December 25 starters thread?

[cobblers00]

Is there one yet? If not, should this be it? I’m starting tonight, so officially November, but hey! Am so nervous, woke up early this morning with anxiety. Would love tips from anyone who has started before on what / how to eat on first few days..I’m really concerned about debilitating side effects- should you just listen to your body or force yourself to eat chicken?! I keep seeing all these insta posts about eating protein!!

Well done for getting to goal, can I ask how much you’ve lost.. I’m stalling at a 35lb loss.

@Gardener82Ive lost exactly the same amount as you! Are you still eating in deficit? I know my food intake has upped to more ‘normal’ quantities - but not the huge portions I was consuming before. How long have you stalled for? I’ve lost nothing on scales for 2-3 weeks before & then it starts moving again. How much more do you want to lose?

@cobblers00Ive stalled for the last month, just losing and gaining the same 1lb every week. I’ve got 10lb to lose. To be honest I haven’t been calorie counting but I’m certain I’m eating in calorie deficit, plus going to the gym every other day. So frustrating, did you up your calories or lower them, the instructor at the gym is telling me to eat more, which seems like a crazy idea.

No upping them works!! Your body is holding on to weight as it is in starvation mode. Up them for one week but ensure nutrient dense & healthy foods, keep up gym & see what happens. Maybe your body is happy at the size it is!

Morning all! It’s been a while - who is still here and who’s still going/maintaining/ stopping?

I’d had quite a stall recently, but went up to WG 1.7mg and have just come back from an extended work trip. Normally, I’d be so worried about stepping on the scales (despite trying to be ‘good’ while away). I would usually see a 3-5lb gain at least.

Pretty astounded to see a 3lb loss. I am still figuring out where I would like to stop; I’m lighter than I was 16 years ago, but still around BMI 23.5. I still have plenty of belly and thigh fat, and have visibly lost some muscle now (despite 2.5 years of weight training).

I’m loving being able to run with less knee pain, have found I don’t actually want to wear all those old clothes I’ve been hanging on to (must get on Vinted!), and have normal blood pressure now.

Work colleagues who I haven’t seen in person for a year or so made comments that I “looked well/great” this week, which was nice! No one asked anything beyond that.

I’m at a 30lb loss on WLI, 35lb loss from highest weight, so not big numbers but massive impact on my health and wellbeing. And I am short! Oh and almost no side effects at this point despite the dose increase.

Would love to hear from others! Thanks for reading my essay 😬.

Great to read your update, @StrongGirlsLift. You are doing so brilliantly.

I am still here and still going! I was another lb down today. I have lost a total of 26lb and am 12lb away from where I would like to be.

Last week, I finally took a 5mg dose of mj - all good.

I must admit that I thought the losses would be bigger, and quicker, than they have been. It’s been 6 months now, and I originally said that this would be my review point. And back at the beginning of December I thought that by now I would have lost all the weight and would simply be reviewing how long I would be staying on mj before tapering off. As things stand I think I am looking at reaching my goal weight sometime in September, and my (rather vague at this point) intention is to probably start to taper early next year with a view to stopping in the summer. This is much longer than I originally thought but I feel happy enough with that. I feel lucky to be able to afford to do this.

Well done @MrsTigerface and glad the increased dose is sitting ok with you.

I think it’s easy to hear some of the big losses people sometimes achieve in the early months and think this is a short term gain, but everyone’s starting point is different, and slow and steady has fewer negative side effects for body composition etc, I think.

You might find the cumulative effect of a few weeks at 5mg means you drop a bit faster; I think that’s what I’m currently seeing. good luck.

In an ideal world, I’d love to wean off super slowly and try to maintain, but that may not work well with pen purchasing and dosing. I am thinking I should accrue a bit of a stockpile if I can of lower dose pens and then start to space out the doses a bit. I think I’ll be fine if I stay with VOY but that stops me ordering around for good deals. I’m going to try medicine marketplace again but haven’t ordered outside VOY since I was over BMI 25.

Well done, I have lost exactly the same as you and we have the same BMI. I have stalled for weeks now and am 10lb of reaching my goal. I have 8 jabs left and then I plan to stop.. Just because of price really.
If I don’t lose 10lb in the next 8 weeks though I’m not going to be massively bothered, I’m fitting in clothes that I haven’t worn in years and am a size 10, started at a tight 14. I go to 3 strength training classes a week now and I’m enjoying it, hadn’t stepped foot in a gym in I can’t remember how long.
I’ve lost 9 inches from my waist line which is just crazy.
Im over the moon to be honest, I feel amazing and so much more confident and healthy.

Nine inches! That’s a huge change! Well done you. And the strength training makes such a big difference, doesn’t it. I haven’t been getting there more than 1-2 a week but I will do more over summer. Are you going to stop cold turkey or make the last jabs go longer by spreading them out? I’m worried about my appetite coming back - I think it takes about four weeks for the body to rid itself of the accrued meds?

For my part, I’ve always exercised a lot. It’s a combo of portion sizes and not snacking when I’m exhausted/sad/distracted/running errands through meal times etc. Feeling satiety while still enjoying food is just amazing - so easy to stop and recognise fullness.

Im going to go cold turkey, im curious to see how I react to stopping completely, if I lose all willpower and start massively gaining ill start but I think I’ve got this.. I hope I have anyway!
Up until the Covid lockdown I’d always been slim, I gained 3 stone during lockdown and stopping smoking and that was that. I feel like my body is now back at its normal.
I have two holidays coming up and have loved the shopping now I’m not so horrified to look in the mirror.

Let us know how it goes for you. All the evidence shows that the vast majority of people do not keep the weight off long term as you will be relying on will power alone. I.e. the meds don't permanently reshape your eating habits, they just suppress your appetite. Once you initially gain weight your body will work hard to maintain it. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule but when I hit target I will be taking up the newly available option to stay on a low maintenance dose. I've been overweight for 30 years and after every previous diet I have gradually regained and seem to have a set point 1.5 stone above my max healthy weight at very best. I don't want that to happen this time. (NB I had more than that to lose this time and I've been delayed by a break for unrelated surgery so I'm still in the weight loss phase.)

@Gardener82 good luck and I hope we’ll all update on how we’re doing. If your weight gain is more recent, maybe it’ll be easier to keep off 🤞🏼.

Whenever I’ve lost significant weight in the past, it’s been via low carb, and I regain half a stone immediately I start eating carbs. I am hoping this will be different! I plan to wean off but will see what options are available. I don’t know how I feel about a daily pill; presumably that keeps levels steady. I want the health benefits of being a normal weight though.

I have time to ponder it though!

Ah how lovely to read all these posts.. I’ve not logged on for a while & just came on to update only to read how well everyone else is also doing. This medication really is the best, eh!
Well done everyone.. it sounds like we’re all on similar positions 6 months or so down the line. I reached goal weight this week- so am 17kg down in total, bmi give from 31 to 23.7 - stomach almost flat!!! Bum is too sadly so am working hard on that in the gym. Am loving exercise right now & feel full of energy & much better mental focus too. Down sides: people keep saying I’m ’wasting away’ which is quite annoying as they never felt to say I was expanding on a weekly basis!!; a little bit of constipation; totally skint from jabs & necessary new wardrobe; a little hair loss starting…

So, to the big question of maintenance- like you @StrongGirlsLiftim thinking of going down in strength and up in days between doses. I’m currently at 5mg every 9-10 days & this week will reduce to 2.5 every 10. I will keep ordering 5mg pens monthly for another 3-4 months if I can & take 2.5 doses from them.. not sure if the suppliers will allow that but we’ll see.. I want to stay on it to secure this weight for a while as I too have heard the body goes into pile-on mode & tries to regain the weight.. plus I genuinely feel it’s giving me added benefits in terms of inflammation & mental clarity..
anyway, that’s my essay!
what a journey we’ve all had - let’s see where this next phase takes us!

So reassuring to hear what you’re thinking of next @cobblers00 and well done on hitting goal. My stomach is nowhere near flat which is why I’m still dithering about my target weight. I am pretty sure I wasn’t this shape last time I weighed this amount, but that’s two kids and 15+ years ago 😂.

I just ordered another 1.7mg pen but may go down to a 1.0 after that, we’ll see.

I do feel pretty low/subdued at the moment, but it’s been a hard year for various reasons. I’ll be interested to see if this feeling lifts when I reduce the meds. On the other hand, am really happy to be lighter and leaner. I do feel like I’ve suddenly lost muscle though! And alas I do have a flatter butt. Sadly.

despite having lost 13kg, I am still unable to do a pull up (I used to do them at my top weight with only 6kg of assistance from the machine). Maybe it’s technique rather than strength?

Ah someone told it was ‘time to stop losing weight’ yesterday!!! Apparently I’m too skinny now.. I’m 60kg bmi 24. They never told me it was time to stop piling on the pounds…but then guess I wasn’t threatening to enter their space in the world then.. ffs!!

It really brings the twat out in some people, pure jealousy.

Hi all, just checking in.

I’m still aiming to lose a bit more weight, but my BMI is 23.2 now and I’ve lost over 10cm from my hips and waist! Lots of positive impact on my running speed and all of my joints, especially knees.

I’m on WG 1.7mg and plan to be for at least 6 more weeks. I think I would like to lose 6 more pounds, which would be around BMI 22.2.

Work and life have been so busy that my exercise has been erratic, but I haven’t had time to snack at all either! This is the sort of thing that usually derails my weight loss plans entirely, so the WLI are really helping me stay on track. And I have been trying to meal prep things like tabbouleh or quinoa or tofu at the weekends to have easy lunches on hand.

how are you doing?

Thats amazing! I am definitely feeling better when playing sport, less aches etc, have started HRT also which may be helping too.

I have been sticking around 52kg, BMI 19.7-19.9, I feel quite comfortable but need to tone up more definitely. Still been jabbing 2.5mg MJ, will reduce soon though and see how it goes. Eating habits have been rubbish with this weather so need to get back into that also to help maintaining on a low dose.

I’ve just made an appointment with my GP about HRT too! Would love to hear how it goes for you. Gosh, well done on hitting 52kg, you must be so lean.

I’ve definitely lost some strength - I can’t bench or squat the weight I used to, and I expected to be able to do a pull up by now but still can’t, despite losing much more weight than I used to use to assist me. So, I’d like to focus on body comp over summer. I have only been making it to the gym once a week due to work.

But I did do a park run PB this morning!

So far so good with the HRT is think, no bad symptoms but only been a month so wont really know how much difference its made for a couple of months I guess.

I definitely need to tone more but being this light definitely gives more of a toned look. I need to build up my glutes and arms more though.

Hi all, good to hear how it’s going for others at this stage. I’m still hovering around 60kg, bmi 24ish & happy to stay at this - working hard in gym & building lots of muscle..I’m a size 10 again which was the goal! To maintain I’m on 2.5mj ever 7-10 days.. I get hungry & but can never finish the portions I would have before..my DM is in the final stages of lung cancer so I’m not as uber focused on eating the right things and as much protein as I should, all the time (esp when with her) but it has also given me the focus to build the strength physically to support me mentally at this difficult time. The gym is literally my sanity. Still eternally grateful to be lighter in the recent unrelenting heat too!

Hi all thought I’d update as it’s been a while also sorry to hear about your mum @cobblers00 and well done on maintaining.
Im 6lb away from reaching my goal, I have 3 jabs left and then im going it alone.
I know everyone says this is a bad idea but I can’t afford it anymore and im prepared for the challenge and feeling positive about the changes ive made to my lifestyle since starting in Dec.
My BMI is now at 23 and I’ve when I hit goal it will be 22, not bad considering I started with a BMI of nearly 30!
At goal I would from my heaviest weight lost 50lb.. Also back in a size 10 and couldn’t be happier with my results.

The updates are so great to hear, well done all. And so sorry about your mum @cobblers00, that’s such a lot to carry. I know my dad’s ill health a few years ago really flipped a switch for me in terms of prioritising my own health, but while I was driving around for hospital visits etc I couldn’t do much about food options. I was lucky that my dad pulled through, but it was a wake up call for me.

@Gardener82’s I had a little whoosh this morning and just have 5lbs to go too! I’ll be mid 22 BMI and 20% of my body weight lost. Good luck and keep us up to date on how you’re finding it please, keeping everything crossed that it’s easy going.

I have quite a few events running from Sept to March in which I won’t want to have put on any weight, so 🤞🏼!

My dear mum died three days ago. All purposeful eating/ exercising has gone out the window as you’d expect. It all seems so trivial now. I hope I don’t totally derail. But for now, I just need to nurture myself hour by hour.

Oh, @cobblers00 , I am so sorry to hear this sad news. Losing your mum is very hard. Take gentle care of yourself and whatever you do, be kind to yourself. Sending you hugs xxx