Gearing up for a JANUARY start!

[FatGirlDosing]

Just approved and am assuming that the pen won’t arrive until after Christmas so will start the new year with a, er, prick.

Anyway, thought I’d start a thread for anyone else planning on a slimmer 2025!

@Seaitoverthere thanks for the explanation. Sounds like you have been through the mill a little. I'm fascinated by the ins and the outs of it all too (hence my question earlier in the thread about body battery on my Garmin!) and how it will affect my body.

All of us have a similar goal, but coming from it from a different angle, and it's interesting to read. If anyone else feels comfortable enough to share, it may help as we embark on this journey together.

I've spent my entire life wrestling with my weight. I had a tummy tuck five years ago which transformed my confidence and after it I exercised regularly (lots of weights), and had maintained at a place I was happy with until about a year ago. That place was still just shy of the obese BMI but the bit I hated about my body most had gone (a stomach made up of three pregnancies, two C-section and a lifetime of weight loss and gain)

Long hours, and stressful corporate job has meant I've found it impossible to find the headspace to focus on me, and the weight has crept up over the last year after lots of failed attempts to eat better. This injection is about giving me that headspace to feel good about eating again - and realise it is possible - and get to a point where maintenance is ahead of me, not loss. I can't remember if I read it here, or another thread. But the thought of losing weight is so much more overwhelming than maintaining it - and also harder 😂 If mounjaro can get me to the point of maintenance, I know I can do the rest.

Also, remembering how good it feels to not overeat - because that never feels good really.

Phew, that was long...

Ooh - first one done! DH was surprisingly supportive.

Weighed and measured this morning.

SW 13st 12
Waist 34”

First goal is a healthy BMI of 11st 1lb

Good luck to all those starting today.

Good morning! I'd love to join you all.

First Mounjaro pen just ordered and hoping to start on 6th January.

I have around 3 stone to lose. I lost 11lbs by will power at the end of last year after being told I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Managed to keep (almost) all of it off over Christmas. However, I'm hoping this will be an easier day to shift some pounds and improve my health.

My main concern is that I LOVE food. Not just eating it but cooking it, sharing it, eating it, planning it, reading recipe books and trying new ideas... I'm not sure how it will affect me (and my family!) if the food noise is silenced and I'm less interested. At the moment I'm getting carried away with planning a perfect nutritionally balanced diet, so I'm hoping that will fill the void. Anyone else feel this way?

It's been good to read about the first few days from those who have already started. I'm looking forward to sharing the journey with you all! 😀

Another one and a quarter pounds off this morning

Sitting at 22st 11 3/4 first thing. Lowest weight this year was 22st 7lb back in October so would love to be below that by the end of January.

I remember weighing myself about 4 years ago and clocking in at 21 stone and really realising I had messed up so that's my first big goal - get back there and work backwards. Still a big goal to lose nearly 2 stone straight off the bat but I'm hoping if I'm consistent and disciplined I can do it.

I was in bed last night (well, early hours of the morning more like) and I was hungry. I don't think I was physically hungry but there was definitely a craving for food. I managed to stay in that hunger mindfully and I've woken up fine. Going to eat some breakfast now and hopefully that helps.

A good tip that's helping me is to plan the calories out in advance for the next day on MyFitnessPal (or whatever calorie counter you're using). I know what I'm having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner today and I know it comes to 1,259 calories with 241 calories 'spare' if I needed an additional snack.

Struggling with 3L of water intake. Managing about 1.5L of actual water with a morning coffee and a 3pm Diet Coke thrown in on top. Ideally I need another 1L of pure water but that's really difficult so far. I have a big knock off Stanley cup that I use and drink regularly but it still feels like a lot. Any advice?

@VelvetWildflower I use one of those bottles with a scale (not sure how to describe this), where it helps you to keep track of regularly drinking small amounts spread out over the day - I find it much easier to do that than then having to gulp down large amounts at once. I also find that putting a couple of lemon slices in the water makes it more palatable.

No side effects so far! I don't feel hungry and have to remind myself to eat, which never happens 😂 And when I do eat, I struggle to keep going and finish. And no cravings for sweets, which is a total game changer for me. Normally, when we have sweets in the house, I am constantly snacking, but now... nada! Mind blown.

@Thelittlestranger it is hugely fascinating isn’t it! A very good friend is a diabetes nurse who has been my weight loss buddy over many many years now. She has decided not to go on it as making good progress without but she’s really interested to see how it goes for me as has 200 patients on it and is meeting with the Eli Lilly rep to discuss getting them onto maintenance. She didn’t know about the fact that many were taking a bonus dose as obviously her patients don’t and found that really interesting .

I have struggled with my weight all my life. After 2 pregnancies things went badly downhill. I know now that I developed the psoriatic arthritis after my second one. I wasn’t aware that there is a string family history of psoriasis until a couple of years ago. My arthritis went through periods of remission from the joint symptoms but very high levels of fatigue have always been there and I resorted to food to give me enough energy to deal with ill parents and ND children. Menopause is a time when unfortunately can get worse which is what happened to mine.

That is interesting with your Garmin. I have a Fitbit and will switch next time it breaks which no doubt it will soon. To lose previously I did things on a weekly basis where I aimed for a specific calorie deficit ( used Fitbit and Nutracheck) over the course of a week and would have a mixture of higher and lower calorie days to achieve that to build in flexibility. I also built in periods of maintenance which I found helpful to practice maintaining with an eye to the future, gave me a bit of a break from losing and was helpful over holidays etc.

Because I have been ill over the last 8 years and unable to work finances are tight which is what has put me off for some time and also I wanted to see how others got on with it first. To cope with caring commitments I was self employed for years and at 55 I think I would struggle to find employment again as have days where I can’t get out of bed so I can’t see my financial situation improving particularly. I am now mobile again thank goodness having lost all my mobility pre hip replacement, so lovely to be able to walk again though I won’t return to running as want to preserve my new hip. Another essay from me!

I’ve not started so cannot answer from experience but I’d have thought energy gels would be a less good idea because they are usually very sweet/contain a LOT of sugar?

I am telling close family but mainly keeping things quiet. I have one friend who is quite anti putting anything “unnatural” in her body and whilst she’s always respected my choices, I don’t want to catch a glimpse of a possibly raised eyebrow! My mum would freak so not telling her but have told my sister. Can’t let kids know as have two daughters who have suffered with ED. My advice would be to just say you are reducing your portion sizes so as to become healthier and then it will all make some sort of sense, plus also explain future losses!

Morning all! I am doing my first injection tonight after I’ve eaten.

Getting nervous but also excited to make this change!

2.5mg mounjaro is my first dose

Can I join please? Just been approved by MedExpress and pen should be here within a few days. The kicker for me doing it was being really strict from Jan to Aug last year, cutting out all carbs and sugar, and losing about half a stone. Of course now over Christmas I have completely sabotaged myself, eating junk every day The food noise is horrendous - I also have OCD and the obsessiveness is very hard. Constantly thinking about what I have of haven’t eaten.

Apologies, I’m sure I’m asking a lot of already asked questions but if anyone minds sharing:

What vitamins do you take?
Do you feel the need to low carb or anything like that? Or can you get out of that diet mindset and just eat healthy?
How much exercise do you do - has it impacted that?
Are there are any better foods to eat?

Me too! It just arrived - excited :)

Mine arrived too, and have taken my first dose already! I ordered from Med Express and my order has been in transit since the 29th Dec, but arrived this morning still very cold which was great. They have forgotten to give me a sharps box but I work in a lab so will just bring them to my work one to dispose of for now.

I watched Juniper’s video as I administered and it was very good. I was nervous taking it but it was easy and painless. Took 3 goes to prime the pen, but all smooth after that. And now I wait to see if there are any side effects!

I was consciously analysing myself a bit yesterday and there were so many things I could have attributed to the jab had I taken it a day earlier, (woke up dehydrated, tingly feeling in my arm etc), so I’m going to try not to overanalyse every little thing today.

I'm also going to become best friends with my Slow Cooker! I reckon that way it will be easy to feed everyone and just take a smaller portion for myself, and leftovers can be easily used for family’s lunches the next day, good luck everyone!

@therocinante how exciting - we are starting our journeys at exactly the same time! How much weight are you hoping to lose?

@emmsyg glad you managed to inject all smoothly! I am actually doing it with Juniper as I wanted the extra support. I am aware it will start to get pricey but I hope it’s worth it. I also agree re over analysing everything - I know I am going to be a sucker for this so I really just need to calm down and go with the flow.

My MJ pen has been in the fridge for a week..... bought via pharmacy4u...... am so nervous!!!!!!! Hence haven't started yet.

Diabetic T1 and T2 parents. Who also have hypertension and other health issues.
I want to do my best to avoid falling into the same health hell holes.

About me....
ND brain.
Insomniac
Hashimotos hypothyroid
Full time working peri meno mummy
ND kids & OH.
Life is chaotic.

Currently 78kgs. Would love to get to 59kgs.
BMI of 30 today
Target BMI 22

Last time I was at that weight I had just found out I was pregnant with my 2nd child and had just lost over 20kgs!

I want to be leaner, stronger, more flexible, healthier than I am now and definitely more than my parents are when I hit the same age in 25 years time!

Will this MJ pen help me there?! And how quickly?!
Will there be side effects? How does one minimise them?

The pen might help you if you're in a calorie deficit for weight loss but may help you massively in terms of blood sugar levels.

It's different for everyone. If you're eating in a large calorie deficit you'll see results very quickly but that's assuming you get appetite suppression from the first dose. Many people don't until they hit higher dosage levels. I've been lucky and it works right out of the gate for me but my friend didn't lose a pound until appetite suppression kicked in at 7.5mg.

The only way to know is to do it and see.

Thanks for the wise words @VelvetWildflower

How many weeks are you in to this now?

Btw is there a good , or better, time of day to administer the jab?

@GorgeousLadyofWrestling will try to answer your questions, but I am by no means an expert....

What vitamins do you take? - I'm not taking any, but someone wiser may be have more knowledge...

Do you feel the need to low carb or anything like that? Or can you get out of that diet mindset and just eat healthy? - I've never known how to instinctively ETA healthy. I mean, I know how, I just haven't done it. So I'm tracking calories and protein.

How much exercise do you do - has it impacted that? - I exercise 3-4 times per week. I was tired the last few days, but I suspect that was a combo of cold, being due on and less calories more than anything else. Went for a run today and I felt good.

Are there are any better foods to eat? Keep your protein up - but that's not because of mounjaro, but a good option if you are wanting to eat healthier anyway. Feeds your muscles and keeps you full.

Wk1, day 4 feel absolutely fine. No hunger today, another 0.5lb down so currently standing at 2lbs in 3 days... I am trying to do at least 30 minutes exercise, have been out for walks but know I won't manage that when I get back to work next week. I have my exercise classes booked and will try and find the remote control for the indoor walker - it's here somewhere! I'm in quite a big calorie deficit as I'm just not that interested in food at the moment - never thought that I'd say that! Is that what thin people feel like???

Oh my God it's here!
Now it's real 😱
It's in the fridge, I need to walk the dogs before I do anything.
Is there any difference between injection sites? Does anyone prefer stomach or thigh?
I've discounted arms as I don't think I can contort myself like that.

@RamsayBoltonsConscience glad to hear it’s going well so far!

I can’t wait to not think about food all day long!

Your indoor walker.. is that a treadmill?

Some people say they do it in the evening so they can sleep through any side effects. I am a complete pathetic wimp with needles so DH who is T1 did mine and I got him to do it in the morning but in a quiet day. I think the official line is that you can do it anytime.

It's like a treadmill but has no front bar so it's only for walking. I got it out yesterday when it was too cold and wet to go out but couldn't find the remote - doesn't work without it!!🤦‍♀️

Day 4 of week 1 but I was on it for 10 weeks back in the summer before I tapped out so have some experience up to 7.5mg. That's when mine took a nose dive and I was so ill from the side effects that I chucked the towel in.

I'm being far more sensible this time around and will stay at 5mg as long as it's working!

Me 2 🙈 missed my steakpie dinner so havin that tonight and then jab b4 bed just hope ok at work 2morro 🙈🙈🙈

Hi everyone. I started today - I was intending to inject last night but have come down with a horrible cold and felt so tired last night I waited until this morning. I weighed myself and I am heavier than I have ever been in my life, especially after a cruise before Christmas and then Christmas. I'm 69, 5 feet tall and a small frame is hiding under all this flab! I have 3.5 stone to lose and have mobility problems so I can't walk very far or fast, so exercise is difficult (although there is an exercise bike which has been sitting unused in my lounge for years) and was also diagnosed with an underactive thyroid last year, although not bad enough for medication. So there is a lot against me losing weight, so I really really hope this works for me. My two daughters have been doing this for 6 months - one on Mounjaro and one on Wegovy.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences. Good luck everyone.