May Starters Thread 4 ~ Onwards & Downwards!

[PandaIsMySpritAnimal]

Hoping the lovely bunch of May starters thread 3 finds this new thread. Can't believe we are on 4 in the space of couple of weeks.

Thread 3 is now full so can't post the link for the new one there.

My first dose was 22/5...weighed today and I have lost a stone 😄 it's been a real sloooow burner! It's hard to keep motivated. Nutracheck is a godsend, I am not sure I would have done as well without it. Particularly when I wasn't losing at all. I am jealous of all those who have dropped a lot in the first month.
Onwards and Downwards everyone!

@planesick a stone in that time is brilliant, over 2lbs a week. 1-2lbs a week is a healthy rate to lose at, so well done.

I had my 1st jab on 21st May and am 9.8lbs down.

@foreveronaplane 'Drink to shrink' is such a great motto!

My maths is rubbish, is 2.8lbs a week, so almost 3lbs a week! Even better!

I spoke to a pharmacist from Medexpress about the fatigue - in case it's of use to anyone else. First of all she suggested I pause mounjaro for 2 weeks so that I had enough energy to start resistance training. When I said I didn't want to pause, she suggested I ensure I get enough protein. So I'm going to focus on that for a while.
I also asked her about smart scales - she wasn't that impressed with them, but I don't think she knew much more about them than me.
To be honest, she wasn't particularly inspiring.

I don't think that's a particularly slow loss, I think that's a steady, sustainable loss!

@notgonnafail and @SutekhsEars thank you both for the kick in the pessimistic rear end. I very much needed it and appreciate it! Let's go...stone two here I come!

@planesick We've got this! Keep on keeping on, onwards and downwards!

@SutekhsEars

Upping protein sounds good. I need more, but I'm a little stuck on how. What does your day look like from a protein perspective?

My food today so far:

B: Protein pancakes with greek yoghurt and banana - 15g protein
L: Mackerel and quark pate with protein thins and basil & tomato salad - 30g protein

Will have my collagen protein coffee in a bit - 20g protein

I tend to not be hungry in the evening anymore, blinkin' 5mg. I don't think 65mg protein is really enough for my weight. When I was on 2.5mg I could manage a prawn or salmon salad for tea. Hmm. I could have a peach tea protein drink but I don't want lots of protein coming from 'artificial' sources, it doesn't feel 'real' and healthy like a piece of fish. Is that daft?

sigh .... protein....
I'm supposed to eat around 60g protein per day. I've just had a look - that's an insane amount! One salmon fillet or chicken breast is about 20g. I'm supposed to eat 3 a day! Really? Does anyone actually do that?
How does a vegetarian manage? Cheese is about the same, per 100g, but that would mean eating 300g of cheese a day, every day. I thought pulses were high in protein, but they're only about 6%.

@SutekhsEars smart scales measure resistance as you stand on the plates and then use algorithms to suggest body fat etc. They are only as accurate as the algorithm they use - so are useful for measuring likely trends, but aren't particularly accurate at anything other than weight.

@SutekhsEars at my weight I'm supposed to eat at least 115g protein. I manage it most days, but do make use of protein powders added to smoothies or yoghurt and collagen powder added to drinks etc. I tried clear whey drinks too, but couldn't get on with them!

@DidILeaveTheGasOnnot at all daft to want real protein from food and not chemicals. I mostly gave up UPF a couple of years ago and it isn’t a habit I intend to go back to.

I also don’t like eating a lot of meat so am trying to incorporate some pulses at least once a day which have the added benefit of being high in fibre too.

Checking in for latest weigh in...maintained this week. Which is frustrating after a week of focusing...but I'm on my period and only had that one, small bowl of ice cream when usually I'm in a sugar frenzy.

Week 1 - 4lbs
Week 2 - 2lbs
Week 3 - 2lbs
Week 4 - 0lbs
Week 5 - 1lbs
Week 6 - 3lbs
Week 7 + 3lbs
Week 8 - 2lbs
Week 9 - 0lbs

Next week - moving up to 5mg! Definitely time for it I think. Bit flat about this week, but have got a weekend camping which the kids are ridiculously excited about!

Hope you're all doing well? 💕

@Foreveronaplane drink to shrink 🤣🤣🤣 Is very good advice though!

I prefer to avoid UPF too, but I think I'm going to need to use protein powder to get through this.

@notgonnafail which protein powder would you recommend? Can I just stir some into plain yoghurt?

@Gingercar happy birthday!!! 🥳 🎈

@DidILeaveTheGasOn don't forget the Jack Mosely book suggested 60g was a good amount to avoid muscle loss no matter what your weight is and you’re rocking that!!!

I’ve ordered 7.5mg pen still have 1 dose plus golden dose & a bit over as had 3.75mg as first dose to go. Suppression not good this week. So bit the bullet & ordered.

if suppression improves & I want to stick at 5 I will just use the pen for longer after my research and various discussions I’m not worried about the 30 days.

Amazing losses going on to folks!!! Happy Friday!!!! 😁

@SutekhsEars I know you didn't ask me but you know I'm a chatty bugger.

I tried the following, from worst to best:

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/whey-protein-vanilla-900g-6100004690 - Vanilla whey protein, it's like a milkshake to drink. Disgusting. Absolutely gross. However, we now use the protein powder to cook with and it adds a lovely flavour to pancakes.

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/clear-whey-isolate-peach-tea-244g-6100004985 - Peach tea clear protein - this is bloody lovely, just like a glass of peach tea. Flavour is really nice and it mixes well.

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/dose-co-pure-collagen-283g-60061949 - Collagen protein for hair and skin. This is 'unflavoured' - I can taste it but it's easy to get used to, I add it to coffee. Some add it to porridge and can't taste it at all. I think this is great, nice and easy.

@SutekhsEars I use plain soy isolate powder (Bulk powders) or their whey isolate as I hate sweeteners and they at least don't have anything odd added to them. I also use Nature Diet Multicollagen. If you want something as natural as possible, Purition is good but I hate stevia as much as I do other sweeteners. I think they do an unflavoured one as well as their flavours and they used to do a selection pack so you can try flavours first.

@Seahorsesplendour Whoo!

Week 8 weigh in today and I've lost another kg, bringing my total loss to 11.5kg / 1 stone 11.5lb / 25.5lbs. Very happy with that. I'm hoping to hit 2 stones off by the end of July.

I haven't been very organised this week so have been struggling to eat proper lunches. Just grabbing stuff from the fridge (yoghurt, chicken, cheese) rather than making something balanced. That's my focus for this week. I've got my shopping list ready to hit Aldi after work.

And water, water, water. It's going to be hot again this weekend; over 30 degrees here.

I hope everyone is having a good day and feeling positive about their weight loss journey, even if they're having temporary gains, stalls or SEs. Remember that this is just a short time in your life. Even if you have a lot of weight to lose, like me, and you'll likely be on MJ for over a year, what's another year in the rest of your life. Focus on your end goal and drink water and eat lots of protein!). You've got this 🤜🤛

@SutekhsEars I have also heard good things about Vilgain products but haven't tried them yet, again quite natural and natural-based sweeteners rather than chemically. Unfortunately it does seem to be a bit of a trial and error thing, as everyone will prefer different ones, so look for options where you can get sample packs to try if you can.

And yes, they can just be stirred into yoghurt, porridge, smoothies or just mixed with water/milk.

I've just ordered the plain soy one. Thanks