January 2025 Starters - Maintenance, Progressing and Avoiding Traumatic 💩

[meatyryvita]

Hit me up losers!

I need to get my boobs measured. Used to be 38DD, but I’m swimming in the new bras I bought recently! Not so much the cup size, but the band is too loose on all of them now. But I’ve discovered the joy of wireless bras - oh so comfy!
I’m contemplating going back up to 10mg with my next order. I can’t shift those last 5 kg, been stuck on/around 70kg for ages now. On one hand I feel very comfortable with this weight, on the other I would like to be more firmly within the healthy range, instead of hovering in the upper half.

Having said that, my most recent body scan has shown that while I have not lost any weight, I have dropped a big chunk of body fat and gained muscle mass. I’ll take that!!

Also, I’ve started my programme to achieve a pull up. My arms and shoulders are definitely having to work 😂! Even though I’m using literally all the support bands 🙄

Evening! I last jabbed on 22nd December, 2.5 weeks ago. This is the longest I've gone without jabbing. I've lost 0.3kg since my high post Christmas but still 2.1kg to go to get back to my lowest amount (swapped scales to kg in December!). Now that December is over I'm eating more sensibly, although still having a Christmas treat daily to use up the leftovers (rather than eat a box of mince pies!). Dose diary thinks I've got 0.42mg of mj remaining so reasonably small. I do hear the kitchen calling but so far I'm not going crazy. I just don't want to put the weight back on.
My 5mg from Pharmulous is in the fridge as an insurance policy and gives me a whole year to see what's going on.
Eli Lilly have reached out about picking up my broken pen and they want to collect it on a day I'm traveling for work 🙄
I need to come up with some criteria on when I'd use it. My happy weight is 8 stone 6 and I like to keep it below 8 stone 8 but crept up to nearly 8 stone 10 during December. I guess if it continues to creep up to 9 stone and doesn't come back down after a week or so making an effort to lose it I would start jabbing.

@Jins you were absolutely spot on. Weight totally back to normal this morning. Panic over and the 2mg experiment continues (for now).

@tinyemmy am I right in thinking you were going to start adhd meds once you came off MJ? Sounds like it’s going well so far being off.

@cloudjumper good luck with pull ups. I’m on a slow programme. I only see my PT once a week, and haven’t managed to cram in any mid-week strength sessions. We’re in ‘all the bands’ territory, as well as my PT lifting me up to the bar like a toddler so I can practise lowering myself down from a pull-up (regressions).

@Zempy are you spacing out your orders with Oushk? I’ve just had my order approved for delivery tomorrow, my last order was for two pens delivered in October. I’ve placed another one for delivery in about 6 weeks.

@2025istheyeari that’s some impressive sales shopping there. Well done!

@PenelopesProteinPackedParty I remember the ‘meh’ feeling I had on 5mg. It did start to dissipate as I titrated down and I remember the joy of feeling joy over the summer - even on 3.33mg. You might find yourself totally back to normal on 2.5mg.
Now on day 5 my micro dose experiment I’m keeping watch for any returns to ‘panic’ as I do miss that feeling of calm that I was able to maintain last year during stressful work situations. I suppose I could take other drugs for that 😂

@DGonMJ well remembered! Yes, I have started on the lowest dose of Elvanse (30mg) it's not doing anything yet. I move up a dose next week. I'm hopefully it helps in all areas of life!

I've also massively got into weight lifting, I'm going to the gym 3 - 4 times per week and really enjoying it!

@2025istheyeari I use MyFitnessPal mainly for tracking protein, fibre and calories. I have noticed that some foods don’t have accurate information, particularly on fibre, so do check for that too.
I tend to resort to All Bran when necessary, but I don’t mind it too much.

@DGonMJ Yes, I made a mistake in ordering two x 15mg pens in August to avoid the price hikes even though I already had a stash and was extending the life of my pens by taking smaller doses.

Oushk cottoned on that I had gone from August to Jan “without” except I hadn’t.

I wasn’t sure what they would say about extending pens so I managed to fudge it explaining that I already had a stash and had ordered to avoid the price hikes (which is true).

Sorry for the long winded explanation! I have about five months product now at current dosing levels. I think I need to go onto a proper maintenance plan at some point. Just trying to keep it affordable.

@DGonMJ thank you for posting that - very encouraging. Currently I can't wait to stop as I do feel quite fed up. A friend asked me if I was excited about something last week - err no, I rarely seem to feel anything other than permanently fed up atm (of course I didn't say that).

I've lost again this week - now 4lb to goal - who knows what goal will be but 4lbs to where I set it orginally. I am happy with my size/how I look so this could be it folks as I don't want to look scrawny, a size 12 feels perfect right now at not far off 60 and almost 5'8".

I might not start my new pen at this rate, I think I might have 4 weeks of 8.33mg in my current pen. That might be enough.

@Zempy that sounds promising/a sensible response.

Not sure if I have said that I am not buying the house I was moving forward with, back to the drawing board. Never mind, in my emotionally dampened state I'm like ...... whatever.

Have a good day losers.

@PenelopesProteinPackedParty you sound very much like I did when I was ready to stop. I didn't use my last two pens either. I've sold one of them to a friend, and kept the other one as insurance. Given I'm paying Oushk for maintenance, and have survived Christmas, I'm now ready to sell that one on too.

@cloudjumper @DGonMJ I have one band to lose for my first pull up!! Technically I've been trying to do one for years, took the focus off for the last two years, lost the weight and it's suddenly becoming much easier. Funny that. Good luck with it. Really want to do one now.

Good morning all, hope people are literally weathering the storm.

@PenelopesProteinPackedParty shame re the house but there will be others. How exciting re goal!

I lost my Xmas weight pretty quickly now seem to have ground to a halt. Still 6lb away. I suspect this bit will be a huge grind as I am firmly in my lower set weight bracket. Due to start my 12.5 pen today so possibly may see a kick start. Need to focus on water/protein too.

on the plus side I finally found a good Jean shape - M&S cropped carrot! Teen dd signed off and dh said ‘I look like someone in their 50s dressing like someone who is in their 40s and looks ok’. Chaps, apparently this was a massive compliment

My ordering problem was similar to @zempy except I’d ordered 3 10mg pens before the price hike then a random 5mg pen in October. Still not sure why I ordered 5 rather than 7.5mg but that was part of the problem as I then ordered another 10mg for January.

I started the first of the 3 pens on 1st September and at my agreed 40-44 day spacing I finished them on 28 Dec so a new 10mg was needed for 8-11 January which I ordered in November. So Oushk were totally correct to query my request to move from 5mg to 10mg and when I showed the unused 5mg they were absolutely right to query my dose schedule and that I understood that the pen had to be discarded after 30 days. All good.

It all fell down when I was being asked the same question 3 days running and I couldn’t see how I could be any clearer in my reply. Then I had to book a weight verification call which was ok and then I heard nothing and ended up sending a message which was a wee bit tetchy. I’ve had an absolutely lovely reply to that message which has sorted my concerns and I’ve also completed the £5 maintenance assessment which is now on the system so hopefully the problem won’t arise again.

I’ve gone on a bit and I’m sorry but we’re all likely to run into similar issues going forward so it can be useful to share experiences

@Thelittlestranger , thank you, that's nice to hear.

@myladyjane I might look at that jeans shape, I think we are a similar shape from memory.

I measured yesterday, 11" gone from my hips (firm pear here) and 7" off my waist. My waist to hip ratio is now 0.47. Lots of progress to see at this point despite it seeming terribly 🐌at times, except it hasn't been really - 61lbs lost after 45 injections.

I am so pleased to be heading for my finish line!

I'm so pleased for you! It's a great feeling ☺️

I'm where I was pre-Xmas, but have finally ditched my old scales and am in Renpho territory which gives me 2lb higher. So, now determined to get down on that by 2lbs. I'm giving myself a month to manage it, as I'm away for a few days next week but I have confidence I can. What's 2lbs, right? It's probably two weekends of being more than good...

Hi everyone

I think I have the lurgy 🤧, feeling grim!

Sorry, haven’t been through the thread but realised it’s my MJ anniversary today 🎉so need to do the stats!!

SW 1/1/25 16 stone 3 1/2 ( 103kg)
SW MJ 9/1/25 15 stone 13
CW 10 stone 10 1/2(68kg) bmi 23.3

Total loss 5 1/2 stone ( 35kg, or an emperor penguin!)

I was initially disappointed as I have been down to 10 6 1/2 but then I thought, it’s been Christmas, I’ve been on holiday and I’m still well within my healthy weight range so instead I’m feeling proud! Proud that I’ve sustained this for a whole year, am slimmer than I’ve been in my entire adult life, feel lighter in many ways, not just weight, have more confidence and find everything so much easier. All this with a backdrop of being made redundant and job hunting but still keeping on and maintaining- that wouldn’t have been possible without MJ and without your support. Thanks for being a great bunch of losers, for your wise words, funny stories and for understanding. You rock.

Happy weekend everyone, I’m off to crawl back under my duvet!!

ps the leather trousers are keepers!!

massive congratulations @2025istheyeari
35 kilos! Good riddance, penguin!

Yay !! Super work @2025istheyeari
Hope you feel better soon.

@2025istheyeari such good work penguin zapper

@Thelittlestranger we got new scales here too, snazzy ones that measure your body fat and muscle mass etc. They also tend to weigh me at a higher weight than our old ones, so need to take the plunge and move to them. They are also judgemental and keep telling me I’m dehydrated 🤣

It’s my MJ anniversary today so I delayed weighing in for the day

SW - 11st 5lbs 72.1kg BMI 28.2
GW - 9st 57.1 kg BMI 22.3
CW - 8st 9.2 54.8 kg BMI 21.5
Total loss 37.8lbs 17.1kg which is exactly twice the weight of my male cat.

Selected Renpho highlights - Body fat down from 33.7% to 25.7%, visceral fat down from 9 to 4, metabolic age down from 64 to 59. I’m pretty happy with them all.

I’ve loved being part of our gang. You’ve all been so supportive and kind and I’m proud of all our achievements throughout the year. You’ve all gained so much confidence and have been so determined to make positive changes that I’ve been in awe of you all. Thank you so much.

Well done @jins what an achievement.

Also @2025istheyeari, it’s really something to look back over the year.

My MJ anniversary was Monday earlier this week:
21kg lost
BMI from 29.2 to 21.3
Body fat from 37.7% to 29%
Visceral fat from 12 to 5
SW 79.8kg GW 62-65kg CW 58-59kg
Goal achieved end of May - after 5 months
CW achieved end of Aug - after 3 months of titrating down
Weight stabilised for 4 months

It’s been a miracle drug for me. Barely any side effects other than early days of constant thirst accompanied by an overactive bladder; some tiredness where body was adjusting to lower calories; and dizziness from not enough carbs; and a couple of mild gallstone pain episodes.

I eat fairly normally now. Balanced diet, and have gone off crisps. Could do with more protein and water now I’m not tracking macros. I still get some appetite suppression on 2.5/2mg which prevents me from going for seconds and thirds

Also, now I’ve settled on a weight I’ve got used to my new face and body. I’m finally letting go of the self-consciousness I had with weight loss. A lot of people on these WLI threads talk about a renewed confidence with weight loss, which I definitely had when it came to clothes and being happy in myself. But for many many months I’ve felt incredibly self-conscious about how quickly my physical changes have happened in front of everyone at work and my wider friendship circle. I’ve been worried people have been staring at me - thinking I’m too gaunt, looking for signs of illness or wondering if I’m on the jabs. Those who have said something (confirming my belief that they are staring and wondering something) have only been very complimentary. But it’s taken till now, this month, for me to feel comfortable with my new appearance, and not worry about whether someone is staring and wondering how it happened. Total first world problems…

I'm loving reading the anniversary updates, it's so nice to look back and see how far we've all come. I'm not quite at mine yet, I started on 23rd Jan.

@Jins the body fat and visceral fat readings are more important than the weight lost, what a fantastic thing you've done for your health and longevity ❤️
@DGonMJ having a stable weight for so long afterwards is really inspiring to those of us who are coming along behind - especially with all the news stories in the last couple of weeks about how almost everyone rebounds back. Go you! So pleased that you are at the stage now of your weight being your 'new normal'. The end goal is for it not to be in any way remarkable isn't it? It's just you, permanently.

I haven't been able to weigh for a little while because we're having our bathroom refitted and everything is EVERYWHERE and absolutely covered in dust. But I dug the scales out this morning, decamped to my DDs room and gave it a go...

SW 101kg
CW 70.1kg
GW 70kg

SO CLOSE!! 😂
more importantly, my metabolic age has now halved from last January to 40 from 80 (I'm 52) and I'm still making progress towards a good body fat level.

So I guess now I should really start considering what I want to do for maintenance. I'm hoping to switch to Pharmalous but just need to organise getting DH to take a full length photo. I'm aiming to titrate down slowly, I've been on 10mg for about 6 months I think, with just a few 12.5mg doses in November.

@MJalltheway 100g to go! That’s just a big wee…how exciting!!!
And thank you, I’m glad my slightly neurotic running commentary on my maintenance journey has been helpful for others. It’s certainly been helpful to me to have a place to talk about it.

such lovely anniversary updates!

I have a feminist moan - like everything else in this world, gyms are only set up for men. First of course, bars and handles are often too thick for my chubby little fingers. But I often also need to set the machines to smallest or highest setting, and I'm not a tiny person, I'm 5'6'' so depending on the country, either average or taller than average for a woman. Meaning half the women cannot even adjust the machines to their physique. How unfair is this?

@HeidiLite id like to say this is why I don’t go to the gym. But it’s not. It’s because I’m lazy and I hate sweating. And this, ladies, is why I’m fat!

and @myladyjane i snorted with laughter at your daughter’s faint praise!!! Still it’s true though, because it’s what I aim for!

So my current Wegovy pen finishes this weekend. I took a look at my stats over the year. In 9 months on MJ I lost 36lbs. In 4 months on Wegovy I’ve lost precisely nothing. I’ve decided that instead of paying for a higher dose of Wegovy I would be better off on a lower, cheaper dose of MJ. Now I have to go through the faff of swapping again. Grrrr.

@Polkadotdash first, you're not fat any more!
But also, gym does very little to weight anyway. I don't go to look smaller, I go because I want to look like I could fight bears in the forest.