May 2025 Starters Thread 7 - Ending the year as we mean to go on ✌️

[FlorenceNightshade]

A sparkly new thread for our chatty gang!

Gosh I just realised I have been tagged recently, I didn't see those. Sorry, I must seem self-absorbed at the minute. Probably going to sound even more so but wanted to share my thoughts from being AWOL.

Going off MJ and being able to eat has been delicious and very comforting, especially given a) pain and b) being housebound and c) crap weather. Felt like I was making conscious decisions and also, stuffing my face.
I am still on the fence about lifelong MJ but it seems when I'm off it for a few weeks the appetite returns and the enjoyment is in hyperdrive.

I think, I hope it's a symptom of my life as a whole. My life is half full - a lot of hard work, but some of it I enjoy. My daughter needs a lot of time and support. My son is quite self-contained and is running on different software, he's very kind and funny but he's got this confidence in himself. He's at home in there. I don't know what that's like.

We go to gigs and shows, we aren't hermits, but I've lived with anxiety for a long time and it has made my world small. My enjoyment in life comes from compulsive shopping or comfort eating, and if I pull the plug on one I'm all in on the other. If I don't do either, the sense of loss and emptiness is unmanageable.

I am also not very proud of the holier-than-thou feeling attached to the loss of appetite. The falsely enhanced sense of worth because I'm not eating half of what's on my plate. Yes, I grew up in the 80s and 90s, why do you ask?

Do I just need loads of therapy? I feel like I need structure and hobbies that aren't food, shopping or alcohol. I need joy.

@DidILeaveTheGasOn remember to be as kind to yourself as you would be to a friend!
I've had a horrid few years and have quite a small world now. My new motto is 'take joy in the small things.' I'm not a fan of shopping, but I've bought a few things that make me smile - a set of folding shopping bags in funky patterns instead of the ratty old one with holes in it - a small pencil case so I don't have to rummage in the bottom of my bag for a pen - a nice (cheap) scented candle for the evening. Would this approach work for you? I'm no longer waiting for x difficult situation to be over, so I can get on with enjoying my life - this is it - make the most of it!

Thank you @SutekhsEars. I'm sorry you've had a rough time. I really like the message here. I'm trying to use things now instead of saving for best and I think getting the little things that make life easier will really add to that.
As an example, I was hopping around and tidying a few weeks ago and forgot I'd put some plastic-handled scissors on top of the log burner. About fifteen minutes later I returned to a tremendous mess, they had completely disintegrated. I replaced them with proper kitchen shears and they are fantastic. They are sharp, do everything and turn a blind eye to the fact that I'm left-handed. I think I love them.

On another note, hoped to weigh this morning but as I lay in bed steeling myself for the little red numbers to appear out of the ether and do something potentially dreadful to my mood, I just couldn't. I bargained with myself, what if I've only gained 10lbs? That would be okay, wouldn't it?
But if you, too, have experienced numbers and have an ability to catastrophise, you know what happened next. Maybe I've gained 30lbs. Maybe I regained the elephant's penis 😨aaaaaaaaaaagh.

Logic and reason are outside peering in at the window and gesturing pragmatically. Why does it matter? I am able to walk now, I'm back on mj, the evening's are lighter so I can start increasing my steps and decreasing the wine.

Still can't quite get on the scales this morning.

What about a worst-case weigh-in after dinner?You'll know it's not your true weight, so it shouldn't freak you out too much, but it might prepare you for your proper morning weigh-in tomorrow before you've eaten.

@DidILeaveTheGasOn - welcome back to the May wagon ! Am imagining you sat up in bed with the elephant’s penis lounging on the Lloyd Loom ottoman, trying to outstare each other …

Damn, pressed Post before I meant to there.

The EP vision probably due to lack of sleep, DH fell out of bed 4am yesterday morning , knocked himself out on the bedside cabinet and gashed his forehead . HUGE thanks to the lovely ambulance ladies and the (not very) local A & E department . 💐
All ok now thank goodness.

@SussexLass87 - disappointing about the dress, but great that it fitted so well.Are you scoping out alternatives, or seeing if you lose more weight before the function ?
@Gingercar - congrats on the new smaller knickers and jeans !

Not much news here , am continuing to weigh in weekly with my WW group and following their programme. Enjoyed Mother’s Day roast at DS and DNDIL’s home but chose not to have dessert. Still managed several very nice posh chocolates in the evening…..
DH and I have joined a local wellness walking group, missed yesterday’s due to aforementioned A&E excursion. The routes are circular, usually with a pub/ coffee shop included. Not sure whether or not that’s a good thing !

@DidILeaveTheGasOn my advice is to expect a mahoosive gain and then weigh yourself. It will be less than mahoosive. Then you can celebrate the losses which will follow. If you don't weigh you won't know when you've lost IYSWIM.

Spell check changed losses to kisses - that's nice too!

@ElsieJay best wishes to your DH. It's 8 weeks since I fell down the stairs and I can still feel the scars under my hair. Hopefully he hasn't experienced any kind of concussion as he didn't fall very far but I guess his scars are more visible?

@Apprenante - thank you .
I expect it will scar, but the cut is just above his eyebrow so shouldn’t be too noticeable.
Heaven knows how he managed to fall out of bed in the first place 🤷🏻‍♀️!

Are you sure you weren't pushing him out @ElsieJay ? 😂😂😂

I would just bite the bullet @DidILeaveTheGasOn . Get on the scales. That way you’ll also know how much you have lost this week when you are back on it. The only way is down…. Whatever you have put on can come off again. And you’ll still be way ahead of where you were this time last year. You’re probably still ahead of most of us anyway!

Half a stone, folks! A measly 7lbs. I mean, I suppose it depends on perspective, but I originally had 100lbs to lose (now 43lbs) and 7lb gain is really such a relief, I'm ecstatic.

I was very sedentary, i wasn't sleeping because I kept doing daft things in my sleep like try to bend my knee and wake up in agony, I ate for comfort and I drank a lot of wine. That is absolutely tremendous, not only for now and leaping (climbing gingerly) back onto the wagon but for life without Mj in the future. The media had me convinced that when I stopped Mj the weight would fly back on.

7lbs to recover from surgery. Absolutely marvellous!

Thank you guys for the encouragement and support, I really needed it x

Well done! Plenty of water & protein, and you'll be sorted in no time!

Great news @DidILeaveTheGasOn - what a relief.

@ElsieJay I'm so sorry about your DH - a huge shock for you both. I hope you're doing okay?

I'm still on the hunt for a dress for DH's event... he'll be in full uniform (swoon!) so I need something naiiice. How lovely to be looking after size 14s for it though.

Hope everyone's having a good week so far - the sunshine is helping a lot isn't it?

That’s fabulous. Not a huge amount at all. Onwards and downwards!

@DidILeaveTheGasOn you should feel really proud of yourself for getting back on the horse scales . 7lb isn't the mahoosive amount you were expecting and you can handle it.

@ElsieJay I hope you weren't offended by my feeble attempt at a joke? I'm quite sure you're much too nice to push your husband out of bed. (Unlike me ....)

@Apprenante - not at all ! 🤣🤣🤣
Can’t say I’ve not been tempted on occasions, especially if he’s snoring …..

@SussexLass87 - thank you , he’s absolutely fine now. Exciting to be hunting for a posh frock in a widely-available size.

@DidILeaveTheGasOn - well done for biting the bullet , and so glad it wasn’t as bad as you’d feared. Only seven guinea pigs !
Onwards and downwards once again ….

Just had an e mail from my MJ supplier , Asda online pharmacy, advising wef April their 5mg pens will be the new version, i.e. no golden dose.
Apparently the other pens will be updated as they restock.

Going to miss the bonus dose but, considering I normally force the pen to turn by holding it in my teeth and turning sharply with my hands, it's probably for the best. Slim with no teeth is a little less Mj and more meth...

Just wanted to update re: taking a two month gap and going back onto the same dose, and to quote one of my favourite Julia Roberts' characters:

Big mistake. Huge. I have to go shopping now.

Day 1: felt weird, queasy, didn't sleep but don't usually sleep well on jab day.
Day 2: so cold, restless, anxious as heck, queasy, blood rushing in my ears.
Day 3: freezing. 19 degrees outside and I'm wearing a hoodie. Very anxious.
Day 4: ordering blazers from Vinted because I can't wear hoodies on client calls and I'm so cold it's ridiculous. Mood is in the toilet. Can't get anything done, like trying to pin a toddler down to a spreadsheet.

What did we learn? Something. Will we remember? <squinting and trying to not get distracted> maybe?

@DidILeaveTheGasOn I lost 2 stones before a complete knee replacement and then put the whole lot back on! That was 3 years ago, and then last May went on the MJ. I didn’t get to my goal weight that time so now I am determined I will not give up until I get to my goal of between 60 and 62kg. Hovering between 64 and 63 at the moment! One week at 63.5 next back to 64.7. Not far to go but seems to be the hardest. I think as long as I was losing I was happy, even though I have always been slow, 0.5kg a week as I am so nearly at my goal I am getting very frustrated. The good is that now a size 12 so happy but without my clothes lots of crepey skin and overhang of stomach! Luckily I am not the sort that walks around in public without my clothes on so quite happy!!!!

If you just grit your teeth - at least all those you have left after all that pen forcing - @DidILeaveTheGasOn do you think you'll ride it out?
We all appreciate you trying out the strategies for us and sharing the learning. But maybe don't do it again? 💟💟💟

Crikey, @DidILeaveTheGasOn . Steady as you go! Keep warm and wait for it to pass. Good news on only gaining a handful of guinea pigs, though.

Blimey, @DidILeaveTheGasOn , ca' canny! Keep chugging water and wrap yourself in a blanket when you can.
What dose will you take next?

Wowser - hope you're doing okay now @DidILeaveTheGasOn. That's a lot.

And great news about your DH @ElsieJay - hope he's on the mend and that you're okay too!!