Mounjaro February to April 24 starters

[ObsidianTree]

Hi all,

Thought I would start a thread for those that started quite early on and would like a space to chat with others that started around the same time. Like the threads that are dedicated to those starting in May, June, July etc thought it would be nice to have a space for people have have been on for similar amount of time.

@izzy2076
Tragic, isn't it? 😂

Like you I've been dieting forever. First diet was banana and milk in the 70s (I was 8 and weighed 7st!). I reckon i was lucky as my mum was prescribed amphetamines and ended nearly anorexic and suicidal. Milk and bananas worked but gave me a life long aversion to milk... I was a competitive sports player till my 30s, then fasted successfully every couple of years to keep weight down.
Hit the menopause and nothing worked. Doctor told me menopause didn't lead to weight gain so virtually starved myself for the next 5 years and ended up obese during covid.
Could write a book on the inhumanity of women's treatment in relation to weight. So grateful to be able to experience the advent of weight loss injections after all these years.

G u m m I e s

@KrankyKumquat I had a mother with food issues too as her mother was obese and she projected those fears onto me. She'd berate me for having 'no waist' I look at pictures of myself as a kid and I was fine!

@izzy2076
I found some never before seen photos when my mum died and was shocked how good I looked - athletic, tall and definitely not fat. It made me reassess my whole childhood which was spent believing I was fat.
My mum used food as a weapon - too much or too little, depending on mood.

Oh yes! I kept getting blocked every times I said collagen g u m m I e s on the other thread!

Lol I was grumbling about not going down stress sizes a month or two ago... I won't anymore!

I still have a big fatty belly weirdly. So no crinkles yet. Think that will be the last thing for me to go...then probably the crinkly bits!

Yes, me too. Literally hours after my first 2.5, I had appetite supression.

Same here. Definitely not a super responder but instant effect on appetite and satiety.
Weight loss has been slow but steady and whilst financially I need to get off MJ asap really, in reality I want to be on it for life. I don't ever want to feel like I used to...constantly hungry, craving sugar and almost never full. I also need the mood balancing benefits it has given me and I think I'm just generally more uplifted and positive.
I don't want to be fat and miserable again, it terrifies me.

@NextPrimeMinister
Yes me too, I thought it was placebo effect but maybe not. I've had total appetite suppression for the whole time too, with exception of 6th day, of the last week of 2.5. I've never experienced the feeling full after half a meal thing though - I'm just not hungry when i eat so eat very little. Not had any adverse side effects really either, except very low BP which causes dizziness. Lost average a stone a month which I guess is super responder level. Does make you wonder if there's something else going on - resetting hormone levels perhaps - which determines response, SEs, etc

I'm not sure if the reset we're seeing will carry on after mj. Hoping so!

Otherwise we'll all have to keep chanting that Kate Moss quote 'nothing tastes as good as how skinny feels' *

• Disclaimer = I'm not skinny yet. Am still 'trim'.

I would say I'm a slower responder- 21lbs in 19 weeks.
I think there could be a few reasons for this
-my age. I've just turned 50 and am perimenopausal, although I have noticed others the same age lose quicker.

• I have been around the same weight window (13st to 15st) for probably around 15 years, never being able to lose more than 20lbs, and never getting below 13st. On other threads there has been talk of set weight theory, and my loss really slowed once I got into the 13s.
• I also think my existing diet played a part. Although I have been obese for a long time, my diet is far removed what many people would perceive an 'obese diet' to be. I eat very little processed foods and am gluten free. Most meals are cooked from scratch, bread is from the (GF) bakers with no additives, I don't drink much alcohol. I've cut down on seed oils (no more aching or clicky joints). I think all this has reduced inflammation in my body, which other people are experiencing as they start their MJ journey and cut down on what they eat alongside making better choices.

I'm happy to keep plodding along, although 21lbs isn't as much as others, it's already having a big impact. I'm noticing how much easier I'm finding long walks and I can actually look at myself in a full length mirror!

Health express just sent me another 10% voucher so I caved in and bought one more 7.5 pen. Bastards !

@CiderJabs 😂😂. Sometimes I have to keep myself away from MJ chat as it makes me want to buy another pen! I've held off for a month but i keep itching to buy another! I am on a 12.5 pen, have a 15mg pen, a 10mg and 7.5mg pen in the fridge. Which I stocked up before I found out maintenance was now possible! So I really don't need anymore pens for a while! 😂

Ha. I've just had 15% off offer from Oushk. Last time they did that I ordered 10mg which is in the fridge still as I'm on 7.5. Ain't gonna be able to resist another bargain but can't decide on 7.5 ,10 or 12.5. Decisions, decisions 🤔

@KrankyKumquat I swear they do it on purpose! And they also offer a two pen package for £350 and you get the full £35 off if you use the code! It was hard to resist it but I did. Just. 💪

@KrankyKumquat @izzy2076 I'm another one whose food issues stem from parents.

My mum used food as a punishment - she used to think it was funny to starve us or withhold food. Plus I'm sure she had an eating disorder.
My dad had a morbidly obese grandma and he's got a real issue with 'fat' people. I had a go at him at a family meal a couple of years ago in a restaurant as I was so fed up of the snarky references about cakes and puddings. He's kept his mouth shut since - until he saw how much weight I've lost and wants in on the secret 😂

This article is a week old but not sure if everyone has seen it. It’s about coming off Wegovy/MJ etc.

As always, the real gems are in the comments. Some success from people titrating down but generally the consensus is, this is a drug for life.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/health/ozempic-weight-loss-drugs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

@PissedOffNeighbour22 I don't know if you're Gen x but if so, I think our generation had it really tough in terms of body image. The number of eating disorders. The pressure to look fragile and small. The comments from men in the street about my size. ( I distinctly remember 'fat arsed tart' being shouted out of a van window). The dieting advice in teen magazines then the fat shaming pap shots in heat magazine (much later) The irony is that very few people were actually obese compared to today as there wasn't the same UPF culture.

@AgathaMystery That article does make it seem that we'll be on this forever. I guess it further goes to prove that obesity is a chronic disease and not within our control. Depressing though!
If I have to keep taking this, I will. However I do worry about the 2 year rule here in the UK. It's probably going to take me more than a year to lose all the weight I need to lose, which won't give me a lot of maintenance time if the UK doesn't change change the 2 year rule.

To add to last night's discussion about experiencing total suppression from day 1, at 4am this morning I was thinking about the not insubstantial numbers of people who feel nothing at all at lower doses (and possibly go on to feel no affect from higher doses either and/or struggle to lose any weight at all). Maybe they don't lack the glp thingies and therefore, MJ isn't giving them anything they need or don't already have - they're effectively just raw dogging it. Would be interesting to know if non-responders would benefit more from 'life style changes' or interventions for eating disorders instead of meds they possibly don't need but all adds to the idea that MJ is a treatment for disease rather than simply for weight loss.

@KrankyKumquat this is really interesting. My sister thinks she is a very slow/no responder (but lost 3lb this past week). In the past she has been really successful dieting with low/no carb and intermittent fasting.
I think she is losing more slowly on MJ. I also know she isn't really adjusting her diet and has been assuming suppression and feeling full will be enough to drop calories, so hard to say.
I've literally never been successful dieting unless I'm starving myself or using meal replacement shakes 100%. Even shakes for 2 meals and a sensible low cal main meal and definite calorie deficit hasn't enabled me to lose. Or if it does, it's super short term and leads to the yo-yo cycle.
I keep meaning to learn more about insulin resistance but in the past the Harcombe Diet way of eating is the only method that has balanced my blood sugars and stopped the crashes which result in sweats and shakes and a need to eat NOW. I've just never been able to sustain it for the long term to lose enough weight. But I think it could be a way to maintain as I'm eating along those lines now, but I think I'll need MJ support too.

It's definitely interesting. I don't consider myself a super responder in terms of fast weight loss but definitely in terms of how I feel: I don't have total suppression but I feel like I imagine a thin person to feel. I go for 6 hours without food whereas before, I would be starving within 3 hours despite eating protein. I also don't like sugar any more and don't get bingey the minute sugar touches my lips. I'm also naturally rejecting carbs rather than doing it consciously. I went to dinner last night. I ate 3 lamb chops, salad, 3 chips and a bite of my kids icecream which tasted foul and synthetic. I've been eating like this since March with no blips, without trying. It's definitely correcting a biological deficiency. There's no head work involved in it at all for me.

@JanetSnakeholeMacklin I wouldn't worry about the 2 year rule. Some pharmacies are already saying they will disregard that as it's an NHS guideline informed by cost and doesn't apply to the private sector. Also, they will be updating these guidelines in Autumn anyway.

@NCfor24 and @izzy2076
Thank you, glad that made sense.
The 'no head work' required really resonates - I used to drink far too much (definitely had a 'drink problem'), loved good bread above all else and a meal wasn't a proper one unless it had potatoes or pasta with it. Stopped serious drinking on day 1, no bread to speak of, pasta once I think, and potatoes in any form give me the ick. None of this has been a struggle, just got no desire for these things. Never had a particularly sweet tooth but enjoyed occasional sometimes, now never.
Re insulin resistance. Need to learn more about this.

Apparently insulin resistance is almost a given at menopause and partially explains menopausal weight gain!

That's fantastic about the drinking! I haven't had alcohol in 8 years and life is definitely better without it. I don't think excessive alcohol consumption is our friend once we hit middle age. Weirdly, stopping drinking was a lot easier than dieting. I'm actually very disciplined in other areas of my life!

It's amazing to think about what this peptide can do and how it works on different people. My only complaint is the shocking insomnia.