What do you wish you knew before starting

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What advice would you give a newbie (me MJ)

I appreciate everyone is different in terms of side effects and what food choices you make but I'm curious

There's so much varied info on here it's a great resource

Every week is different!

What advice I would give a newbie, sorry that this is boring and I've repeated it before on these types of threads, is to read the two paper leaflets that come in the box with the injection. The instructions for use, and the patient information leaflet can probably answer most questions that seem to get asked here. Also read the info sent to you by your prescriber or on their website, for the same reason.

Along with @SilenceInside, I probably sound boring as I keep saying the same thing on these threads but don’t have any ‘expectations’ or compare yourself to anyone else. Everyone seems to have a different response to this medication so just work with it and see what happens!

Don’t aim for total suppression if at all possible (it affects people differently though). I still feel hungry and look forward to meals but the food noise has gone so the hunger feeling doesn’t take over and accompany me to the biscuit cupboard - I just look forward to my next meal. Pretty miraculous!

Oh and eat proper food with maximum nutritional benefit and do this from day 1 so it becomes habit forming. I have teenage daughters so am not going to inflict any mad eating patterns on them so I eat family meals but in smaller portions. Have still lost 32 pounds since September.

Obviously the caveat with any advice is that people respond differently so don’t beat yourself up.

WLI are a tool, you do still need to make an effort. Know how many calories you should be eating a day (app), and eat to that every day. Exercise if you don't. It's not a quick fix, it's a life overhaul. If you have a lot to lose, it will still take a long time. Be consistent. Once you lose a layer of blubber, you will feel cold.

Be patient.

Don't compare yourself to others or think that because someone on social media says they've lost a stone in 3 days () that you're doing something 'wrong'.

Before you start, have some imodium and lactulose to hand as gastric issues are quite common but it seems to affect people differently.

Use a tape measure. Log all of your measurements as sometimes it seems like you're not losing any weight but the tape measure shows that you're losing inches.

You don't need to move up the doses until the dose you are on stops working for you, even if providers say 2.5mg is not a therapeutic dose, if it is working for you stay on it until it doesn't. Plenty of people have been on the lower doses for many months.

Be careful if you choose a provider that operates a subscription service as they will send you out the next pen with the next strength if you don't tell them you want to stay on the same dose.

Don’t forget to ensure you get enough fibre

And conversely don’t stay on a low dose if it stops working for you as the bigger losses do come at the higher doses, both in trials and real life. But as this poster stays if it is working stay where you are, it is an individual judgement call.

also make sure you eat sufficient calories, and get your protein, 1g for every kg of weight, and drink at least 2 litres of water a day, we pee out fat.

Don’t be tempted to undereat and starve yourself basically. You will be very unwell. And if you come off, regain fast.

and also exercise, build or retain muscle, this is key to fat burning and also stability. You need to lose fat, not muscle.

lastly avoid foods that can cause gastrointestinal issues.

so limit high sulphur foods, to avoid the sulphur burps, avoid fizzy drinks, beans, too many eggs etc, you can google the list.

Also avoid anything too fatty, spicy , carby or sugary, as you will likely get bad guts if you do eat them.

sp focus on eating clean and the right macros, ie enough protein, plenty of water and exercise, inc resistance or strength.

good luck, it is a journey but a fantastic one.

• don't compare yourself to others and don't be disappointed if you have small losses
• track your calories - you'll only lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit
• change your diet and start building good habits now so you're more likely to keep the weight off
• full suppression isn't really realistic - take a high enough dose that it gets rid of the food noise, but still allows you to have balance meals
• don't ignore side effects - if something doesn't feel right, speak to your provider or GP
• don't be tempted to mess around with the doses - take as prescribed

Thanks everyone some great points here I wasn't thinking about

• read the leaflet
• follow the dosage
• eat lots of protein
• not too many carbs
• plenty of fibre
• not too many UPFs
• don't be tempted to starve yourself, even though it might be easy to do so
• drink plenty of water
• exercise if you can, especially build / maintain muscle
• 2.5mg might not do anything for you, don't panic
• some weeks you might gain, don't panic
• try not to lose too quickly, slow and steady really does win the race
• other people might lose a lot more quickly than you, don't panic (they will likely have problems later that you won't have)
• it might take a little while to find that sweet spot where you're eating well and enough but still losing weight, enjoying your food but feeling hungry from time to time and learning how to manage it, all with few or no side effects. Don't panic.
• try to enjoy the process and make the most of it - anecdotal evidence suggests GLP1s don't work as well second time around, so do your absolute best with this opportunity to overhaul your nutrition and give yourself the best chance of successful maintenance
• join a nice, supportive thread on here

Be patient.

That you might feel cold a lot, week 3 here and constantly freezing

1. From the word go, use the change in desire to eat to develop good new habits.
2. if you’re feeling sick as a dog on the first level of dose, then you’ll probably feel even sicker on the next level. Don’t necessarily shoot up in dose

One more, you may react differently to the different drugs. I couldn’t stand ozempic. Horrendous reactions and side effects - felt so ill I vomited on a train on the low dose, chronic headaches, and didn’t use full first needle. I’m millions better on Mounjaro but I get an injection site allergy so am not allowed to increase my dose.
I may sadly have to actually attempt to fire up my will power

1. Try to focus on whole foods to get your nutrients, so not being too reliant on shakes, protein bars etc
2. Drink lots of water
3. Get plenty of protein but don’t skimp on fibre!
4. Do exercise from the outset, even if you start small & build up - strength training will help prevent muscle loss & support weight loss