's impossible, that I'll be the one person that the sleeve doesn't work for, that I would lose weight if I would just try harder, etc. (So I'm working to ignor the little voice, which is continually so negative!)

That little voice has been talking to me too! I'm terrified that I'm going to go through this surgery and my sleeve will be too big. My Dr says he's going to use a 38fr bougie and I'm scared it won't give me enough restriction. I only have one shot at this...Aaahhhh..I wish the voice would just stop already!

I'm 58. No sense fretting. The sleeve works on any age.

I certainly hope they don't and in my experience, as feed your eye stated - sleeve works for anyone at any age. I lost all my weight (low BMI to start with) within first 5 months. Almost 80# gone forever. Now I fluctuate by about 3 pounds depending upon what slider foods I eat that day. Sticking to a hard core sleeve diet, I lose weight still. So, it is now about moderation which is ever so easy with the sleeve.

Yeah!!! The sleeve works and I am in my mid 40's too.

You'll see women of all ages on here and we all lose at different rates. I think it has more to do with our body types and make up than anything else. I'm a slower loser whether I'm following the plan to a T or being lazy about it. I will say that the only real trend I see with the very fast losers is that almost all of them seem to be SUPER restrictive on their diet (less than 20 carbs a day and very low caloric intake) or are total exercise junkies.

The same stuff that works without surgery, in other words!

But rest assured, the sleeve works. For some of us (regardless of age) it's a longer journey, but if you stick with it you can easily reach your goals. And I've said this before but I feel that it's absolutely true: once you get to goal you won't CARE if it took you ten months or twenty months to get there. You'll be thrilled with your success either way. This is not a contest!

The sleeve does pay off - you can search this site over and over again and you're only going to find a handful of unhappy customers. It will change your life and it will make losing weight easier than it's ever been before. It will also help you maintain that loss long term, provided you don't cheat yourself by eating foods that slide on a daily basis. I've been a visitor here for a long while and almost everyone that comes back and says they're unhappy with their progress or has had a small regain has fallen into the old bad habits.

If you work your sleeve, it will work for you.

Good luck! You're going to do great.

~Cheri

Thank you all for your input. It really helps to hear others stories.

I talked to my dr. who said that it is really an individual thing that varies and is based on several factors. So age can matter, but it is really not a big part of the equation. He did tell me one interesting thing. Apparently statistically people with the lower BMI have a higher percentage of loss of extra weight. That surprised me.

I'm inspired to see the progress you have all made. Wow!!

My observation is that, initially anyway, those who have higher BMIs lose faster. Once they are down into the lower ranges (Say 230 and down) the weight loss seems to slow down and it becomes more an issue of what kind of diet/exercise program someone is following. I think that is because our bodies need fewer calories once we get to those ranges and that is usually when we are getting to a point where we slack off on the strict diet/exercise programs.

I'm working on exercise now so I will, I hope, be capable of doing the extra exercise required to get to goal and keep me on track at that point. I'm 45, if that makes any difference.