How is weight loss for people over 50?

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I ate like I was never going to be able to eat again, right up until the day of surgery. I have been on a liquid diet for the past 4 weeks. The first 5 days were kind of hard to get used to, but 4 weeks of liquids were so much easier than I ever thought they would be. The best part of it is, I have lost 15 lbs in 4 short weeks!:mad:

[green 6]

You will be able to do it, folks! I spent the week before my surgery doing the Last Supper thing.:hungry: This is a normal reaction to the surgery that is coming up.

I had my surgery done last September and yesterday I went clothes shopping in normo stores. I bought a pair of pants and a skirt in size medium and two pairs of skinny pants at the Gap in size 16 and I didn't have to struggle to get them on. I am 57 years old! :biggrin1:

And because I've torn my rotator cuff I haven't been able to go to gym since I had the operation. Alll I have been doing is walking. :biggrin1:

The operation turned out to be surprisingly painfree except for the gas pains! But they say that the quickest way to get rid of those is to walk as much as you can.:mad: I spent the first three days in bed reading and dozing with the cat to keep me company. By day four I was up, in day clothes and goofing on the computer.

I believe that you will love the results that the lapband will give you.

[Biomama 0]

It's so nice to see so many other "mature" bandsters to relate to. I'm getting banded in a few weeks. Just trying to imagine what I could look like a year from now. It seems like I've been so overweight for so long that I can't even imagine what the future will be like. I'm looking forward to a more active life. Without belly and boobs in the way I figure my golf score can only get better!

[barbara465 2]

THis has been the best thing I've done for myself. I'm 7 months in and feel great. Age definitely plays a role in how fast (or slow) we lose, but that's OK. Slow and steady still gets me there. I also had auto immune problems, but they haven't been an issue with the band.

Good luck to all of you "older" bandsters. The journey is definitely worth it!

[green 6]

THis has been the best thing I've done for myself. I'm 7 months in and feel great. Age definitely plays a role in how fast (or slow) we lose, but that's OK. Slow and steady still gets me there. I also had auto immune problems, but they haven't been an issue with the band.

Good luck to all of you "older" bandsters. The journey is definitely worth it!

Your weight loss has been really impressive. Congratulations!:mad:

[kedasmom 10]

How fast is recovery? My surgery is on Monday Feb 12th, if every thing goes well will I be able to drive on Friday? (When I had my tubes tied I went shopping as soon as they let me out the door of the hospital.) I drive school bus, and the next week is school vacation, I don't want them to be able to say I'm out do to surgery and mess up my unemployment.

[green 6]

I got operated on a Thursday and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in bed. I could have gotten up sooner I think but I didn't have to and I was really enjoying bed, books, the cat, and cat-napping. I could have been up and about on Sunday. The only real grief I had that persisted was the gas pains and those might have gone away faster had I gotten up on Sunday instead of Monday. lol

[Margi 0]

Thank all of you so much for your answers! now, I am again thinking strongly of having the band done. I was not sure if i was too old, and maybe have more problems with it. But, yous have all assured me it can be good. And. Debi, I had that test you are going to have done twice, and both times things were good, I will pray your will be also.....Mattie

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I know everyone is different. I had no pain what so ever. I had my surgery on a friday Mon. was New Years day and I went back to work Tues. The day after surgery, I was out walking the dog and doing everything I normally do.

The only time it hurt ( and it was mild) was getting out of the recliner.

I never had any gas pains or any other pain.

Now if I I just start losing! I have my first fill scheduled for 2-12 and maybe then I will start losing again.

[Woodys 0]

I am 55 and went through this with a breeze. I wish I had done it sooner but wasn't aware that it even existed until I saw a tv commercial. I had explored gastric bypass a few years ago but the wait and expense was so overwhelming....too expensive at the time and too long of a wait that it seemed hopeless so I abandoned the idea all together. I will be 56 in Sept and if I had to do this all over again I would in a heartbeat....outside of marrying my husband it is the best thing has ever happened to me.

Carol

[bluehill 0]

Today is my nine-month Bandiversary, and I'm down 103 lbs! Not bad for a 63-year-old, huh? Best thing I've ever done. Too bad the procedure wasn't available years ago -- I could have done without all that yo-yo dieting and the scale moving ever higher as a result.

My initial anxiety about undergoing *any* kind of weight-loss surgery notwithstanding, I found the LapBand procedure to be amazingly easy. A few hours of recovery, then home for a weekend of lounging around. No real pain, a bit of gas, but basically back to normal within a couple of days.

And the results have been phenomenal! I didn't start on an exercise regimen until the fifth month out, but by then I had already lost 65 lbs, so it made movement even easier. Now I do a combination of lap swim, fitness classes, and yoga classes several times a week. I feel fantastic. I'm stronger, more flexible, and in the best physical shape of my adult life. I am off ALL medications (except a multivitamin), and that includes Rx for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. In fact my Type 2 diabetes has been "resolved" by diet, exercise, and weight loss.

I'm careful about what I eat, favoring a high-Protein, low-fat, low-carb diet. My food scale has become my friend -- portion size is important! I try to make wise food choices, but I don't deprive myself of treats in moderation. Thanks to the band, I will never (be able to) binge-eat again.

[mfw1941 0]

Hello,

Well even for a "older" group, looks like I am going to be the "senior" I am scheduled to be banded next Wednesday, Jan 31 and I will be 66 years old on Jan 30.

I am excited and really look forward to having some long term control for the first time in my life. I am sure my story is the same as most, I can lose the weight, but I just can't seem to keep it off. :scared:

I had finally given up on diets, because it was not worth the time and effort (and expense of new clothes, that I couldn't wear after 2-3 months), to say nothing of the disappointment in myself.

But, I am convinced this will work for me. I have no illusions that the band will do the work for me, but what a relief to know that there will something to "remind" me when I eat too much.

My cardiologist is very supportive and so is my family. I am excited to join the bandster world and excited to find a group that is close enough to my age to be able to relate to problems other than "that time of the month" and "what do I do if I get pregnant" LOL.

Will let you know how things go next week.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I was wondering if anyone in this thread takes hormone replacements. They say hormones make it harder to lose too. I take them because I just can't sleep without them.

I have lost 15 lbs but I seem to be stalled right now. I am going to have a fill on 2-12, but I have been careful watching what I eat, watching portion sizes, but no more weight loss. I wonder if the hormones have anything to do with it?

[Shiloh 0]

I was banded at age 56 and I will be 60 in a few months. I wear a size 8/10 but am still not at my original goal which is probably not realistic. ( the elusive 25 BMI and size 4/6)

I take HRT, meds for HBP, HCholesterol, Diabetes Type II etc which all make it very difficult to lose weight. I have lost approx 70 pounds from a 40BMI to a 28BMI. I don't look overweight and just recently got a new Life Insurance policy for an additional 20 years at the "preferred" rate!

Because of my age, I still have to take meds but in very low dosages and will probably have to take them for the rest of my life.

I swim daily for exercise and look 45 years old...it's so much fun to fool everyone. I don't have extra skin and don't need PS. It's really genetics and your skin's elasticity regardless of your age.

I have a VG band with 9.5 cc's and don't want to fill it any more presently. No refux but the occasional PB. I eat out twice a week, travel and eat in all different continents too. I drink wine and to everyone I am "normal" in my eating habits but get away with I don't eat "red meat", carbs, Pasta etc. etc. Can usually find something to eat or push around on my plate anywhere in the world.

The medications and an injury 10 years ago that prevented me from the exercise I used to do daily actually got me to the co-morbidities and to research the Lap band as my only hope. I could teach nutrition but was a quantity eater of good healthy foods. I knew that I would be a "model" bandster with my "maturity" and motivation. I was thin most of my adult life until that time.

In order to get to my goal I will be doing it with hard work and fewer calories like most of the world does it knowing that the weight won't come back thanks to my tool. It's lots of work and isn't a free ride.

I understand from Don Mills that 70 is pretty much the cut off age for banding but I am sure that there are exceptions and some surgeons as a rule of thumb may have their own age requirements.

I sometimes lurk here and at another site but don't post very frequently.

I find that I am not too pre-occupied with being a banded person and don't know any others who are banded. ( except online) I am also in the "closet" to the world except family so I just go about my life and weigh myself daily and watch what I put in my mouth.

I get an annual esophogram and haven't seen my team in almost a year when I will have the annual in the Spring.

Good luck to all the over 50 somethings that are banded or thinking of being banded.

[Carlene 12]

I swim daily for exercise and look 45 years old...it's so much fun to fool everyone. I don't have extra skin and don't need PS. It's really genetics and your skin's elasticity regardless of your age.

Please post pics! I am sooooooooo jealous. I have reached the "elusive" size 4, but I definitely need PS on some areas. It's not evident when I'm fully clothed, but I lost all that weight and still feel self-conscious in a bathing suit. How badly does that suck?