Mounjaro February to April 24 starters - Thread 4

[ObsidianTree]

4th thread!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5207564-mounjaro-february-to-april-24-starters-thread-3?page=40&reply=141722167

@Wonkypictureframe @Smallsalt
You've said what I'm trying to get my head around - I never binged, ate less than most people around me and while I accept I ate too many carbs, I still don't think it explains my former obesity. And I had to eat very low calorie to lose on MJ and even now, to keep the weight off (I do OMAD 2 or 3 times a week). Tdee has never been a helpful concept for me. But at least I feel like I've learned what I need to do, including ignoring a lot of what the experts say.

My summary is: total loss 78lbs, lowest 9st 11lbs (trying to stick at 10st but bad week, GI issues, and lost 3lbs in 3 days, very tempted to hit the 80lbs milestone but really mustn't) and BMI 20.3. Reduced from 10mg to 4mg, and the drugs still working. Skin definitely firming up around belly button but top of thighs remain quite a sight. Still not exercising 😔 but also still not drinking (my 2nd biggest achievement). New bras hurt. Knees still fat.

I do feel a bit sad for the folk posting who can't lose in MJ or who are gaining. These are the people with my exact metabolism!

Often they arent watching the calories or just say that they are "eating less". Eating less isn't enough, it needs to be eating in considerable deficit for many. Eating less could still be eating above what you need.
Also so many posts saying the calculators tell them 1800 cals a day. That's roughly what I was eating when I was fat. But these calculators seem to be taken as gospel.

Then they get told they aren't eating enough!
Whilst I accept that a "more" week can break a stall, I don't think that eat more is good advice for somebody who hasn't lost at all.

Its such a shame. Paying out a lot of money, actually feeling suppression but not losing. They see the drug literally as last chance saloon and have heard about all the "miracles". You can hear their distress and frustration.

I'm still plodding along. BMI is now 22.7. Currently on my second 12.5mg pen but having hunger most of the week so not sure what's gone on there. Bouncing up and down the same two pounds for the last three weeks.

I have three more jabs left in this pen then a 15 ready to move up. Contemplating increasing now.

I'd still like to lose another stone I think. My stomach area definitely has fat to spare

I think the weight loss journey is definitely more challenging when you don’t have much space to reduce. That probably sounds obvious but I definitely had to be resolute in the early months when people seemed to be losing stones and I was losing pounds. I agree that the TDEE for me would be excessive. I almost never eat three meals in a day, and often only one, and I don’t snack (I’m always the person saying no to the office cake, unlike all the obese people that MN posters know!), so my eating now isn’t that different. I’ve just managed to lose all the excess weight in the middle.

I'm still here. One year anniversary is next week so am going on a health kick this week in a bid to get the 50lb loss from my highest weight showing. I have been maintaining for a few months now with 10st as my upper threshold ie take action now to get back under 10st (9st 12 is my weight that gives a 50lb loss).

I don't post here much as... maintenance is way more boring than posting about weekly losses and NSVs. But I read it daily. Am maintaining with 2 meals a day, now including carbs and a 10mg pen. My 4pm sugar craving is back but I don't give in every day and don't eat as much when I give in. I have subscribed to Simply Cook so am eating tastier meals most nights. That's helping keep me off snacking.

@Smallsalt
Yes it's really hard to read. I still read the Oushk FB posts sometimes and it's full of them. Responses from the 'experts' are so....wrong but it's an echo chamber. Also, although I generally like before and after photos, there's a rather alarming development of obviously very thin users over-sharing these and their excessive workout results. I'm probably in the minority on this, judging from the number of likes and gushing comments, but I feel for those who see these and think they'll never get to that even if they lose 10st (I know I won't, I'm 58 for god's sake). It feels a bit like health and beauty fascism (not sure if that's the right phrase but I know what I mean!). Ah well, definitely time to delete that group I think.

@KrankyKumquat I know exactly what you mean. I usually feel very happy about my new size but it is easy when looking at some of those posts to see very slim people and still feel big. I don’t mean that people can’t slim to whatever size they feel healthy at, but many of us realistically won’t be that slim and it doesn’t mean we’re not also healthy!

@Wonkypictureframe
Thanks for that, it was the first time I'd really figured out why I found some of them a bit 'off' and didn't know how to best articulate my discomfort. Besides older women, there's an awful lot of people with disabilities and serious chronic conditions on the page too, which doesn't seem to get respected by these women. I don't frequent gym/beauty pages deliberately to protect my fragile self-esteem, but the ethos is creeping in to MJ pages it seems.

I've mostly left FB now but I've definitely stopped looking at those groups. Tbh outside this little group I find a lot of the online discussion of MJ tricky, including other threads on MN even. I'm glad we've had this safe space and I hope we can carry on chatting.

Although the thread is slower, there's usually some chat going on whenever I come on!

The work we've all done is amazing

Like most of you, I read this thread regularly. Once you reach goal, things change a lot. I think the key difference is how you think about food and other dopamine- reward systems. It is so transformational to be able to say, “yes, I am at the weight I want to be”. I can pretty much eat what I want, but what I want is small portions, 2-3 meals a day, and a good balance of protein-fats- carbs. I no longer feel deprived, I eat what I want, and what I want is enough. That seems straightforward but, my lord, what a change from my pre-MJ life.
I am also really enjoying harvesting new clothes from my old wardrobe. The sewing machine is out, I am repairing old beloved clothes I wasn’t able to fit in, cleaning some & I now have a “new” wardrobe of flattering clothes. This is done in part to avoid buying much, as the on-going cost of MJ is not insignificant (I am on 5mg & will be for the foreseeable. ) It is also nice to look in the mirror & like what you see! Well done, us!

Some great developments there. I am still struggling to get to my goal weight, but very happy to be merely overweight.

I was suffering from 'MJ flat bum' but made a real effort with workouts over the past few weeks. My bum has definitely perked and looks back to normal now 🥳

Evening all

I'm so pleased to see these threads are still running. I joined in March 24 and recognise lots of you. It's great reading how you've all gotten on - well done!

I reached my goal weight some months ago and have maintained well on 6.5mg down from 10 (which was my maximum dose)

However.. I've slipped back in to old habits. I've been hitting the chocolate. Hard 🤦🏼‍♀️

I'm stepping on the scales tomorrow for the first time in a fortnight and expecting to see a gain.. so I'm going to give my head a wobble and get back into the swing of making better choices.

I remember these threads played a big part in keeping me on track and helped me to stay accountable so here I am.

Solidarity to those of you having a moan about deflated boobs. Mine are all but gone, and what remains has very much gone south. Push up bra's are my new best friend.

@BlackFriYay Also hitting the chocolate hard here. Stepped on the scales, still close to goal but this is how it starts. I need to as you say give my head a wobble also. I also hate the way sugar makes me feel, I have a sugar hangover this morning!

I definitely still pop in every other day. I don't post much as I'm sort of maintaining now so I have nothing of interest to say, but I love hearing how others are doing which is usually also about maintaining, so maybe I should contribute more as I love hearing about it 🤣

I've had perhaps a different experience to some of you. When I started on 6 March, I thought I'd have to adopt my usual dieting pattern to lose weight, using MJ just as an aid. So that meant low carb, fasting (OMAD and the odd 3 - 5 day fast thrown in, together with HIIT (that murderous bitch Jillian Micheals!). In the past, doing all 3 was the only way I could lose weight. Just eating less, tracking calories etc just never worked for me.

So when I started I thought I'd just rely on the drug for the first week or so to see how the side effects went and also to test whether the drug alone helped me lose weight or whether I also needed to diet. So I ate 'normally' - skipped breakfast (have never really had it), chicken salad sandwich /bagel/salad/soup for lunch, perhaps a small bag of pretzels if I needed a salty hit, and then a dinner of chicken/beef/lamb with vegetables and a small amount of carbs. I lost 2kg that first week.

So I did it again the following week. Lost 1.8kg. My mind was BLOWN. For the first time in my life, I was doing what we've all been told to do - eat a balanced diet with an occasional treat - but for the first time my body was responding to that. I wasn't starving and constantly thinking of food or how to 'cheat the system', I wasn't having high/low blood sugar rushes or feeling weak and exhausted. I felt ... fine.

So I kept doing it. My weight loss slowed to around 1.5-2kg per month which I was very happy with, I wasn't counting calories, carbs or excessively exercising. I was literally eating WHAT I wanted, WHEN I wanted it and in the volume I wanted it. It has been so fucking freeing.

So I feel like for me, this drug has actually changed how my body processes food. I've always known my body isn't a bank account (calories in, calories out) and for me this drug has proved it.

So my approach for maintenance has been to keep doing what I've been doing. I'm currently in my preferred window (53-55kg, currently 54kg) at 5'1. I've never made it down to 53kg and while I'd like to see it (just once!) on the scale, I'm happy with my size (8-10, middle of my BMI range).

I got to 10mg at my highest and am now on my second 7.5mg pen which I'm trialling as a maintenance dose, and so far it seems to be working. My provider is happy for me to order up or down as I need to maintain, and I'm 10000% happy to stay on this drug forever.

So, for as long as this keeps working for me, I'm going to keep going. If I need to start paying attention to TDEE and carbs etc, then I guess I'll do it, but for now I don't need to and I could weep with gratitude every day!

Have returned to exercising to work on my body composition but now it's more for improving my shape and building muscle than to 'buy' myself more calories or carbs. And as a firmly established pear shape, I have a thigh gap for the first time ever. Will try and post a picture.

Oh god, sorry for the long self absorbed post!! I also meant to add that I've lost 56lb or so in this last year.

Well done to all of us, it's been an absolute pleasure to walk this journey with you all. Thanks so much for sharing the good, the bad and the ugly

@YouAreEffluentKim
Very well done. You're looking great in that picture - slim and fit. I've got one of those teeny gaps too, it's unbelievable isn't it?

Wow you 1 year on lot have achieved a lot more than I have in the same time! I am definitely more of a plodder with MJ, reckon it might take another year at this rate to get down to the middle of 'healthy BMI' range. I definitely won't be heading for a size 4, but a large 10/small 12 would be great. I'm going up to 15mg next week, will see if that makes a difference to my latest stall. I need to email my current supplier to establish what their maintenance options are, as my BMI is still above 27 (just) and with stubborn hypertension I still qualify to start on MJ with any supplier.

Glad you're still here - I get that maintenance is not really the space where you feel the need to post much but there are still those of us a year on who still have a way to go. Have a great weekend all.

BTW @YouAreEffluentKim you look incredible, well done on all your hard work.

Thanks ladies! To be fair, I think the leggings are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. In shorts, my legs are porridgy and very wobbly so definitely need to focus on the exercise.

@Everdecreasingcircumferences I hope the 15mg does the trick for you!

Whaaaaaaat. I'm not sure I want to know that exercise makes a difference. It means I might have to start! Lol.

(Mj twinnie here stuck in my other username). Need this thread to fill up so I can come back with my name you'll all recognise.

This was my name used to chat on the anti mj threads!

Hey all, I've been super quiet recently. I guess that now I'm around goal I don't have much to report.

I still haven't joined a gym! I keep thinking I can't afford it and making other excuses! I should just bite the bullet really!

In other news, not sure if this is a national thing, but was in Asda today and they had great deals on bras! I got a few bras between £2 and £4 each! So if anyone needs some bras, Asda might be worth a look. Definitely handy as I wasn't sure what bra size I was. I felt like I had gone down a cupsize but feel like it's more back size I've gone down than cup. Think I'm probably a 34G now.

Well done to everyone for keep in going 😊

I'm still here too. Will be a year on Sunday since I started, and I'm down 90lbs. Still got a way to go and I want to stay on MJ for at least a year after I reach a goal weight – not that I'm sure what that is at the moment.

I've applied for my next pen from Oushk, just so I can be sure they'll prescribe when I reach a weight i'm happy with.

It makes me a bit sad to think of how different my life might have been had this been available 30 years ago, all the time I avoided photographs and dressed in dowdy clothes that I thought hid how large I was. All the missed opportunities because I was so embarrassed about my size and didn't want to end up humiliated when the seatbelt didn't fit or the chair wouldn't hold my weight. But, there's still time to do some of those things I missed and that feels exciting.

I'm very grateful for this thread, I check it most days and although I've never met any of you it feels like you're friends with a common goal, who really understand that it wasn't just my own gluttony and laziness that got me to that point, and that has been amazingly helpful. X

I'm also a year on - I've lost 102 lbs in total, of which 37 was on my own in 2023, then 65 on MJ. This week I've been called "tiny" and "slim" which is unthinkable! Also I'm not tiny, I'm 10stone 7!
I'm still 15mg as I want to lose another 7lbs, finding it much harder even when I'm being good. I had a course this week and ended up having sandwiches for lunch and pizza for dinner - dreadful stomach ache that night as that's the most carbs I've had in ages!
I'm not feeling much suppression at the moment but am hoping that it's just an unlucky pen. I do need to get my mind back into it properly for those last few lbs.
Still finding it impossible to believe I can fit into size 12 skinny jeans, which are NOT skinny on me as my legs have really shrunk. I've got an entire new wardrobe including knickers as nothing fitted any more. Expensive times!
I'm going to join Oushk as soon as I get round to it - on my to do list for the weekend