As the title says I’m looking for input for other ladies over 50 who are on this pilgrimage (not a journey to me, that sounds too easy). I’m 59 and have been overweight since I hit puberty. Total hysterectomy at 44. No major health problems.
SW 322
CW 308
GW 200ish
I started December 15th on sema. I’m making decent progress. I’m up to .5 on dose but thinking about switching to tirz. I ordered a 30mg kit a while back. Going back and forth on changing and maybe doing a small sema kicker on my 3rd or 4th day each week if I need it. I have been having more cravings on day 6 and 7 each week.
I’m having trouble getting motivated to exercise. This happens to me every winter. I know that’s what it is. If I get my butt up and go to the gym I always feel better but depression is a killer to motivation. I’m on this mission alone. Nobody around me with time is interested in going with me so I’m gonna have to find that motivation alone. I did get a recumbent bike and some free weights and I’m trying to do that every day.
I've got my nutrition under control I think. Trying to hit the protein goal everyday but sometimes I miss. Making sure to get fiber every day and so far that has kept me and the toliet in good standing. I try to drink enough everyday but some days I feel like I'm gonna float off. I'm not counting calories because all the fatty foods I usually love is kinda gross to me right now. Plus after doing the calculation to see how many calories I would need to eat to maintain my weight I know I'm probably at half that amount. If you haven't done that yet, look it up.
I’m worried about the sagging skin! I’ve had so many surgeries in the last decade (mostly ortho stuff - back, hands, arm). I just got out of debt from having my gallbladder out but I consider that win with the GLP-1s. I know I’m not going to be a young hottie but I hate the idea of having to tuck and compress loose skin for the rest of my life or get it cut off.
Just looking for feedback from other mature ladies. Suggestions? Experiences you’re having?
I was you about 2 years ago- except Sema did nothing for me. Switched to Tirz and lost slow but steady until around January of last year- switched to Reta because on Tirz I was losing, but I slept every minute I could and had horrible constipation. Plus nothing tasted good. I titrated up on Reta and down on Tirz, I didn’t just switch. Once on full Reta Ihad some stalls; I’d made it to 40 lbs from goal and stopped. I was really frustrated, but my body was changing even tho I wasn’t losing. I decided to go back on the Tirz-Reta combo and I’m 20 lbs from goal.. and thinking about changing my goal again.
If Sema is working, stay on it- that gives you more options in case you max out on Sema and need Tirz and Reta. If Ihad not had the horrible sides from Tirz alone, I’d have stayed on Tirz for the duration- I was only on 5 mg.
And for full disclosure- I had a modified duodenal switch in 2001. Lost 120 lbs and stopped because my surgeon gave me a proximal bypass instead of the distal bypass the surgery describes. He only admitted this after I jumped through hundreds of hoops, because I was only halfway to goal (Ihad chosen a DS because it has the highest success rate for the super morbidly obese). He then pronounced me a success because I’d lost over 100 lbs and basically washed his hands of me. I kept that weight off for 15 years until a doctor put me on a med that made me gain 50 lbs in a month. One thing I did appreciate about my surgery- I couldn’t lose weight no matter what I did (including medical fasting), but I also didn’t gain. Until that med. And I couldn’t lose that 50 lbs. I was not a happy camper- and that doctor was angry that i refused to take any more because of the weight gain, even though it didn’t fix the issue it was prescribed for. So- my journey went like this;
Age 3- my weight tripled in a month, no change in intake, diet, activity- pediatrician said I was about to have a growth spurt; I’m still waiting. I was active, involved in sports, but fat. Played soccer in high school and college, played softball, was on swim team- but fat. Got up to 320, despite trying everything- most were successful to a point but it all came back plus more. Seemed to average about 10 lbs a year and was getting desperate. I researched surgery because nothing else worked and the duodenal switch with biliopancreatic diversion seems the safest and the fewest side effects and best outcomes. So on May 30 2001 I had the surgery. I weighed 419 the day of surgery. Lost to 274, maintained that until 2015, the medication put me back to 320. Until I found Tirz, there I stayed. Now I’m down to 220, original goal was 200, now considering going lower because I’m still pretty fluffy. So-
Highest weight- 419
Post DS- 274
Post med gain- 320
Current weight- 220
Goal weight- debating 170.. original 200
So- hang in there and have faith. If you have questions, ask me!