DH about to be prescribed injections, 11 stone to lose!

[McQueensMuse]

He currently weighs somewhere north of 28 stone.
GP agrees he has tried other routes and has scheduled an appointment to prescribe injections.

I know he’ll get advice on the day but I want to get prepared.
What brand would you recommend?
Does the GP decide what dosage you take?

How important is exercise in the beginning?
He pretty much point blank refuses to do any at the moment as he’s in too much pain and (I think) too embarrassed to go to the gym, But this will have to change.

What kind of food would you recommend?
Do you still eat three meals per day?

I'm on Mounjaro and started off with a BMI of 40.

Yes, you eat three meals a day and it is important to eat even if appetite suppression is really high. What I felt was that these injections freed me to really nourish my body with fresh unprocessed food and to be healthy while losing weight. Do prioritise protein and fibre - chicken, fish, leafy green vegetables, nuts, Greek yoghurt, fruit.

I was already a regular gym-goer and had been weight training with a personal trainer for over a year beforehand so I have kept that up. For someone at 28 stone with no history of exercise, he should start slow and gentle - some walking and maybe swimming? He will need to do something low impact while at that weight, for the sake of his joints. He can build up the exercise as he loses weight. I imagine it will come off pretty quickly at the start.

I'm quite a slow loser compared to many on these boards, but even so, I'm nearly four stone down in just over eight months and while I still have a BMI in the obese range, overweight is beckoning! In total, I'm aiming for about a seven stone loss.

It's an amazing opportunity to develop healthy habits.

@PistachioPineapple thank you so much!

And well done on your weight loss.

What brand would you recommend?
The two main jabs are Wegovy (known as Ozempic in the US) and Mounjaro. The latter led to higher levels of weight loss in trials so it's more likely they'd prescribe it

Does the GP decide what dosage you take? Everyone starts of the same starter dose for a month for your body to get used to the drug. For Mounjaro that's 2.5mg. You then progressively move up to higher doses. For some people the appetite suppression and removal of food noise is immediate, for some it doesn't kick in until on 5mg and upwards.

How important is exercise in the beginning?
Exercise is important but if he really struggles at his current weight it might be easier to wait until it's reduced a bit. I'm three stone down from a starting weight of 19 stone 9 and it's already so much easier to move myself around. Maybe he could start with building up the amount he walks.

What kind of food would you recommend?
High protein, low carb. It's important not to drop too low on the calories front so if at any point he struggles to eat much, that's worth factoring in. I've added cheese to meals if my calories count feels too low for the day.

Do you still eat three meals per day?
Personally I tend to eat two as it works better for me but there's no reason not to eat three. They will likely be much smaller meals than he's been used to though as he'll feel full after a smaller amount of food.

@PinkArt Ozempic is known as Ozempic in the UK and the US. Wegovy is Wegovy in both also. Ozempic and Wegovy are both the same medication - semaglutide. Ozempic is prescribed for diabetes and in lower doses than Wegovy. Wegovy is prescribed for obesity and although starts at the same low dose as Ozempic it also comes in higher doses and people take higher doses as prescribed by their provider.

Sorry yes that could have been clearer, although given we were in the WLI threads hopefully the context was enough. If the OPs husband is prescribed semaglutide in the UK for weight loss it will be Wegovy.

No issues @PinkArt - just wanted to make sure the OP knew what was what! There is so much confusion about the various medications.

Thanks guys!