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.

@WhiteAmaryllis I hope you are feeling a bit better? It could well be a bug given the sweating and other symptoms or even food poisoning. However, it could be the meds as some people do experience symptoms later but the overall picture for your symptoms does sound like something else to me. If you have a spare needle with your pen maybe you could just take half for the 2.5mg and if you feel ok, take the other half midway through the week? I’ve read on some of the forums on here about people doing that.

@Ihateslugs it sounds like you were doing a great job without the jabs. It could be that 2.5 isn’t effective for you as a dose and you’d need stronger to see more results though. Before I started I could not lose weight alone when calorie counting, but I did suffer cravings a lot meaning I struggled to stick to it everyday and so this med is stopping me craving junk. If you already were successful in keeping to plan and didn’t feel hungry then I completely understand why you may want to consider stopping,

That’s good news you’re doing well on 5mg.
With the water, I bought a 1 litre refillable drinks bottle and keep it with me throughout the day. I tell myself I need to drink 2 of these a day and keeping it in my view seems to work but I do work from home which I appreciate makes things easier.

I’m considering moving to 5mg for month 2 but I’m terrified of side effects after a fairly easy ride with 2.5mg. I need to toss up between a bit of willpower if I stick with 2.5mg or taking the plunge to go higher

I definitely feel this. I am going to see how the loss is after two full weeks before I decide about moving to 5 or staying on 2.5.

Thanks for those who responded to my late night angst! A couple of very good points were raised which I had not considered when thinking about the point of carrying on with Mounjaro.

I had forgotten that 2.5 is considered an introductory dose to get the body used to the medication. My body certainly reacted badly ( see previous posts re diarrhoea and volcanic erupting gasses!) but so far I feel fine after my third dose - hope I’ve not spoken too soon! I’m now more inclined to move up to 5 if the pharmacist I’m buying from agrees.

Although I was doing OK on my diet for past three months, I have lapsed a couple of times due to social events. So although I planned ahead and ate very little before going out, I knew my WI supper clubs would mean eating more calories than my daily allowance. These meetings are important to me though as I’m retired and live alone so need contact with other people. I just make sure that after Cake Club I give away any uneaten cake or freeze it when I get home or even throw it away! I don’t think that will change even on stronger doses of Mounjaro.

However, now that I am calorie counting rather than simply eating healthy meals on an intermittent fasting regime, I have “ treated” my self to a small amount of chocolate or a cereal bar at the end of the day if I have some calories left. Maybe on a higher dose, I’ll not even think of doing that?

I really appreciate the support I get on here, without it I think I’d be more inclined to stop buying Mounjaro and then possibly risk giving up on my diet as well.

I have an important goal to be able to enjoy my son’s wedding next May without walking with two walking sticks. To do that I need both my knees replacing. To have the operations, I need to lose weight and reduce my BMI for the best outcome so I need to crack on to have one knee done in Nov/Dec this year and the second as soon as possible in the new year. With a starting weight of 19st, there is still a long way to go!

Evening all,

Officially my first week over, very pleased with 4lbs off 😁

I have decided not to take my second dose today however as my food aversion is very high today. I might try in the morning or more likely after work tomorrow when I have time to follow the instructions again.

Changes after the 1st month...

There’s a link here to how you can know and manage your risks of pancreatitis - keeping your dose low helps! https://www.helenblighcoaching.co.uk/form-for-pancreatitis-resources.html

You’ve got some really big motivators here! If you get a 5mg pen, you don’t have to give yourself the whole 60 clicks on the first dose, you could work your way up, perhaps? 30 clicks would give you the equivalent of your 2.5, and 45 clicks would put you half way between the 2.5 and the 5, so that you could see how your body reacts.

Hmmm, I’m not sure what my phamacist will say if I do that - I guess he would know if I don’t order my next pen as expected! I chose not to buy online as I had so many doubts before I started and needed to speak to a real person. He was really nice and supportive so I plan to have a chat with him when I order on Monday and see what he thinks. I get a physical check up every four weeks - weight, blood pressure etc then I can ask him any questions.

That suits me better than getting a lower price online, I remain under his care for two years and if I stop losing weight, he will recommend other weight loss drugs or treatment.

Couldn’t eat my tea tonight so looking back today all I’ve had is a qtr of an omelette, 2 crackers and 3 small potatoes.

I’m drinking loads of water though but I still feel a bit sick tonight.

I've made the right decision not taking the second jab, right?

I am not an expert on these things having only started taking Mounjaro three weeks ago but if I’d been feeling sick all week since taking a jab then I probably would delay taking the next one until I felt better. Luckily because I have gone through my local pharmacy to get the medication, I would have spoken to the pharmacist to ask his advice. Your sickness could be related or could be a bug or gastric flu.

I had really bad diarrhoea two days after taking the first dose but then things settled down and I felt fine. After I took the second dose I again had diarrhoea the following day but it was milder and only lasted one evening. I took the third dose Friday morning, and touch wood, have been fine since. So hopefully the 2.5 pen is doing what it should do - getting my body used to the medication.

I actually have the opposite problem now in that I am mildly constipated so am necking jugs of water to ease the situation! Mind you, I’ll have a very disturbed night with frequent visit to the bathroom, I already go two or three times so expect a few more visits after drinking water so late at night!

Listen to your own body and maybe seek advice from the supplier, I understood that online pharmacies have a help desk you can use?

Jab day today and still can’t decide to move up to 5mg. Was away this weekend and ate far more than I should (and was a bit uncomfortable). Food noise is creeping back but so anxious about pancreatitis feel like staying on 2.5 another month.

but then is it a waste of money if it’s not doing anything.

arggghhhhh

@outofofficeagain Do you know why you ate too much?
Is it just old habits? Needing to finish the plate? Everyone else eating large portions? Feeling genuinely very hungry?

I see my older sister and my DH always eating very smaller portions and they’re skinny buggers, and I used to think that they don’t have a big appetite or this desire to finish the plate in front of them. They still eat the odd square of chocolate but never a whole bar in one go.

I always assumed I was simply more hungry than them, but on MJ I can eat smaller portions and not be bothered by it, so I know that I don’t actually NEED to eat very much in reality. It’s just a habit with me.

I think I need to re-train myself to eat less as my new normal. I’m going to continue with lower dose MJ for now and remind myself that I can survive happily by eating smaller portions from this point onwards. 🤞🤞

I was out with friends for dinner 2 nights running, plus buffet breakfast.

I think it was more that the food was too rich than the quantity was too much. I left most of my chips, didn’t eat the bread etc. I was trying to still take part in the meal but didn’t choose wisely.

Lesson learnt

I’ve gone for 2.5 for another 2 weeks as I’ve already got the pen in the fridge and am keen to lose slowly rather than too fast. We are away for the first half of half term, so will move up to 5mg when we get back (need to eek a couple of doses out to 6 days so I’m not moving up a dose on holiday.

these next four weeks I want to really get to grips with exercise and protein.

Jab 4 done ✔️

SW: 13 stone 10lbs
CW: 13 stone 2 3/4 lbs
This week’s loss: 2 1/4lbs

Happy with that! I’ve been umming and ah-ing about whether to do the golden dose but seeing how much was left in the pen this morning made me think I will. So off to order some syringes!

Just popped on to share my win, as I don't really talk about Mounjaro to anyone but my dp.

I've lost a stone! A whole stone! I've tried so many diets, and never shifted more than a few pounds! I'm delighted!

I'm due to have jab 4 this evening.

Well done @Stompythedinosaur!

Scales are not shifting at all after an initial 10lbs loss. They’ve been hovering at 17 st 2, maybe half a pound either way for the last two and a half weeks. Calories definitely well within limits, protein on target although I might increase that (I’m using Nutracheck) and I’m not constipated. However I’ve definitely lost inches from my waist and stomach so I conclude it’s water.

I drink a lot of tea so I’ve been counting that. Target for today is more actual plain water though.
With that, I’m off to IKEA for some Klippits and lunch.

@lulu1921 I’m a newby too but eating that little food is really nutrient deficient, you may trigger unwanted side effects without balance in your diet. Maybe think about whether just relying on suppression is really helping with retraining your food brain, as when it’s not there the hunger will come back. Although, like I said I’m a newby so I may be wrong.

Need some suggestions about what to eat to relieve constipation and also to prevent getting it again. Yes, after two episodes of diarrhoea with my first two jabs, my body has been sneaky and gifted me with constipation after jab 3!

I am already drinking around 3 litres of water a day and eating loads of fresh salad so am not sure what to add to my diet now. I did take one dulcolax (sp?) tablet last night but I’m not sure if it worked - not sharing more details of my trip to toilet this morning other than to say it was lengthy and painful! I’ve been looking online at what foods I can eat but not sure which will be the most effective, I’m not keen on taking tablets or weird supplements.

Fruit wise, I do have some kiwis and dried apricots but fresh fruit is a bit limited as we go into the winter, I rely on online orders as my mobility is limited but I’m thinking of popping into my local coop later as their fruit and veg section is near the entrance. I could then buy some apples.

Other than prunes is there anything else that would help - extra points if they are things most people have in their larders!

My research said coffee is good to get things moving but I restrict myself to just one cup a day on the advice of my doctor who monitors my high blood pressure meds.

Magnesium supplements will help with constipation.

@Ihateslugs coffee works for me. I usually drink instant but I think proper brewed filter coffee is more potent on the bowel (speaking from experience!) so if you are only having one cup a day then I’d go for that kind.

Drinking lots of sugar-free squash has also worked for me in the past - some artificial sweeteners have a laxative effect.

I've been tracking my fibre and one thing that surprised me is just how little fibre there is in most salad veg other than avocados and artichoke.

Like many of us who have been struggling with obesity, I've been wary of eating carbs. But in order to get enough fibre ive been eating loads of pulses and plenty of wholegrains, potatoes, sweet potatoes etc. 100g of frozen raspberries microwaved and mixed with 1 tablespoon of chia seeds has over 10g fibre and is my go to afternoon snack.

So à typical day might be:

Overnight oat bran made with grated apple and protein yogurt and seeds

Chickpea and vegetable stew

Raspberries with chia seeds and yogurt

Stir fried chicken and veg with some brown rice.

I aim for around 10g of fibre per meal, plus a fairly fibre rich snack to give me over the 30g minimum every day.

I don't always hit the target on low appetite days.

@Ihateslugs I’ve started drinking a glass of prune juice a day and taking a magnesium tablet. Just the ordinary box juice from the supermarket. I know I probably don’t eat enough fibre though. 🙁

I’ve been taking these. I was struggling so much in the beginning I considered stopping but these seem to have been the game changer, added to more water. Added bonus that they contain biotin and B12 (I’m deficient). I prefer these over a tablet, and they taste good.