January 2025 Starters Thread 8. New clothes, new shoes, new bodies...

[Thelittlestranger]

Roll up, roll up ....

Amazing @meatyryvita and @Zempy !!!

I saw my parents today and my Dad who is the most unobservant man on the planet said ‘you’ve lost a bit of weight!’ so it must definitely be noticeable here too. I had a good loss last week of 2.6lbs (I usually lose 1lb a week and have STS a few weeks too) and I’ve somehow also lost another 2.4lbs since Thursday 😮 Not sure what’s going on but I’ll take it.

I'm getting second hand excitement from you being in NY Zempy - have a fab time 🇺🇸 🥳 it's always nice when seeing a pic of yourself that doesn't make you want to cry isn't it? 😂

I lost another 2lb this week taking me to 10st 5lbs and a bmi of bang on 22. It's my birthday this week and I had a very nice lunch at the Ivy today and a few cocktails to celebrate and I felt good in my size 10 jeans! But I definitely empathise with those of you who feel a bit flat - Im not depressed but I just feel like nothing really excites or interests me any more. That's my only worry with staying on MJ (which I'm planning to do for a while yet - don't trust myself to go cold turkey) - that I'm not fully myself on it and everything's dulled a bit. I don't get that dopamine hit from anything any more, even when dh bought me a pair of expensive sunglasses I tried on whilst we were out today - I liked and wanted them but wasn't excited like I would've been in the past. It's like all my senses are underwhelmed! But it has meant I don't overeat, overdrink, overshop or smoke any more so there's that!
I'm also a bit "meh" about my weight loss - I know if I'd lost it without MJ I'd be feeling really amazing at this weight and have loads of energy, but I'm just...blah.

Not moaning btw, just an observation and to say "I get it" to the others feeling this way.

Happy Birthday @JoanCollinsDiva !!

Morning all. Corfu calling! Much to catch up on which I will do this morning.

Friday seemed endless and full of minor disasters from DH taking a diversion to avoid a standstill motorway and then turning back onto said motorway but heading back the way we came to me dropping my hat in the car park and realising at check in. (I did get it back but it has been run over - good job it’s a packable one. Worst by far was the announcement of a delay of 45 minutes just as they shut the plane door after boarding.

Anyway we’re here and the hotel is lovely. We’re in an annexe which is quiet and private but up a fairly steep hill so I get plenty of leg exercise. Main Pool is freezing so only did 20 lengths rather than the planned 40 yesterday and as it’s 3.5m deep it ain’t warming up any time soon. Will check out the smaller pool today. Buffet is extensive but navigable - easily navigable for a lactose intolerant coeliac on MJ!!!! Nonetheless I’ve had three small meals and feel totally stuffed as it’s at least 1.5 meals more than normal. Drinks at the bar are stupidly strong, even when you ask for a small vodka you get half a glass poured so have taken to ordering a vodka and coke and a coke and chucking them both into my Stanley ish mug.

It’s 7 am here and the sun is blazing. Have a great day all.

@Jins sounds lovely (except the cold swim 🥶) enjoy the sunshine, vodka and easy to navigate buffet!

@JoanCollinsDiva a nice 2lb loss for your birthday week - the MJ gift that keeps on giving (or taking)

yay @discov ’s dad for noticing your loss!

@Zempy glad you’re making memories!

Week 20 day 1 today - new 5mg pen
SW 79.6kg BMI 29.2
CW 62.7kg BMI 23.0
GW 62.4kg BMI 22.9

0.2kg loss this week, which is slowest loss so far, but still a loss. It’s not been the best week for calories in. I’ve had pastries, Prosecco, homemade wedges, hashbrowns. And I put away 1700cals yesterday, so I’m managing to eat at maintenance on 5mg. I had a stressful day, where I found it difficult to make sensible choices, but managed over 80g protein.

I read a post on a maintenance thread advising once you reach target to stay on the same dose for a month before titrating down. So I plan to carry on with 5mg for the rest of this pen. Think I’ll order another 5, and if I need to I can go down to 4mg next month.

Working an event today, which was not planned, I’m stepping in to cover. Hope you all have a much more relaxing Sunday ahead of you than I do!

@Jins and @Zempy enjoy your holidays!
So, my official weigh day is Friday when I'd lost 200g from the week before. But I weigh daily/every other day anyway and today I'm 1kg down from Friday's weight! That's clearly not fat loss in 2 days so it leads me to think that Friday's weight was inflated for some reason (water, inflammation, digestion etc).
Just shows what a huge daily difference all the other things that make up your total weight can make.

Very jealous of Corfu - my favourite place in the world!

I have no idea how accurate it is, and tbh assume it’s not very - but my visceral fat just turned green, 11. In January it was red, 19! This feels completely momentous.

@MJalltheway I had a small loss last week (my official weigh in day is also Friday) and this weekend seem to have whooshed down another 3lbs - mad?! Am hoping the loss sticks around till Friday. So odd how the scales do this. I am convinced inflammation has a big part to play, but don’t know how it all works really.

Morning all, enjoy your holidays and birthdays!!

Wonderful @meatyryvita 👏. I wore a dress last week that I hadn't been able to wear for a couple of years. Nice feeling.

We're driving home today, hoping to finish off my garden before a hectic week at work including going down to London for an interview. I was shortlisted for this role in December, now got a couple of other things in the pipeline but we shall see.

Ouskh have recalled my order which DPD have cocked up and are sending another pen. It is tricky when you're not at home isn't it, even if they had have delivered it yesterday we weren't there. Great customer service from Ouskh yet again.

Oh, I ate the mussels and tons of bread yesterday!! Lovely 😍.

Sounds like there is lots to celebrate! Well done those of you with NSV, amazing weight losses and reaching or close to goal, fabulous🎉.
Your holidays sound great @zempy and @Jins , enjoy every second! I swam this morning, in a lake and it was flipping freezing! My legs and arms felt so heavy that I only
managed 200m and had to get out, not great but at least I did that!!

Glad you had the mussels and bread @MananaPenelope you should be able to have what you fancy and enjoy it! Loads
of luck with the interview too🤞🏻.

Busy week ahead here too, I’m in Edinburgh overnight with work Tue- Wed. I’m being made redundant at the end of June so they’re taking me out for dinner( not quite as exciting as @HeavyHeidi fab sounding work trip though!). Other than on Teams, I’ve not seen most of them since January so will be interesting to see if anyone says anything.

My weight is fluctuating a lot atm. Official
weigh in day tomorrow and hoping to have lost. Sticking with 8.5mg for another week and moving up to 10 after that as not finding 7.5 all that great!!

Enjoy the rest of your Sundays everyone!

@Jins oh that sounds lovely, despite the little snags on the way. I just live for my holidays.

This is absolutely me too!! Holidays are what life is all about and why I work!!

@2025istheyeari anything fun planned? Ideally I want to have my holidays planned for about a year in advance.
Just saw a hilarious TikTok, the caption was something like: me explaining to DH how much our next holiday will cost, and the sound was Diane Abbott explaining how much new police recruitment will cost: "Well, erm, if we recruit the 10,000 policemen and women over a four-year period, we believe it will be about £300,000. No, I mean, sorry. They will cost... It will cost... about... about £80 million."

I love hearing about holiday plans! I'm trying to plan a big hol next summer (post A levels for DS) and very undecided about what to do/where to go so always looking for inspiration!

We’re off to Japan in 6 weeks, can’t wait! Portugal for a week in August, poss South Korea in Oct half term, and Thailand for Christmas. Oh and a weekend in Rome. I used to work for an airline and my friends all joke about us talking about something for 2 mins then me sending details of flights and a full itinerary 🤣. How about you?
@MJalltheway what kind of thing are you looking for? Happy to help with some thoughts!!

we did Thailand last Xmas, so much less stressful if you don't have to worry about seeing a 100 people and cooking dinners. My mum and sister's family came as well, we all live in different countries so often meet up for holidays.
We have a long weekend in Spain planned, and camping in France (a nice one, I am not into actual tents, www.les-sablons.com/ ). DC just adore campsites, so much to do and other kids to meet.
Oct half term we're going to Athens, DC1 has developed a keen interest in Greek mythology and arheology, so he asked if we could. Really looking forward to that.
Now looking for February - thinking Indonesia, Borneo wildlife and sailing in Raja Ampat. Definitely want to go to Japan and South Korea one of those years too.

Wow, all of your holidays sound amazing! I’d love to travel more but sadly finances don’t allow. I am however off to Majorca in 2 months which I am very much looking forward to, mainly because I will be able to comfortably fit in the aeroplane seat and wear nice dresses for the first time in forever thanks to mounjaro!

yes, not having to think about my weight when packing for holidays is certainly much nicer!

Good afternoon all!! Hope you're all well. I lost the damned thread and then forgot to update (bloody menopause brain!). So, I've just finished the bonus dose of my 10mg pen and unless I can get on to a maintenance regime (really hope that I can!), then there is no more MJ for me. I ordered another 10mg pen to keep to a maintenance regime, but this was declined. I kept contacting Zava about this but the telephone people aren't medics or pharmacists and just don't budge on it...and despite me sending them 3 messages via my account over past fortnight, I've not had any reply!

Late last week, I contacted Pharmulous, explained the situation and filled an order for a 10mg pen. I've just now sent in all the info that they asked for. Here's hoping I can get onto a maintenance regime. I'm hoping I can use that then maybe taper down.

I think with Zava, they're just not happy to prescribe for anyone under a BMI of x. I did explain that I only want a maintenance regime and have no wish to lose more weight; that I'm BAME, with PCOS and a family history of cardio vascular issues and T2DM...but still no joy. The people I spoke to on the phone just kept saying that my BMI too low, and they couldn't give me any advice or pointers about a maintenance/tapering regime. I'm really cross though that no one has responded to the 3 messages that I sent. I'll keep you guys posted about everything.

I really don't want to pile the weight back on if I can't get onto a maintenance regime. I am careful with what I eat, but will also allow myself less healthy stuff (so yesterday I had a Maccy D breakfast!), but I am careful with it and make sure to stop as soon as I feel full. I drink plenty of water. Snacks are seldom, but I have things like fruit, seeds/nuts.

So now on Week 20, Day 2:
SW 76.2kg (this is from 3/1/25, but was higher in Nov/December), BMI 28, fat 36.5%, visceral fat 11, water 43.6%, subcut fat 32.7%.
CW: 56kg, BMI 20.6, fat 27.8%, visceral fat 4, water 49.5%, subcut fat 26.2%.
GW: I'm at my goal weight. I thought I'd go for a 55-60kg range (my pre-meno weight).

If I can't get onto a maintenance regime, do you mind if I still come on here? I think I could do with reading the posts and getting the support, as that will help.

Sounds fantastic! We went to Borneo last October and it was amazing! Malaysian rather than Indonesian though. My mum, sister and nephew are coming to Thailand too, can’t wait!
@MummyInTheNecropolis Majorca sounds fabulous and being able to wear wonderful dresses definitely something to celebrate!!

@TicTac80 congratulations on reaching goal! Oh gosh, Zava sound awful! Really hope you manage to get a maintenance dose. Have you looked here, it’s a list of all pharmacies offering maintenance and many offer at less than bmi 25, maybe worth a shot? https://monj.co.uk/mounjaro-maintenance-pharmacies/

worst case of course stay here, we’re more than happy to have you!!! Keep
us posted and good luck

Of course you should still post here TicTac80 - you are one of us! 🥰 I'm almost at/am at (undecided) goal now and plan to keep posting. I also go and have a gander at one of the maintenance threads to see how people a bit further on are getting along.

If you have no luck with pharmulous I'm pretty sure Oushk is supposed to be one of the best for maintenance (I still keep meaning to switch as they are cheaper than juniper who I'm still with). I think as long as you have evidence (ie the boxes with your name on) you can just go onto the maintenance plan with them but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will fill you in. I'm on my last 7.5mg pen now and then will be titrating down and am planning staying on a maintenance dose for a good while - I'm not ready to go it alone yet! I'm at 10st 5lbs and quite happy with that but also wouldn't be adverse to getting down to 10. I am trying to start eating a bit more now though. We shall see.

All the holiday talk sounds fab and has galvanised me into looking at ours - dh fancies a cruise but it needs to be teen friendly! I'm especially jealous of Japan 2025istheyeari - really want to go there.

That sounds an amazing collection of trips! We don't have anything other than a week in Cornwall in summer at the moment.
our ideal for next summer would probably be safari but might be just too pricey. We did Thailand last summer which was incredible but kids have requested a shorter travel time next time! So maybe Sri Lanka, maybe Caribbean or Mexico. Everyone has different preferences which is a real pain!

Thank you guys, I really appreciate it! @2025istheyeari, I did have a look at Oushk but there was no option for booking a consultation (annoying!). I will have a look at the link you sent - thank you for that!

I love hearing about everyone's holiday plans! DC and I are doing two camping trips this year. I bought an old VW T2 camper and it's currently having work done on it, so once that is done, we can head out in that (hence just two short camping trips booked so far). Normally we just pile the car with tent and camping gear and head off, but I need to get van sorted. Quite excited about that as it means we can do lots of trips about the place.

We did a road trip around the Yucatan last summer, it was fab! Our son is 16 now and loved it. We also went to Sri Lanka a few years ago and that was amazing too. Let me know if you want any details and I can pm
you!

I’ve been trying to book with Oushk too and emailed them about their lack of appts, they said they had released more but I can’t find them so emailed them back, will let you know what they say.

ooh camper van sounds great fun! Hope you can get it sorted soon and have lots of amazing trips!

PS just had a quick look on the link and Pharmulous are on there! Phew! I've uploaded all the info that they asked for, so here's hoping that they allow it. The lowest BMI that they will accept for maintenance is 19, and I'm 20.6. Oushk still does not have availability for consults (registered and tried before but just checked again).

A lesson here my friends: make sure you guys choose a provider that will offer maintenance schemes!! Or switch to a provider that offers this before your BMI goes too far below 25. I didn't even consider that when I first signed up: I stupidly thought that because I was on their books, and being prescribed the pens (obviously making sure I sent them the info that they needed), that I could just continue on to a maintenance program. It's a real pain now to try and sort this, despite me contacting them about it last bloody month and then not getting anything back apart from "no".

I honestly am not looking at losing more weight, but I've read what happens with the vast majority of people who do go cold turkey on WLIs, and I want to prevent that. I think that what I'll have to do anyway, from now on is be super watchful on what I do eat and be strict with weigh-ins and logging the food I eat to keep on track. I've read that women need less calories after menopause, so I'll have to keep an eye out.