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 have told some people. Close friends and family. These people however will lead to a weird argumentative thing. You’re right I’ll just lie.

Everyone I work with know I'm on MJ. But my son who lives with me aged 24 doesn't know! My mj is in the vegetable drawer 😆
My mum hasn't asked how I've lost the weight and I feel guilty as she is too old to use wli.

@FoxRedPuppy I say I've done more exercise and eaten less - which is the truth and I always follow up with "and I feel so much better for it" with a big smile and follow on really quickly with "and how are you doing?" to move the attention on as quickly as possible.

@JBJ there are plenty of suppliers happy to prescribe for maintenance now. I'm using Pharmulous, others are using Oushk. Another poster said they were using Swift. I think there are others too.

Ignore the question so don’t reply yes or no

but say counting Calories /eating less /moving more

which is all true

Checking in. Finding maintenance in winter harder as lots of festive events and moving less due to weather and wanting to just hunker down. Only about 6 lbs higher than I want to be and I think some of that would go in a couple of days if I could avoid carbs, alcohol, salty foods which I will in January but I have gone back up to 10mg from 5mg (I was on 15mg in weight loss phase) to try to keep the weight at goal.

I think I will always be on a higher winter dose and then titrate down in summer. Not sure I will ever get off it completely but that’s ok with me. I am disregarding the 30 day pen limit and using high dose pens for lower doses to mitigate the cost.

Damn, even eating sensible portions it's hard because all the festive food is carbs, fat, salt and sugar! We just visited the ILs this weekend just gone. SIL is a fantastic cook, but there's always so much food and they are not big on the fruit and veg. She's a vegetarian - totally fine and I like vegetarian food, but a lot of the options tend to involve things wrapped in pastry and often carb based fillings. And as for alcohol, the consumption curve is directly correlated to time spent in the company of PIL!

I've come back feeling rather bloated and clothes feeling very tight, but I think I will have to wait until Christmas is over for it all to settle again as there are more festive events to come. I can't eat the kind of quantities of food I used to, even off MJ, and my body doesn't seem to react well to being given lots of starchy food any more. Even so, I'm starting to feel anxious about the potential for weight gain and food noise creeping back with different eating habits over the festive season. I'm with Oushk on their flexi plan, so if needed I guess I could go back on MJ for a bit if I'm struggling to shift any gains.

I have preempted some of this by saying - I’m being careful about what I can eat, can I bring some lower fat vegetable dishes eg red cabbage / ratatouille / salad. My MIL is the same: no vegetables. Even now at target I say - I’ve had to change the way I eat and keep carbs low to keep weight off.

Weird how for some carbs make fish

I eat carbs every do whether pasta rice jacket bread

as long as stay in my 1800 I don’t seem to gain and always in my 3lb ballpark

@CrazyGoatLady and @Choux sympathies! It is so damn tricky at this time of year. However, we have to know we can get through and get back on it again afterwards. This is normal life after all. TBH, I can't wait for it all to be over from an eating perspective. It doesn't bring me pleasure anymore.

@Blondeshavemorefun I think your luck with a cheeky malteser and carbs must be some kind of karma for having to go up so high to get suppression! Whatever it is, I'm slightly envious. 😁

And did you all see that the FDA in the US have approved the pill version of Semiglutide (Wegovy)?

@MargoLivebetterheard it on the news but only half listening… did they say it’s more expensive because the dose amount has to be 70 times higher to survive the stomach and be absorbed? Was going to go back and listen…

@Aboutmeabouttime I saw it in the FT (which I sift through for my job), so it was a bit short on anything more than the headline. It says it will be a daily pill from Novo Nordisk that in the US will cost $149 per month. However, the price in the US is determined by Trump, I believe, rather than market forces!

The article also says that Eli Lilly (MJ) will be launching their pill in 2026 too.

I think for me carbs are less satiating so find it harder to stick to calorie goals.

True. I worked it out and think from memory I spent just under £2k going up to 15 to lose 7s which worked out £20 a week

not sure what my fish word was 😂

Pasta Jacket. Both with cheese. Drools

obv helps I have 1800c

For me, wheat based carbs are a trigger to eat. I literally have no off switch and pre-MJ would eat ENORMOUS amounts of pasta and bread before I began to feel remotely full. As part of my MJ diet overhaul, I now rarely eat pasta and bread and get my carbs primarily from veg, beans and pulses. I’m hoping that I will stay disciplined during the holidays - otherwise known in my household as Yorkshire Pudding’ season!

I am really struggling with heartburn. I’m sure it’s the slight change in diet.

we were going to have a cooked breakfast for dinner (grilled bacon with fat removed, 1 grilled sausage, poached egg and beans) but I can’t stand the thought of it. I haven’t injected yet this week, I was due yesterday. I’ll do it tonight I think.

I have no idea what to eat that I’ve got in the house. It’s all Christmas food and planned meals! I’ll probably have porridge and fruit until it passes. I’ve taken my daily stomach protector and my calcium tablets, hoping that helps.

we’ve just managed a short walk, my first since surgery five weeks ago. I used my walking poles and managed about 25 minutes. We are aiming for a daily walk as part of my rehab.

Congratulations on your first walk since surgery @FurForksSake . That is good news. I hope the heartburn subsides.

I think I'd say the same. Carbs for me breed hunger, unless balanced out with a decent amount of protein. I can't eat a huge amount of them in one go, but I'll be hungry in much less time than with my normal meals and I'll want to snack. I was borderline Type 2 when I went on MJ, so I had to make a conscious effort to balance my blood sugar, not just eat less of the same things, and even now I'm off it there have been lasting changes in my body's response to food. I also find I get bloated if I eat too many carb heavy meals and it takes a few days for that to subside.

I'm not quite at goal yet although I'm not sure where goal is. I'm within spitting distance of being a "healthy" weight but I am starting to look old and saggy so I am not sure whether to keep going or not. I hit a weight this week that I haven't seen since before I had my babies so, after 38 years I have finally lost my baby weight I'm with Swift and planning to book a maintenance consultation after Xmas
I'm trying not to even think about food this week and will deal with any damage later. We are going to family so it'll be out of my control anyway (although not as out of control as the grandchildren will be!)
I'm struggling at the moment to be honest, even without Christmas. DM is really poorly so I'm fluctuating between stressed, nauseous, no time to eat, eating the first thing to hand, etc

@FurForksSake oooh I know what you mean about cooked breakfast..my go to is an omelette but somedays just can't face it. Currently eating branflakes mixed with yoghurt and milk while away. Well done on your first walk out...here's to a healthier and pain free 2026..I am away for a month and jabbing 7.5 but definitely eating more but no Christmas food at all. Trying not to worry about the scales until January but sure to have a gain

May I join? Started in Sept 24, and reached goal Oct 25. 6 stone gone. I feel fab, and am now tapering down. I would like to come off completely if I can. Has anyone done this and managed to maintain?

Yes - similar - I thought I had IBS or even coeliac. But actually I just feel bloated when I eat more carbs. I do best on around 100g carbs a day mostly from fruit and veg.

@Itisallgoingtobeok welcome. There is another thread for those not on it any more, not as busy as this thread though.
I sort of tapered… I finished in April a few pounds above goal. Had a holiday, used another lower dose pen. Had another month off and another holiday, used another lower dose pen. Off completely since August. Maintaining a few pounds above goal still. Weigh nearly every day to keep things in check!

Merry Christmas, maintainers! Just been catching up with the thread while I wait for DD to finally go to sleep so I can sneak a stocking in.

Like a lot of you, I find carbs to trigger hunger and cravings. I do still have them, in moderation - to cut them out completely wouldn't be good for me mentally, as it would be denying myself something I enjoy, and would make family meals really difficult. So I just eat less, or skip where I can - no garlic bread with lasagne, for example, and having a big portion of veg alongside macaroni cheese so I have less of the pasta.

Hi to @Itisallgoingtobeok, we started around the same time and lost a similar amount (5.5 stone for me). I'm tapering down but going to stay on it for now, going to try and find my lowest manageable dose. Currently doing ok on 3.75. Definitely some people do come off and maintain, but many find they begin to regain, so be aware, and stay vigilant - and keep us updated.