Why it takes so long to lose weight at 74?

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ittiandro
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Why it takes so long to lose weight at 74?

Post by ittiandro »

Hi!
I AM A 74 YRS OLD MAN, 175 CM TALL AND WEIGHT IS 85 KG, ( A FAR CRY FROM THE 67 KG OF TWENTIES!)

I AM VERY ACTIVE, ( WINDSURFING, SWIMMING, BYCICLING , ELLIPTICAL CROSS-TRAINER) AND I WATCH DIET: I DON’T OVEREAT AND I EAT MOSTLY CEREALS, OATMEALS, FRUITS, LIGHT MEAT, FISH , EGGS, TOFU, VEGETABLES, NO CANNED FOODS, NO READY-MADE MEALS FROM THE SUPERMARKET, ETC. NEVER EVER JUNK FOOD !

I AM ALSO BEING REGULARLY FOLLOWED BY FAMILY DOCTOR AND BILL OF HEALTH IS GENERALLY SOUND, WITH MARGINAL CHOLESTEROL AND BLOOD PRESSURE RISE, FOR WHICH I AM TAKING MEDICATION.

IN SPITE OF THIS AND WITH ALL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, WITH THE YEARS I HAVE BEEN STEADILY PUTTING ON SOME WEIGHT, about 15 kg ,ESPECIALLY AROUND THE WAIST, MOSTLY INTRA-ABDOMINAL FAT ( WHICH I’D LIKE TO GET RID OF, BOTH FOR HEALTH REASONS AND ALSO FOR ESTHETICAL REASONS), BUT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SHED ONE SINGLE POUND, even by STEPPing UP EXERCISE SCHEDULE with tHREE WEEKLY SWIMMING SESSIONS AT THE POOL AND TWEAKing DIET by COMPLETELY REMOVING SALT, SUGAR, HONEY, JAM ,BREAD, ON ALL OF WHICH I WAS PERHAPS A LITTLE INDULGENT, ALTHOUGH NOT EXCESSIVELY..

I HAVE BEEN ON THIS TWEAKED DIET FOR ALMOST TWO MONTHS NOW AND DAILY CALORIES INTAKE IS DOWN TO APPROX. 1800 CAL ,WITHOUT FEELING TOO HUNGRY OR UNCOMFORTABLE OR WEAK. ACTUALLY, ENERGY LEVEL HAS INCREASED, I FEEL LIGHTER AND I SLEEP WELL , YET …NOT ONE SINGLE POUND OF WEIGHT LOST!

I KNOW METABOLISM SLOWS DOWN WITH AGE, BUT I RECKON THAT WITH A 1800 CAL/DAY INTAKE AND THE WEEKLY CALORIES EXPENDITURE FROM SWIMMING ( 500-600 CAL/HR OR 2 KM PER SESSION, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES) CALORIES BALANCE SHOULD BY NOW BE SLIGHTLY ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE AND I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED SOME WEIGHT LOSS IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS. WHY NO WEIGHT LOSS? IS IT NORMAL? SHOULD IT TAKE PERHAPS 6 MONTHS OR A YEAR BEFORE I SEE THE RESULTS?
I WONDER IF YOU COULD PROVIDE SOME COMMENTS

THANKS

Ittiandro

PS. Lest somebody accuse me to " shout" by using caps locks, this is not cap locks and I do not intend to shout. The font of the main text is the only small font I was able to carry over from copy-paste in Word. The small font kicks in only when I type directly on the Web page , like this P.S. Sorry!
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Boss Man
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Re: Why it takes so long to lose weight at 74?

Post by Boss Man »

Is it possible that one of the medications you are taking is having a counterproductive effect? As some medications can contribute to weight gain.
ittiandro
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Re: Why it takes so long to lose weight at 74?

Post by ittiandro »

Boss Man wrote:Is it possible that one of the medications you are taking is having a counterproductive effect? As some medications can contribute to weight gain.
WHEN I STARTED THE MEDICATION ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO (AVALIDE 150-12.5 MG AND AND SIMVASTATIN 40 MG), BLOOD PRESSURE WAS PRE-HYPERTENSION AT 140/85 AND CHOLESTEROL, TOO, WAS MARGINALLY UP. THIS IS WHY DOCTOR DECIDED TO PUT ME ON MEDICATION. WHEN I MENTIONED STEADILY INCREASING WEIGHT SHE DIDN'T ATTRIBUTE IT TO THE MEDICATIONS , NEITHER HAVE I READ OF ANY WEIGHT GAIN ISSUES CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO THEM .

IN THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE, WEIGHT GAIN IS INDEED LISTED AS A POSSIBLE SIDE-EFFECT OF STATINS (SIMVASTATIN) , BUT ONLY BECAUSE THIS DRUG OFTEN ENHANCES THE APPETITE,( WHICH IS NOT CASE) AND NOT BECAUSE OF ITSELF.
I'LL SPEAK TO HER AGAIN.

AS I BELIEVE TO HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE, I HAVE RECENTLY TWEAKED DIET BY REDUCING CALORIC INTAKE TO BRING IT IN LINE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF AGE AND THE SLOWER METABOLISM. AT 74, 85 KG 175 CM HEIGHT , EVEN WITH RELATIVELY HIGH LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, THERE SEEMS TO BE A CONSENSUS THAT I SHOULDN’T GO ABOVE 2100 CAL/DAY TO AVOID GAINING WEIGHT AND POSSIBLY GOING DOWN TO 1800 FOR A GRADUAL WEIGHT LOSS. TARGET IS FROM 84 KG TO AROUND 75. ( I WAS 68 KG IN TWENTIES, WHEN I WAS MOUNTAINEERING AS AN OFFICER IN IN THE ITALIAN MOUNTAIN TROOPS )

I HAVE ALREADY STARTED THIS DIET AND I FEEL GREAT. ACTUALLY, FOR SOME STRANGE REASONS, I FEEL LESS HUNGRY NOW THAN WHEN I WAS EATING MORE, OVERINDULGING IN REFINED SUGAR, HONEY ,JAM , LOTS OF BREAD AND MORE THAN FAIR SHARE OF SALT.

ON TOP OF THIS ,I AM GOING TO THE SWSIMMING POOL 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR 2KM LAPS EACH SESSION AND ENERGY LEVEL IS VERY HIGH, EVEN WITH THIS REDUCED DIET.. IT IS PROBABLY A QUESTION OF TIME BEFORE I START LOSING WEIGHT AND THEN PROBABLY BOTH BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL WILL REVERT FROM MARGINALLY UP TO NORMAL.

IF SO , I WONDER IF I SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO EVENTUALLY COME OFF THE MEDICATION FOR GOOD. THE PROBLEM IS I’D HAVE TO COME OFF THE MEDICATION FIRST TO FIND OUT IF “NATURAL” BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL HAVE COME DOWN TO NORMAL.

OF COURSE, I'LL DISCUSS IT WITH DOCTOR IN A FEW MONTHS,BUT I NEED INDEPENDENT ADVICE , BECAUSE I AM NOT OVERLY CONFIDENT THAT DOCTORS ARE ALWAYS ABLE TO EXTRICATE THEMSELVES FROM THE OVERPOWERING PRESSURE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY WHICH CALLS THE SHOTS BY FINANCING ONE-SIDED CLINICAL RESEARCH , WHICH OFTEN CHANGES THE CLINICAL DEFINITION OF THE PATHOLOGIES IN ORDER TO LOWER THE MEDICATION THRESHOLD AND THEREFORE HAVE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ON MEDICATION. UNFORTUNATELY TOO MANY DOCTORS PLAY IN THEIR HANDS AND OVERMEDICATION IS WIDE-SPREAD.

I HAVE READ THAT STATINS CAN BE SAFELY DROPPED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT CAUSE ANY WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS, UNLIKE STOPPING BLOOD-PRESSURE MEDICATION.

HERE, THE GENERAL MANTRA DO NOT STOP BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATION OR YOU MAY SUFFER SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES INCLUDING HEART ATTACKS IS CERTAINLY WELL JUSTIFIED, IN THEORY, BUT THEN ONE HAS TO ASK WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO CONTINUE THE MEDICATION WHEN THE BLOOD PRESSURE WAS ONLY MARGINALLY HIGH (BORDERLINE) TO BEGIN WITH AND HAS NOW BECOME NORMAL AS A RESULT OF DIET AND EXERCISE. WHAT WOULD BE THE DANGER, REALLY TO STOP THE MEDICATION ?
I THINK THE PROBLEM WOULD BE MORE FOR PHARMACIST AND THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY THAN FOR ME.....
SHOULDN'T THERE BE A PROBLEM, INSTEAD, I WONDER, BY TAKING THE MEDICATION IF THE PRESSURE IS NORMAL? IT MAY BECOME TOO LOW, WHICH IS JUST AS BAD!


TAKE CARE

ITTIANDRO
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Boss Man
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Re: Why it takes so long to lose weight at 74?

Post by Boss Man »

Well there it could be theoretically possible to wean off the medications.

Have you asked your physician about the possibility of going on to lower dose medication if that's possible, to see if there wee any adverse effects from that, because lower dose medication would still provide some of the benefits of the higher dose stuff, but wouldn't necessarily cause the issues you are referring to.

Statins have always had a controversial position in the marketplace, because of their purported benefits versus certain side effects, so you might want to research into alternatives just for your own piece of mind. CoQ10, is supposed to have good benefits for it cholesterol, so do products with plant sterols and also there is a product called red yeast rice, supposed to be a natural alternative to statins, but some years ago it was removed for a while because it contained lovocor statin content and caused some side effects and when re-released it was said it was not as effective anymore.

However you could either believe the commentary on it, or consider it an attempt to scare people onto statins, by degrading a sort of great white hope product, because that way money goes from the alternative health product provider and back into the pharmaceutical companies pockets.

So you might want to research that product as well :).
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