Mounjaro 10 stone or more to lose - Thread 10

[TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne]

Well, some of us are new, some of us are nearly at our goal weight and the rest are still in the trenches.

Everyone is welcome here. This is a safe and supportive space for people with a lot of weight to lose.

Happy New Year everyone!

@TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne 9 stone - wow an amazing milestone!
@eibbed999 im sure we can all relate to your Xmas experience, I am continually worried what will be the final hurdle hat derails me again, the patterns are really ingrained. You will reset and lose it again and more.

my MJ hiatus didn’t last too long, the increased PPI meds kicked in so the gastritis is improved. Shockingly I put on 3lb in 2 days after not having a dose of MJ for about 10 days. Yes it was Christmas but I wasn’t eating much as my stomach was so sore. I guess the mounjaro helps with water retention etc. anyway, I sort of panicked and took a lower dose and for now that seems to be working. I have reached the halfway to goal mark and the number on the scales starts with a 16 for the first time in about 6 years. Next gastric follow up isn’t till Feb so we will see what the consultant says then.

I’ve also started a new year exercise programme as I’ve not been good with this so far. I’m doing a walking workout programme from home and it’s sooo hard to make myself do it but I’m a week in and am already seeing improvement in muscle strength and feel good after so will do my best to keep going with it.

I’m absolutely outraged @eibbed999! It’s completely unacceptable and not to be tolerated!

@eibbed999 I hope you’re starting to feel a bit better about things, it’s so easily done. I know like you I was a bit shocked with myself.

Not sure if it helps but thought I’d share, a lot of the weight really could be water retention. I’ve been back ‘on plan’ and with an increased dose since Friday which for me doesn’t consist of tracking but just high protein meals and minimising snacking and drinking water/sugar free squash like we’re expecting a drought and this is the result which probably better reflects my true Christmas gain. Very much hope you have a similar experience.

I’m amazed how much it changed my whole mood after thinking I’d gained nearly a stone and the feelings of being worthless and out of control again, I’d hoped they’d gone for good. At least with WLIs we have a fighting chance.

On the cost side, I’m counting clicks from 15mg pen now up to 12.5mg which together with the extra dose means I can stretch it out for 6 weeks (4x50 click regular doses, around 45 clicks on the final dose depending on what’s left ‘topped up’ with an extracted small dose and then 0.5ml extracted extra dose). It takes me to using the pen for 35 days but personally the it’s a risk I’m happy to take.

Thanks @Onenotsosmallstep - in all honesty I'm still struggling to get back on track despite my best intentions. In fact I've just been to the chippie! I went up to 12.5 but literally feels like I'm not even on the stuff any more. Very odd. I'm going to go through all the lovely clothes I've bought from Vinted in smaller sizes to try and find some extra motivation! I'm dragging every last drop out of each pen, I'll see how things go!

@eibbed999 I think that it's a cumulative effect of carbs and sugar in our systems which works against the Mounjaro and reduces its effectiveness. It's not easy to do, but if you can manage a couple of days of low carb and very low sugar, you might be able to reset and feel like the medication is doing what it should again. I am lucky in that I find this something that I can manage when I'm back into my work/school schedule as it cuts down on my opportunities to snack as I'm busy with all those commitments. I also find I do more exercise when I'm busy which seems very counterintuitive!

I will try and give that a go. One of the issues with me is working at home, often alone. Not a great set up when you have this kind of mentality. But tomorrow is another day, and maybe I'll try a low carb one!

@eibbed999 I always say the battle is mental as well as physical. It can be really hard to pick up the sword again. I faced it myself when I went on a 4 day holiday which took me three whole weeks to get my head in the zone, and I'm so glad I did, as I'm down another 25kg since then.

This is a good time to self-reflect. Write down your whys, your NSVs and what you are hoping to achieve and goals for when you get to your goal weight.

I personally respond well to the stick, rather than the carrot approach, so a lot of my battle is "do I really want to go back to not being able to shop properly, getting looks, comments, being unable to fit into seats, nope."

But sometimes it does take time, it's not a switch to turn on and off. During this time, just try to make sure that you're not completely blowing it. For example if you're going to go have chips, can you leave some, or take a walk afterwards etc. It will slowly push you into the right mentality.

Thanks @mamabeeboo - so far I think I've been relatively lucky, the jabs have helped so much, but now as you say the battle is mental. I have a trip to the ballet at the end of the month, and I very much don't want to have to feel anxious about the seats!

I think I might be getting cheekbones! I got a jawline a couple of months ago but I think some cheekbones are starting to appear as well 🥳

Really relate to everything you've said @eibbed999 Scales showed a gain of 9lbs for me over Christmas and I'm struggling to get back on track - my sweet tooth has been awakened again! I felt really determined to get back to it after new year and kind of have in terms of meals BUT I am still sneaking chocolates and sweets and biscuits which was something I haven't really done for months and months on MJ. So no real advice but huge solidarity.

Solidarity is always appreciated @UsernameShmusername2024 - I am really not enjoying this one bit! Same as you I'm still snacking. And sometimes more. But less than I was, I think...mainly because I've eaten most of it! If there's a national pannetone shortage any time soon, you know who to blame...

In all seriousness though this has been hard, and mainly I hate the sense of 'here we go again.' For the first time since I started on MJ, I feel worried it might not work - I've had ups and downs before, but on the whole I've kept the faith. It's such a long journey for us, having so much to lose.

Absolutely- I've been disappointed that I can still put away loads of crap rather than disappointed at the weight gain per se.

I've been wondering about increasing my dose from 10mg to 12.5mg to help but for a few weeks before Christmas I had very strong suppression and had a couple of weeks of big losses out of nowhere so at that point I was imagining being on 10mg for a while longer. I've always been resistant to increasing too quickly and having nowhere to go given how much I have to lose. So I think I'm going to try to hold off increasing and really try to resist sweet stuff over this next week - I agree with someone up thread, as soon as I eat lots of sugar and carbs I want them more and more. The problem is I still have a whole unopened panettone in the pantry that I really do want!...

Thanks for the congrats @flipent @Iwouldratherbesinging

@user593 yes, we must be about the same height. You've got this, take it one day at a time - the small losses really do add up quickly

@Anotherstressedmother I don't have experience of escitalopram but I think they normally say 4 weeks at a minimum to feel the full benefit, some benefit within 2. The side effects normally subside after a few weeks. I was on citalopram for a while and I remember just being really thirsty all the time, but it eventually went away.

@PearlTeapot that 99.9kg will come soon I'm sure. You've been doing so well, and to be juggling weight loss with everything else you have going on, I just really admire you. Many people would have stopped by now (understandable) but you're still showing up for yourself in a way that I'm not sure I could.

@TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne you're #goals

@RenegadeKeeblerElf wow, cheekbones - I can't wait to have those! I still can't get over the fact that I can feel my collarbones now, and keep looking in the mirror to see if they're visible. Although my chin has gone down and my jawline has come back, I'm not loving the turkey neck that I'm developing.

@UsernameShmusername2024 you could throw the panettone away. I saw someone say somewhere that they aren't a bin, and it really resonated with me. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to eat it. Maybe a friend, colleague or family member might like it. Or perhaps take it to the food bank.

I have a similar issue at the moment with Pringles. I know they're there and part of me wants to eat them just to get rid of them, but logically I know that if I do then I won't feel good afterwards. If I take them to the food bank then it's a win-win: they're out of my house and my reach, and someone will enjoy receiving them that might otherwise not be able to.

Get that panettone out of the house! Donate to a food bank, take to work, whatever you need to do but get the temptation away from you. Or if you really don't want to, stick it in the freezer, that way you still have access to it when the time is right but you can't impulse eat it as you'd have to plan ahead and defrost it.

Thanks for replying
I'm persevering x

Another vote for putting food in the freezer from me, I’ve portioned some things up and frozen them that are left over from Christmas, this really helped me last year as I struggled as some of you are. I gave a load of chocolates away to the kiddos when they went home and I’ve even been known to sprinkle chilli powder onto food to stop me from eating it.

I gave away all the sweet things I got for Christmas - at least, I donated them to the village food bank.

@eibbed999 I have a history of binge eating and was given some advice when I was in counselling a while ago. It may or may not help but I thought I'd share it. Feel free to ignore if it's not helpful.

Each time you binge, or eat foods that you feel bad about afterwards, write down how you were feeling before that happened. Literally write it down, don't think you'll remember it. Don't judge that decision, don't try and stop yourself in the moment, just observe. For instance, you're on the way to the chip shop, just try and name what you're feeling. Or you're tidying up after a binge, what were you feeling before you took that first mouthful.

After a few days or weeks, look back and see if you can see any patterns. For many people, me included, bingeing is emotional. It's not because I'm greedy, naughty, or weak willed, or anything other bad thing I say about myself, it's because I have feelings. Maybe I was bored, stressed, sad, happy, angry etc Bingeing is an emotional outlet for me.

Once I got better at naming the feelings after the fact, I naturally started naming them before I ate, and that is the point at which I was able to intervene to stop. It helped me get rid of some of the guilt and shame I felt, which actually just fuelled even more binges. I'm not perfect but I binge much less often, the binges I do have are much smaller, and I'm able to put them behind me quite quickly.

Essentially, what I'm trying to say is, be nice to yourself and really tune in to what's going on inside. Bingeing can be a reflection of internal goings on. You come across as a kind and empathetic person, and you deserve to direct those feelings towards yourself as well as others.

I have 2 NSVs!

First is that I realised I can park in smaller spaces because I don’t need to open the door so widely to get out. I’m both smaller and more nimble. So ones where the other cars have left less space are now accessible.

And the other is a clothes one. As you know I’m shopping the under-the-bed storage bags. Today I have worn an woollen skirt and cardi, a jumper, a pair of woolly tights and a Uniqlo top, all of which range from around 20-25 years old. The jumper has never fit properly or well. Now it does, with a top underneath. I am so chuffed with myself. This is what keeps me going!

NSV

I am now wearing size 12 Sloggi knickers, ladies.

I was looking at my past purchases of them on Ebay. In January 2024 I bought some that were size 26 (!)

It's taken two years to go all the way down the sizes. Keep going, everyone!

Oh and I've got another NSV.

A friend has asked me for my ex-husband's sex toy (The Masturbator) to give to her DH for his birthday.

So that item is now out of my life along with my husband

🤣🤣🤣

You could be describing the inside of my head right now @UsernameShmusername2024 - let's hope we can pull ourselves out of the downward spiral. I can't believe I missed one of the panetonnes!

That's interesting @AlicesMum2025, thank you. I think I have reached the stage where what is upsetting me is the eating, which is ironic in the extreme.

Thank you all for your advice, helpful suggestions and kind words. It really does make a huge difference in how we cope

Thanks all - I absolutely agree that the logical answer is to give the panettone to the food bank and I know that I've eaten enough of it - and other stuff - to not need to have this...so I'll plan to do that this week. Your comment made me laugh @eibbed - I'm afraid you missed a fair few of them! I've never even particularly liked it until this year but suddenly I can't get enough!

The comments about us not being bins is really powerful @AlicesMum2025 - it struck a nerve when I read that too, thanks for highlighting it again. It's daft because I think I use guilt about food waste to justify eating things when actually, in the case of unopened non-perishables, they'd be much better used by the food bank than me so it's not like it's a choice between me eating it or wasting it. But good to remember about meals and not having to finish everything- that's been a real massive change for me this year although I still sometimes finish everything on my plate despite being full just out of habit.

I've never had friends who are particularly overweight let alone very overweight before so have never heard people say all the things I've thought and felt really- I'm very grateful to everyone on this thread for the empathy and support for each other.

Inspired by this post I have just thrown a whole Camembert in the bin. Why I bought more than one in the first place who on earth knows?!

Prodigal son doesn’t go back to University until 25th so house is still full of remaining sugary treats until then 😭.