Is weight loss slower over 50?

Hi all,

I had RNY surgery on June 7 and know that everyone loses at a different pace but thought my initial loss would be more.

I was on Optifast 2 for almost 3 weekd before my surgery and lost 24 lbs pre-op. I'm 10 days out and have lost only 3 lbs since then. The nurse today told me it may be due to gas and fluids from surgery but I'm not currently having this issue any longer...thank God.

On Optifast I lost 12 lbs in the same amount of time. I'm tracking my intake on Fitness Pal. I thought malabsorption would cause me to lose more than my calorie reduction.

I know everyone is different but did anyone start out this way?

Mona

You pretty much answered your own question. The biggest weight loss comes in the first couple of weeks. You had your big drop before you surgery. Usually they call that big drop water weight. There is a scientific explanation for it but I am on an iPad so I can't really type it all out. Suffice to say you are doing fine and most people experience what is called the three week stall, which is also normal after a big drop.
I was 52 when I had my revision, so I supposedly had two strikes against me, my age and being a revision, which are said to be slow losers, yet I lost my weight even better then I did the first time eight years earlier. Just follow your surgeon's plan and relax. The weight will come off.

Relax Grasshopper.  This is a marathon.  Not a sprint.

Actually, from what I've gathered from other posts, it depends on what surgery you have, whether you're a revision or brand new procedure.

 

I had the DS as a first time surgery, and I thought it would never stop! 

In terms of malabsorption, the RNY is more forgiving than the DS. After your "honeymoon" of 18 to 24 months, villi regrowth in the small intenstine will defeat your malabsorption, and so restriction will be your primary tool from then on out.  The DS malabsorption is for life.  Our villi  regrow and become more dense, too, but the enzymes do not mix with food for the chemical reactions that release the nutrients until it's on the way out, in the common channel, which greatly reduces the length of time the food is exposed to and broken down by the biliopancratic enzymes, and able to be absorbed for use by the body.

The DS is the most malabsorptive bariatric surgery there is right now, but the trade-off for rapid, and in most cases, permanent weight loss,  is a massive vitamin and mineral supplement regimen, that is non-negotiable. Has to be done every single day, for life after the DS.

I know RNY's have to supplement, too, but the nutrition plans for each surgery are very different.

 

Hi Mona,

I had revision surgery at age 54 and experienced many, many stalls.  I lost 20 lbs (combined pre- and post-surgery) and then hit a big stall at 3 weeks out.  Yes, it can be scary and a little discouraging, but just keep following your food plan.  Lots of folks told me to hide the scale (I never quite had the courage to do that), but it's a good idea.  Instead, take your measurements weekly.  You will continue to lose, no matter what, but exercise is very helpful in speeding things along.  Walk, walk, walk and sip, sip, sip!  You need lots of water daily and that will help you pee away the pounds!  Oh, and go to the pharmacy and buy some ketostix.  They measure the amount of ketones in your urine.  If you turn that stick any shade of purple at all, you know you are burning fat.  It always helped me to have a visual, even if the scale wasn't moving at the time. 

Come back and post with us daily!  We love having new folks join us!

Aloha Mona....You take me back to 7 years ago when I had RNY surgery. I had all the worries you do, BUT I was 63 when I had my surgery. I weighed 335 lbs. (or so), and thought I'd never be slim again. I could not fit into restaurant booths, and needed an extention on airplane seat belts. My deciding factor came when my son and DIL were expecting their first baby. I knew I would Not be able to get down on the floor with grandbabies, OR swim, or take beach walks, etc.

Long story short......I lost about 160 lbs. the first two years, and since then have lost another 35, so I currently weigh 145, and I'm 5'11" tall. Many say I'm skinny, and I gues I am for my height, but I know one thing for sure....I can do all those things I feared not being able to do at 335.......get on the floor and back up easily, pull seatbelt through a good 18 inches on airplane, fit in any seat with lots of room to spare, etc.

Don't fret....you'll do just fine if you just eat what you have been told to eat, and walk, walk, walk. Of course daily vitamins and lots of water as key too.

Good luck to you!!

Aloha nui loa,

Maui Karen

Thanks, all.

The scale has started moving again.

I had a 3 lbs weight loss the week following my surgery but when I went to my follow up appointment at the clinic I gained a pound in 3 days.  The nurse said it could be gas or fluid build up.  I had a lot of post-op drainage from an incision the previous week so I thought I didn't have any more build up.  Having a major weight loss on Optifast can set you up for unrealistic expectations especially now that I realize your body makes adjustments normalizing your body afterwards.

7 lbs lost since surgery...I'm happy with the results and am looking forward to a consistent weight loss the next few months...fingers crossed as I know there will be stalls in the journey ahead.

Thank you all for your words of wisdom.

Grasshopper