March Starters 2025 Thread 7, where we are now all having advice from Janice, Janice can do one!

[TheSpoonyNavyReader]

Welcome to thread 7.

Thank you for sticking around and making a little community of WL. This group makes me so happy that we are non judgmental and support each other.

Oh wow, well done @Fatmumslim01 and @soupforbrains What an achievement.

I also did braised beef yesterday @Fairfaxandflavor and have some leftover for lunch today!

Anyway, I came here to say GOAL!

SW: 13st 4lbs (1st March was my first jab)
CW: 11st
GW: 11st

BMI 24.1

I'm about to go down to 10mg after the next jab and will be on maintenance/titrating down but also hope to lose another half a stone to get to BMI 23 for a bit more wriggle room.

@SharpOpalNewt 🎉🎉🎉🎉well done! Welcome to the maintenance club,

So many scale and non scale victories! Brilliant news. Welcome to maintenance, @SharpOpalNewt! I wouldn’t say it’s easy. But it’s nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be.

I’m on holiday, it’s beautifully warm and sunny. And I’m confidently wearing a bikini that I last looked good in around summer 2022. Stomach a bit wobbly but the skin is definitely toning up.

Making sure I get my steps in, swimming loads and doing one form of cardio a day, even if it’s just 30 mins on the tennis court. Not really worrying about what I eat or drink but being mindful about not eating too large portions. I’ll definitely gain a couple of pounds, will be annoyed with myself if it’s more. But I’m more confident now that I can shift small gains quickly by adjusting plate composition and portion sizes. MJ allowed me to retrain my brain.

This is so good you’ve been able to keep a handle on it, I feel like I’m drowning here - I’m back down to 2.5mg and I feel like I’ve never tasted food before, everything tastes so DELICIOUS I can’t get it into me fast enough. Totally back to old habits it’s terrifying, have put on 5lbs in the last two weeks. I think I need to go back up and CONSCIOUSLY try and change my thinking like you have done xx

SW - 12st 12lb
SW with MJ - 12st 8lb
CW - 10st 2lb

I am effectively at GW now - in fact I was happy a few weeks back when I was at 10st 4lb and started titrating down. Am okay with going as low as 9st 13lb but only if it happens - I'm not actively trying. Only ever went to 5mg and am now at 3.75mg, which I much prefer. Am hungry but still feel full relatively quickly, but have zero side effects. It is so nice not to have the nausea and constipation issues anymore. I've also recovered my motivation to exercise - not that I wasn't exercising on MJ (I ran half and full marathons) but I just didn't feel very motivated and the side effects would make me less likely to engage. Now I'm back in the gym lifting weights and have upped my running mileage again too.

I've got one more dose of 3.75mg in the current pen and then I've got a 5mg pen that I will use to micro-dose from to get me through xmas. Can do 3.75/2.5 through to xmas and then drop down to 1.25mg in January before coming off. By January I'm always desperate to eat healthy anyway!

@Outsidebeanshop The mindfulness about how much I’m eating is really key IMO. I eat really lovely food and have done all the way through the journey. But I’m super conscious about how much of it I eat. I calorie counted in the first few weeks of maintenance to readjust my mindset and eyes to what proper maintenance portions look like. Perhaps try that?

OMG I had my first day of the Food taste delicious feeling again, food noise and not being hungry, but a constant hunger feeling today. 10 days after last high dose and 1 day after halfing the dose to 7mg . Hoping it’s a one off and I’m also pre TOTM , gave in today but tomorrow I need to get more strict and back on my meal plan (weight stable since Sunday so far)

had quite a bad headache today (similar to when I was going up doses) and again the chill which I haven’t felt since I was on 7.5

another 9 days and will be my last dose around 2.5mg until spring , I’m almost certain I will go back as MJ for the last 2st, as was such mentally and therapeutic drug not having to have the complete mental control all the time

But for now , we can do this!

Morning all, it’s wed and weigh n jab day. It’s also totm for me. Lost 1lb this week.
sw 114.4kg
cw 79.5kg
gw 68kg
starting to get quite lose skin on arms and thighs and I definitely need surgery on my extremely deflated boobs. but for now, it’s all about getting to a healthy weight.

A very emotional NSV here today...

I'm "light" enough to do "go ape" style activity with my kids. Reader I'm still obese 😂 but I couldn't have done it 3 stone ago. Had to stop to wipe a tear half way round the course as I realised how much my weight was holding me back in the past. But it was never my fault, it was never lack of willpower that I beat myself up about for years, I really think it's biology/chemistry that made me overeat and crave food so much.

The laughs and smiles of my children as mummy joined in rather than watched sitting down is priceless.

Again as I always say, MJ has absolutely changed my life.

I wish I could give the old me a hug.

@Fatmumslim01that is amazing and must feel so good. Sending a virtual hug and a high five.

@northernlight20also TOTM here as well and currently feeling like someone has stamped on my kidneys with hobnail boots.

Quick update from me but I'm happy to announce my stall is over. I wouldn't recommend the vomiting and liquid poo I endured over the weekend as a great method for clearing a stall that happened quite randomly but it's over 😁

I'm now starting was 10 !!!! Can you believe it - haven't seen that number for over 25 years 🤣

SW 15 st 3.8
CW 10st 13.8
So a loss of 60lb in total and 4lb this week
GW 10st but maybe a bit less depends how I get on.

The end is in sight 🎉

I've read some great updates over the past few days whilst dying and wishing I'd never had to inject again so thank you and well done one and all.

What brilliant updates. @Fatmumslim01that must have been an amazing feeling - go you!

I’ve been wearing all the bikinis on holiday - wore a very itsy bitsy one today (not polka dot though). Whilst I don’t look as good in it as I did in my 20s, nobody screamed and ran away 😂

@Fatmumslim01 thats a great NSV well done and must felt amazing

NSV here too , had no winter coats as chucked my old one , although pricey a couple of years ago the size and holes (from me wearing it a size or two too small (20 but in reality I was 22) meant I just got rid .

So ventured out to tk maxx and browsed around and saw a coat I liked, I was like that’s wayyyy to small , tried it on and fitted like a charm . I couldn’t believe it , it was a size 14!!!! I haven’t been a size 14 since my early 20’s (I’m 40) !!! Tried on another 14 and it was snug but anyway bought the 14 that fitted me bringing it with me like a proud (something with a long neck 🤣)
went next door to Matalan grabbed a size 18 work pants (a size that was snug a month ago) come home and they were loose . Come to conclusion that I’m now a size 16 (or a large size 14 or small 18) a size I was most of my teenage years and majority of my 20’s and a couple of years after DS1 .

this gives me a push now that I stopped early, that this is good this is confidence even I don’t see it in the mirror this is good keep going and don’t stuff yourself with unhealthy stuff 🤣

Morning all, ive stalled for weeks now :( I think i need to increase my dose to 10mg but its so expensive. ive been looking at the monj comparison site. Has anyone used Bolt pharmacy? or anyone switched to Wegovy at an equivalent dose? im 4 stone down but 2-3 to go.
@Fatmumslim01 ah thats amazing NSV

Hi all, I'm finding maintenance tricky. If I'm conscious about what I'm eating it is fine and I can make the right choices but hunger is back and I've definitely found myself slipping. Half term this week has been difficult as I always seem to eat more when DDs are off school.

What I would say is keeping to 16:8 intermittent fasting is my saviour right now. I have bounced around putting on and losing the same couple of lbs, which feels annoying but at the same time I think eating in a time restricted window naturally stops me going completely off course.

I am also trying to be much more conscious of nutrition. I had had a few days of too much junk....KFC for lunch with DDs etc and just generally not thinking about what I'm eating. Yesterday I made a real effort to focus on good, nutritious food so had a flatbread with hummus, beetroot, cabbage, charred aubergine etc and a homemade chicken and coconut thai style soup. And I felt SO much better. I do seem to be slowly learning that eating well makes me feel well.

I think it shows that for maintenance you need something else to keep on track. For me that's intermittent fasting, for others it may be staying on a low dose of MJ, or calorie counting.

@GameOfJones The mindful eating plus IF (which I always do except when on holiday) is absolutely key for me. Without it I think I’d regain. And yes I also feel so much better when I eat well. That helps keep me on track.

Finally brave enough to post some bikini photos. At 8st 6 or 7 ish, I still look chunky because of my height and you can see how much I still need to tone up, even though I’ve exercised a lot. Wobbly pizza dough stomach for sure. Apron belly slowly going even though maintaining now. And the boobs definitely contribute a lot to my weight. But that’s the first time since early 2022 that I’ve felt confident enough to actually wear a bikini. DD says I look great and should feel really proud of myself. Bless her.

@GameOfJones yes it's tricky but IF is the key I think, along with being mindful, much harder off mj though, @TheBossOfMe looking amazing!

Wow @TheBossOfMe you look amazing. What apron belly??!! If you think yours is an apron mine must be a full on dress 😂 how tall are you?

@GameOfJones yup I hear you with the eating more in the holidays thing I'm the same as we naturally have more days out and meals out etc. your food yesterday sounds amazing!

I definitely agree that when you eat better you feel better.

Re maintenance would you consider going on a low dose for maintenance or have you come off it completely

Thanks @popdepop .

I've just gone up to 10mg a few weeks ago as 7.5 was like injecting water tbh! It is expensive, Im currently using WePrescribe as they had £40 off and free delivery through the monj site and they offer 10% off for repeat orders. I think I paid £223 for 10mg a few weeks ago.

I briefly debated moving to wegovy but apparently the highest dose of wegovy is only equivalent to 7.5mg so maybe if I was on a lower dose I may consider it but ive heard so many stories of people trying it and having to switch back to mj as ita just not as effective as it onky works 1 way rather than the 2 of MJ. Also you only get 4 doses there's no bonus/golden dose.

I'm trying to selling stuff on vinted that's now too big to pay for mj but it is a big expense especially with Christmas etc.

I'm 3 stone down and 2-3 to go and hope to be on it for life as I feel amazing on it!

@Fatmumslim01I’m 5 ft 3 so on the short side. That’s actually the first time I’ve seen a full length photo of me in a couple of years. And I’m seeing why the doctor was so concerned about my weight gain looking at it - it’s really obvious how much I carry weight around my middle even now. I’ve lost 8.5 inches off my waist measurement - I must have looked like a basketball with arms and legs before. Or one of the M&M characters 😂

It’s a reminder of how much this is about my health as well as my vanity. My body fat percentage is still really high so that’s what I need to work on now. Which might help sort the pizza dough out.

4 months+ into maintenance I can see that my skin is starting to shrink back, just lagging a bit. Hopefully it’ll get there!

Apron belly tucked into bikini bottoms 😂

Thanks @Fatmumslim01 are you noticing the difference on 10mg? I also didn't realise that re Wegovy, thank you!

Yes @popdepop 10mg is fab so far, it feels like the early days of 2.5 again! Really don't know what went wrong with 7.5 but I was absolutely starving on it the whole 5 weeks and I only lost 3 pounds in 5 weeks whereas I normally lose around 6 pound in 5 weeks.

Don't take my word as gospel re wegovy 😂 I read it Reddit

@Fatmumslim01- a lot of people on different threads are talking about how 7.5mg did little for them vs 5mg or 10mg. Go figure.