Was anyone else REALLY active BEFORE starting the jab?

[Bananaramram]

I’m over 16 stone but really active. Weight lifting and aerial arts and some yoga. I train six days a week and I am strong - but my weight gets in the way of a lot of things. I’ve made the decision to go on the jab - but in all my research and Instagram scrolling, I’m not seeing much from people who were majorly active beforehand.

I know how to eat right but the food noise kills
me and I’ve watched my (T2, nearly 60) dad lose so much weight successfully - despite not being active beforehand - so I think it could be really successful for me. (Pretty sure I have PCOS / insulin resistance but generally healthy.)

So I’d like to know. Were you obese but really active beforehand? And how did you find getting on a jab?

I should add - technically 8 - 10 stone is what I should aim for but although I’m not that tall I am always going to have a stockier build so would be happy at 11 stone!

Yes. I went to the gym and did 5 to 7 cardio classes per week, plus weight training and running. I didn't lose a pound. I was baffled. Always put it down to drinking too much wine (not that much but that was my only reasoning).
When I started MJ I dropped 3.5 stone in 5 months, and I've now realised it was my mindless snacking, hoovering up the kids' leftovers, the overly large portions (I was eating the same meal as my incredibly athletic 6 foot 2 husband). It's a game changer.
I've now pretty much halved what I eat and doubled my exercise routine and I feel amazing. I've lost more than a quarter of my body weight. (started at 13 stone 6, I'm now 9 stone 13 - within my healthy range.)
I'm now able to do more exercise (which I love!)
I've been very lucky and not had any side effects, but that does vary a lot from what I've read.
Good luck - keep up with the exercise, but I'd absolutely recommend Mounjaro!

meant to add - I went to the gym for a year and a half without losing a single pound!!

"I went to the gym and did 5 to 7 cardio classes per week, plus weight training and running"

@LionAndEmperor13 how did you double this ? That's a heck of a lot of exercise to fit in to begin with

That is awesome! I’ve been so worried about it impacting my ability to train. Thank you for sharing!

I started at the gym first and then after a few months realised I needed to sort out my food. Losing weight has really benefitted what I can do at the gym. I have more energy and feel much stronger too.

I'm self employed and have a lot of time on my hands 😂
I now use what used to be 'dead time' to do extra workouts. So if my class starts at 10.30am, I go to the gym straight from school run and walk quickly or run on the treadmill for 1.5 hours. I often do 2 classes in a morning, or I add in a swim, and I run (outside) around 3 times a week rather than just once (I can run properly again now that I've lost the weight). I just add these in when I go to the supermarket, it's a 20 minute run so it doesn't actually eat into much time out of my day. All of it together equals a lot of calories burned!

It's so hard to get good advice aimed at active women, so much is aimed at men and at people who aren't active! Losing weight without losing your hard earned muscle is going to be challenging - you may need to adjust dosage to lose weight more slowly and also ensure you get enough protein. Good luck!

I trained hard before mounjaro - 4-5 weight lifting sessions per week (2 upper/2 lower), some cardio, and walking everyday. Big gym lover! But I just could not shift the weight because of my snacking.

I've been on mounjaro since October and lost around 1 stone, 3lb so far. I will say I'm training less, and my numbers have gone down in the gym because I just don't have the energy to train as much due to eating less food. However, I'm ok with that and have made peace with it. My plan is to lose the bulk of my weight so I get back to a healthy weight, and then recomp and eat higher calories to fuel my workouts and gain muscle again. I would have preferred to do it all, but it's not realistic for me at the moment.

Really helpful, thanks all! I’ll probably make more of an effort to get steps in and stick to aerial only while I adjust (it builds serious muscle!) - I will be telling my trainer so she is aware

Yes this has been my challenge! My training is key to my mental health so I can’t give it up, but I need to lose the weight.

I'm certain this is my problem. Thanks for your post, it's really helpful in helping me (and hopefully others) decide if this is the journey for me

Yep I run 2-3 times a week, Mountain Walk and do long walks off paths daily so would describe myself as very active and used to be an outdoor instructor but have always just had a problem with eating too much poor food and just can't stop. I'm only on week 2 but am eating much less than normal and not feeling starving. Managed to run and do a Hill day fine so far. Planning to stay on the lowest possible dose so I can eat enough to exercise as its so important to me and how I feel. Like others I'm hoping loosing the weight will help me look more like the person I feel I am!

I feel as if everyone has a different definition of 'REALLY' active. I responded to this once and it turned out the person meant they were training for hours every single day!

I have had a regular gym habit for most of my adult life (25+ years). A couple of years ago I upped it from 4-5 days a week to daily, having purchased home gym equipment during COVID after my gym closed. It means I have no excuses, I always get my cardio in and I'm not wasting as much time traveling etc. I do it daily for heart health reasons. I also do a minimum of 10k steps daily. (and none of this affects weight loss for me btw. I only lose weight if I drastically reduce calories)

I've been on MJ for a few months now and there's been no change to my usual routine.

I swim 40 lengths 2-3 times a week, walk over 10 k steps a day and do pilates once a week befroe mounjaro, so mabey not as fit as you but reasonably fit and active.

I had tried couch to 5 k as running in my 20s had really helped keep my weight under control but arthritis in my knee stopped that.

Since being on mounjaro I can now do 60 ( 25 m) lengths so well up on my previous best. Have almost completed the couch to 5 k and in general am ever more fit and healthy. As a pp said I was matching my 6 ft 3 well build husbands dinner when I absolutely did not need to. Was also constantly snacking. Food noise is now gone and my eating is under control alongside increased activity.

I don't know what constitutes "really" but I'm a walker / hiker and a bit of a (bad) jogger. Since starting MJ I'm now an avid cyclist and better jogger so it doesn't impact any ability of mine to train!

Sorry I should add I started MJ in September at 16,10 with a substantial amount to lose and still have plenty to go.

Yes, pretty active over the years. I have lost muscle tone and am much more wiped out after exercise on MJ. Eating enough food before/after gym is frankly challenging now. I do more yoga and walking as it reduced joint pain from day 1, the pain was partly why I was in the gym frequently so it's all balanced out really.

@Summerhillsquare do you mind me asking what is/was the cause of your joint pain? Are you saying the yoga and walking helped with it rather than Mounjara?

All of the things. Even on pre-therapeutic dose of mj it improved.

I thought I would come back to this post. Thank you to everyone who commented!

I had my eighth jab yesterday, have lost 1st 11lbs, and I have kept training with no issues! I’m lifting more and finding it easier with the weight off. I do hit min 125g of protein a day and aim for 1400-1700 calories a day, had no issues with fatigue.

@Bananaramram awesome work! Thanks so much for updating.