Mounjaro / Wegovy with > 5st / 30kg to lose

[VelociraptorsVelociRapping]

I know, yet another Mounjaro / Wegovy thread, but I wondered if anyone else with a lot to lose would be interested in a safe space to chat. The other threads (both the long-runner and the newbies) are great but I can’t believe how relatively little some people have to lose. I know it’s all relative, and two stone can be a lot of extra weight on a small frame, and it’s great that they are doing something for their health before they end up in the same position as me… but in my more ungenerous moments I think about what a dream it would be to be ‘only’ two stone overweight, and wonder how many posters I will see come and go while I plod along.

So, if any of that resonates and you don’t think I’m an utter cow for having these thoughts, come and chat! I will start. I don’t feel comfortable sharing my current weight but am happy to say that my starting BMI is over 40 and I have 7.5 stone / 47 kg to lose. I’m very tall but there’s no kidding myself that my current situation isn't very unhealthy indeed.

I’m halfway through my second week on 2.5mg Mounjaro and so far I have lost 8lb. I have not really had many side effects apart from occasional loose stools, but I am also not experiencing the significant appetite suppression that others describe. Right now I am finding MJ a useful tool to take the edge off while I count calories and keep an eye on my macros to keep my protein intake up. A very welcome effect is that it has completely removed any desire to drink alcohol, which is helpful as a fondness for wine is part of how I got so fat in the first place. Nevertheless I am looking forward to moving up to 5mg and hopefully experiencing more appetite suppression.

Anyone else?

@Countrygirl222 around 1500, but I'm tall and over 15 stone.

Hey gang, I'm on jab 9 (I think?) today, started at 130kg / BMI 46, now 123kg / BMI 43... There's a long way to go still and my progress hasn't been quick but it's been steady, and my side effects have been minimal, so all in all I'll take it! :)

Absolutely LOVED @Lavendersquare 's summary of her journey. I also assume it'll take me 18 months to get close to my goal weight but I'm kind of fine with that - it's been 3 decades of stress eating and not taking care of myself to get to my start weight!! So undoing all that takes time, creating new habits for a healthy future takes time - that's ok by me.

My thyroid is underactive too thanks to Hashimoto's so I know that makes losses much slower for me compared to folks with healthy thyroid function!

I'm not tracking calories or macros or weighing anything - all that jazz I've done to death over the years and it always feels unkind to myself, like I'm being stingy and mean to myself...? But on MJ I've found it easy to eat good whole foods and lots of veg and protein, and generally not overeat or eat junk - this is a massive shift for me and feels like a more intuitive and kind way to build a better relationship to food...?

But might also be why I'm not losing loads!! 😅

All in all I feel really good about the journey and really appreciate everyone's shares and good vibes. 😍

Glad you found it useful @WoolyMammoth55, I should have also mentioned that my 18 months included around 4 months where Ozempic was really hard to source and I was kept on 0.5mg because it was all that I could get from Juniper.

@Countrygirl222 750 calories a day is really not enough and you'll run the risk of weight and appetite rebound if you stay so low.
M nutritionist told me I have to eat 3 meals a day even if not hungry and need to aim for about 100g protein split between them

My thoughts are initially we should focus on eating healthy meals and not get too preoccupied with calories. Most of us are obese, we're not going to go into 'starvation mode' (I have my doubts if this is a real thing tbh) after a couple of weeks of low ish calories. By all means aim for 1200 calories, but don't stress if you don't hit the mark every time at this stage. From what I've seen, for many, over time appetite seems to settle l and most people on the higher doses are able to eat 3 square meals a day.

I also think that (for me) getting preoccupied with calories gets me into a diet all-or-nothing mindset and can slip into disordered thinking.

Sorry that was a bit of a rambling soliloquy

@Countrygirl222 I don't track regularly but usually 1500 ish when I do. Less on the highest suppressant days but I try and counter that by eating a bit more when I can.

750 is definitely too low. Try and make sure you eat regularly and if you have a tendency to opt for low fat options, don't! Get the nutrients dense calories in where you can.

Hello folks I'm so happy to have found this thread for people with big losses required because that's definitely me! 😄

I went through the consultation last night, uploaded a picture and weighed myself for the first time in ages and both were very sobering. I knew I was big but I avoid mirrors etc so didn't realise what a state I'm really in, or perhaps it's been more a case of denial.

I suffered from severe PND with my second child and the medication that I was put on made me gain weight very quickly and I've only gone up since then. I'm now peri menopausal so things are only going to get worse so I'm hoping beyond hope that this helps.

Thank you for this group.

I'm trying not to do a lot of weighing but did this morning and have gone down by 4 lbs - I know that's likely water etc but it's a positive start. Even if the impact is mostly psychological at this stage (I'm in my first week) I'll take it!

Welcome all new joiners to the long haul travel section.

I’m in week 4 and losing well but I am soooo impatient at the moment. I just want it all fixed. I probably need to do some more work on the psychological aspects of weight gain and loss. This wasn’t a quick gain so I can’t realistically expect it to be a quick loss. (At least that’s what the rational part of my brain says).

Got my pen, didn’t have wipes so delayed and got them, didn’t have cotton wool so delayed and got it, now got micro tape and a sharps bin and running out of excuses not to inject myself….

😭 I am such a wimp!

You can do it. ..
You won't feel a thing and I have never seen blood.

@WeAllHaveWings you won't need the cotton wool or microtape. The needles are so fine and shallow, the most I've ever had is a tiny spot of blood that I've wiped away with the wipe. But usually not even that. You barely feel the injection, it's not like having a vaccine.

Just take it slow your first time, make sure you've read the instructions really well, and remember you have to twist it a lot to get to 1. My other top tip is that the first dose is not marked on the pen, the lines on it are for second, third and fourth. So don't panic after your first that the plunger is half way to the first line, that's where it should be!

Seems to be taking forever to get under 12st (to become overweight rather than obese). Been weeks of being a few pounds over. Got to 4oz over yesterday for my weigh in day and this morning my weight had gone back up 😅.

I still have at least 2st to go to get to a healthy weight so would be nice to get below 12st to feel like I'm making progress again.

Did it! 💉🎉. I am now officially part of the Mounjaro thread ! I am still a wimp when it comes to needles and doing it yourself is different level!

It took about 15 attempts of holding the pen, needle pointing towards belly and then putting it back down. 🫣 Couple of tears, 🫣, lots of swearing 🤬, shaky hands. Told dh about it and tried to convince him to do it for me, but he is heavy handed and didn’t feel confident.

Eventually got a bag of frozen peas to numb belly and did it. Tiny nip, and plunger went down ok.

Very satisfying rattle of the needle going into sharps bin! 😁 Hope it gets easier!

That'll be the worst time I'm sure. It's fear of it more than the thing itself! With saxenda you did it daily and I did get fed up with that!

Urgh, my weight loss is so ridiculously slow and no visible changes so far either. Im 14 weeks in and down about 5lbs. Its strange because I dont have much of an appetite at all and go hours without eatinh or thinking about food at all. Im wondering whether to go from daily weigh ins to monthly so I dont get discouraged by all the ups and stay the sames. Also should I up my exercise? Id hoped to be down at least a stone by now and its starting to feel like its barely worth the expense and side effects - anybody any advise or a similar story?

I'm no expert but my thoughts would be:

1. Are you logging your food? You need to eat sensibly and a good balance of food with enough protein and fibre. Are you having enough?
2. Personally I would avoid monthly weighing. What if that's the one day in the month you retain fluid? Some personal trainers recommend weigh daily and average it over a week for more accuracy (I couldn't be bothered myself though!)
3. Apparently exercise has very little effect on weight loss but it might help you get into healthy habits for the long term

Good luck x

I’m on my first week of MJ and managing to eat much less, no cravings for rubbish. We are going to an outdoor concert and we’re shopping for picnic food. I became quite anxious about all the food and alcohol my DP was buying as it seemed far too much. Later I’ve reflected that the items were what we would usually have bought and I would have thought nothing of it. I’m hoping this is the start of a new mindset!

I'm further along than you, but this has been the biggest change I've felt too! Just the lack of need to eat large quantities of "bad" food.

I've swapped share size bags for fun size, and if I do buy a large bag of something it can stay in the fridge for several weeks and I just dip into it very occasionally. And when I'm walking around the shop, it's just so easy to bat away the far less frequent thoughts of buying bad things. We were running late home so my son and husband had McDonald's, but I was perfectly happy to have nothing and eat something small at home. It's like I'm someone else entirely!

@Lovingeveryrainbow @Countrygirl222 and those talking about tracking calories. I don't track either. I did for the first 2-4 weeks on mounjaro, so I could get used to roughly knowing how many calories/grams of protein/carbs and fat were in things, but I find tracking calories triggers unhealthy obsessions over it for me. I'm on week 12 and haven't tracked since the first month and losing steadily. I know some days I will be over 1200 cals, and some under. But I just try and focus on getting roughly 30g of protein 3x a day, trying not to waste what little appetite I have on empty nutrition and carbs so I can get some decent veg in, but also not depriving myself if I really fancy something, because this is long term and the all or nothing mindset causes more harm than good.

I've really enjoyed my cereal this morning (my favourite meal of the day!) but I had no desire to go back for another bowl. Or some toast. I don't feel sick or anything, just full.

I gained weight! 😡

Feel shit about it as I had been so happy to have a number starting with 8! Gained just under a half kilo. I just came back yesterday after a week away on holidays. Loads of beer drunk. Ate pastries, crisps and too much food in general. We walked a LOT so I'd dread to think of what the gain would be if I hadn't!

SW 95.9 - 3 weeks pre-ozempic
Injection 1: 93.9
Injection 2: 90.9
Injection 3: 89.9
Injection 4: 90.3
GW: 65

@mmgirish weight fluctuates all the time. I was 18st 2.2lb yesterday morning, I'm 18st 5.1lb this morning. This does not indicate a weight gain! You have to look at the overall trajectory. Your numbers are coming down. Weigh again in a couple of days and I guarantee the numbers have shrank again!

@LeafUsAlone

If you are only 14 weeks in it's normal to not have dramatic weight loss. The lower doses do not cause the appetite suppression for most. Some of us are lucky and lose weight from the get go but that is not the norm. The target is to lose 5% of your body weight within 6 months according to clinical trials.

Thanks! God I hope so. I just really really need this to work.