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.)

@Placestogo it is definitely a journey of discovery! I think there are lots of us on here who are prone to panic - I'm definitely one. I've discovered so much about myself and my very dysfunctional relationship with food & all sorts of other things too since starting MJ in August 24. What dose are you on now?

Weight update - back down to near my preferred weight of 117..now 120.4 Before it was up to 124. I have partly not being eating due to emotional upset but on Tuesday I jabbed 10 mg mounjaro after trying 7.5 for a month. Weight all gained on 5 weeks holiday..4 weeks over Christmas and NY then 1 week in February. I think my strategy is to aim to titrate down to 5 then maintain if possible with option to jab higher dose after holidays.

@Azuresky68 sounds like you have a plan, which is half the battle! I think holidays, Christmas etc are so disruptive and difficult to manage. Well done on getting back down close to your preferred weight.

@MargoLivebetter im on 1.5mg every 6 days, down from a max of 2.5 every 5 days. Im lucky ive never needed high doses. But whatever the dose - same battles!!

@Placestogo a fellow low doser here too and yes, the battles are no different, low or high - just slightly less expensive from a MJ purchasing perspective! Onwards, healthier and still slim we go!!

@Incognitoburrito88 fantastic on your half marathon. It's interesting how so many of us are 'managing' at doses / regimes that were not part of the prescribed treatment.

I listened to something on R4 the other day, and I was longing to be part of their conversation to tell them how it is in the real world of WLIs - the good outcomes, the support, the sharing of food/menu ideas.

@Tohaveandtohold fantastic!

@Azuresky68 do it like they do on any tv hospital programme... Hold the syringe with the needle pointing upwards, stick it into the inverted MJ pen (MJ is on top with the twisting clicker part at the very top). Pull the syringe slowly and watch the MJ liquid drip in. Once you've got about 0.65ml. Pull out of the MJ pen. Keep the syringe with the needle upright, pull back a little to draw a bit of air in, flick with your finger to make sure any air bubbles are at the top, then push out till you get to the required amount - the air will come out first, then any excess liquid...

Same. My tummy and arms look awful. But my tummy has improved loads since starting collagen. Wish I had taken it from the start.

My boobs look awful but I absolutely hated my massive F cup before as nothing fitted nicely. I’m loving just popping in Marks and buying nah bra I fancy. But also don’t you find your boobs really hurt without a bra now? I used to take it off seconds after my last client left, now I could happily keep it on 24/7.

But also yes yes yes to everything @MummyInTheNecropolissaid. I’d still rather be skinny. (Still don’t consider myself skinny though!)

I only know two people in their 50s / 60s with perky boobs. One is a friend who would have loved to have dc but couldn't. The other is my SIL who had breast cancer, mastectomy and reconstruction. tbf, I'll just keep my droppy old boobs, my lovely dc, and my weight loss.

I just wear one of those soft bra tops all the time now. Seems OK.

It’s weigh day for me today, and I’ve stayed the same, still 8lbs under my original target which I’m happy with. It’s my birthday on Monday so I plan to spend this weekend celebrating, I’m out for dinner and cocktails tonight, brunch tomorrow, and then a family party on Sunday. I’m going to enjoy eating and drinking whatever I fancy before getting back on track from Tuesday. I might gain a couple of pounds but I’m not worried. Unlike the pre-MJ days where one bad weekend would lead to a bad week/month/giving up altogether, I know that I can get myself back on track fairly easily now thanks to the jabs.

It’s so hard to get used to weigh day staying the same though. I actually lost 3 stone more than my original target, but I still get a bit of a disappointed “oh” when I look at the scales and it’s still the same.

I know what you mean @daffodilandtulip it’s hard to get used to no longer having the thrill of seeing the numbers go down each week. I just have to remind myself how far I’ve come, and how well I’m doing to be maintaining what I’ve lost. As well as reminding myself that losing any more weight would just mean more wrinkles and loose skin!

Very true @MummyInTheNecropolis- we’ve come so far. I never thought I’d be this weight. Enjoy your birthday celebrations!

Enjoy all your birthday celebrations @MummyInTheNecropolis and you are right that it is good to know that it is possible to get back on track again and not get completely derailed.

@daffodilandtulip it has taken me a while, like a really long while, as I achieved goal weight over a year ago, but I genuinely get the same sense of satisfaction now remaining the same weight as I did losing. I hope it feels that way for you too someday, because it is an immense achievement not to put the weight back on - well in my opinion anyway!

My weight fluctuates a good couple of kilos across the month, which somehow makes finding maintenance balance more difficult. I suppose I’ll get used to a normal zone of fluctuation, but at the moment the top weight is above where I want to be and freaks me out, even though it’s just constipation/water retention/gym. The lower weight conversely is lower than I ever intended to go, so I don’t want to lose more.

Writing this out has helped me realize I’m being silly about this 😆

@ShrankLastWinter you are not being silly. I think the struggles we all have show what mess we have got into over the many, many years of weight battles. I have given myself a window within which I allow my weight to fluctuate, otherwise I cause myself unnecessary stress by getting in a pickle about 1-2 lbs, which as we all know can just be a bit of water retention, a poo etc.

Yes, you’re right! I’m going to have to accept that my window is wider than I imagined.

I decided that I wanted to maintain under 70.6kg (33 kg loss). My lowest weight has been 69.6. If I don’t want that to drop further, I need to accept that I’ll sometimes get readings of 71.6.

I’ve gained a lb. Not thrilled with that as takes me over my top end

@Blondeshavemorefun do you know why or is it just one of those random water weight, big poo things?

@ShrankLastWinter i can go up a kg or two within a day too! It makes me crazy! But like you i have accepted that this is my own varietion and to not compare it to people who vary less (1-2lbs).
i am aiming for similar stats to yours. 69.5kg will take me to the top end of the “normal” BMI range. Hoping to maintain between 67 and 69.9kg after that. Ferls important not to cross the arbitrary 70kg threshold somehow!!
im currently 75.9kg so i have some work to do but i have time…. I want to be able to lose on a “maintenance dose”

Good grief. Mine fluctuates by 3lbs over the month and I panic 🤣

@MummyInTheNecropolis happy birthday and enjoy your celebrations to the full or until you are full 🤣 🥳🎂🎉🎈🎁

About weight fluctuations ..I have a 7 pound window but in reality panic if i go more than 3 pounds over the bottom end. It was a massive shock 2 weeks ago when I was at the top of my 7 pound range though. Coming back down again but went back to 10 mg from 7 5 mg to achieve this. As a short arse OAP my maintenance calories are 1350 so it's really hard for me to lose without going down to 1000 cals a day. But advice from my good friend Chat GPT was not to panic after a blip eg after holiday and at least have a week on maintenance calories and see what happens ..total restriction can lead to the dreaded yo yo dieting. I am trying to follow this advice but must admit I feel terrible if I go a pound over my preferred weight. Good luck everyone and have a great weekend 😀

Really don’t know

yes it’s half term but I haven’t eaten bad