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.

Hi @Flamethrowers. I think I might be a bit like you, my iron is really low, which is knocking my thyroid out of whack. I'm sleeping loads right now but it's getting better as my iron issue is being treated. Are you having any infusions? They're a game changer for me.

Re protein - are you ok with eggs? I've gone super asian - in most of Asia they use eggs to keep protein levels up. So think things like nasi goreng - delish food but with a fried egg as part of the meal. I'm trying not to eat "diet food" that much now and just tapering to a more normal eating pattern, but making small adjustments because they feel more sustainable. Dinner tomorrow is kedgeree (yes I know it's a breakfast food), but the balance of rice vs smoked haddock and eggs is weighted towards the latter. Would some version of that type of adjustment work for you?

Can you eat fish? Even just canned tuna is super high in protein. In a tuna salad or on top of a jacket potato? What about turkey? Also super high in protein low in fat etc. so maybe turkey mince into something like a chilli. It doesn’t taste too bad! Chickpeas and lentils etc?

Actually @Flamethrowers , with only half a stone left to lose, maybe there is something to be said about gradually easing yourself into more normal eating habits? I'm slowly doing that now - adding in more carbs as well as calories. It's likely to slow the weight loss down but maybe a better option than having such a boring diet that you fall off the wagon, so to speak.

Thank you @TheBossOfMe and @Lolliz87 I habe always had low ferritin stores - on a scale of 18-300 being normal I'm 19 and the nhs refuses to do anything at this level, even with a consultant dermatologist report saying I need to be at at least 70. Iron supplements don't seem to touch it which suggests something wrong with absorption (which i think is related to thyroid issues). I think when I get my blood tests back I shall look at seeing someone privately and getting an iron infusion as I'm never going to get anything off the nhs. . Did it really make a big difference to you?
thanks also both of you for the food advice. I have started migrating towards tubs and it is blissfully unlike kefir and Greek yogurt. Kedgeree is delicious. I'm sure I could wolf that down.

@Flamethrowers sounds difficult to sort your iron. Eggs like the others said for protein and I’ve been going nuts so to speak, loads of snacking nuts like salted almonds and pistachios. Tinned mackerel in sauce, prawns, mussels.
Like @TheBossOfMe said, you’re so close to target weight, adding in more carbs now makes sense so fish pie, paella maybe.

Hello
I also have a problem with iron stores, my iron levels is 2 😫
I do have an under active thyroid and I'm coeliac so not sure if it's something to do with that

I have finally tried the MeThreeSixty app and, after wishing I’d done it in March, had a good laugh at the projection of my weight. My legs get shorter and my waist and bum drop somewhat! 😳

However, it’s pretty accurate on my measurements currently but I think I’d be better taking screenshots to compare my changing body shape 😀

Morning all

I have dropped another kg, so I have a total weightloss of 14kg which I'm delighted with

I have a fresh 5mg pen ready to use but I think I'll go up to 7.5 after

How is everyone else?

Week 11
SW 201lbs
CW 174lbs
GW 160lbs
59 years old and 5 ft 8.5. I managed to get 2 golden shots out of my last 5 pen, but think the second one must have been under..
I have been feeling rotten the last week or so; a lovely combination of cystitis, haemorrhoids, diarrhoea and head cold, so when I felt like eating pasta, I did.
Yesterday I made a batch of home made veg soup which is helping my cold, and I am drinking a lot of cranberry juice.
Just a stone to go, 27 pounds lost.

My immediate family still haven’t noticed. I suppose because they see me frequently and I am wearing the same clothes, they are just baggier. I am still overweight.
i’ll buy some new when I reach goal. So far, it is just my Medium size pyjamas, which make me smile every evening I put them on.

@2025mj well done on 14kg, that's a great loss as is 27lbs in 11 weeks @Tormundsbeard . Sorry to hear you've been having a rough time of it healthwise just now. I'd be reaching for the pasta as well. Hope everything calms down soon.

I'm mildly annoyed today as I have a stupid itchy/red skin reaction at the injection site. I had it last week as well, although less, and hoped it was a one off. Clearly not. As SEs go it's irritating rather than unpleasant and I've chucked some antihistamine cream on it.

Obviously I switch sides on my belly each week but I'm wondering if I need to vary more to the right and left each time to avoid hitting too close the same spot every 2 weeks. I'm not keen on switching to thighs as I'm a total apple and lack the injection-cushioning flab on my legs. Absolutely not going to do arms - I'll leave that area to medical professional jabbers!

End of week 10 weigh in day for me.
After a lousy 0.2 kilo loss last week I've got a nice 1.5 kilo loss this week. Jealous of all the holiday talk. But happy with my 11.8 kilo loss in 10 weeks! Around half a stone to go to my lowest slimming world weight two years ago. My first little mini goal.

@Flamethrowers I really feel your pain, I've struggled all my life with anaemia and then non existent iron stores after pregnancy. Iron infusions were a life saver. I have a love hate relationship with iron supplements, they dont agree with my stomach at all. Can you try to eat more iron rich foods? I know I'm struggling when, for example, one day I fancied roast beef. I cooked a small joint, took it out of tge oven and ate 3/4 straight from the tray. Didn't even make it to a plate!

I'm also hypothyroid, recent went up at dose (around 4 months ago) but will be sure to have a blood test in a couple of months as my weight goes down.

Mid week weigh in shows a pound off. Happy with that, as have had the MOST lazy week. Child 2 with D&V. So confined to the house.

I feel like tge loss is gathering pace now - it's not in reality, (I think at the start I was really impatient. ) it's just that as time goes on, I can really start to see and feel the difference.

2lbs away from 2.5st. This really is life changing.

@GiveMeWordGames I develop a reaction every tine now, although I gave only ever jabbed left thigh. I do vary the area. Had no issue for the first 4, but since then it's every time. One fades just in time for the next one

Yes, the same! My left side from last week only just faded. 🙄😆 Ah well, I'll take this over the gastric stuff anyday.

I jabbed in my arm yesterday, no idea why. Well, last weeks bruise was still yellow on my tummy and I’m a secret jabber so didn’t want my OH seeing!

anyway, i don’t have any side effects. On 7.5 by now I would be sulphur burping and feeling slightly nauseous… rather than be pleased, I’m now worrying that it didn’t work. However, I have zero hunger and its 11.45 so guess thats all good.

just wondering if anyone else had had this

Yes I've had a skin reaction with the last two jabs (last 7.5mg and 1st x 10mg) after nothing with the first 11 jabs or so! Looked like a big mozzie bite but not as itchy. Anthisan was rubbish but then it has never worked for me on anything.

Taking Piriton tablets in the evening (slightly drowsy) really sorted it out. I also have found some Fenistil gel (another antihistamine) just in case, left over from holidays which I've now found and that is great on anything itchy- bites etc.

Was slightly nauseous and tired first day on 10mg but fine since. I've had no sulphurous burps at any time. In fact an overall big reduction in wind in any direction!

I am a belly injector (don’t know why but don’t want to do thighs)

first few weeks I only did bottom right and left now I circle around as a few weeks ago I injected too close to a previous injection side and liquid leaked out from the old site

I do find upper tummy less suppression for some reason though and have more suppression on right side then left

this week I’m gonna try bottom middle for a change

Oh, that's interesting that you notice a difference between different bits of your tummy. I'm going to roam a bit further next week I think.

@SharpOpalNewt yeah the effect of the antihistamine goo was fairly short lived. There's a wonderful French cream called Onctose which combines lidocaine and an antihistamine and, especially if you keep it in the fridge, it is the absolute dogs for mozzie bites but I'm almost out of it as I haven't been to France for a while.

@Flamethrowers @2025mj @Illbefinejustbloodyfine Same here - I'm anaemic even with regular iron infusions. But iron infusions definitely work better for me than just supplements. In-between infusions I take oral high dose iron + vitamin C supplements (you need the Vit C to aid iron absorption). Thyroid also underactive here, although not on anything for that yet - iron deficiency and thyroid issues are hugely linked, so my endocrinologist is really fixated on solving the iron problem first and then seeing if my thyroid issue resolves itself (I'm lucky that I have really good private health insurance through work, the NHS weren't particularly helpful). I have to eat a lot of iron rich food - especially red meat, which probably doesn't help you. Like @Illbefinejustbloodyfine I know when my levels are dropping because I end up craving meat!

Jab day again today - splitting the dose into a 5 and a 2.5 seemed to work a treat in terms of being able to eat properly, not feeling nauseous and not feeling so cold that I was actually struggling to think about anything other than how to get warm! I'll carry on with that dosing pattern for now and then start tapering down once I'm at goal. It's my birthday weekend this weekend, and I'm definitely not going to care at all about what I eat, lots of lovely things planned with DP, DD and friends, so whilst I've put a bit of loss in the bank, I suspect Monday's weigh in will show a gain (and Monday being my actual birthday, that might carry over into next week). So I might end up at the end of next week being slightly further away from goal than I am today 😂

SW 10st 4.6lb/144.6lb BMI 25.7 (prescribed MJ because of diabetes risk and hideous waist measurement)
CW 8st 10.4lb/122.4lb BMI 21.6 - 22.2lb down, 98% of target achieved.
GW 8st 10lb/122lb (22.6lb total target loss, 0.4lb to go (2.4 allowing 2 for a bounce) BMI 21.6

Loss by week:
W1 (2.5) 5.5lb
W2 (2.5) 1.3lb
W3 (2.5) 0.7lb (ate out loads)
W4 (5) 3.3lb
W5 (5) 0.5lb gain (ate out loads)
W6 (5) 3.8lb (Post Easter weekend plus period)
W7 (5) 2.6lb
W8 (5) 1.5lb gain (BH weekend away, ate out loads)
W9 (7.5) 1.1lb (NY trip)
W10 (7.5) 1.1lb (Hakkasan and weekend away)
W11 (7.5 split dose) 3.7lb (Chelsea, BH weekend)
W12 (7.5 split dose) 1.1lb so far

I wish I could say I was having an NSVs but it's more like NSDs - non scale depression. My stomach looks really awful, bad C-section overhang, really doughy texture, and it's obvious that its just pure fat, so even though the scale victories are great, I have a long way to go before that bikini is going back on. I need to put as much if not more effort into exercise now as I do into eating well. Grrr.

@2025mj if your iron stores/ ferretin levels are 2 and you are coeliac and hypothyroid even the NHS will act!!!!! Yes most definitely iron and thyroid are linked - you need ferretin to produce T4 and T3 which is your thyroid hormone. This is even if you're on thyroxine - and even if only your ferretin stores are low (ie your red blood cells are fine). . Low iron stores and hypothyroidism have similar symptoms so can be hard to unpick. Go back to the doctor.

@TheBossOfMe I had really bad malaria once and that can make you anaemic - the reason I knew is because - despite decades of being a vegetarian- I travelled across town in search of a hamburger, and all I could think of was juicy meat and dripping blood!

@Flamethrowers that's interesting about malaria making you anaemic, mine came on after I contracted dengue fever.

@TheBossOfMe they both attack red blood cells (but anaemia is more common with malaria).

I also had a random skin reaction last week which I think was my 10th jab, it came up in a massive bruise but it wasn't sore at all. I didn't do anything different so don't know what happened there.

Weigh day for me today and Ive strayed the same. First time I've not lost weight in the 10 weeks I've been on mj which is fantastic! I'm not surprised I stayed the same as its half term so there's naturally been more takeaways and meals out etc.

Back to routine next week

@2025mjyour coeliac could definitely be playing a part in iron. Human bodies only process dietary iron into blood iron during sleep. (this is why both anaemia and a lack of sleep tend to exhibit dark circles under the eyes.) And they need good supplies of vitamin B to complete the conversion. One of the only sources of the right kinds of vitamin B is yeast (B1,2,3,5,7&9). So being a coeliac you’ll not be getting much of that vitamin B.

I was diagnosed with anaemia as a teenager and the doctors gave me all sorts of dietary targets and iron supplements before they realised that actually my body has a problem absorbing vitamin B and so it wasn’t that I wasn’t getting enough iron, but that my body couldn’t convert it into blood iron.

Maybe try a vit B Compound supplement.

I seem to be having another whoosh week - the scales are currently showing about 4 pounds loss since Sunday. I'm finding it really fascinating how the body adjusts.

I recently bought some size 14 clothes from vinted as my clothes to progress into and to my surprise they already fit. It's so crazy to think that as recently as the beginning of March I was wearing size 18/20 dresses and tops and size 22 bottoms!