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?

catgirl1976 whilst for the long term we need to focus on an appropriate diet I wouldn’t worry short term - no difference than a short term illness. I really didn’t want to eat at all on 2.5mg but food noise isn’t as supressed on 5mg (despite more side effects) so I am eating more now and easier to focus on macros.

Thanks. Looks like there will be loads left!

I'm starting to feel a bit disheartened - week 2 of 0.5 and so far only 1kg off.

@Dogsbreath7 thank you. I assumed the weight loss would slow right down but interesting the appetite suppression lessons as well. I guess you get more used to it. And yes good point so far it’s only like having a bad illness for a few days where you can’t eat

@catgirl1976

I did my first injection last Thursday. My appetite finally broke through today, but I jab myself again tomorrow 😂

Just remember, 0.5mg is not a therapeutic dose! You're not meant to lose weight at that dose so you are doing really well!

@RMNofTikTok tomorrow will be day six for me so perhaps it will appear!

@catgirl1976 Try your best to get 50-60g protein a day or your hair loss and muscle loss might be worse, evidence suggests. Little and often? Maybe sneak a coffee with milk + bovine collagen here and there if you prefer drinking to eating? (That's around 50 kcal and 10 g protein depending on the milk.)
I've been in an fairly aggressive calorie deficit for a year, I would say I've been eating a bit like a bariatric patient, around 1000 kcal a day 8 days out of 10 and keeping a close eye on nutritional value. It's a weird feeling, noticing your body run out of fuel but not actually feeling much hunger. If I had a physically demanding job and/or younger children I couldn't have done it. All I've done in terms of exercise is gentle dog walks, there's just not enough fuel for anything else.
The weight has fallen of me, and mostly fat not muscle, I'm happy to say. It's a bit too fast to lose that much really but I was in a rush due to some big events. I did worry about skin sag but it's way less than I thought. And also saggy skin isn't dangerous for you whereas obesity is. No regrets.

I've also had re-feed days when I've started to feel a bit weak about 2 - 3 months in, timing these days to when a dose is wearing off and appetite is higher. Not to be confused with cheat days where you just binge on crap, but days where you consciously eating a bit more lovely food and enjoying it, maybe once every two weeks. I feel that it's helped me reset leptin levels, reduced the stress on my body and ultimately helped me keep going.

P.S: Fun fact: I really like my shape now. I didn't realize how fit/strong us larger or former larger ladies are underneath the weight that we carry, but of course just standing up from a chair when you're bigger is a fantastic squat. I have better legs now at 51 than in my 20s!

@VanellopeVonSchweetz99 - thank you that’s useful advice

i am starting to feel a bit hungry so off to warm up some soup

@catgirl1976 you can even sprinkle collagen powder in soup! I so prefer it to slimy artificial protein powders. /Sorry if I sound a bit bonkers but I've really been chasing that daily protein goal and it works.

Thank you, that's good of you to say. I suppose because of a previous ED and not doing a traditional diet with it, I am expecting to see similar results which is a bit daft. But I am very keen to not diet because of my history so I have to respect it will be a different journey for me. It is still good to see the meds working for others though!

Just taken my first dose tonight. The injection was so much easier than I thought, I barely even felt it. I guess that shows how much fat I have around my tummy.

I'm looking to lose 100lbs/just over 7 stone so have a LONG journey ahead.

@catgirl1976 experiment with different meals. I found that a lot of my old standbys made me feel slightly ill on Wegovy, which would put me off food for my next meal, leading to a cycle of feeling kind of awful all the time. When I ate fewer carbs and lower fat in relation to protein and fruit/veg I was able to eat more and felt much better afterwards. I do not mean categorically low carb or low fat in the sense of some diets, but more that I made the protein and veg the stars of my meals and left carbs in particular as more of a garnish.

there’s a bit of cognitive dissonance where you think you could / should devour the whole pizza, but really what will make you happy and satisfied is a single slice and a nice salad. I found that for a long time I kept reaching reflexively for foods that used to bring comfort, even though they no longer fit the bill and in many cases made me feel nauseous.

I did a mid week weigh in and my BMI is now under 40. Delighted with this! 12kg lost now.

Into week 2 at 0.25 Wegovy now. Lost a kilo last week which I am happy with - plan to aim for a kilo a week max as I have a (currently symptomless) gallstone and don't want to get gallbladder issues from too rapid a loss.

I did find find towards the end of the week that I was getting more interested in carby stuff again which was always my downfall before, but found it relatively easy to stay within calorie allowance and had no binges. Also been doing a lot more exercise.

After jab 2 on Tuesday night I am back to feeling the reduction of cravings. Sometimes I feel like I want something, but I'm not hungry, so I'm able to say to myself "Do you just want to change how you feel?" and then have a bath or get some fresh air or whatever. You know, all those diet tips that never worked before because of the raging compulsion towards self medicating with food! Sometimes even feeling "I feel sad tonight" but just sitting with the feeling isn't too bad. Definitely my problem was emotional eating and carb/sugar addiction. Fingers crossed I'll keep being able to navigate these emotions.

Really great and helpful to hear of everyone's progress and experiences both the positive and the tricky stuff. Hope this week is going well for you all.

Hello to our new posters. You are all most welcome on this lovely thread!

Fourth injection of 2.5mg Mounjaro on Tuesday night, and this morning's weigh-in shows another 3.5lb off bringing me to a full stone lost since starting MJ four weeks ago.

My next goal is to get back to my 2019 weight before I gained yet more in the lockdowns. That's 11lb away and feels achievable. This is usually the point at which my willpower starts to fray and my previous attempts to diet have failed. It's a revelation to feel that I could genuinely continue like this for as long as necessary.

And a nice NSV - my eternity ring, which is a particular shape and hasn't fitted for a long time, now fits again. It's sparkling happily on my finger and reminding me of what I have already achieved every time I look down at the keyboard!

@VanellopeVonSchweetz99 thanks so much for your post - amazing info!

You mentioned the re-feed days to "reset leptin levels" - I'm a dunce about nutrition, can you share what you mean?

Thanks so much!

It's probably a massive placebo effect, but I've had no hunger or desire for food this morning! I try to do the 16:8 fasting and usually I'm starving by 11 but today I feel fine even at 12.

@ClonedSquare I thought the same re the placebo effect but six days in I can promise you...........its real :)

One week in 9lbs gone
just had my second injection of wegovy

Your prompt to go and see someone about my lower R-hand rib pain was really useful, @Menora. I got an appt this morning and am having blood tests, but not for 2 weeks. The (excellent) GP registrar hadn't heard of Mounjaro so looked it up and was concerned I'd bought it off the internet. Didn't seem to know about any of it! He said don't start yet as my pain could be gallbladder, liver or pancreas, none of which are a good fit with MJ.

Problem is I'm wanting the MJ to help improve my awful diet and (if a miracle occurs) reduce desire for wine. The bad choices which are likely causing the issue (I've had bad liver function tests before and stopped drinking for six months or so). So it's a bit chicken and egg. There must be quite a few people in this situation? eg Fatty diet predisposes to gallbladder issues which rules out MJ and friends.

Wow! 🤯

@WoolyMammoth55 I'm no dietician, but essentially leptin is an important hormone when it comes to appetite regulation.
Being in (controlled) semi starvation over a long period of time, as I have been, can alter your levels in a way that is counter productive to weight loss (ie the body adapts) and can affect well being negatively too (ie the body gets stressed; you can feel crap physically and mentally after a while). To my understanding.
If you google "leptin hunger hormone refeeding" it explains it way better than I can, but it's sort of just common sense: Eat a few hearty meals with a bit more carbs if and when you start to feel fatigued and/or your weight loss plateaus in a calorie deficit.

I really want to stress, however, that this super organized approach to a long term calorie deficit that I have chosen can trigger disordered eating and I also really don't recommend it if you have a fairly active job + busy day to day life.

Re: Gallbladder issues.
I had mine out a few years ago after getting problems after I had lost nearly a stone "on my own". Bloody hell those attacks hurt.
I'm from an ethnic group where gallbladder issues are more common, and had interesting conversations about it with my consultant in the UK where I live.
"Fair, fat, female and 40+" is not a myth. Nobody knows why, it is what it is.
Also, the "fat" bit is a bit unfair.
Because here's the thing: It's not being "fat" that's the trigger in many cases, it's weight loss. Losing even a fairly small amount of weigh in a short-ish time can be a major trigger. It is very common with women in the country I'm from (Nordic), especially soon after having a baby, because, you know, that is when you can "lose" a lot of weight over night! The body (gallbladder) doesn't "know" or "care" that the weight loss was from giving birth.

SO many of my friends had this. There are even breast pumps on the ward it is that common in new mothers there.

My consultant said, once your gallbladder starts acting up it doesn't really ever recover. Best to have it out.