January 2025 Starters Thread 4 Let's lose some more!

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Following on from here

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@Thelittlestranger I’m tracking carbs accurately and calories very loosely as the calorie counting approach has never worked for me in the past. I’ll happily gain weight on very few calories if they come from the wrong source like starchy foods.

The only way I’ve lost weight and maintained that loss in the past is to have strict control of my carb intake. I gained weight when my gastro consultant put me on a very strict diet including gluten free, no fruit and very low fibre. The low fibre bit is incompatible with the early stages of low carb dieting so I’m working towards reducing carbs within my limited diet. I’m currently just over my former maintenance level which is probably why weight loss is slow.

i do have insulin resistance which is why I thought Mounjaro might help. I’m sure it will in higher doses but I need to get my carb intake sorted fairly soon as I’ve got a limited budget for Mounjaro, especially at the higher doses.

@MananaMananaPenelope How often are you weighing yourself? Different frequencies work for different people but I find that weighing daily takes the sting out of seeing fluctuations and you get a better sense of your body's pattern depending on TMI, if you ate lots of salt, worked out etc.

I love daal and its a go to homemade lunch for me but it can be quite calorific with the butter and cream.

@Pandora71 just when I fancy it really. Not daily because of fluctuations.

We shared a M&S collection meal for two between three of us with me having a single slice of the tandoori chicken, small ramekin of dhal and small portion of rice. My hollow legged teens ate much more than ⅓ each of the dhal and rice so I’m happy that nutracheck was fairly accurate on cals.

I’ve been weighing and measuring for almost two years post chemo so I’m fairly confident that my calorie count is accurate/not kidding myself ifswim.

I’ve stayed the same this week. Definitely need to keep tracking and stick to the habit changes. Although I had yoghurt this morning in the cafe with my DH instead of the almond croissant that I really wanted - because of no scales movement this week.

Need ti get my next pen ordered soon. Think I will stick to 5 and see what happens.

W3 D3 and I’m hungry!!!!

Although from what I’ve just read up thread this is a common thing at this week. I was going to stick with 2.5 but I think I’m going to move up to 5.

Finally on my lunch break and hoping my chicken salad and cup a soup will cut it.

@MananaMananaPenelope I guess you just have to stick at it if you are confident your calorie counting is accurate!

I also drink tons of herbal tea (peppermint for me, can't get enough) - but good point, that would certainly count towards my liquid intake... I don't like flavoured water, so any squash isn't really an option for me. The odd glass of cordial is fine, but again, I don't like it in large quantities. Water is fine, it's just that my motivation to put anything in my mouth is nil at the moment 😂

@Saggyknickers @DGonMJ Are you eating enough? That daytime tiredness you are experiencing sounds very much like me when I haven't eaten enough. I think that this is one of the trickiest aspects of mj - making sure that I'm fuelled enough to function. It masks the signs really well, and I find that I have to be super-mindful to get enough calories. It's a bit of a 'damned if you do, dammed if you don't' situation - wanting a decent calorie deficit, so that I lose weight, but allowing me to function at the same time. For some reason, that used to be so much easier when I was younger!

@Pandora71 😩, sadly I’m an expert at calorie counting.

I’m fasting today and will just have dinner. Currently drinking camomile tea while I get my hair done. No food yet today.

Don't forget that 2.5mg is not a therapeutic dose, so ANY loss in the first month is a bonus. 7.5mg is the first therapeutic dose I think I read so we're only at the very beginning of a long road.

im using Voy, they don't encourage calorie counting but instead you take a photo of your meals and snacks and it gives you a breakdown of how they rate for various categories - fibre, carbs, protein etc. it also gives you a suggestion on how to improve your meal for next time.
For example, my highest rated meal this week were a mini quiche with salad, coleslaw, olives and seeds. The week before was bacon and scrambled egg on multigrain toast.
Its really interesting to see how highly rated some foods are which you would never have down as 'diet' foods. And it helps you 'round out' meals by telling you what to add - more protein with another slice of bacon or more fibre with some whole grain bread or more fruits etc.
its really helpful to challenge the whole perception of what 'diet' foods are.

Just been out for lunch - hadn’t eaten breakfast but ate my main and had some of my daughter’s ice cream. Didn’t actually struggle so now I’m thinking it’s either not working or I’ll pay for it later ……

Ice cream? Mate you are BRAVE!

A spoonful but it was fine last time so…..

5mg done. I was strangely nervous about it as I’d planned 3.75 today but 3.33 last week didn’t really do much so it’s time to move up.

Valentines brunch today with friends was surprisingly easy as virtually every dish involved eggs which I find repulsive so I just had beans on gluten free toast. As luck would have it the gf bread was brown so I could leave it without anyone thinking it was odd. I’m yet to find an edible brown gf bread and it’s surprising how often it turns up as the gf alternative. So after a fortifying plate of baked beans I’m beginning to feel peckish.

That’s interesting @MJalltheway , I find calorie counting helpful. It’s amazing how quickly calories add up if you don’t know what an appropriate portion for that food type looks like. I don’t believe in diet food, never have done. The replacement ingredients are far worse than the natural versions generally.

I’m seeing my endocrinologist in two weeks, it was her that suggested my metabolism was stuck post chemo/hormones/steroids and that I might need to drop below the 1300-1500 calories I was eating a day due to my age and ⬆️ the above. I’m going to compile a list of questions for when I see her and hope she’s got some insight into MJ. I’ve got a 2.5mg pen in the fridge and a 5mg pen arriving tomorrow so that’s 11 weeks potentially.

Possibly a major error tonight. I've promised my husband we can use the fondue set he got for Christmas tonight. Melted cheese and bread, what can go wrong...

@cloudjumper I’m probably not eating enough. I’m on 1200 calories, but a TDEE calculation shows I should be on 1450 for cutting as my maintenance is 1950. I’m getting on average 8 hours of sleep a night which is more than I used to get.
Psychologically it’s hard to increase calories when you’re not losing. But this tiredness is getting in the way of my productivity - I’m not burning through my to do list like I used to.

I’ve also been sticking to 12-1300 which is about 700 under and not really losing (past 2 weeks total of 2lbs). Tempted to increase to 1500?

@Saggyknickers you’re doing really well! That’s a fab loss in a month.

I “only” lost a pound the week before (time of the month) so looking at that and the 4 off this week, I’m taking it as more of an average of 2.5 off both weeks. If that makes sense.

I’m aiming for 1200cals a day but some days it’s less depending on suppression. But today (because I was late taking the 5mg dose) I was really quite hungry until the afternoon and am ending the day on just about 1300.

Well done on all the great losses! I lost another 4lbs this week, very happy with that. Took my second 5mg dose yesterday and feel fine, no side effects and lots of suppression. Had a chicken salad in a cafe for lunch today, it was a humongous portion but I only managed about a third of it. Then went to the pub this evening for a retirement do, had one vodka with Diet Coke and a tiny amount of the buffet but feel stuffed now. Still can’t get over how small my appetite is! Before mounjaro I never ever felt full, I could always eat more!

@UnderandOverwhelmed good luck - we love fondue in this house. I have a green starter (ala Glucose Goddess) and have potatoes, peppers, chicory etc. then have some bread towards the end, but less.

I'm curious about set point theory and whether 2 years is from when you start or after you get to goal and whether it needs to be forever or if we can reset it. I guess there's not enough known yet.

Wow a very busy new thread already!
Great to see some fantastic results for people on here!
I've lost track a bit but I think I've just done shot 7 on Thursday. I didn't manage to get a golden dose out my first pen sadly but will be ordering the syringes recommended by people on here to get the golden dose from my current pen which is 5mg but I've stuck so far to 2.5mg
SW 20st5
CW 18st 3
GW 12st 5
Total loss 26lbs in 6 weeks.

I've ordered pen 3 already and gone for 5mg again and may shift up to 3.75mg at some point but keen to stay on 2.5mg as long as poss because I have so much to lose still so don't want to blitz through the dosage levels.

Morning everyone, happy Saturday ( and start to half term to those who have kids!)
We’re off to Iceland for 5 days on Wednesday and I’d like to take some healthy snacks with me, partly in case I’m hungry during the day but partly because it looks like I’ll have to sell a kidney to buy lunch every day 🤣. We have breakfast included at the hotel, I tend to fast and eat from lunch onwards but I’ll try to make myself eat something at breakfast,
So far I have some almonds! I was thinking of lentil cakes but I won’t have anything to put on them. Any other ideas of non refrigerated snacks? Happy to make things if I can easily transport!!
thanks

Checking in again, have done the 4th jab and yes plenty of liquid left in the pen for another. Still not sure if I want to move up or not, maybe will do the 3.75 dose. Will see how the last week goes.
Last week's loss only 1.1 kilos - but I was on holiday and ate and drank what I wanted. And during the holiday before this one, when I did the same, I put ON 4 kilos! So I will consider this an effective loss of 5 (mounjaro math) 😁

I was 78.3 kilos after Xmas holidays
75.8 on 15th of january when starting MJ
71.9 today.

4 kilos per month is not super quick loss (but if I can continue this rate, I'd be slim by summer), and I have been eating very little some days, so would expect more on those calories. But on the other hand, it's been so easy! Not like when I previously cut calories, went low carb or did any other weight loss efforts - those were indeed efforts that consumed all of my headspace. What can I eat, when can I eat, sitting on my hands in the evenings so I wouldn't raid the fridge. And second, I knew were not sustainable.
But now, I could literally live like this for ever.

Good morning everyone. And well done all on the weight losses.

Reading through the posts on here has given me food for thought.
I never envisaged being on the injections long term. I saw them as an aid to weight loss that could be stopped once I got to goal. But what I’m taking away from others experiences is, it may have to be a lifelong thing.

My week’s been pretty steady. Symptoms have reduced to mostly nausea. Have had some food noise but quickly quelled with a rice cake.
Bizarrely, vegetables are tasting amazing at the moment. Has anyone else had that? The plainer the food the better for me currently.
On the flip side, I tried some flavoured crackers this week (UPF) and they tasted awful.

Just taken my first 5mg and am anticipating a rough couple of days. Hopefully not.

Good luck all for the week ahead.

SW 196lbs
CW 179lbs
GW 133lbs