January 2025 Starters Thread 9!

[meatyryvita]

Time to check in losers!

That’s really interesting @Jins. I imagine most of us would feel the same, confronted with a life size model of ourselves. We just focus on the lumpy bits!!

Well done to the losers. I’m in the STS camp, but I think it’s going to take some time to balance out suppression vs feeling like shit. I have to remind myself I am wearing size ten jeans and have lost 3 and a half stone. I’m just itching to lose another 7-10 pounds and think about maintenance.

@myladyjane excellent! Congratulations!

@Jins I have the same, I still see myself as chubby and stocky - based on my measurements and clothes size, that can't be accurate. And my scales claim I am now at 18% bodyfat (need to go get it checked at gym, they have fancier apparatus) - again, that's not chubby.

What’s the opposite of a NSV? A non scales defeat? Had two this morning. Firstly, I saw some pictures of me from last week. I can report I still have three chins. And secondly I put on a summer dress that fitted but was snug last year. It’s still exactly the same today when I have put it on. Bah. I’m on my break week this week from MJ because of hysterectomy on Wednesday 2nd. I was thinking I might pause for longer after my surgery but I’m thinking that I still have such a long way to go to get into normal bmi/not have a moon face.

@Polkadotdash ah sorry you have had some disappointments. Still slimmer than in January though, right?

Have been a bit busy so apologise for not catching up properly with the thread.

Congrats @myladyjane on the banked whoosh! And glad you're recovering well; fingers crossed for the results 🤞

Your tailor's dummy sounds great @Jins . You'll have to post a photo of it so we can see an anonymous version of the new slim you!

Wishing you best of luck for your hysterectomy @Polkadotdash 🍀 and sorry for the nsd's; the photo was obviously just bad angle/lighting and the dress shrunk in the wash 😉

I'm also with you @Zempy in the STS camp, although I'm nowhere near to maintenance 😢. Weight has been bobbing around between 11.11 & 11.13 for the last few weeks and I think I really need to move up to 10mg but I developed a rash a couple of weeks ago that may or may not be an allergic reaction to MJ. It started on one arm before spreading to most of my body and the itchiness has been driving me insane! As a result I've not been sleeping very well (plus heat's not helping there either 🥵). Just feeling a bit miserable, sorry for the grumble!

@MJalltheway we're also heading down to Cornwall next weekend; we need a code like a badge or other accessory to identify fellow MJ losers! (I'll be the spotty one that looks like I've done 10 rounds with a particularly vicious cat! 🐱😂😭)

Have a good week and stay cool losers!

It doesn’t photograph very well which matches me perfectly but here is my dummy resplendent in an old punk T shirt. (Size small)

@myladyjane, so close to 3 stone! I should hit 3 stone loss this week too, fingers crossed.
@jins a very svelte dummy! I have a sewing question for you actually. I have a lovely new dress on but it is sadly lacking pockets. I want to try inserting some in-seam pockets but have only ever done pockets during construction, never retro-fitted. Do you think it's feasible for a beginner/moderate sewer to add them? The seam allowance is a decent size but unfortunately overlocked together which is a bit of a pain.
I've sworn not to buy any clothes any more without pockets but I really liked the dress!!

@mince3point14159265 i can tell you a sure fire way to spot me in Cornwall - I do cream then jam on my scone which definitely marks me out! 😂

good luck with your surgery @Polkadotdash. make sure you rest as much as you can afterwards.

Today I'm feeling...normal. I've got my nice floaty dress on (size 14!) and I realised I'm not conscious all the time of trying to hide my stomach. I think because I was SUCH a round shape before with just a massive tummy and pretty slim elsewhere it just made me so self-conscious. Not any more! I know I'm still overweight, I'm still carrying a lot on my stomach but I don't feel grotesque which I really used to.

@MJalltheway that's the only way proper way of course! That'll be our code then 🤣

(Married to a former Devonian!)

This is a great NSV! I have an adjustable form but have actually never used it. I have only ever made children’s clothes and got one with all intentions of making my own things but then never got round to it. Maybe now I’ve lost the weight I’ll give it a go!

@MJalltheway retro fitting in-seam pockets is definitely doable, especially since you’ve put them in during construction in the past.

There are loads of pocket bag patterns online or you can trace one you like. Unpicking overlocked seams is a dark art so I usually trim them off. Do it after you’ve decided on placement so you only remove the minimum. Turn the dress inside out, insert the pocket bag right sides together then stitch round the opening. I use the sleeve arm to get round but I’ve machined the long bits and hand stitched the top and bottom in the past as well. Zig zag round the new seam allowance to stop it fraying.

It can be a bit fiddly but take it slow and you’ll be fine.

@discov if you’ve made children’s clothes and you’ve got an adjustable form you’re well on the way to making your own.

Well done @discov and @myladyjane for hitting the 3st mark, it feels like a huge deal!
Im at a sticky week myself after a few steady weeks. Feeling ok about it and enjoying the heat!

i hope you don’t mind me interrupting your thread to ask questions. Thought I’d ask people who have been taking this medication for a while.

i’ve been dieting now since April and i’m getting to the stage where I’m starting to fall off the wagon on an almost regular basis. I just keep losing and regaining the same 5KG over and over again. I’m thinking seriously about weight loss medication. I’ve read this entire thread and you all seem really sensible. I hope you don’t mind me asking questions. It seems pointless asking people who’ve only just started taking medicatiom because they are learning how it works. In case it’s relevant, I’m quite fit. I exercise most days, I do BodyPump, Body Balance, weights (I can deadlift 110kg), I can do 10 press-ups (but no pull ups, I see those were mentioned earlier upthread). I don’t sit on my arse eating chocolate all day and I’m a healthy eater. But I clearly eat more than I burn and I’m struggling to get to a healthy weight. In my circumstances would you give this medication serious consideration? Do you think it will help me?

And do you expect to have to stay on the medication forever? To stop the continual cycle of diet and weight gain?

@Opheliaaffrighted too hot to sleep so my responses would be that mj has been a game changer in my being consistent. It’s also made me deal with some of the ways I use food as stress/comfort which perhaps weren’t obvious to me. It’s not easy though and I’ve still got a long way to go. But for me it’s taken away the need to rely on will power to look at this stuff.

and yes, I am looking at it in the same way as blood pressure meds/statins, ie a long term medication.

Yes I also see it as long term, but hopefully can manage with a microdose.
@Opheliaaffrighted we have all been there, and yes MJ has helped me massively to stay on the wagon. Without it, I would have given up ages ago - like you, I have no issues exercising, but calorie restriction is hard.

@Opheliaaffrighted welcome! You sound like me when I started. It's helped me a lot - and six months later I'm still here. I'm open to accessing it forever. That's quite freeing to know there is something that can help me stay on track if I start to gain again. My plan is to titrate down and see how I get on. First time I've come 'off' a diet with control. If that works and I can stop the jabs - great. If it doesn't, I'll pick it up again.

I guess my question is, why wouldn't you (if you can afford it?)

I wish I could tailor my clothes - just spent a mini fortune taking a skirt and dress to a seamstress to take in. I may as well have bought new ones...

You lot are chatty - finding it hard to keep up!!

@Opheliaaffrighted, assuming you are in the UK, it's only available if you have an obese BMI (usually over 30) or have health conditions. As long as you meet that criteria, I'd absolutely recommend it with no hesitation. You still have to put in the work of sorting your diet out and exercising (which you already do) but it makes it a whole lot easier.

As for me, 3 stone lost today bang on! 😁 3 days ahead of my target of the end of the school year. 12kg (1 stone 12) to go! I'm losing around 2.8-3kg a month so another 4-5 months or so if it stays steady.

SW 15st 12
CW 12st 5.75
1st GW 14st 6lb MET!! 🎉
2nd GW 13st 3lb MET!! 🥳 🎉
Final GW 12st 0
Week 25 1.75lb loss
Total loss so far 3st 6.25lb !
I have jabbed early this week as I am going away tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone weighing and jabbing! Xx

Thank you all your lovely messages.

Do you calorie count or just eat intuitively? If you calorie count how many calories do you eat each day? Just trying to work out how little food you all eat. A friend in real life who isn’t on the jabs says another friend on the jabs just lives on protein shakes, which sounds grim to me and probably not typical.

Oh and congratulations to all of you on your many successes. You all sound much healthier for taking it, The press love to offer up Sharon Osborne and other scare stories, completely ignoring the healthy success stories.

Enjoy your travels @BreezyPeer

Well done to the 3 stone loss @discov @myladyjane @MJalltheway 🎉🍾💐

I decided to jab as normal on Sunday and see if the stomach problems reoccurred. This is the day that they’d happen and I’ve been quite windy but no sulphur burps and no diarrhoea so far although definitely not normal for me so keep your fingers crossed for me.

@Opheliaaffrighted i started out at BMI 28.2 with one relevant condition and two near misses. Knowing what I know now about how much it’s helped me I’d probably have worked on gaining the 11lbs that would have given me a BMI over 30.

Despite me moaning about gastric symptoms above it has been a game changer in that it has virtually cured my IBS. The weight loss is almost secondary. I intend to stay on it long term, certainly as long as it still helps but when a tablet version arrives I’d be open to switching to that.

@Opheliaaffrighted i don’t calorie count as that leads to obsession and disordered eating for me. I vaguely count carbs but generally just let the MJ do its thing and I eat what I want within reason but only until I’ve had enough. You know - like ‘normal’ people do 🤣

On MJ if I’ve had a meal out one day I naturally seem to eat less the next.

Any decent provider will make sure you have dietary guidance and will provide support. Living on protein shakes isn’t the norm but some people do use them as meal replacements or as part of the daily intake to increase protein

I calorie-counted, have an app that estimates calories based on the photo of your meal. I have a healthy diet, but portion sizes (thanks to 6'4'' DH who eats like a horse) had been creeping up. Now I'm more relaxed, as am used to eating less now.

I only do protein shakes to make sure I get enough protein on days I haven't eaten enough.

@Jins fingers crossed the sulphur burps stay away

@MJallthewayYay!

@Opheliaaffrighted I do calorie count/track. However I did once lose 5 stone and kept it off for 7 years just through using my fitness pal so it’s a method that works well for me personally. Actually, what I’ve learned re my prior stealth eating habits on mj backs that up - I don’t always recognise that I’ve eaten something (that nibble of cheese, those few left over chips on dhs plate). So logging for me seems to be something I need. Also I am not always the best with protein so tracking helps me focus.

my calorie goal is 1,200 per day but I usually don’t hit that at the start of the mj week but typically do by the end. I don’t eat to it though, I just eat what I eat. I will also say I am short, 50 and sedentary so my calorie needs are on the lower end.

Loving the chat everyone!!

well done to our 3 stone stars @discov @myladyjane and @MJalltheway, amazing 🎉.

welcome @Opheliaaffrighted and of course, ask away, we’re a friendly bunch and have all been in the very same place! I’ve been a yo yo dieter ALL of my life, a couple of stone off, bored, back on and v difficult to maintain. MJ has been an absolute game changer for me and if you can afford it I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. What its given me is consistency, no food noise, ability to eat like a normal person would.
i calorie count, purely because like @myladyjane i want to make sure i know exactly what im eating so I'm not going over my calories. I’m on between 1000-1200 calories, protein rich, high fibre, lots of fruit and veg, lowish carb. I have what I fancy if I fancy it though so I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself at all. It’s given me headspace and clarity and I’m exercising much more, nowhere near as much as some of these amazing people but definitely more! Loads of luck and hope you make the right decision for you.

@Polkadotdash in case I don’t get back to this today, will be thinking of you tomorrow hole it goes ahead and that your recovery is smooth. Look after yourself.

we went out with friends last night, one of them at the bar asked if I was ok as I’d lost so much weight, I replied yes great. She asked if I was on MJ, I said no! I felt awful lying but she’s quite judgy and I just don’t feel comfortable sharing!