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 have also noticed that the duvet cover needs a bloody good iron.

@TheSpoonyNavyReader looking fab and I was just thinking what a nice bedroom you have!

Has anyone else got itchy skin? I have been really itchy and my skin has felt dry all week and it is driving me absolutely mad! My nipples especially are itching like crazy which is so weird! 🤣 I may actually have to buy some nipple cream which I haven't done since I was breastfeeding DDs.

It may not be MJ related so I'm curious but if it isn't, I don't know what is up with me.

Thank you the bedroom was the reason we bought the house, it’s a suite with his and her dressings rooms and en suite.

i have noticed on MJ that I am having much heavier periods and my boobs ache before TOTM they have not done that for a while, I think it’s the settling of my hormones as peri got me bad! Could it also be that your bra is getting loose and your boobs are moving around more?

You look fab @TheSpoonyNavyReader - really nice jeans, they suit you! And yes it was a bit caution to the wind, I tried to keep volume of food ingested, but had a bit of almost everything! Such a great place, amazing food and lovely vibe.

One NSV that has amazed me. I've lost a whopping 5 inches off my hideous waist measurement, and it has now moved out of the "danger zone" into a not dangerous measurement. Just. I can't believe that a 17lbish weight loss translates into quite so many inches off my waist. I know after my DEXA scan that I've still got a lot of work to do to address my body fat % but I'm feeling super encouraged by the inches coming off, even if weight loss is slow.

@GameOfJones Yes absolutely to itchy skin, I'm moisturising like mad. I'm hoping it's a sign that my skin is actually shrinking back ok, I remember having the same sensation post birth.

For those of us who are noting a tiny bit of crepey skin, can I recommend a few things that seem to be helping me?

For body - Bio Oil, the stuff you use in pregnancy. Apparently they should market it to people on MJ as well! It's keeping my skin decently elastic (I think), and nice and smooth.

For neck - Trinny London Elevator Cream. I've only been using it a couple of weeks after getting a bit of a scare about how crepey my neck was looking, and it's really effective.

For face - Elizabeth Arden Ceramide capsules, the ones with hyaluronic acid in. They're expensive, but I use one capsule a day, half morning, half evening, and it really is magical stuff. You can buy them much cheaper on allbeauty.com than from EA themselves.

You look incredible @TheSpoonyNavyReader - I hope you're counting the new confidence as a huge NSV

Thursday morning weigh in for me! Lost 1.1 kilos this week. Total loss of 10.3 kilos in just over 8 weeks. So happy
Starting weight 104.9 kilos (ordered Mounjaro)
103.7 start of Mounjaro
Cw 94.6 kilos
Mini target of 89kilos (slimming world weight I achieved 2 years ago)
Still on 2.5 mg.

@TheSpoonyNavyReader you look great! And another fan of your bedroom here.

@TheBossOfMe the whole Hakkasan-on-MJ experience sounds like it was really good in the end.

Hairdressers this afternoon. The mirrors in there are the actual devil incarnate so I'm curious to see if I look any less ghastly in them than normal. 😁

I honestly from my work trip and have weighed myself and I’ve stayed the same (so far) so that’s ok. I am concerned that it will ‘show up’ in a day or two but hey ho. At least I’m not in a worse position at the moment.

did my midweek dose last night and I’ve gone up a bit in dose.

Your bedroom is like a hotel!

@GiveMeWordGames It was good, and has popped the thought in my head that if you're eating out (or even just eating in company at home), sharing style dining is much more manageable than individual dishes per person. Much easier to eat less without anyone noticing, but with all the mouth sensation and flavour of trying small amounts of different things. I didn't feel like I was denying myself at all, I really enjoyed it. So if I'm going out with friends or with clients, I'll be booking those kinds of restaurants in future. Although like @soupforbrains I'm waiting to see if it'll show up in a couple of days. Hopefully not for both of us! @soupforbrains , sounds like you did really well!

Thank you for sharing your skin tips.

Deffo gonna try Bio Oil on tummy (did have a reaction to it when pregnant so ended up using mama mio instead but might not react now) and the capsules as my neck and previous double chin is now getting fairly loose making me look 10 years older or that’s how I feel.

the link is fabulous my foundation is 12£ cheaper (Estee Lauder double wear) and my day use perfume ( elizabeth Arden 5th avenue ) is half price compare to airports around the world.

@Bipaloss I buy almost all my preferred skincare and fragrance from either allbeauty or lookfantastic - both have premium brands at really good discounts. And TKMaxx is sometimes great - I found an Eve Lom serum and a night moisturiser for £30 each there last week, both over £80 RRP. Buying at much lower prices means I'm not stingy with how much I use! My skin is one of my best features (Asian genes plus religious use of sunscreen since my teens means very few lines or wrinkles) so I'm not letting that go without a fight!

Omg I got one of those body fat measuring scales. Weight might be ok but I'm basically like a really disappointing pork chop - I'm hugely fatty. I do wish I'd measured at the start as then I might be feeling comparitrly slim. Perhaps one good thing about it is that it makes you really realise how it's not just about the weight - it's also about body composition which is a kick up the arse for upping the excercise. Off for a run! Ps going to try those Elizabeth Arden capsules on my neck. This is all getting very expensive as I have never before used a thing whatsoever on my face - no make up no creams no sun cream - despite a decade living on the equator!

@Flamethrowers "A disappointing pork chop" 😂

I'm the same, or possibly even just lard! And yes, it really is about the body composition as much as weight. There are plenty of people who are "skinny fat" - low BMI but high body fat composition and very low muscle tone. It's another high risk body type when it comes to health. Arguably that's where I am right now - BMI is fine now (just), body fat not so much. That's what I'm now focusing on as the primary goal, if the weight loss slows and stalls a bit, I'm ok with that, so long as my body composition improves.

One thing I've noticed (I wear an Oura ring to track sleep) - on weeks that I've maximised sleep I've lost more weight than weeks when I didn't. That'll partly be me eating more when tired, and also eating out causing late nights. But I don't think it fully explains it - so sleep needs to be a priority for me as well.

Where on the equator did you live? I spent 5 years living in Thailand - loved it there. But full of skinny fat people - so many people I worked with had high blood pressure in spite of being whippet thin.

Checking in , slogging away,
23lbs down since 13, 3
First 5 mg today fingers crossed 🤞

Yeah, nah, still looked like puffy death warmed up in the hair cut mirror of doom. Bit too soon for that one. 😂

HOWEVER. I did have a little wander in some shops and tried on a size 20 top in Next. I haven't bought stuff in person from them for a while because the shops don't go above 20 and quite often don't have many even at that size.

And, I venture to say, it was too big! I decided this is completely to wrong time to buy things so stopped at that point but I was quite chuffed. I found myself looking at any clothes I liked the look of the way I used to 15-20 years ago, with interest and excitement, instead of with simmering resentment.

@GiveMeWordGames Everybody looks like doom in those mirrors. My best friend used to be a model, and when we've gone to the hairdressers together, even she looks awful. It's the lighting in the salon which is designed to give max visibility to a hairdresser for cutting (good thing) whilst simultaneously make everybody look like a troll (bad thing).

I know what you mean about clothes. I'm starting to really enjoy dressing again - it always used to give me a huge amount of joy, and that disappeared when I gained weight. It's slowly coming back now.

Truth. I suppose the hairdressers being able to see properly is somewhat important but still....urgh. 😁

Start of week 10 for me. Weight loss is 9.5kg since starting on the 5th of March. Injected in my arm for the first time this week and have a itchy hive reaction on the injection site.

@TheSpoonyNavyReader you look great, and I know exactly what you mean about feeling nice. It's such a welcome change isn't it?

Also, life's FAR too short to iron bed linen!

@GameOfJones yes to itchy dry skin, I've even noticed dry skin on my forearms. I have been using body lotion anyway to try abd keep my skin in good condition and fend off saggyness I might need to splash out on @TheBossOfMe recommendations though!

The itchiness is irritating in more ways than one, I suffer with an itchy scalp, with a reoccurring sore patch, when my thyroid is out of whack. It had just cleared up with an increase in meds but it's back again since starting MJ.

Random NSV 1 - my C section "crease" was MUCH wider than my actual scar, extending out as far as my hip bones. It's reduced by about half! So its now midway between hips and scar end.

Random NSV 2 - the whites of my eyes are more white, and eyes brighter. This is probably related to my drastic decrease in wine consumption, which is a direct result of MJ.

I'm having my hair coloured tomorrow for the first time aged 47....it's my 2 St loss treat to myself. Bloody hope it's worth it!

I think my 3st treat will be the products mention by @TheBossOfMe , normally out of my price range tbh but I really feel like this Wright loss thing is a bit pointless without effort elsewhere. I've neglected myself for too long

Ooh how exciting @Illbefinejustbloodyfine - what are you having done?

Life is indeed too short - the Bio oil I think is really only worth it whilst on the shrinking journey, once I'm at goal and my skin has caught up as much as I think it ever will, I'll go back to my usual Vaseline Intensive Care, which is cheap as chips especially since it's always on offer in Boots or a supermarket.

The other itchy skin recommendation that I've just remembered is filling a small muslin bag (or any light porous bag) with oatmeal and hanging it under the taps/putting it into the bath itself. I remember that being a miracle worker.

Itchy scalp - I use rosemary oil three times a week - stick it in for 30 mins before washing hair in shower. My scalp is itchy because I'm very vain and can't stand having grey roots so do them myself every two weeks with professional hairdye (Majirel) that I buy online - which is far too frequent and dries the scalp. I started doing it myself in lockdown and realised I was spending a fortune having them done at the hairdresser - so now have them done professionally only a few times a year, and top up inbetween. You can leave the oil in overnight, but that messes with my bedlinen and love life 😂

This is the rosemary oil I use:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6XJMSGP?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1