Question:
I had VS surgery 2/1/10 and have only lost 15 lbs post op. I am 68 and wondering if a

I am 68 and had VS 2/1/10. Lost 12 lbs. first month and was dissappointed. However, in last 18 days have only lost 3 lbs!! I'm beginning to think this surgery doesn't work for older women. On the i mo. pre op adkins diet prior to surgery I lost 12 lbs. in the 7 wks since surgery only 15. This is driving me nuts! I've followed the diet, vitamins, protein & liquid to a T and have talked to the dietician and doctor with no explanation...just wait, wait,wait!! I've had a few responses from other older patients and they too, experienced low weight loss. This is the pitts!    — pbingemann (posted on March 17, 2010)

March 17, 2010
Sorry to say you just need to be patient. It will happen it just seems like it takes forever. Most people hit a stall around 3-4 weeks out. Hopefully you remembered to measure yourself in the beginning. It seems like when the scale isn't moving the fat is. So just hang in there, are your clothes fitting different? Also are you logging your food intake? Try fitday.com or a food journal to calculate how many carbs and protien your consuming. I was a "slow loser" but in the end (about a year) we pretty much end up at the same place. Congratulations on your success so far.
   — ToniLee

March 18, 2010
Hi there. I had VS surgery in June of 2008. I am 55 years young. I have lost a total of 80 pounds and have maintained my weight loss for quite some time now and am still losing slowly but surely. With the VS surgery you do lose more slowly than the gastric bypass but faster than with the lap band. Our age comes into play because as we age our metabolism just doesn't operate the way it used to. I remember going through a stall and being discouraged right at about 1 month. Believe me, the scale numbers will move. And sorry to say...it does just take time and patience. We are all a little different. Try not to compare yourself to others here on the website. Even if we were the exact same age, our bodies respond differently. If you are following your plan the weight WILL come off. It takes time for our bodies to adjust to all of the changes. There will be other stalls along the way so try not to get discouraged. The stalls won't last forever I assure you. Here is something that worked for me. I began to realize that seeing the numbers on the scale was seriously discouraging me. I needed to feel motivated not discouraged. So, I made the decision that the bathroom scale was going in the closet. I was going to focus on the fact that I had the surgery for health's sake, not just to lose the weight. So, I am eating healthy each day, following my plan, getting exercise every day and the weight had no choice but to come off. Every good choice I made about what I put into my mouth and each day of exercise was bringing me a little closer to my goal. Our mental attitude and focus has EVERYTHING to do with our success. I made a firm decision that I would not weigh myself for 1 month. I was tempted. I had family asking me how much weight I had lost and my answer was, I don't know...they couldn't imagine that I wouldn't want to weigh myself and see how much I had lost. My daughter laughed at me. She said my gosh Mom,you can see that you have lost a lot.... I said, I do not want to step on the scale and IF the number doesn't read what I think it should then I'm going to be discouraged. Many times I was curious but I refused to weigh myself. I knew my clothes were a lot loser but, I stuck to my decision and it worked for me. When I did step on that scale I was amazed and so thrilled with how much I had lost. My self esteem and motivation zoomed. I told myself every day...this isn't just about weight, you are not on a diet. You are making healthy choices everyday, one day at a time, to be the healthiest you can be for the rest of your life. Up your exercise whether it's walking or whatever as often as you can. Challenge yourself physically. Becoming discouraged is your enemy. Don't fall into that trap. It will defeat you! It is a fact that when we are discouraged we just aren't as motivated to exercise or our the intensity just isn't there when we exercise. We just go through the motions. Think of all the reasons that you made the decision to have the surgery in the first place. Keep your mind in a positive place. The surgery is a tool for us and you have to retrain your mind as to the way you think about yourself, about food and about life! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! You will be successful!!! I still come to this website every day for motivation and encouragement. I try to find others who need encouragement because I remember that feeling of being in the stalls and waiting for something to happen. I find that encouraging others, encourages me as well. I wish the best for you. Just know that as you follow your journey and you continue to eat healthy and take your vitamins, the weight has no choice but to come off. You will see the desired results. I think as women we spent years being so consumed with the numbers on the scale...it was all about weight loss or gain. One diet after another. You will come to find that the greatest battle after weight loss surgery is within your own mind. This is your opportunity to retrain your mind as to the way you think about food. And these first few months are so very important. It is the greatest time of all for retraining yourself. Take advantage of every day to reshape the way you think. Think health rather than diet. Just the WORD diet makes us think we are missing out on something that we enjoy. I am so thankful that food no longer controls me. Food is no longer my comforter. I was an emotional eater for years! About your first 9 months after surgery are your best opportunities to change yourself for the rest of your life. Make this surgery work for you. It takes work and determination, motivation and never take your eyes off your goal. No weight loss surgery is magic that just makes people drop the weight fast. You are doing great and are right on schedule for the type of surgery you had. Look within yourself rather than around you or at the bathroom scale. I pictured the bathroom scale as a chain around my ankle that weighed me down mentally and emotionally. Find what works for you and the way you think and then use it to your advantage. I took positive statements written on paper and taped them to my mirror where I put my makeup on each morning and then read them aloud to myself every time I was in front of the mirror. Reshape yourself mentally and emotionally and because of the surgery and healthy eating, the physical will line up with how you see yourself in your mind!!!! Time to change the channel in your thinking, begin to see the new you, the real you that is on the inside and has yearned to be seen which was part of why you had the surgery in the first place. God Bless and let me know how you are doing, okay? Jodi
   — Jodi L.

March 18, 2010
I too am in my sixties, and just had a VSG in December of 2009. I too am losing slowly, and have some bouts of discouragement. I find so much help here on this website. I want to thank you for your question, and the answers to it. I also have sever arthritis, and am having to do without one of the medicines that I have been taking for years, becuase of the surgery. So I am no longer immune-compromised, but now I am movement-compromised. Sigh. I am learning to do chair exercizes, so that I can boost my metabolism that way, since I can't relaly walk or run for exercize. It's coming off slowly, but it is coming off, and I wouldn't want a single pound of it back. Thank you for posting your question, and I hope some of the answers have helped you.
   — pshock

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