Oh come all ye injectors, slimmer and maintaining, oh come ye, oh come ye to Thread Number Three! For all those who've hit goal, maintaining in whatever way they can / want to / aim to etc

[MargoLivebetter]

Welcome fellow maintainers to our third thread! Tis the season to be joyful and we do have reasons to be joyful, as we are still here. Not always the perfect journey and full of treats and temptations, but we'd have nothing to talk about otherwise. So hop on the Magical Maintenance Sleigh of Wonder and lets go! (Apologies to all those reading this for the first time in March! I got a bit carried away my festive season puns.)

I’ve decided to go down from 6.25 to 5. Went from 7.5 to 6.25 at start of December but my weight has carried on creeping down, so hopefully I’ll be ok on a lower dose.

Was a bit nonplussed to see a reading under 70kg this morning. Only 50g under but still! When I started at 103 I thought it would be a miracle to get down to 83. BMI is still 23.6 so by no means low, but I’m not a delicate build and want to train and work on body composition not lose more.

I wonder if I’ll eventually be able to maintain on 2.5. I did lose a lot of weight on it so I hope so.

I’m struggling on 2.5. It’s 4am and I’m awake and hungry - madness

I seemed to be ok on 5 and I want to fo back up but I said I would do jan and see how weight was at end of it.

it’s halfway and I’m def not sure anymore

do I carry on or go back to 5
@MeridaBrave how are you finding 2.5 ?

I am doing the same with a 7.5 and 10 pen and micro so lasting far longer

@Blondeshavemorefun how miserable! Is it like that all the time or could it be hormonal hunger, for example? I find mine varies across the month now?

Try the usual things like upping water, protein, fibre?

But if those don’t work, you could try 3.75 instead of going straight all the way up to 5?

I definitely noticed hunger when coming off it. A big glass of water was often what was needed (and still is) to quieten that down. I just sometimes forget.

Reducing or coming off requires new habits to come in. Ones that haven't been exercised because MJ has been doing part of jt. But it also needs management of our own fears. It's bloody scary as I thought it meant I was entering the hell of constant supervision - and going to pile it on instantly. Because most of us haven't got help for that inner voice. Perhaps that's where we also need to focus now - on the mental side, to catch up with the physical side.

Morning!

@Blondeshavemorefun the half way point as suggested above sounds like a potential option! Hope you got through the night.

I weighed this morning, wasn’t planning to, but i found myself naked and decided to see what the damage was.

I out on 6lbs over Christmas. I then went down about 4lbs and then back up to. I was not hopeful this morning.

But! I am back to target and actually saw 8st1 for the first time ever before it settled on 8st2.1.

I’ve dropped down to 11mg. I feel a bit more confident about tapering now.

@ShrankLastWinter I had def noticed a huge diff. I was once on 15 and still ate 3 meals so had suppression but not huge like some do

yes I drink so much water. Ate tons of chicken and mince yesterday

good luck with tapering @FurForksSake. 15 to 10 to 7.5 to 5 was ok
it’s the 2.5 as you know in struggling with

I had a strange experience last week. I was 9st 3lb, then had 2 consecutive days of lots of exercising with weights and bands. My weight went up to 9st 5.8lb, with no changes in calories. I then had a complete rest day and the following day, I was back at 9st 3lb. Just goes to show how exercise can impact weight/water.

After several months maintaining on 1.25mg, I went back up to 2.5mg around Christmas and am still there, using up an old 5mg pen. Once that's gone, I'll be trying to get back to 1.25mg as finances are stretched if I don't use a pen for 2 months. I've stuck with oushk as I've had some really good discounts during the last few months and they seem happy to prescribe low doses very intermittently to me - I've been a customer for 18months so well used to jumping through their hoops when required!

@KrankyKumquat that is very interesting about the exercise and weight. I have read somewhere that muscles can hold water. Good to hear that you are happy with Oushk. Do you pay to be on their maintenance option above and beyond the pens? I can't remember if they still do that.

Sorry to hear the hunger is back @Blondeshavemorefun . Definitely not good to be woken in the night feeling hungry.

@ShrankLastWinter glad to hear that you are getting on well and you are still cutting down the doses too.

@Merlin23 you don't have to answer, but what sort of support would you be looking for from the NHS? Does your provider offer any support? When I was with Voy they offered counselling and guidance sessions. I think some of the other prescribers do as well.

@MargoLivebetter
No i don't pay - that's just for people on the flexi plan ie have come off entirely but want to stay on the books in case they want prescribing again at a later date. I wouldn't do this as others do that for free now. There's a standard £25 off list price for maintenance customers but there's been a few 'specials' recently, including £50 off for doing a questionnaire on MN a while back and 1p postage.

Thank you @KrankyKumquat . I thought it might have changed, given so many other prescribers offer maintenance now. Sounds like they do offer some decent incentives as well.

Oushk constantly seem to be changing maintenance. I’m waiting for my order to be approved but they made me book a video call for some reason.

@FurForksSake
Was it your weight verification? They have to be done every 6 months (you don't actually need to have had it to order I've found, just have it booked in) and upload a picture every 3 months.

But yes, there do always seem to be changes - I suspect they were badly bitten by the inspection fail and have really ramped things up in response since, plus finally done some long overdue work on their website.

@KrankyKumquat it says it maintenance call, I’ve ordered but it’s not been approved as yet. I’m assuming it’ll turn into a weight verification call.

🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛
that is me. Ffs

I had a lovey M&S count on you meal for lunch

then ate crisps / seashells chocolates - penguin ffs

I have zero control on food noise at the moment and I’ve said before I didn’t think I had it - but I bloody well do now on low dose

i can’t do this anymore 😢😢😢

I’m going to jab 5 Fri.

I feel like a total failure 😢😢😢😢

as ideally wanted to do 2 .5 for a few months and come off it totally

but seems I can’t do that

I will def gain Fri an need to take control now or all my good work and £2k wasted

Nooooooooooooooooo @Blondeshavemorefun you are not a failure!!!!!!! Come on now, you have lost loads of weight and up until now you have kept it off and even lost a bit more. You clearly need more MJ in your system to keep things under control. A bummer from a financial perspective for sure, but not failure. Maybe not be forever either, but maybe for longer than we originally thought.

@Blondeshavemorefun you are not a failure! It’s January and you have done amazingly with your tapering, amazingly. This is a blip. Just because it was too soon to go to 2.5 now doesn’t mean it won’t be ok in a few weeks or months.

@Blondeshavemorefun honestly, it takes a few weeks to settle into a new routine. I bounced up a few pounds when I stopped the jabs but have mostly maintained since. Why not wait another week and see. Try not to panic just yet! From what I remember you have posted you are well within a healthy weight zone. Good you are keeping on top of things though!

@Blondeshavemorefun might be a one-off blip and not the sign of things to come?

I’ve had off-days throughout my journey (usually right when my TOTM comes) when I was just ravenous. It surely sent me into panic! But then the next day that would quieten down.
Also I seem to just not be able to stop eating when I’m visiting family, which I’m sure is a stress response on some level, and just being out of the routine on another.

Try to remember it’s what we do 95% of the time that really matters, not the odd snaccident!

I keep having bad snacking days since dropping

the Belgium chocolates have been in my cupboard for months. Not touched

and now halfway gone

im hungry in the middle of the night and feel bleugh due to the bad food im inhaling

yes my bmi is 23 at the moment. If I gain 10lbs I’m overweight

At 5 ft 7 in (170 cm), here are the weights for each BMI:

🎯 Target weights

• BMI 20: 9 st 1 lb (≈ 58 kg)
• BMI 21: 9 st 7 lb (≈ 61 kg)
• BMI 22: 9 st 13 lb (≈ 64 kg)

For context

• You’re currently 10 st 7 lb (BMI ~23)
• All of these BMIs (20–22) are healthy ranges

I hear you, @Blondeshavemorefun. I just ate a whole packet of white chocolate popcorn that I've been ignoring for weeks. Yesterday it was shortbread. The day before was something else. That's entirely too much crap disappearing down my gullet. Also I'm feeling guilty/anxious about it, feelings which are so reminiscent of diets gone bad in the past.

I'm trying to remind myself I've not failed - I was obese and now I'm a healthy weight. It's really disappointing though when we can see others off the meds and fine, or maintaining on 2.5, but it's just like going up the doses - everyone has a different experience. Titrating back up is just giving our bodies what they need to be metabolically optimal.

(still going to grumble about the cost though)!

Are you my twin ?
This is how I feel

are you on 2.5? What was the highest dose you did @OneThirdLess

Thank you everyone else but I still feel silly and a failure that I can’t cope on 2.5

what would I be like if had none - back to the size of a bus in months

some of my auggies 24 stopped due to cost and they have gained. One 3 stone. One a stone I think

I didn't really find 2.5 that helpful, initially it was great and then I went up to 5 and then back to 2.5 to maintain but I managed to put on 6lbs in December whilst eating to excess (I managed to maintain for 5 months on 2.5 but let go a bit in December). I stopped the jabs about 3 weeks ago and I haven't put any more on, nor have I lost any. I'm intending to give it a good go during the rest of January to try and lose the weight and if not I will go back up to 2.5 and then 3.75 or 5 to lose. I find it interesting that some are on 1.25 to maintain where as I don't think that would work for me despite being a super responder. Although perhaps having some time off might make the lower doses work again. We are all individual as seen by those that need to go up to 15 whilst others stay on 2.5 to lose.

I was a 15 girl and no side effects - don’t really feel anything till 10

if cost wasnt any issue I prob would had stayed at 10 +

it’s so weird how effects some badly and others fine. How some need a high dose like me and some like you lost on a low dose

I’ve heard that if you come off for two months and then restart you can get better responses.

If it all goes tits up you could always experiment with that.