How is weight loss for people over 50?

[bonniep 0]

Hi Everyone,

I'm starting to get somewhat concerned. It appears I'm not really losing much weight. I was banded on 2/4 and during my first week after surgery (clear liquids), I only lost 4-5 lbs. During my second week after surgery (full liquids), I didn't lose a thing. Now I'm on mushies and even though I'm exercising (45-minutes of either treadmill or bicycle -- and I exercise HARD!), I'm still not losing. Is this normal? I figure it's going to be at least 3 months or so before I have restriction (I figure it will take at least 3-fills for me to feel restriction -- that seems to be around the average of people here) -- do I really have to wait that long to begin losing?

I'm trying to watch portion size, but I have to admit that I'm hungry. I'm sticking to my food plan and I haven't cheated or done anything to sabotage this -- so I guess I'm getting concerned. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to start tracking everything I eat on FitDay -- if the calories are adding up then I'll have my answer -- but I just can't see how what I'm eating is that fattening or unhealthy.

Help!

bonnie

[Road King 0]

Bonnie, I am in the same spot as you. My surgery was 1-24-08. I lost weight with the Optifast pre-surgery diet. But I have lost maybe 3 pounds since surgery. Everyone keep telling me keep positive My first fill is March 6th. Sure hopes this helps.

Dianne TX

[bonniep 0]

Hi Road King,

It was suggested to me to start using FitDay (FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal), to track my caloric intake, exercise, etc. I started doing that two days ago and it's been an eye opener. I'm not getting on the scale until Sunday (I've decided that every Sunday will be my weigh-in day), but I think that tracking calories (ugh!), is key. So is exercise and lots of it. For those of us that are slow burners, it may take longer to lose and I hate the thought of that, but there's no other choice here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'm hoping that by my 3rd fill, I'll get to my "sweet spot," and start losing more than 1/4 lb. per week or whatever....

In the meantime, let's keep in touch -- we can be diet and exercise buddies if you're up for it.

b.

[Road King 0]

Bonnie, sounds like a great idea. Maybe we can push each other. Maybe we just want results to fast. After going through surgery and I was self pay, how about you?, I am so afraid I will fail at this, the same way I have failed in the past. My husband keeps saying you have lost 20 lbs and you are not gaining. He is right, we just need to keep focus.

Keep in touich Dianne TX

[bonniep 0]

Hi Dianne,

I'm in MA and I too was self pay. My surgery was on 2/4.

If we're going to be weight loss/bandster buddies, we have to set some ground rules. I'm pretty committed to logging onto Fitday and tracking my calories and exercise there. Do you want to do that with me? Shall we agree to email one another at the end of each day and report on our progress (not weight loss, but rather, what we ate and how we felt and how much we exercised)?

Let me know how you see this working for us.

Regards,

b.

[Road King 0]

Sounds great. I will have to figure out how to log onto Fitday. I usually on on this site Monday through Friday. I try to stay away from it on the weekends. How does that sound.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

You two sound just like me. I was so frustrated in the beginning. I would see other people losing consistently and I wasn't.

I am pretty sure you can't fail with the band. I know it's hard to be patient until you get the right fill amount. Once you do though, you can't help but lose. You can't eat very much at all and you are satisfied. The portion is so small, you can't help but lose, unless you

are eating Cookies or other junk food in between meals.

[bonniep 0]

Okay -- we're on. Writing during the week is fine.

Do you have an exercise plan? What about a food/eating plan?

I'm frustrated, but I'm going to keep keeping on. No way am I going to let slow progress get in the way of long-term success!

b.