March 2025 starters Thread 5

[TheSpoonyNavyReader]

New thread for all of us.
Thank you for allowing me to rant, share our ups and downs. Our group blows my mind of how we are so supportive of each other.

Some of us are now hitting the 12 week mark, some of us are nearly at their goal, some halfway and some still have a way to go, but we are all losing even if it’s half a pound a week. We have all come so far and are making a difference to our health.

I had this when I went from 2.5 to 3.75, it passed in 3-4 says and when I did my second 3.75 I was fine and then going from 3.75 to 5 I was fine too. Just a note that 3.75 is against guidelines but I did it.

We are having a Chinese takeaway tonight, trying to decide what to have...any ideas?

I'm on 5mg and it's day 4 of my jab so suppression is still fairly high I think I've found my sweet spot of 5mg at the moment.

I'm a bit bored of chicken black bean and boiled rice which is my usual "healthy" go to at a Chinese. Debating noodles but they are oily. Maybe soup and steamed sui mai?

Yes @Illbefinejustbloodyfine I think a lot of my weight gain was through wine over Covid and lockdowns. It became a habit and I was drinking far too much. I hardly drink now, way before starting MJ. I feel so much better for it. As I'm getting older and probably because of menopause anxiety , I'm much more aware of developing life limiting illness. Especially due to recent experience with family. I want to do everything I can to get healthy and reduce any risks.
That's a shame about your sister. You can only try and explain how much it's helping you?

@Illbefinejustbloodyfine the being/feeling invisiblle is so unfair. Why do we become unworthy in other people's eyes. I also recognise this from being very fit and a size 10 for years. The difference between now and then, the attention, confidence, opportunities etc I have found some people think it is a pass to bullying behaviour

Cashew chicken with basil, or whatever your local takeaway's version is?

@Illbefinejustbloodyfine @popdepop @TheBossOfMe 100% agree. I was slim through my 20s and the slow but noticeable change in how I've been treated over the years since pisses me right off,

@2025mj You’ll either find them as an ingredient in a stir fry bag, or in the freezer aisle in their own right but it appears you can get buy them in tins or as dried snacks.

@TheBossOfMe This is what comes of sharing my diet secrets 😀

@Fatmumslim01 Soup and steamed dumplings sounds lovely. I usually go for some kind of stir fried prawn dish, vegetables in garlic sauce, and small amount of boiled rice (my local takeaway helpfully does small pots of rice, so no temptation to hoover a normal portion!)

Twice now I have jabbed Monday night rather than Sunday night, and just returned to Sunday the next week. If you like Fridays, I'd do Monday when you get back, then a day early for 2 weeks til you're back to Friday.

Thanks for the reassurance. Keep feeling I shouldn’t have gone up

@TryingMJ Exactly what @Illbefinejustbloodyfine just said, a day early for two weeks to get you back to Friday (so jab Monday, then the next one on Sunday, the next one the following Saturday and the next one the following Friday).

@popdepop @Illbefinejustbloodyfine @GiveMeWordGames The unworthy thing is interesting, isn't it? The vitriol some people spit out on some of the WLI threads about us all "cheating" is eye opening. The absolute hate that some people have for fat people is just awful to see. And they hate the fact that we might actually be succeeding in losing the weight - because they revelled in their superiority about being thinner than us.

Having said all of that, I really do need to unpick why so much of my own self esteem is wrapped up in how I look, because it's not healthy. I'm really successful in work, I think I'm a nice person who has a great group of friends, I have so many attributes that should keep my self esteem up ahead of my appearance. But somehow when I don't look good, it all goes down the sink and I feel terrible about myself.

I think (actually I know) that it comes from not having been a particularly attractive older child (probably 8-14/15). I was gawky, wore dreadful NHS glasses, had terrible haircuts and all the wrong clothes (my mother wasn't very motherly in many ways and took zero interest in making sure we looked good after we were out of the cute small child phase that she could dress up in frilly clothes), and got picked on a lot at school as a result. I dreaded home clothes days, people would always laugh at what I was wearing. But once I hit puberty and filled out a bit, plus started a Saturday job and got a clothing allowance from my Dad so could buy my own clothes and afford a haircut and contact lenses, I blossomed into an attractive and popular teenager. The difference in how people treated me was instant - I went from not really having any friends, to being incredibly popular with both boys and girls, invited to all the cool parties. Even the parents treated me differently, I got invited to join friends on holidays every summer. But I was exactly the same person as before, I just looked different.

At the time it felt like a wonderful thing. In hindsight I think it was actually very damaging. I spend a lot of time giving my daughter praise and affirmation that is nothing to do with how she looks because it's even worse for them now with social media.

I think you just nailed it @TheBossOfMe it is from learnt experience you wrap up your self esteem in appearance. I think it is quite common though, so don't beat yourself up about it. I guess by your actions with your daughter you are helping to break the cycle.
But, you're also aware which means you are a huge part of tye way 'there'.I just feel sad for us having felt that way. That said I think the body positivity with obesity might not be the best thing either, as it could be feeding the denial? I don't want to offend anyone though, I would never say that out loud. I just want a healthy body..

Hi guys, I’ve not posted since my first jab back in March! For anyone who was looking at micro dosing and 2.5mg, I started off the first two months on 2.5mg, lost 10kg. No side effects but the suppression was definitely decreasing after three days towards the end. I’m now on pen number 3 and it’s 5mg, two weeks in. I’ve only been taking 3.5mg though and feeling strong nausea like morning sickness every now and then during the day, so a definite difference. I’m now 13kg down. I guess it’s a good sign as I can use 5mg next month and hopefully be okay on that for a while!

I am still eating when I feel I need to, and what I want too (chocolate etc if I want it) because I figured it’s better to try and be reasonable and not starve myself, or I’ll find it impossible when coming off. And I’ve still lost 13kg just by eating ‘less’ and stopping the constant snacking.

although and terrified about the thought of coming off it and my will power!

@popdepop The reason I'm doing this is because I had a wake up moment about what this is doing to my health, so whilst I appreciate what the body positivity movement is trying to do, I'm a bit conflicted about it.

I'm trying my best with DD but it's really hard when they're surrounded by messages about being "perfect".

@TheBossOfMe yes, I feel exactly the same.

Good news today is I feel much better and less wiped out. The couple of days after 7.5mg makes me exhausted. I don't plan going up from 7.5mg. Apart from those 2 days, it feels right for me I think.

Post holiday weigh-in/report and I'm pleased. I'm at 15st 8.5 so I actually did manage to lose a little bit while I was away. So, at 9 weeks (and 2 days):
(5ft 8)

SW 17st 4
CW 15st 8.5
GW In between 11-12st

Total Lost: 23.5lb

I am SO CLOSE to 2 stone off.

It helped that a bit of extra heat - not a huge amount given that it's only May and a couple of days we had some wind and rain - increased the effect of the MJ on my appetite. The first few days I found the generous Greek portions, of even just chicken and salad or a greek salad, overwhelming. Being confronted with a huge, daunting plate of food made me feel even less hungry!

The breakfast buffet was great for healthy options - I mostly stuck to low fat Greek Yoghurt with melon and strawberries and a scattering of almonds, pistachios and oats. I always allowed myself one of the assortment of little pastries and spicy biscuits that appeared every day. There was an egg station but, again heat, I didn't actually fancy it as much as I might have expected given I love eggs at home. DH had an omelette a couple of times and I had some of his.

Lunch, usually some form of Greek cheese, olives and salad although one day early on I was so unhungry it was just a boiled egg snaffled from breakfast, and a banana and a few nuts.

Dinner - grilled chicken, or gyros, taztziki, more cheese 😁 and there was lots of tomato/aubergine dishes to feast on as well. Plenty of fish options but I hate fish. I resisted chips but I did NOT resist the lovely bread that appeared with every meal and this is why I'm chuffed I've still lost.

I was active every day - either walking around sightseeing or swimming in the sea. And old holiday traditions - like a daily 11.30am ice cream and diet coke on the beach - did not happen (the diet coke moved to lunch, like @TheBossOfMe I am NOT giving that habit up😂).

I did feel like drinking - I was right about the holiday vibe. But by that I mean literally 1-2 glasses with my evening meal and one night off in the middle.

So, given that I was ingesting more booze than I have since I started MJ, a lot of salty cheese and a fair bit of bread, I'm very happy.

Sorry, that was long but I thought it might help those of you with holidays coming up to have a sense of how it worked for me. I had no SEs but good reduced appetite and I'm glad I stayed at 5mg for it.

Oh, and! I didn't hate myself in a swimming costume, or in every photo, or spend ages putting on clothes and then taking them off again before we went out in the evening. I've still got a way to go but....very happy with progress.

Brilliant scale and non scale victories, there @GiveMeWordGames , really good to hear that it's entirely possible to eat enjoyable food, drink and relax a bit, and still lose weight on holiday.

Mid-week accountability weigh in - weight is holding steady, but haven't lost since the start of the week, which is fine. It's half term so just generally a lot more food around than when DD is at school, I had a whoosh last week, my period is just about to start, and this close to goal I'm expecting everything to slow down a lot. And not feeling so cold or uncomfortable after splitting my dose, which is a win!

Morning all, finally got my TOTM very late, cramping like there’s no tomorrow and overall feeling very sorry for myself (this is what o get for believing that WLIs have magically fixed my cycle - or, this is what I get for eating rubbish on my trip, and raising my inflammation levels in the process? I’ll never know)

With that said, got my little whoosh and lost 1.2lbs yesterday, landing me at 12st 0.5lbs. So close to the land of elevens! And roughly one stone to my goal weight.

Sadly, I now know that 0.5mg is not enough for me long term - I’ve been on my second 0.5mg pen this month and the food noise was definitely back. I used the extra 12 clicks with my last dose, so injected 0.66mg instead of 0.5mg (figured it’s okay since it’s my second pen and Wegovy goes from 0.5mg straight to 1mg! which kind of scares me) and instantly got visible suppression and the noise is gone. My 1mg pen is coming tomorrow and I think I’ll split it into 5 doses instead of 4 starting next week.

NSV is that I’m feeling really strong in my Pilates classes. I’m activating muscles that were not accessible to me before, and I can do abs exercises without straining my neck. I can’t quite imagine not feeling large in those classes, but perhaps that’s in the cards too!

@TheBossOfMe really great that you're in a good place with everything this week!

and @LilyLondon well done on your whoosh and being so close to the land of 11. MJ is quite similar in the doubling of dose from the starter level of 2.5 to 5. And it must be great to feel your body getting stronger and more flexible. The hotel we were in was on a few levels and it was quite an uphill schlep from the beach to our room. I liked that though, and found it very doable rather than, say, a year ago when I would quietly have dreaded doing it in the heat each day.

hi everyone, weigh and jab day today. Another loss, making a total loss of 11.4kg. I’m so happy , got a long way to go, but finally feeling like the end is a possibility. Lovely to see everyone’s nsv’s and losses.

So glad you enjoyed yourself @GiveMeWordGames , which island 🏝️? bloody love Greece, haven't been for years, caravan is our holiday 🤣boo. We are away at the weekend, gives me hope I might be able to eat some little treats. Skeg is NOT Greece however so I may have to source the healthier ones lol. Hit 2 stone loss today so yay me .💃

Corfu! It was a bit of a cheeky piggyback on DH's work. He's out there for over 3 weeks (yes, he is a lucky bastard) and his schedule was quite light in the middle so I snuck out there for a week which meant it basically only cost my airfare plus food etc.

Well done on your 2 stone milestone!! I will join you there soon, I hope. And have a lovely weekend break. For a couple of days you can definitely give in to some treats.

Lots of brilliant NSVs and losses.

I'm also feeling a lot stronger - although a long way to go with my plank game 😂

@GiveMeWordGames Walking uphill is a serious calorie burner, that will hugely have helped. I'm trying to do more hill walks at the weekend now that I'm a bit stronger - not quite up to running them yet, but I'll get there slowly! Very slowly!

@Chilldrill Definitely enjoy a few treats - I've been mentally resetting my brain not to beat myself up when I have what someone upthread called a snackcident, that was often the trigger for me getting really annoyed with myself and dropping into fuck it mode. I've had two gain weeks since I started MJ, but just got back on the horse again afterwards. The goal is to be healthy and happy, not healthy but miserable. Life is short - we do need to have enjoyment even when on a weight loss journey.

Teenagers are in residence again so it's back to huge bowls of pasta for them and a considerably smaller one for me. Seafood linguine so I'm loading on the seafood with a salad on the side. Which I have lobbed a load of edamame beans into @Justformounjaro Very authentic Italian salad 😂

Seeing how much these kids can get away with eating and still be extremely slim makes me realise how much of this is down to age. They can eat absolutely loads without gaining a pound. They have really fast metabolisms. Maybe they're just more active than I see. But I'm very sure age has a real impact. This is my third rodeo with needing to lose weight - until I got my MJ prescription, it was so much harder doing this now than in my 30s or 40s. Which is why I absolutely have to make sure I don't gain again because I don't think I'll get another shot at this.

hello fellow mounjaro-ers. Hope you're doing well. I'm on a plateau and my body is a bit all over the place. I'm down to 10 stone 1 which is a weight loss of nine kg in 12 and a half weeks. And I haven't lost any muscle. But I'm also so, so tired. My iron is still down and my adjusted medication for my thyroid is bringing my metabolism down and the end result is that after a mornings exertion I just want a nap. I've also developed hypotension and my head swims a bit when I stand up. And I'm suddenly so fed up with all my high protein food. I can't stand smoothies. I never want to look at greek yogurt again. What's smoked salmon all about. My plan now is to go super slowly down into the last half stone. I wasn't sure about loosing more but having see a photo of myself before I started on this 'diet' I think I was fooling myself - I really didn't look like good. So my plan is: I'm paying ot have all my bloods done to find out what's going on in my body, I'm continuing to excercise, I'm pushing on with the boring food (if anyone can think of something delicious and high protein please share it here - though I can't eat any meat but chicken) and hopefully I can maintain. I definitely look better. I'm not sure that's saying much, but I look more like my old self, rather than a porky depleted version.