September 25 starters

[outofofficeagain]

Anybody else planning to start in September?

I’ve been procrastinating for months but decided to go for it despite the price increases. Waiting for my delivery from Medexpress and planning on 1st Sept start.

I really like nutra-check too. The weekly average or monthly average option is interesting, helps if there's a day when you've eaten more for an occasion!

How long have you been on MJ now? Or do you mean you've plateaued whilst losing weight previously? I can imagine i will feel disheartened when I stop losing but youre right, the bigger picture is more important. I just keep reminding myself that this summer was my last feeling as down about myself as i did 🤞

The numbers look good but some may feel it's too much too soon. I'm happy but also mindful that it may come back quicker as it's not been slow and steady! We'll see hey 😅

I don't really have any tips, i'm yet to face a day out or night out (last one was cancelled) where i'll have to eat other things so maybe that's where i will hit some gains and more side effects. I've ate the same stuff each day since i started 😅 no idea why i'm not sick of it yet! I also drink 3 litres of water a day.

I'm wondering if I should order a 5mg pen next time or just send for another 2.5mg. Asda have £15 off at the moment so I'd like to take advantage if I can! Why did you move up? Sorry if you've already mentioned it in another post and i've missed it. Is there much of a difference to how you're feeling?

Well done everyone on your progress so far. 👏👏👏

Week 5 weigh in and I’ve lost 3lb this week. Happy with that.

SW. 14st. 12lbs
CW. 13st 13.5lbs

Total loss = 12.5lbs in 4 weeks. ☺️

I had a night out last night and then was really ill. Woke up with terrible heartburn- the extreme kind where it’s already come back up your throat. And was sick.

I didn’t eat too much in terms of quantity, but I think it was far too rich/fat content so won’t be doing that again.

Me too!

I’m on Wygovy. The plateaus happened in previous attempts - but I think this is normal for most people.

I think I’ve finally settled the 2.5ml vs 5ml for month 2 debate and going to stick with 2.5ml. I already have a second 2.5ml pen so it’s the easiest option but I think it’s the right one for now too.

My suppression is good in the week and a bit less at the weekend (jab day Monday) which suits me quite well. Looking ahead to October we have some weekends away and I want to be able to eat the meals I’m offered/ enjoy a meal out.

I am not having to use masses of willpower but I’m quite motivated at the moment with a big work event I’m presenting at in November and tenth wedding anniversary in December so if 2.5ml gets less effective I think the thought of those will be enough!

I don’t think I have any tips but I’m trying not to cut corners and focus on making changes that I could carry on after mj, I see this as a long term project. I’m now very mindful of the calories but still trying to get calories/protein/fibre from “real food”. I think my problem has been portion sizes so constantly overeating. That’s why I like having that hungry feeling before meals as this also means that I need to use my willpower.

Smoothies are my snacks and I’m planning to top these up with protein powder if needed. I’m using MyFitnessPal for tracking. I have noticed that I’m not hitting my iron target. my iron levels have been low a few times over the last few years due to very heavy periods so need to keep my eyes on this.

re going out, I have had two nights out (dinners) over the last 4 weeks. Both times I opted chicken dish, avoided chips and had a few glasses of white wine. Instead of dessert, I had a starter so didn’t have to have anything sweet. I went over my daily calories but balanced this with exercise earlier on the day so there was still at least some calorie deficit. In the past, I would not have done so and would have put weight on eventually.

hope this helps someone. it’s interesting to read everyone’s experiences and what’s working/not working as we all respond to injections so differently.

I've just decided to send for a 5 pen. I'm on my 2nd pen of 2.5, took the first dose last night and i'm sat here today feeling hungry. Haven't had that at all the last 4 weeks so I think i'll finish this pen, use some extreme willpower 😅 and go up to 5 once i'm done. I've timed it for half term so if i'm really poorly i'll have the week off work to get past it. It cost £179 from Asda as they've got £15 off at the minute.

Having been using My Fitness Pal until now, I just got Nutracheck (based on those last couple of posts) and I'm blown away by how much better it is! Glad I took the plunge. For nutrient goals, what is everyone aiming for? I started off with 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat but I've been struggling to get enough protein and looking at what Nutracheck suggests (35, 30, 35 for high protein) I'm thinking maybe I was being too ambitious?

@namechange0998776554799000 I haven’t split my target as percentage. For protein, I’m calculating my target 0.75g*body weight (kg). I think there are a few others on this thread who use the same calculation. This has worked out to be 30-35% of my daily intake. Share of carbs are a bit higher and I try to keep fats the smallest share so percentage shares seems to mirror what nutracheck is suggesting.

Ah yes, I remember seeing that now. That calculation gives me 87g of protein and I think that does roughly align with what nutracheck is suggesting, which makes me feel better!

@JustPickleRickI went up to 5mg this week because I didn't really feel 2.5 was having much of an effect. I don't think I have experienced anything like the suppression that others have described on here, although for the first time today after eating my lunch I am now feeling quite full !(on day 4). I was planning to take lower doses from the 5mg pen to make it last a bit longer to save me a bit of money but ended up taking 5mg to just follow the prescribed instructions. I might do my golden dose next week from my 2.5mg pen to top me up as my levels will still be higher than they were on the 2.5 (I think!)

Happy weekend all 😊

I’m W2 D5 now. I swear that taking an omeprazole each day is stopping me getting nauseous. The reason being that just before my daily omeprozole I sometimes start to feel slightly sick but an hour after taking it, it always passes. I was a heartburn sufferer anyway so knew that sometimes it made me feel sick even without any acid. I buy it off Amazon as it’s cheaper than the shops.

I still have suppression and have no desire for chocolate which was my weakness. However, I am getting more hunger pangs and I’m not getting full when I’m eating anymore so I’m having to make a conscious effort to keep my portions smaller.

I’ll see if it gets worse across the month as I may need to jump to 5mg in month 2 but I’ll see if I keep losing and if I can keep to 1200 kcals a day without feeling deprived. According to the calculator I need to eat just over 1200 a day to lose 1lb a week. The joys of being in my late 40s! 😆

There's a personal trainer in my family and they said 0.8 x per kg body weight is the bare minimum needed to function. He said to aim for 1.6 x per kg

Thats good to know, I think i'm at a similar point to you. From the start i've been able to eat all of my meals. Haven't skipped from feeling sick as i've not really had nausea as a side effect! I'm just feeling hungrier now so there was clearly some supression but not overkill and it's no longer effective.

@JustPickleRick the thing is, I hardly used to eat any protein at all (very little meat or fish, no nuts/seeds/beans, I'm allergic to dairy). I know I need to change (and mj is definitely helping), I just need to find a goal that's ambitious but achievable

Rookie error tonight. Coated some chicken and shallow fried it. Never again. Hadn’t had any nausea until now. That’ll teach me!

Hello All. I’m on week two of 5mg. And so far it’s good. Total suppression that doesnot wear off towards the end of the week. I do feel sick but I think that’s cos I’m not drinking as much water as I have had such a busy week and no time to plan.

so far 11bs down in week 6. So I’ll take that. Have to me more organised with food and water though xxxx

I've not seen the scale move as much this week, but I know it's probably due to a bit of constipation. Now things are moving again it's coming back down. Hopefully you will find similar?

I’m struggling to see the point of these injections! I know I’ve only had 3 lots of 2.5 so far but I don’t feel any different to how I felt the last three months when I started my diet.

So I’m eating about the same amount, 1200 to 1400 cals per day, quite happy on that, don’t get hungry ( didn’t before Mounjaro either) but am thinking a lot about food in between meals now. I think that is because I am being stricter on calorie counting!

On the diet, I was losing 1 to 3 lb a week, almost 2 stone in all. On MJ, I’ve lost 5 lb in my first 2 full weeks, so not very different.

I’ve used the TDEE calculator and can eat 1,700 cals to lose 1/2 lb a week or 1400 cals to lose 1.1 lb a week. I need to cut down to 1200 to lose more quickly and I think that is the case even if not taking MJ. 1900 cals would keep my weight stable at my current exercise level which is no exercise due to severe arthritis in my knees. Hopefully though after knee replacement surgery I’ll be able to exercise again and so eat a normal diet.

Am I going mad here, am I wasting my money?

How do some people lose more weight, like 4 lb a week on MJ, is it only be eating less than your recommended amount of calories or does MJ help?

I can afford the injections but I’m not keen on adding chemicals into my body if not necessary, neither do I like the side effects I’m getting currently.

Was due to start 5mg tomorrow morning, but don't think I can do it. Only just feeling normal a couple of hours after I had the worst stomach pain, nausea and lightheadedness (accompanied by trips to the toilet) I've ever encountered. Could not hold my head up, ended up drenched in sweat and shivering on the bathroom floor.

It's possible I'm ill with something else, or this is the outcome of being constipated all week. Felt very scared in the moment, wondering what I'd done to myself after only having had very mild queasiness and headaches to the this point.

@WhiteAmaryllis I hope you’re feeling better today? Unless you’ve not poo-ed all week, it does sound more like a bug. What are you taking for the constipation? Are you drinking enough water? I’ve started drinking a glass of prune juice a day this week to help move things along.

@Ihateslugs If you’re successfully dieting without MJ, then in your shoes, I’d stop taking it. I don’t think you need it?
I used to be able to diet by calorie counting and upping my exercise easily enough prior to menopause, but afterwards, I couldn’t keep it up longer than about a week. MJ has helped me enormously.

@Ihateslugs the calorie recommendation/ deficit to lose weight is the same for weight loss with or without mj. The difference for me with mj is that I can keep my daily calorie intake within those limits. I get the “I’m full” feeling sooner (prevents me overeating and helps to manage portion size) and I don’t have any cravings for sweet things and less unnecessary snacks between meals. With previous diets by wk 5 (which I’m on now) I would have relapsed at least once and might have given up.

@Ihateslugs my understanding isn’t that WLI speed up weight loss because the basic calculation is still the same I.e. 3500 calories equals a pound of fat, so a 500 calorie deficit a day will mean one pound a week lost. Bigger losses than that will either be related to water loss or muscle loss (or if you are very big to start with because bigger bodies burn more calories).

2.5mg is not officially a therapeutic dose, it’s just meant to be getting your body used to the drug. I do feel I’m having some suppression on it but I think there is also a fair bit of placebo and ‘I’ve paid for this so I don’t want to screw it up’ thinking. I’ve heard others say that they didn’t get suppression until 5mg or higher though.

It’s a very personal decision though! I’ve certainly done enough diets over the years to know I ‘can’ do it without WLI for a couple of months at least, but for me it is a real struggle due to having a big appetite and a tendency to eat my emotions. I had one big weight loss journey in my twenties when I lost 3 stone (starting weight was obese) and then maintained at a normal BMI for 3 or 4 years. However since having children I got back up to that weight and beyond and every diet peters out after a few months and the weight goes back on. I’m early 40s now which probably doesn’t help.

My first three weeks on WLI I feel like it isn’t a magic wand but I’m not putting half as much effort into sticking to the diet and at least I know I can up the dose when I need so I can - I hope - stick to it long enough to get down to a healthy BMI. Last time I was that was in 2020 and only for about two weeks!!

If you are doing fine on a diet without WLI though then yes I’m not sure what else they would bring to the party.

And as @OneDayIWillLearn said, there is definitely some of “I’ve paid for this so I don’t want to screw it up” attitude too 😄