Mounjaro - Best tips from regular users

[SweetpeaM33]

Hi all,

I've taken the plunge and ordered the first dose of Mounjaro today - I've been thinking about it for months and finally decided.

I was hoping to get some tips from regular users. Is there anything you wish you'd known, or done differently when you were starting out, or along your journey? Anything that helped you keep symptoms at bay? Any recommendations of supplements... or any other helpful advice please.

Thank you.

I’ve only been using it for a month but make sure you stay well hydrated, I drink 3-4 litres a day!
I take a gentle laxitive tablet every day, and always make sure I have protein shakes/ mousse in the fridge for days where I don’t have much appetite. I also bought some clear protein to have in water once a day.
I’m aware that I’m a novice user as well though, hopefully someone more experienced will come along soon!

6 months in 5 stone down...

• water is key
• imodium for those bad tummy days
• fibregel for constipation
• track calories using nutracheck
• don't cut anything out but eat in moderation
• keep meals small and light I'm prone to being sick if I eat too heavy
• jab on a day with not too much commitment the next day. It takes 24 hours for me before I feel the jab.
• Alcohol makes me vommit but it may be different for you.
• don"t obsess about the scales sometimes they will fluctuate up but if your general trend is down don't stress.
• take pics in the same outfit so you can see the difference!

Good luck xx

There's a wealth of knowledge in here. Use the search function and you'll find a lot of info.

Don't intend that to sound flippant. There really is!

Water, water, water
Psyllium Husk (the only side effects I've really had is constipation, nothing else touched it). I'd also got imodium in and electrolights just in case but have never needed them.
Take measurements (as well as weight) for your future non scale victories. I only do this every 2 months though, so there's something to measure!
I track relentlessly and Ive found Nutracheck invaluable - there's space for food, notes, weight and measurements

Don't feel you have to move up doses when it says.

Only move up when you're no longer losing weight on a dose.

Time your injection to fit in with your life.
Eg. I do mine Tuesday evening. If it's a week I get smelly burps they will be weds pm/thursday daytime which is good as I'm normally wfh Thursday. Likewise for diarrhoea issues that I've had a couple of times.

It also means by Friday/Saturday night I can eat more again and enjoy a glass of wine which has been nice as I'm in a new-ish relationship and still wanted to be able to enjoy those things together

Oooh yes, the scales. I weigh every day at around the same time - when I get up (bit of a departure for me as I've shied away from scales for decades and only been weighed weekly when on slimming world/WW). I can fluctuate by around 4lb across the week, (the trend is downwards though) and I know I'd be annoyed/upset if I was only weighing myself once a week as sods law would say that my weigh in would be on the day when I weighed more than the day before/day after.

Copying over from other threads (and repeating posters above):

Lots of water, 2-3l per day if possible.

Focus on protein, muscle loss is real - as well as building my meals around it, I take clear whey (MyProtein does a range of nice flavours). Make up in a sports bottle, leave to settle in the fridge for 20 mins or so. Get your exercise in as and when you're ready.

Use this as an opportunity to really reset your approach to food, nutrition, etc.

Small, nutritionally dense meals (this is the opposite of most diet culture which encourages big, low calorie meals, ie. the eternal huge salad).

You have to eat, even/especially when you feel you can't - it's really important to have sufficient calorie intake. If you really can't face food, have a protein shake, but you should be focusing on 'real' food. I also take vit supplements and electrolytes. I tracked calories and protein for the first month to check I was getting enough. I feel terrible if I eat too many carbs or fried/fatty things but that's not true for everyone..

Only move up the doses when you really need to.

The first month is non-therapeutic so don't freak out if you don't feel anything then. Side effects come and go - I was really tired for the first 3 weeks I was on it and then that just vanished. Again, everyone experiences this very differently.

Join a thread of people starting at the same time!

take before photos. and measurements. drink water. eat protein.

Peppermint tea is your friend, particularly if you feel a bit nauseated. Trust the process - some weeks you might lose the equivalent of a baby hippopotamus or you might lose nothing at all...but the weight will go. Just drink your water, eat your dinner and keep at it.

Use the MJ to support a healthy diet. So many people don’t and just chase the highest level of suppression they can. I only take a small dose (2.5mg) and it’s worked for 8 months now. It’s not as effective as it used to be so I now have the perfect balance, the early days were rough as I struggled to eat at all.

There’s a fifth dose in each pen if you don’t use too much when you prime. This can be extracted and taken with an insulin syringe. There are lots of videos and explanations online.

How many calories do most people eat?

Don’t have unrealistic expectations from reading social media!
Although some people post about almost immediate suppression and huge losses at low doses this isn’t the case for many users.
There is a progression up to 15 mg for a reason.

Not saying you will necessarily need to go up to 15mg, but don’t write off mounjaro if it hasn’t worked for you before going up to the maximum because some people need the maximum to get any affect.

Don’t be terrified by reading about others unpleasant side effects. For everybody who posts about horrible consequences there will be ten times that number who aren’t posting simply because they have no side effects or very mild transitory ones.

Track your calories precisely by weighing food. If you guestimate you will never really know how much in equals loss, maintain or even gain.

Follow the guidance of your prescriber and don’t bugger about with doses on the advice of some unqualified person on social media.

I regret moving up to 5mg in the second month. The 2.5mg isn’t really meant to do anything but it absolutely worked at suppression for me. I moved up to 5mg the second month because I thought I had to but I wish I had stayed on that until it stopped working. I’ve been on 5mg ever since and the suppression has been perfect. Only move up if you think the suppression has stopped.

I wish I'd have measured so I could see how many inches I'd lost. I did regular update photos, which I love going through.

A year in, 7 stone down.

Stop hyping it up so much. The vast majority of people are fine. I don’t take fibre, or Imodium or anything else. The only supplements I take are for my hair.

Don’t be discouraged if not much happens for the first two months. Be patient and work your way up the doses until you get the effects. It may work really well from day one but we are all different.

The amount of medication in the system builds up over the weeks due to the long half life so you will have more effect in week two even on the same dose.

As people have said don’t rush to go up the doses if it is working - it’s more expensive and there is more risk of side effects.

Side effects vary between people and can be from day one and get better or can appear later in the process and get worse. I am currently pleased with psyllium husk and probiotics with digestive enzymes for keeping them at bay. Also avoid very rich, fatty or sweet food in large quantities - hopefully will be doing this anyway as part of your healthy eating plan but these things sometimes have set off my side effects.

I started Mounjaro on Saturday, I don't feel hungry but I think that may be mind over matter, working so quickly!

I weighed in at 241.4 today, I'm planning on weighing everyday.

My diet will be counting calories - wish me luck 🐷

I eat 1500-1600 daily. You do need to work out what your individual calorie needs are though as the difference is vast

Don’t feel you have to move up a dose, I’m just about to try 7.5mg 6 months in.

The people I know irl who have lost tons quickly are the people who had a lot to give up. Beer, takeaways etc.

My loss has been slow compared to most on MN but it’s ok. I didn’t have a lot of things to give up. I eat 900-1000 ish cals a day. Pre MJ that was 1200 ish with no weight loss for a sustained period of time.

I do get constipation but I’m inclined to be constipated anyway, psyillium husk stopped working for me, as did mag citrate so I now use movicol every second day. Tbf I would have to resort to movicol for a week most months pre MJ.

Don’t assume you need to move up the doses quickly. I’ve been on it for 14 weeks now and I’m still on 3.75 and will stay on this as long as it’s working. For others, they have only found it works well at higher doses so it really depends on the person.

Have something available for heartburn/burps such as gaviscon.

I tend to prioritise protein where possible and have reduced bread/pasta etc, but haven’t really cut anything out. Just eat smaller meals, and MJ stops you wanting to snack.

I tend not to drink too much alcohol in the first few days after the jab and leave the drinks for later in the week.

I actually have most side effects on the 3rd day - which is generally just tiredness/low energy so I plan this to be on a weekend so it doesn’t affect my work.

Good luck 👍🏻

After you’ve done your first injection, when you’re putting the needle tip into the sharps bin, make sure you don’t accidentally prick yourself with the bottom end of the needle. For some reason my brain didn’t twig that there would be a sharp part there, and it was a painful surprise when I pushed the needle into the bin! So try to avoid that.

Oh, and changing pharmacy is not a big deal. I should have changed sooner, but was a bit nervous of moving to a new supplier. But no need to be.

I bought spare needle heads (same as the ones that come with the pen) and wipes so I could split the dose. I take half the dose twice a week as I struggle with some side effects. The Glp1 plotter is helpful for looking at how much of the medication is in your system. https://glp1plotter.com/

i struggle with enough protein and find chicken sausages helpful as a protein rich snack so I cook a batch and chuck them in the freezer. Find a few meals that you are happy to have on repeat that you know the calories and protein content of. I eat 0% Greek yogurt with some extra protein powder and some fruit compote/fresh fruit and a sprinkling of granola for breakfast most days. It works out at about 250cals and has 35g protein and I love it.

I weight every day, weekly average is a good measure as there is variations in the week. Hot weather and TOTM all interfere with losses but I find that if I know I have eaten a deficit it will come off in the end, I just sometimes loose steadily and other times there is a sudden drop of over a kilo overnight. Don’t be dispirited if you have a plateau.

I’m 10 weeks in and sticking with the 2.5mg as I am loosing but go up if you need to, 2.5 doesn’t work for everyone and I supposed to be a starting dose to get your body used to it. Lots of people go up less than the 2.5mg increments but because of the half life it takes 4 weeks for the dose to stabilise (much around with the plotter to look).

buy some dumbbells and start using them at home. I do little and often but should probably do more. I also bought a weighted vest I wear when I go walking. Stared with 3kg but up to 5kg now. I go for long walks most days.

i also have an Oura smart ring that I really like.

good luck. It is definitely worth it. I started 17th May and I’m just shy of 2stone down and can’t see why I wouldn’t be able to keep it up.

I know the desire is to lose as much weight as possible in the shortest time so many people chase suppression by zooming up the doses but 1-2lbs a week is probably more likely to be successful for long term weight loss as you won’t have been starving yourself and then undoing all your work when you stop (or have to stay on maintenance).

If you’ve not already got some, scales which break down your fat, muscle, bone density etc are useful. They may not be 100% accurate for every category but they are indicative and helpful to motivate you to eat more protein and exercise to maintain or build muscle (more muscle will burn more calories and help your weight loss). If you go to the gym, there might be more accurate scales there.

I use Cronometer to record my food intake. It has a really detailed nutritional breakdown and has a barcode scanner, custom foods and recipes and it’s free!

As well as taking photos, download the MeThreeSixty app and do a body scan in tight clothes (or your bra and pants) as you start. Do your own measurements to compare that it is accurate. Then repeat it as you lose weight. I didn’t do this till I was a few months in but even a weight loss of 10lbs was really noticeable in a side by side rotation comparison you can do on the app and I wish I’d done it when I started.

Good luck 😊

Constipation is my only side effect. Eat prunes, take fibre gummies, have the fybogel in, etc if it happens to you!

Use the Shotsy app, useful for tracking everything.

Take 'before' photos and measurements. You'll hate them at the time but be grateful for them later.

Get insulin syringes so you can use the 5th dose.

Order more needle tips (the ones that come with the pen) if you're planning on using smaller doses, I started on 1.25mg so needed them, and I'm going to take 3.75mg out of a 5 pen too.

Don't obsess over the scales. I gained 2 weeks but overall I've lost 2 stone in 10 weeks. I was so sad the first time I saw the gain but the following week it was gone.

Plan your jab day carefully. I take mine on Sunday night, because I want the most suppression during the week as I struggled on work days not to eat all the time and resist all the treats, and then on day 6/7 (Sat Sun) I can generally eat a lot more as the suppression wears off. This works well for me, so I can eat and enjoy going out etc on the weekends with my family.

Track your calories at first. I use Nutracheck and it's excellent. I tend to eat a lot of the same foods now so don't use it most days anymore. I eat around 1100-1200 calories a day now.

Watch your protein. I drink a clear protein drink made with powder from My Protein every day, they're great. Taste like squash. I also eat eggs sometimes, and lots of chicken (I like the pre cooked flavoured chicken you get, my current favourite is Tesco's greek gyros but I also like the sweet chill). And cottage cheese can be your friend too.

Drink water. I don't. Hence the constipation I think! I do drink the protein water in a 1l bottle though which is something.