Is Weightloss slower for over 50's women?

Just wondering..I had RnY at age 63  over 13 months and have found it slow going, and slowed down completely in last 3 months...have even wondered with starting BMI of 45, now 33, whether I should have had more drastic surgery like DS...Hunger has come back, and I can't move such as walking or aerobics because of osteoarthritis  in knees and spinal stenosis and degenerative back problems ( despite RnY, am on NSAIDS:  Voltaren suppositories with oral Pantoloc (proton pump inhibitor) so increasing the exercise as so many of you recommend is not the miracle solution for me...Cutting back on food leaves me hungry and ready to snarl at everyone, and hypoglycemic...so I stretch 3 meals and have 2-3 snacks to keep hunger somewhat at bay and glucose crashes away...( surgeon's nut suggested halving the meals into 1/2 cups and have only 3 meals a day, that caused the hypoglycemic reactions! plus increased hunger with giving in and eating more calories than planned)...since the weight loss was not great right from surgery, was wondering of other older women have had the same....I have only lost about 70 lbs in all and have another 35 to my goal ( another 65 to my surgeon's goal which is ridiculous as less than what I weighed in HS)...I am eating healthy, and the carbs are low  and find I only manage to lose weight if I replace one meal with a protein smoothie...The snacks are a protein bar, or 2 Babybel Lights  or a granola bar.or ..sometimes a handful of grapes or a fruit portion....
By the way recovery was textbook perfect, no retching, foamies or dumping ,ever! Sometimes wondered if i actually had real surgery and was just losing slowly because "dieting" due to restricted volumes  and eating so healthy!

Hi-I am 62 years old, had open RNY 9-15-08, surgery date weight was 288, now 195 with another 35 to go.  Am wondering if getting in more protein would help  to reduce the weight--also have you discussed with your arthritis physician the possibility of cortisone shots in your knees-this might give you some relief and make moving easier.  I also have a degenerative back  so exercise is not good for me either.   You might want to go back to the  time of about 6 months post-op and try the foods you could tolerate then, could you possibly be eating too much of the wrong food--I mean all protein, very few carbs, are you taking your vitamins and calcium also--I take 2 vitamins and 3 calcium pills per day (chewables).  Don't get discouraged, you have gone through the  tough part-keep.  Take care-Sandra

My bloodwork at 3,6 and 12 months is perfect so my supplementation is spot-on.  As discussed with the nut, I find the weight is not budging with 2 meals of protein and veg ( fish or chicken or pork, find red meat a problem since surgery unless ground beef), so replace one meal, usually lunch if at home,with protein smoothie and get more protein in, am doing about 90-110 gms protein a day now...Breakfast is almost always protein oatmeal and a fruit ( sometimes the only fruit a day as the rest is protein and veg, and a protein smoothie..and then 2-3 snacks mid morning and mid afternoon, and sometimes if really late to bed, then a third  snack 2-3 hrs after supper when the munchies  start bugging...I try to make it protein as it lessens hunger, but sometime crave a fruit like a handful of grapes...or a clementine...
I have always had a problem losing weight even in my life before surgery, have yo yo'd since age 13  and my first doctor imposed diet, and surgery was really my last ditch effort. although friends and strangers marveled that I "ate no junk food, had normal meal portions ( no seconds) , and rarely ate pasta or sandwiches or potatoes so how come you're fat?."  Well, I reckon it was the sedentary lifestyle since my mid 30's and 40's, and now do 30 -45 minutes  5 days a week of aquafit....it's low impact , but I do sweat in my scalp so figure I am sweating in the water too...!   I reached my highest weight at 316 lbs, lost with a weightloss clinic to 200 lbs, then slowly regained 85 lbs over five years ...Was 282 / BMI of 45 at consult, 273 at surgery ( after 2 weeks on Optifast), and am now sort of stuck at around 212-215.....I look good  in clever clothing as am 5'8' and can carry the weight, but would love to get to 180 lbs...so another 35 to get to my goal.

Cortisone shots haven't helped much, tried that  pre WLS  ( my life is divided into pre and post WLS )Neither did Arthrotec, Celebrex nor Vioxx and other  brands of prescription NSAIDS prior to that help much either...Diclofenac  (Voltaren) always works, so now since RnY,  am on suppositories but wonder what lies ahead, probably  eventually knee surgery, but for the moment, with spinal stenosis and all the degenerative disc problems and water on the knees if I stand too long  even with all the weight off( I am legally handicapped and have medical certificates and handicapped parking permit as a result), as my doctors and orthoped surgeon  have said, best to tough things out  and lose as much weight as possible first (as long as pain is managed to bearable levels)...and see what can be done later when less heavy...

It is not the pain/exercise  I am questioning here, it is whether AGE has a slowing  effect, even after WLS?  Women lose weight more slowly than men at any age, was wondering if being over 50 and a woman  after RnY  meant that others had experienced slower weight loss, although it seems you personally are doing really well with yours...Screwed up metabolism from 50 years of diets has to count for something, but cannot be blamed for everything...Could be I am just a slow loser, that's all, compared to someone who is more active after WLS and eats less as they are not as hungry...I have noticed posts from some people  who seem to be more hungry than others after WLS....we are all different, but not the exception!

I suppose it's possible that age could affect weight loss, but that has not been my personal experience.

I have heard of RNY patients losing weight slowly due to the length of their bypass, but I'm not an RNY patient and don't know if that's really true.

It sounds like you're doing the right things nutritionally.  It's too bad exercise is so difficult for you - it's really helped my weight loss.  Could you do water aerobics or swimming?

Besides the Voltaren and Pantoloc, are you on any meds that could affect your weight loss?

Have you had your thyroid function tested?

Jean

I am on Synthroid, smallest dose, and have been for about 25 years, but was told by my PCP and bariatric surgeon that it should not be affecting my weight  ( gain prior to surgery and loss after surgery)... ( and yes, I do aquafit  about 5 days a week).  Thanks for thinking about it, was just wondering if the older we are when we have surgery, whether there still are difficulties in taking weight off (like there is with normal dieting without being a surgery patient)...i see on the  regular boards some spectacular  and fast weight losses, but on this board too I have noticed you all seem to be eating less (and of course exercising more)...I have seen DS people at local support meetings I attend, and they don't exercise and the weight  just falls off them, but they are usually half my age!  I will just have to be patient, was worried  about the "window" closing at 18-24 months after surgery and eventual weight regain of some weight lost (my surgeon spoke to me about this prior to surgery)...He said hunger would also come back, but I never expected it to come back this early... So I will plug away and  continue to "diet", maybe when warmer weather is here (it is snowing out)  I may be less hungry and more content just to eat "bulky" salads as when it is cold you want something warm (chili con carne and cheese, or cooked vegetable/meat casseroles, or fish and steamed spinach)...

I guess my theory of "if older, you lose weight more slowly" maybe doesn't hold. when you have bariatric surgery (as compared to regular diets and no surgery where it seems to be a truism). I guess it really does come down to more exercise...

I think age CAN be a factor.  I lost slower than my 20 and 30-year-old surgery sisters, but I continued to lose to goal.  I stalled when I cut my calories TOO low - my body went into starvation mode. 

How many calories per day are you getting?  How many carbs?  (Not being nosy, just trying to help?)

Was just wondering if the age factor may be contributing and whether other OLDER women had encountered it with surgery in their middle to senior years...Think increased exercise is probably the biggest factor  at any age, then the hunger coming back meaning more calories to calm the beast  and maybe other factors like slow metabolism probably come into play in my case.  Am  intrigued by the little consumed daily by  Linda S. on some of her days and know I would be snarling from hunger ( I might be falling a lot too !).
My nut wants me at 1200-1300 calories/ 90-110 gms protein in 1 cup size meals  3 times a day, and suggested recently I cut back to 1/2 cup size meals to try to lose weight if not able to exercise more than my 30-45 mins a day aquafit ...This would bring me to 600-700 cals a day at 13 months out from surgery and I find cannot as I go hypoglycemic as I indicated above, plus I have raging hunger and headaches and feel dizzy...I even get a pain in my "stomach" if I don't eat... I find i am more at 1500 -1700 ( some days!) also there is my increased hunger which I seem to have and others not so much, so to keep from glucose crashing I need to eat more and to space out my food, without the accompanying increase in exercise......Protein first, then veg and fruit. are still my lifestyle, with carbs coming at the end of consumption ( in the form of a granola bar although not daily).  I do get protein oatmeal and a fruit into me every morning which I enjoy, and some days  I can go to noon, but other days, I need a snack to tide me over...which could be 2 Babybel Lights or a protein bar...ditto for mid-afternoonk, and maybe even late evening....Some days I even totalled (to my horror) I had 1900 cals on a really hungry day as one cup meals left me wanting more to be satisfied....At that level of caloriess you should be doing lots of exercise and it is not my case...just danged hungry!

edited to list meals today:
(Today is a "cheese and  protein bars"day...no meat, my bad!!) + (45 mins aquafit,slow because i have a frozen shoulder or something from sleeping on it all night!..)

B      Protein SF Oatmeal and 2  small SF canned pear halves (bought for post surgery, use-by-date fast approaching), coffe with 1% milk one hour later
S      Protein bar (150 cals/15gms protein)
L      Protein smoothie ( 30 gms protein + 1 cup 1% milk + 2 tbsp PBlight+ tbsp SF Nesquick choc powder and crushed ice, whizzed in  MagicBullet)
S     2xs  1" cubes  Alpenzeller cheese ( FullFat but was on Special at supermarket)
S     Protein bar ( second one today, not good! 150 cals/15gms protein)
D   1 cup Gardennay Soup (roasted Sweet Pepper & Tomato) 130 cals  with some fresh baby spinach and some shredded Kraft "4 Cheese" tucked into the liquid soup and nuked..(filling and hot)
S   depends if I get hungry again, but hope I won't as already had 2 "Snacks" this afternoon....but it might be a handful of grapes
Total cals if no snack this evening:  1375/100 gms protein