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.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2084q9079po
Something we all know too well.
I've read both Dr Andrew Jenkinson's book over Christmas. I'm about to start the obesity code.
Then I want to read Weightless by an American weightloss medication expert.
Education is the key for me. It has helped me not eat all the UPF over Christmas. I've got all my meals prepped for the week.
Good luck everyone, this is a life changing experience for life.

@Merlin23 that is a good article - thank you. It is encouraging to see more nuanced discussion about obesity in the mainstream media, covering some of the multi-factored issues that lead to the problem in the first place.

Absolutely!

@MummyInTheNecropolis that’s amazing loss - can I ask what weight you were and are now and do you have a before /after?

after losing 7s I upped daily calories by 600 as that’s what tdee said and hasn’t gained yet has been slowly (post above explaining) going from 15 and now on 2.5 past 6mths to try and regulate body

Thank you @Blondeshavemorefun I started at 24 stone 13 and now weigh 11 stone 10 (I’m tall so this is healthy for me). Here is a before and after, though this was almost a month before I hit target so I’ve lost a bit more since then

Absolutely amazing well done I think I saw pics of you maybe six stone

you have done so well you must literally feel like a brand-new

Did you tell friends and family?

Wow!!! You look amazing.

I’m reading Weightless now

Wow @MummyInTheNecropolis you must feel so proud of yourself and feel so much better. Tremendous achievement recorded in your before and after photos. 👏

These photos are so inspiring.

Thank you, I’m pretty sure I used to post on your slimming world threads many years ago! I lost weight on that then quickly regained it all, really hoping that doesn’t happen this time 🤞

Yes I’ve told everyone I’m on MJ. It would’ve been pretty obvious to them all anyway, not many people suddenly drop 13 stone after being obese their whole lives without some form of medical help (I know some people do, but it’s rare)! I don’t mind talking about it, I haven’t had any negative responses, most people seem genuinely pleased for me.

@MummyInTheNecropolis
Well Done on the amazing loss.
It is a shame that we have to hide from some people about weight loss medication. My friend of over 20 years was so rude about the jabs calling them fat jabs. I didnt feel i could be honest with her. She is a size 28 5ft tall. But won't even think about the jabs as then she might have to live. Instead she stays home with her cats moaning about all her health problems. Annoyingly she would get them on the NHS unlike me who has had to pay for them!

Yes I think you did and prob that’s 15yrs ago

I lost on ww but struggled on sw

glad you haven’t had any negative - many friends have so I haven’t said

What are your highlights from the books @Merlin23any must reads?

The education element in Andrew Jenkinson's 2 books. Knowing my obesity is a disease that has been made worse by my family genetics and a nurse putting me on a diet when I was a young child. (I was probably a couple of pounds overweight if that.)
The more you diet the more your brain fights to get you back to your set point. And wants more weight as you've been through a famine so it needs more stored fat in case there is a famine.
Also reading Ultra processed people by Dr Chris Van Tulleken. UPF is not food it's a substance made by scientists for food manufacturers to optimise profits.
These are just the tip of the iceburg!

Thank you. I got part way through ultra processed people and radically changed the food we have in the house, although some things have crept back. I think the 80:20 rule works for me.
This has given me the nudge to finish it. I will look up the others too. Education is definitely key!

When I started on MJ I decided to cut out UPFs as much as possible. It really helped. They have also crept back in, but when I eat them now my stomach really struggles. I also found my taste buds changed.

This has reminded me, so Im going to cut them out again as much as I can. No chocs, no crisps - these are the main offenders. And I can't bear 'normal' sliced bread anymore. I've become one of those annoying sourdough lovers

I have my sourdough starter on the go. Hopefully it will be ready soon. I have a bread machine. So at least I know exactly what is in any bread I eat!
I have some coconut lindor from christmas. One after dinner is all I allow until they are gone. That should be next week.
I am now listening to Weightless already interesting. I listen to audiobooks while out walking or getting chores done.

I love sour dough bread

i listened to a podcast over Christmas by the author of Weightless. it was very interesting, is the book good?

hi all
I was just looking around the boards and this one caught my eye

I am an original ozempic girl back in 2023, I lost 3st on the jabs then the shortage set in so I had to stop. I lost another 2st on my own and never regained any of it

I do have to work out a ton though and I watch what I eat and prob will always have to do these things but I really like the new way of life and gym is my life pretty much 😂

there is life after jabs if you want to come off

Hello @Iamsoraven so great to hear from a really long-term maintainer. That is inspiring, thank you. What sort of stuff are you doing at the gym? Lots of us are looking to increase our exercise in various ways, would be good to hear what has helped you.

Did you titrate down the dose?

I didn’t titrate - I was doing 0.5mg dose and it suddenly completely dropped off the market (and was on the black market like wildfire) and suppliers doubled the price for a while so I just stopped! Hunger came back but by that point I was so laser focused on weight loss nothing was going to stop me.

when I say gym I really do mean it is my driver in everything now, I shifted a lot of the food focus onto my health and fitness levels, setting myself all kinds of goals and challenges to distract and got addicted to the exersise endorphins, there is literally a god like feeling you can get from lifting very heavy weights 😂 so you constantly try to chase it. Watching my body change and grow stronger has made me start to appreciate it rather than hate it like I used to.

It’s not just the weight loss that has changed my life it’s changing my life that has changed me! I am a mentally better version as I feel in control of my own life and that’s stopped a lot of my previous self destructive behaviours

find something you love and get stuck in

The book is so good, so far. Education on what GLP-1 is and how it was discovered. I have done a 30 day trial on audiobooks.com
So I can listen to Weightless!
I sat in the staff room at work surrounded by Christmas chocolates and biscuits, listening to the book! 🤣