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.)

Thanks for the info on lotus, I have a low ish bmi now so always keen to know who accepts the low maintainers.

I’ve gained 4lbs apparently over the last few weeks but gained some muscle. I will be keenly getting that off again from Monday. It doesn’t push me outside of my weight window, but given the speed of the gain I want to nip it in the bud.

I was going to drop to 10 on Monday but maybe I’ll wait until I’ve got my 4lbs back off!

I am using 12.5mg pens, is it better to count clicks or draw out a measured amount each time? I’m assuming counting clicks, I’ll need to find the chart.

Counting clicks I do @FurForksSake

I will keep you updated @MargoLivebetter and @LadyClumber

I count clicks to. Until I get to the golden dose!

If I did 40 clicks, so somewhere between 7.5 and 10, would I get 7 or 8 jabs out of a pen? I’m happy with extended use.

my maths says 60 is a full dose, we know we get 5, so 300 clicks in a pen?

Yes. Thats what I was doing. 5 from a 10

now doing 2.5 from 7.5

i ordered a new 10 so if can’t cope on 2.5 I can do 5 from 10 and can reorder a 10

but if I can cope with 2.5 I will order 5 and do half

either way I hope to micro dose which they don’t approve off but manage it via higher dose pens

@Merlin23 - WooHoo!! A fantastic start to 2026!!🙌🙌

Great start to 2026 @Merlin23 👏. So good to know that you haven't lost muscle. You must be feeling really delighted - lots of good news in that weigh in.

@MargoLivebetter
@LadyClumber
It is a really good start to the year.
I was really worried, but it has put my mind at rest. I can now watch the numbers and see if I can get healthier as I get older. I am almost 54, the scales put me at 50 so that's a good start.

Can I join please? I started MJ Aug '24 and went from around 100kg (about 16 stone) to 70kg (about 11.5 stone) in around a year, have then been between 65kg and 70kg, I'm around BMI 27 now (was 40 to start with)

Since the summer I have been using up some 15g pens I had stockpiled before the price rises, taking 7.5mg, then 5mg each week.

Have put on 2kg over the Christmas period so around 67kg now. I am nearly 50, not planning on getting super skinny but happy just to be out the obese range after getting so fat in recent years.

Recently been able to come off blood pressure meds as it was going a bit low now (good to check on this if you are on meds as mine was a bit too low and getting dizzy etc)

Anyway just been reading the thread, best wishes to everyone. My plan is to use on the 3 or so pens I have left over the next months and try coming off completely or starting on a low dose of wegovy to maintain. (cost reasons) I'm going to aim for the hopefully easy goal of staying under 70kg but hopefully around 65kg)

The main thing I am finding helpful (as I don't really exercise due to chronic illness) is intermittent fasting. I don't really feel that hungry most of the day, and often just have a protein shake or something like an apple or banana, then a highest protein meal in the evening. This seems to have become a pattern for me without forcing it, it has just happened naturally with the MJ.

I'm hoping to try and continue this habit while coming off the MJ.

Hi, can I join?

Ive been on MJ for a year now and still loving it. Life changed forever (I hope).

One thing that has struck me this Christmas/new year is how much happier I am in general - usually I’d be feeling really low by january and I always put it down to SAD. This year the penny has dropped that I was always usually overweight and unhealthy at this time of year and I know full well how much that affects my MH. I’ve had a really good Christmas/new year for the first time in years.

Im 5”7” and went from 13.7 to 9.7 in about 9 months. Started with juniper then moved to Oushk (who I think are fantastic) for maintenance. I’ve put on 7lbs over Christmas as I haven’t taken it for 4 weeks so I could have a break and enjoy my food more over the festivities.

Back on it today and will jab 2.5mg later (I’m buying 5mg pens and doing half doses to save a bit of money).

I have Renpho scales that weigh me 2lbs heavier than my other ones, which I find really annoying. So I use the weight on my other ones. Perhaps my goal should be to get my weight down to where I want it on the Renpho...hmmm.

Either way, today I snuck on the scales for the first time in a week and I'm 9 stone and 1/4lb. I like to be between 8.12 and 9. So, I'm honestly delighted with that. I'm basically where I am usually on a Monday before heading into the week.

I'm 14 weeks post last MJ jab and I'm beginning to believe I can do this on my own.

Hi everyone, sorry I’ve been MIA for a while. I was getting a bit obsessive pre Xmas and it was lovely to take a break from being so focussed on my weight and eating.

Ive had a lovely couple of weeks and stepped away from the scales as we have mainly been away. I’m currently sitting at a gain of 3lbs for the festive season which I’m delighted with - I’m still at the lower end of my happy range. I continued jabbing 2.5mg every 14 days over the festive period so jabbed on the 28th. I ate and drank whatever I wanted but I mainly focussed on things that felt really special - family baking is something I’ve missed and I didn’t eat a lot of UPF type stuff. I also exercised consistently throughout and took days off drinking on the days before my big runs.

I’m about to head out on a 20km run so have just eaten a massive breakfast of Greek yogurt, banana and homemade granola. I’m going to eat the last slice of Xmas cake as my post run recovery!

thanks so much to the lovely people on this thread who supported me when I was feeling so wobbly before Xmas. I feel in a much better head space now xx

Gained 6lbs over Christmas. I am so hopeful that a few careful weeks will get me back to target. I can see how I gained weight, eye off the ball, bad habits that creep in and aren’t curtailed.

Yesterday we went for a walk and then when we got back I ate some smoked salmon that needed to be finished, I then had some crisps as I fancied them and then two chocolates. We then had burgers for dinner (a lean steak burger in a bun with salad and a slice of blue cheese) and then I had a bowl of popcorn while watching traitors. Volume wise it was quite low really, but everything was low nutrition and high fat and calories.

Today I am going to try and fast until dinner as a bit of a reset. We are having roast chicken, cabbage, broccoli, swede and carrot mash and red cabbage. I won’t make stuffing or roast potatoes and stick with white meat and veg.

I massively over bought snacks for the house as I was putting it away in a cupboard and we’ve still got quite a few bits. I need to track every mouthful for the next two weeks and stick to a max of 1100 calories and it should come off.

I am learning that I have to make swift changes back to my normal otherwise it will stick.

Hi, can I join you all please? I reached my target weight on 19th December, having lost just over 13 stone. I’ve gone from a BMI of 53.1 down to 24.7, and from a size 24 to a size 10. I’ve managed to maintain over Christmas despite the extra treats which I’m delighted about.

I had my last 10mg jab last week, and have a 7.5 in the fridge ready to start next week, I’m planning to move back down through the doses and am prepared to stay on MJ long term. I use medicine marketplace and have been happy with them so far.

I will need to increase my calories so I plan to do this slowly and in a healthy way, ie I don’t want eat junk, but plan to add more nuts, seeds and other healthy fats into my diet. Has anyone else done it this way, and do you have any tips? I want to be cautious not to fall back into old habits. I’ve worked hard to change my lifestyle and make positive changes and don’t want to lose any of that! My whole life has changed beyond all recognition and I’m so much happier, fitter and healthier.

@MummyInTheNecropolis thats an incredible loss. You must feel like a new person!
Ive just been out and bought lots of random food to spice up the salads which I take for my packed lunch every day. Mexican lentil things, hummus, jalapeños. I like to call it my salad bar in the fridge. I actually enjoy them and don’t miss cheese baguettes for lunch at all. I use nutracheck every so often to check my calories are reasonable. I found I was consuming about 300 calories of Greek yogurt for brekkie so alternate yogurt with a couple of eggs. This saves hundreds of calories over the week. I’m short so don’t have many calories to play with.

@MummyInTheNecropolis - welcome and congratulations on reaching target! Like @Sadteacher, I am a shortie so don't have a lot of extra calories to play around with. I am still figuring things out food-wise, but am focusing on increasing calories by swapping out all/ portion of 0% Greek yogurt for 5%, adding more nuts and seeds to my yoghurt, including avocado in my salads, etc. The Christmas period has shown me how easy it is to fall back into old habits so I am tracking what I eat on Nutracheck to ensure I am eating enough to maintain but not so much that I will re-gain. I also find that tracking stops me from unthinkingly eating the last (large) piece of pannetone, finishing the mince pies, etc.

Im on the January starters thread but thought this is the best place to ask if anyone could link to the needles for extracting the golden dose?

I’ve got 2 stone to lose and starting 2.5mg on Tuesday. Has anyone just stayed on 2.5mg rather than increase?

https://ukmedi.co.uk/products/fms-micro-syringe-32g-8mm-1ml-fms-fms-32g-10ml-ukmedi-co-uk?variant=53484951142779 these are the syringes I used.

Stay on the lowest dose you can for as long as you can.

Hi everyone. Can I join in, please? I've been on the Feb 2025 starters thread but reached my 6 stone loss goal on Christmas Day and plan on maintaining now. I'm on 2.5mg for the foreseeable, as I want to get used to being at this weight and I also get many other benefits from MJ. I've just cleared out loads of clothes on Vinted and bought new jeans in size 10, so I need to maintain! Well, that and keeping my cholesterol, blood pressure, migraine, fatty liver, and dodgy knees under control. It would be good to be able to weigh in regularly and stay accountable here. Thank you.

Thanks very much

Thank you @Sadteacher I really do feel like a new person! It’s taking a while to get used to to be honest. Thanks for your ideas, I love lentils and houmous so will add more of those to my diet.

Welcome and congratulations on your amazing losses @MummyInTheNecropolis and @WoolerOwl !!

I like the idea of staying accountable here with our weigh ins.

I tend to not eat breakfast and run a lot - this seems to be working, and giving me the freedom to relax on the weekends. Although 'relax' now, is not the same as it used to be!!

@Topsyturvey10 good luck! I was on the Jan 25 thread - so many of us are still on it, and having that group of people going through the same thing has been invaluable.

Back to structure tomorrow. Planning a run before work, left over roast for lunch and spag bowl with courgetti for tea. Back to no drinks in the week at home.

I'm also sticking with no breakfast except on Saturdays.
Fasting/low cal days on Tuesday and Thursday.
High protein, healthy fats, plenty of fruit and veg.
No snacking.
Lots of water.
Two or three sessions of exercise a week.
Relax with the food Friday/Saturday.
Daily weigh in.

I think those are my eight key habits

Wow, lots of new maintainers. Welcome to @Orangesandlemons77 , @Dollyfloss, @MummyInTheNecropolis and @WoolerOwl . I hope I haven't missed anyone. So good to see you all and congratulations on all that you lost. Lots of great support on here for however you decide to go forwards.

@Incognitoburrito88 really pleased to hear that you are feeling better and starting 2026 with your best foot forward - quite literally! That's great news.

@Topsyturvey10 good luck. Glad @FurForksSake could help out with that link.

@FurForksSake I agree, getting back on it promptly is the only way.

@Thelittlestranger sounds like you can believe it!!!! Great news.

I'm back very comfortably again in my range of tolerance and feel very positive about everything. So, so, so happy to be starting another year feeling healthy and slim, enjoying all my clothes and not hating myself.