Advice for a possible new starter (who likes exercise)

[Topsyturvey10]

I’m thinking about starting weight loss injections but I’ve not checked out my basket yet and I’d like to ask for some advice from the people who know.

My BMI just tips me into 27 so I’m eligible to buy it and realistically if I lost 1st 5-10lb I’d be happy and in a good place. I’m 50 and on HRT, I like exercise but it’s just not cutting the mustard anymore. Even running, I can manage quite long runs, and doing heavy weights, I struggle to lose even just a couple of pounds.

Im well aware that my food choices are affecting this but my food noise is epic. Yesterday I must have eaten 20 (if not
more) chocolates, I just knew they were there and couldn’t leave them alone.

I like to know how people at the same starting point have got on, what side effects have you experienced, are you still exercising, how long did it take you to get to your goal, what was your dose and what do you do for maintenance? Do you wean yourself down to a low level then stop? Which provider do you use for your medication?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Do you have a condition that makes you eligible?
I believe it's very important to keep exercising throughout.

I forgot to say, my cholesterol measures a bit high

I’m mid 50s, started Mounjaro 9 weeks ago, bmi was around 28 with high cholesterol, family history of t2 and high blood pressure.

currently returning to running and exercise after a couple of surgeries, and on hrt.

its working great for me - half way to my target weight already, and just about to finish my 5mg pen. Side effects haven’t been too troubling - mostly fatigue after going up to 5mg but that’s improving now.

if you’re used to fuelling for exercise, you probably know already about how to eat - the difference is you won’t want to snack, and will get full on smaller portions of food so you’ll need to allow for that when planning your runs or other exercise sessions.

That sounds really positive. Can I ask how you decided between which medication to try and do you take a measured dose from each syringe or are they prescribed as single dose? Sorry, I just don’t know or have anyone to ask.

I was aware of Mounjaro and wegovy and had seen stuff about Mounjaro impacting inflammation and other health issues so I chose it because I was hoping to see those positives.

both mj and wegovy are injecting pens - slightly different but very straightforward.

with mj you get a kwikpen that is supposed to deliver 4 doses, and separate needles to attach each time. After 4 doses, currently there is still further liquid in the pen which is the same medication- there to make the pen work, allow for priming etc. This is the “extra or golden dose” you will read about. If you want to use this then disposable insulin syringes work well allowing you to extract from the pen and get a fifth week out of it.

Wegovy is cheaper for the standard pen but doesn’t have the extra dose and the medication doesn’t include the GIP element.

No need for apologies…. No question is daft - happy to help!

i have lost 24kg on Mounjaro in 8 months. It’s been life changing for me.

im lucky in that I have had very few side effects. A couple of bouts of nausea- mostly in the first few weeks of using it.

I am very tired but I always had this. I have sleep apnoea and insomnia so feel exhausted a lot of the time. Hopefully when and if my weight settles i might start to feel more energetic.

I do exercise. I swim and walk. I’m extremely glad that I decided to do this for myself and I’ll use Mounjaro for as long as I can.

I see it as an investment in myself. Health is really all we have.

I have a smart scale and have monitored my weight and health over the 8 months. I am 60 years old. I was shocked to see that my smart scale had my physical age at 70. I started to go down which was very gratifying and I am now at physical age 50.

good luck and I’m very happy to answer questions and talk about this.

I was exactly the same, 51 on HRT BMI 27 with high cholesterol. Just found it easier to ignore the chocolate.. never went above 2.5mg.

I lost 2 stone (13kg) in 3 months. Lifting weights for exercise mostly. Eating a lot of protein (did not want to lose muscle).

Now BMI 21.5 and I look ripped / lean.

I was intending to post a near identical query OP, glad to see I'm not the only one dithering! I'm a couple of years shy of 50, but on HRT and in full menopause after a hysterectomy a year ago. I'm also a keen runner and have been lifting weights at the gym as per instructions for women our age, hoping for a comeback to marathoning next year after a few shitty years then surgery. I've always struggled with weight, but used to be able to run it off if I tried hard enough. Since my hysterectomy this just isn't happening unless I drastically reduce what I eat, and that's just so difficult to maintain long term (I need to lose at least 2 stone, ideally 3).

I actually have the Mounjaro already, I bought it months ago but keep putting it off! My husband is against it, doesn't like the idea of me injecting myself with something that's still quite new, but then he doesn't struggle with weight and food like I do, and the health benefits of losing weight is such a priority for me I'm willing to risk it. The use by on it is next February, so I guess it's going to be my New Year's Resolution to go ahead an jab myself! Same as you, I've been worried about fuelling for exercise, especially longer runs. My current thinking is if I get through the first few weeks without any bad effects, and manage to lose weight as I used to, I might just keep on with a low dose (maintenance dose?) and see how that goes.

I don’t think the medication is particularly new. I think the only reason it’s not used more widely is the cost. I think it would save the nhs a lot of money if they could prescribe it for obesity. The health risks of obesity are so many

I think he just doesn't like the idea of injecting something into (my) body unless there's a good reason - he isn't an anti-vaxer or anything like that, but just doesn't see my weight as a medical issue even though I am actually technically obese. In his mind, he can see that my weight bothers me, but thinks it can be solved through diet and exercise. But I have tried that for so, so long and I'm getting nowhere lately and feel I just need the extra help to get me to a weight where moving feels easier! He has a real sweet tooth, but he can also switch it off after a week or so of cold turkey, and he's also always been pretty slim no matter what he eats or drinks, so whilst he's keen to support me with diet etc, he doesn't really have a clue what it's like for me. My father was obese, t2 diabetes, and I feel that being overweight made his final years so much more difficult for him. I'm desperate to avoid the same scenario.

Yes I do know what you mean. Because of my success with Mounjaro I do tend to think of it as an opportunity for everyone. I admit when I see obese people around me now I think to myself I wish they could be given this chance to try the drug. Because society looks down on obese people and the health issues can hit you hard. I was obese up to this year. Today is actually the first day my scales have me at green/perfect. Obviously I’m very much less than perfect and my health not the best but it’s a huge improvement.

in March this year I was seriously unwell. Rushed to hospital. I also had major surgery and complications followed. A lot of this was directly due to my obesity.

When you have a health crisis you can end up with medication and surgery anyway so that’s why I’m in favour of using Mounjaro.

like a lot of people, I have to pay privately and I feel very fortunate that I can access this drug. I believe it should be made more accessible.

there’s such a stigma around addictions and obesity and there’s help available

Can I ask which one you are taking and which site you used to purchase it?

Funnily enough today someone at work said she is taking it and one or two people commented (not to her face) that it’s ‘the easy way to lose weight’. I don’t think the decision is easy, personally it hasn’t been for me, and I’ve tried hard but have zero success losing weight now. A few years ago the perimenopause was my primary problem but now I feel like my HRT is balanced but the weight won’t shift. I’ve run distances in excess of 20 miles but it doesn’t make (literally) an ounce of difference. I’m careful to fuel and I don’t run so I can eat more, I run because I enjoy it but years ago maintaining a healthy weight was made easier by running.

If I could lose a similar amount of weight I would be at my goal and I think there must be some muscle definition under my fat suit from the weights 🤞

I am not much younger, started a year ago with BMI of over 28. In 6 months, my BMI was 20 and I have been maintaining it around 20-21 since then.

I am certainly still exercising, actually about to go to gym for the 3rd time today (that is maybe a tad excessive, but Xmas season and all). And indeed there were some quite impressive muscles hiding under the insulation layer.

I've also always exercised but OMG how much easier is it when you're not carrying a ton of extra weight around!

“My husband is against it, doesn't like the idea of me injecting myself with something that's still quite new”
@CatNoBag it’s absolutely not even remotely new. It has been used for years and has been through numerous long term trials. It has been shown to also have many benefits beside helping diabetes and weight loss and further trials to investigate other benefits continue. Your husband might be more supportive if he was aware of the facts. The media isn’t great at communicating the positives, it doesn’t sell papers.

Swift doctor

I’ve used Medexpress, lotus and Bolt so far - using various discounts/referrals to keep the price down.

you can find details at monj.co.uk or one of us can share a referral code …

You probably want to avoid a subscription as they start of competitive but end up more expensive.

It’s none of your husbands business what medication you take or not. This is 100% your decision.

I’m a fairly new starter, six jabs in. What I’d say is that 2.5mg made no difference to my ability to exercise. I then went up to 5mg and had bad side effects and didn’t initially eat enough calories which made me too exhausted to exercise! So trying to find a balance now as I don’t want to stop exercising as for me that defeats the point of it. Drinking electrolytes has really helped and I’m trying g to up protein as I know that’s good, easier said than done but then that’s because I’m trying to break unhealthy eating habits of a lifetime. I’ve always been great at exercise and terrible at diet so hoping MJ helps me develop much better eating habits while I continue or build on my exercise habits.

Thanks Springbaby - you sound like you're aiming for the same kind of end result as I am! Being able to exercise is very important to me, but at my current weight it's also a bit of a slog! I think I'll try the lower dose for a few months (I'm hoping to train for a Spring marathon!), and then reassess.

Also, sorry for hijacking your thread @Topsyturvey10, you asked the exact question I wanted answering!

I’m definitely going to start after Xmas. I mentioned it to my friend today and she said she had used Mounjaro for about 3-4 months earlier this year and that was the reason she magically dropped 1.5stones and not the diet she told us she had been on.
I’m gojng to just use the 2.5mg dose and stick with that, hopefully it will do the trick.

I’ll be upping the exercise, water, protein and electrolytes too along with biotin and collagen that people have mentioned. I’m going to join the January starter thread.

Really appreciate the replies and advice❤️

I started MJ in February and was already very healthy in what I ate for my meals, and exercised a lot (lots of swimming and walking). I did eat too much though, had bad food noise and also ate too many treats, I can relate to picking at chocolates!

I have lost 29kg at a slow and steady pace over 44 weeks. It was deliberate, I didn't want to lose weight rapidly, so I kept the doses relatively low, and increased gradually (e.g. 2.5, 3.75, 5, 6.25). The highest dose I got to was 7.5 and I only stayed there for 4 weeks.

I have increased my exercise and now do body pump twice a week, athletic pilates once a week and reformer once a week, that's on top of the swimming and walking. Climbed Snowdon and Pen Y Fan on the same week in September. No tiredness, no side effects.

I'm still not quite at goal, I have possibly another 2-3kg to go... Maybe not if I have sufficient body recomp to get rid of the excess fat I have on lower tummy, inner thighs and bingo wings. It's quite mild but I want it to go and it feels like an achievable goal. I have dropped back down to 6.25

I have no regrets, and I'm glad I did it. I feel the best I have felt for ages. I look the best I have looked for ages. It's even improved my IBS (food intolerance type).

I was at a similar starting point to you.
Late 40s, BMI 28, perimenopausal.

I did cardio and weights every week but just couldn’t lose much weight.

I started just over 3 months ago and am 2 stone down. Everyone is different with side effects but for me personally I’ve not really had any. My hot flushes have gone, and other peri symptoms have improved.

Despite continuing to weight train I have still lost some muscle. I think it’s to be expected with any weight loss where you’re in a deficit but I was surprised by this.

I use Cloud, they’re not the cheapest out there though. The reason I use them is they accept menopause as a condition for prescribing under BMI 30, they support maintenance and they approve my order same day and I always receive my pen the next day. I’m sure there’s cheaper suppliers with equally good service though, just my experience as you asked about who people are using.

@CatNoBag Would definitely recommend sticking to the lower dose, and also logging your calories and making sure you’re getting enough to exercise. Some people on here who are on MJ eat crazy low calories and I honestly don’t see how that is manageable with an active lifestyle and lots of exercise so I try not to compare.