Mournjaro July Starters 2nd thread

[MeridaBrave]

New thread.

First post re: lifting heavy.
I mentioned on the other thread about lifting heavy for 6-8 reps and I was told it was bad advice. Clearly it’s not my advice made up by me - it’s from world leading female health doctor expert Stacey Sims. There is plenty online from her (loads of podcasts) so have a listen. I’ve been lifting this way for 3 years since the outset of menopause symptoms, on her advice and I have significantly increased muscle size and strength. She also has written a couple of books which are excellent.

Clearly this can only be done with good form or it will lead to injury. Either use a PT (as suggested on the last thread) or use the resistance machines in the gym which basically lock you into the correct position.

I am a little worried about going up too quickly too.
I havent had any side effects and have lost almost 2 stone since middle of June .
I did go to 3.75 before i did 5mg.
I will see how this next dose goes and i have the golden dose too .
So really two weeks on this pen of 7.5

I don’t think it’s suppression that’s important (at least wasn’t for me, I stayed on 2.5mg) and could eat 3 meals at day.

For me it was feeling more full quicker, and not really wanting to snack, and being able to decide, I’m eating (say) 1,200 calories and easily being able to stick to it - obviously I have had a lifetime of dieting and this is what I have always struggled with - food noise driving me to eat more.

I’d also say 2 stone is a very quick loss since June and if you are still losing, there is no real reason to increase the dose. Faster loss, whilst tempting increases risks of muscle loss and loose skin. Anything more than 1kg is very quick - only increase if you don’t manage 2-3kg per month.

Thank you

just a little update(please bear in mind that I'm also on injection first for my diabetes)

week 9.
still in 5mg.
goal weight i set myself is reached 55kg.
loss of 10kg.
Hab1c level was 98.
Hab1c level now 50( none diabetic level is 45).
cholesterol levels almost normal.

my specialist is over the moon.
he wants another 5 kg of my weight.
I'm so happy in myself.

yes still getting odd days of feeling sick and knackard.

I'm not going to increase my dosage staying on the 5mg.
happy with 0.5 kg or just over loss each week

off on holiday tomorrow all inclusive.

stay strong people x

That’s brilliant 1023nina You must be so pleased.
Have a great holiday!

So I had a bit of a realisation today. As I start to get into the territory of what I weighed pre kids I suddenly see my body is so different. My wedding dress doesn’t get round my ribs. My thighs are clinging on to all the fat and so are still very fat despite the stomach fat receding. I think I had an image that I would lose weight and return to what I used to look like, and now I feel a bit silly for even thinking that!!

The rib cage will be due to the kids - your rib cage expands in pregnancy to make room for the uterus and doesn't go back. The thighs might still go down though 😉

So, I now (almost) weigh what I weighed in school. I’m 60kg, was 58-59kg in secondary school.

Then, I was appalled by how fat I was. But I have been weight lifting consistently since 1998. I have excellent levels of muscle mass.

Now at 60kg I have visible abs. And delts / triceps. The leg muscles are still under a layer of fat. I think it’s all remediable with weight lifting. The issue is of course that unlike weight loss which is pretty fast, gaining muscle is very very slow.

Wow, that is incredible. Amazing for you.

Wow, well done! Yes, it certainly doesn’t seem like you need to increase dose, you’re almost into maintenance so a nice gentle landing would be ideal. Hope you have a great time onholiday and are able to enjoy the all inclusive without going mad!

on my 3rd month of 2.5mg, side effects have been minimal but this week had the nausea/ upset stomach - nothings really changed in my diet (plenty of protein/fibre etc) - could it just be the accumulative dosing?

Seems unlikely at this point would have thought that it would stabilise around week 4. Hope it passes soon.

I think I may have made a mistake moving up to 5mg. I had my second 5mg jab (8th in total) on Wednesday, after having gone up to 5mg the week before, and prior to that 3.75mg and 4.25mg after the first four weeks on 2.5mg.
I've definitely not felt great lately and tonight (I'm on a night shift), after thinking I felt really hungry leading up to my meal break, I only managed a few forkfuls of my dinner before needing to throw the rest away. I couldnt even face an apple as an alternative.
This worries me, as I'm only averaging 1000 to 1200 calories most days and it can't be good to go lower.
Weight loss has been good, 25lbs off in seven weeks but I fear this can't be sustainable.
Any thoughts from anyone? Does it balance out or should I drop back down on my dose?

I think one lower calorie day a week is prob ok, but if it’s suppressing appetite so much that it leads onto 2nd or 3rd day I think it would be sensible to reduce, even to 4.25mg and see how that is. If you can’t eat 1,200 with 120g of protein risk of muscle loss even moreso if not lifting weights.

@MontysMissus i was exactly the same after my second 5mg. I stepped down to 3.75 for a week, had minimal suppression so went back to 5 the week after. I was fine second time round and took 5 again the week after too with an acceptable level of suppression that time round.

I’m exactly 2 months in today and 2 stone down! 1 stone to go…

I couldn't cope with my second week of 5 mg either. I'm now just started my second week of 3.75 mg, and its all fine. With the added bonus of the pen will last a bit longer 😀

I've had two weeks with no weight loss and my eating habits haven't changed. Annoyingly I now have two months' worth of 5mg (I switched providers shortly after receiving the pen I ordered end of last month).

I've also done a lot more walking this week too since school has started for my son. I'm really hoping it's temporary. I'd love to stick to 5mg as I no longer have any bad side effects and suppression is still great

@daisydreamies if the suppression is still great why are you annoyed that you've got 2 months of 5mg left?

The weight loss comes from the calorie deficit.

On the basis you have good suppression I think it’s worth trying to figure out what your are eating / burning rather than go up a dose.

It's not just calorie deficit although that's a large part of it. Mounjaro mimics GLP-1 hormones which affect a range of things including insulin sensitivity and metabolism.
I found my weight loss almost completely slowed on the last weeks of 2.5 even though suppression was good and I was well within calorie deficit. The 5mg jump started it again.
Appetite suppression is a big part of the reason it works but it's not the whole of it.

I think it also depends on the size of the deficit. If you consistently eat in a deficit you will lose fat The problem with a smaller daily deficit, some water retention (due to extra carbs, training, TOM) can make the fat loss on the scales.

I’ve gone for a higher deficit (1,000 a day). I weigh daily and my weight jumps up by a kg or two if he eat more carbs. I’ve lost around a kg each week (as an average over the 10 weeks) but some weeks it looks flat if you look at the Thursday numbers only.

I agree thought that the WLI help with insulin sensitivity, certainly makes it easier. This has been the easiest diet I have ever done. However, I’d like to see studies where energy out and calories are controlled for both those on and off MJ - does the MJ in inself increase metabolism?

does the MJ in inself increase metabolism
I'd also like to see more studies around it. My understanding is that metabolism does increase on MJ but because there are so many factors interplaying, it's not clear which parts affect it. It's such an interesting drug. I'm hoping we'll see a lot more studies on it soon.

I thought this too. I'm fairly certain I have pcos so I most likely have the insulin resistance that comes along with it. I've done diets before that never worked, otherwise I wouldn't have gone down the injection route if a calorie deficit is all I need to lose weight.

I'll have to do more research into it. It might just be a weight loss plateau that just happens.

Because if I need to go up, I'll be wasting two pens. I might just use one of the two and go up, and save an extra 5mg for when I want to come off. I was looking forward to having a month off from worrying about getting my next pen (my most recent one was stressful due to the supply shortage)