Continuing Mounjaro... Part 22

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

It's thread 22 time! As usual please fill up the previous thread before we make a start on this one.

Huge congratulations to every one who has made losses, and well done to those who have graduated the mounjaro club! We would love you to come back and share your tips for maintenance so we can all continue to learn and grow from each other.

Pointers for newbies:
Please note: Mounjaro will only be be prescribed initially if your BMI is above 30. If you have additional health conditions you can get the medication with a BMI 27. (Prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart problems)
Mumsnet does not allow promo codes. Please do not post any. If you want one, ask and someone will PM you a code or there are now threads on the promo page that have codes for Mounjaro link below:
Promo codes :
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/promo-codes-bargains
Linking Wallywobbles site, as theyve very kindly compiled all threads so far, pointers for newbies, weightloss tracker, links to discount codes, tips and tricks and high protein recipes.
Site with all the info :
https://wattnext.notion.site/e880d9342b7a4bab94c244b34e0e5841?v=cc1edc3f1c2b41dab3011c8d9063df0a

Miss Mounjaro UK has the most up to date price comparison charts: https://www.missmounjarouk.com/

This one's the most recent I will also post the image.

Just to copy from the previous thread as it's highly useful information:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/carbohydrates-and-diabetes/carbs-and-cooking
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cooling-resistant-starch#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6

MabelSpan:
For those who love their carbs, I grow my own veg, including lots of potatoes so eat them most days. You can dramatically increase the amount of resistant starch, a type of fibre, in your potatoes, rice and pasta and bread simply by cooking then cooling, ideally overnight or freezing in the case of bread and then reheating or toasting in the case of bread.

Please remember to do this safely if this is something you would like to do.

In light of being in close proximity to someone who has had complications from Mounjaro, I just want to say for any newbies: We are a wonderful community of Mounjaro users with a wealth of knowledge between us, but we're not a medical service. We are all people who have acknowledged the risk to benefit ratio, and are following our clinicians advice. If you do have any serious side effects listed on the information sheet that comes with your medication, please seek medical advice.

There are no questions too silly, no loss too small to celebrate, no hurdle not worth the challenge and huge congratulations to everyone who has made it this far in their journey and once again, welcome to thread 22.

This is shocking 😯 my 5 year old daughter weighs more than half of the bottom end of your range, how can that be right! What frustrates me is that build is not taken into account, I have a wider frame, broad shoulders and a large chest which is naturally going to make me heavier, a healthy BMI feels unreachable to me, and I don’t think I’d want to even if I could get there (I am 5ft 10)

I don't listen to things like news\media cause every time I do it absolutely infuriates me. I had lost a lot of weight using keto & was happily a size 10 pre covid. I was put on numerous different meds which all had weight gain as a side effect. They also had some other pretty nasty & scary side effects, weren't solving the issues prescribed for & despite saying not to take with each other my Drs just kept piling them on. I gained a lot of weight & no amount of keto, sw etc was helping. I decided to stop all the meds (except my thyroid one) & spoke with the Dr about it. Low & behold the weight started to come off. I've lost 5st since Christmas. 3 of that was from stopping the meds alone, no other changes. My weight plateaued & a friend introduced me to MJ -I've lost 2st so far from that. The rhetoric of 'fat' people being lazy, stuffing endless calories in etc is so toxic & unhelpful. I understand it CAN be the case sometimes but not every time. Maybe if Drs first looked at what else they are doing before fat shaming. It has taken years for me to see a rheumatologist to diagnose health conditions. I've so many issues never addressed & I can't afford private healthcare. I can't even get my GP surgery to answer the phone. It's like the hunger games at 8am every day. You ring, sit in an automated queue then get an automated message saying calls are now full, ring back tomorrow & it hangs up. You aren't allowed to go to reception in person either as they refuse to speak to you. No wonder A&E is full as for some people they've no choice but to go as out of hours refuse to see people either. The system is seriously flawed.
Anyway that's my rant for the day. Sorry

On a more positive note. Today I worked out that I've lost 10% of my body weight on MJ & a total of 25.5% since Christmas. In smaller clothes & feeling a good bit better. Still have all the issues I was told would go away by losing weight though.
Best compliment so far from someone - "You look normal now. Just try to not pile it back on again." Umm, thanks?!

@Slimstar13 couldn't agree more. BMI is a very blunt instrument. I'm 5'5 and a larger/muscular build and active. My "ideal" BMI (as in middle of the healthy weight range) is supposedly around 9 stone 4lb. I once got down to just under 10 stone because of illness and I had no shape at all, I looked gaunt and size 10 clothes hung off me. I know I'd look terrible if I dropped to 9 stone 4! I've had GPs tell me all my life I'm overweight or near overweight, even when I wore size 10 clothing and trained almost every day for a sport. They have no idea how to adjust for different body types, activity levels, muscle v body fat %, etc.

Tell me about it, @OrangeWire - I've got a 2.5 year old who weighs 2.5 stone and he's perfectly in proportion!

It’s so frustrating isn’t it! I’m 5ft 1.5 and my healthy BMI range is 7st -9.7st!!! …In my very younger days at 7.5 stone I looked unwell!!! ….I’m now 45 and weigh 9st 12lbs after 6 months on MJ. I started at 12st 5lb and have had slow Weightloss at just over a 1lb a week with a few stalls and wooshes here and there.

I was aiming for 9.5 stone but will likely go to 9 then slowly dose down on MJ to maintain/come off, as anything less than 9st and I know I will look far too slim and won’t feel comfortable.

I have to say I am looking forward to coming off MJ although I’m apprehensive. I’m fearful I’ll gain but am so wanting my old energy back!!! The fatigue has been a big side effect for me and I used to run and gym but haven’t for many months now.

I am grateful for this medication regardless of what the Fat police say! It’s changed my life in terms of removing a huge issue ie my weight impacting my self esteem! It will take a while to catch up mentally which I didn’t expect (feels strange to be nearing goal and looking different). But I am grateful!

@NippyCrab No, on ITV - may be repeated later. She talked about the side effects being temporary for most and the effectiveness, and how it needed to be a holistic approach (which we know) because lifestyle changes are needed but mentioned how obesity is a chronic illness and people may need to stay on the drug for life just like a diabetic does.

Yes, under 5foot.

To be clear Kylie and Winona Ryder have exactly the same body type as me. Very small, very petite, tiny wrists.

Even at 5 stone overweight my waist was 27 inches!

So the last time I weighed 8 stone I just looked like a petite slim version of myself

I can honestly say I don't look hideous at BMI 28 ish, ten stone something, size 10 top, 12 bottom

Although I'm quite sure if I posted the above on a normal thread everyone will say as they always do a size 10 is obese if you're only 5 foot tall

I'm 4'11 and I think the last time I was not obese I was probably a child.

I just don't think it's possible for me to be less than 9 stone realistically. A lot of foods that we eat are calorie debse but that's because of everyone's sensory and dietary needs in our house along with comorbid disabilities that make planning, organising and cooking low calorie nutritious organic foods consistently very difficult. 9 stone to many taller people is a perfectly adequate and normal weight, and it's probably what I'll aim for myself. I just wish I could also sprout a few more inches.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead I'm not much taller at 5'0''. BMI can be such a load of rubbish and quite unhelpful to people of different body types. However there is no escaping that my current weight is too heavy by any measure of health.

When I was younger my friend gave me a fridge magnet that read 'I'm not fat, I'm just short for my weight'. I wish I still had it as it did make me chuckle. If I could just be 10' tall I'd be okay!

There have been very real supply issues in the nhs of these medications. Its certainly nothing to do with funding within the PCN I work in, the sturggles weve had to get the medications has been all down to supply / demand. Not fake news at all.

That’s a head line, and very misleading. There is no shortage of drugs like mounjaro, there is multiple medications, and some went short, like wegovy or saxenda, at the moment for new meds like mounjaro no shortage.

I presume the original poster was indeed talking about other weight loss drugs yes, as mounjaro has only recently been given on the nhs.
There absolutely has been at several points severe shortages of these drugs - I am not saying it was caused by people buying them privately, however there have been shortages so, the original poster is factually incorrect.

Jeez, this stall is frustrating me. Scales won't budge and this is the part where I get bored because WHATS THE POINT. Trying to trust the process.

Was really hoping to move back down to 2.5mg this Sunday as 5mg had been really effective and I thought another two weeks of 5mg and I'd have made good progress but I've made none, so looks like I'll stay on 5mg for another month.

Suppression is fine, I'm eating about 1000 calories a day (or less some days) but the scales just aren't moving.

Try eating more for one or 2 days and really drinking more water.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead I did eat up a bit at the weekend as we ate out and I thought that might do the trick but good idea on the water, I find that's slipped a bit since the weather has got colder. Will make an effort to drink more today.

I've had this work for me too...2 or 3 relaxed days where I increase my calories (nutritious food like bread, cheese, peanut butter, a few treats like chocolate), and it sort of 'resets' the metabolism.

So taking 5 on day 1 and 2.5 on day 2 gave me no side effects but I have still been ravenous again by late day 5 and day 6 to the point of developing nausea and the only way it goes away is if I sit and shame eat in the dark under the cloak of nightfall with just the glow of the fridge to light this path of darkness I have chosen like a depraved little supervillian starting out an origin story.

I'm gonna try upping it. I'm going to do 6 on day 1 and 3 on day 2. I'm probably going to have to draw it out with an insulin pin though because if crocheting has taught me anything it is that I can't count.

You have an excellent way with words @Jimmyneutronsforehead

Last day of my 2.5mg pen and I'm down 15.4lbs in total in 5 weeks. Just over a stone. Thanks MJ!💃

Woohoo, congratulations! Here's to more losses to come!

Thanks @Jimmyneutronsforehead 😊 Happy to read all the progess we're all making! This has been life changing

thanks @Slimstar13 and others for your wise words about BMI. I am now at the top end of my BMI and even on 15mg unable to lose more weight, so I think it's time to look at maintenance options. I am very happy at the size I am now and need to stop punishing myself for not being able to lose another few pounds, which I wouldn't be able to maintain. At 61 I'm as slim now as I was in my 20s, I am tall, have broad shoulders and big boobs, I am never going to be tiny but I do look remarkably healthy and fit for an old biddy and am just about to qualify as a Pilates instructor after a lifetime of desk bound working in IT, so I'm also fitter and more flexible than ever.