Nov 25 starters - thread 2 - the one where we don’t eat everything in sight this Christmas!

[Springbaby2023]

Hi everyone, starting a second thread as the other one is almost full. We made it through month one, now here’s to a happy, healthy and lighter 2026!

I don’t count calories. I am losing without counting and I know some experts advise against it. Plus I can become overly perfectionistic if I’m counting.

Sometimes I ask ChatGPT for a rough estimate at the end of the day, just to get an idea.

Of course this strategy might not work forever!

I’m down 1 stone 5lb in 8.5weeks. Another 10lb and I’ll be the lowest weight of my 30s.

We have a family holiday in June so my new goal is to be under 12 stone by then. That will be the lowest weight of my adult life!

Not counting calories is fine if you're losing, especially if you eat roughly the same amounts most days. I havent counted since before Christmas due to a number of reasons and still losing.

LI will go back to it next week just to make sure my macros are what I want as I yhinkmy protein intake has slipped. I have seen posts from several people saying they arent losing but they arent counting so the liklihood then is that they are eating too much so definitely need to count.

I’m counting but mainly because I know that if I’m going to be in with a chance of coming off the jabs and maintaining a weight loss longer term then I need to track them when I come off the jabs, and it’s easier to get into the habit while I’m on them. Tracking religiously for such a long period has been eye opening for me and I can now definitely see where I was going wrong. However without MJ I’d track for a couple of weeks then give up, hoping the keeps me in the habit of it.

I’m so frustrated this week, not losing weight and yet still got some odd side effects (itchy area at injection site and muscle aches!). I’m thinking of taking my next jab on Thursday (which will be five days rather than seven) to speed through the pen and get closer to ordering a 7.5mg one!

I am still getting nausea every day. I had sinusitis and on ABs so potentially its that mixed with mounjaro, up until getting ill I'd felt fine. Went back down to 2.5 from 3.75 on Thursday so will stick there now until I feel better/plateau with weight loss.

Am away at the moment so probably eating slightly more/worse than normal but steering clear of too many carbs, plus doing more walking than normal.

I’m not counting calories either, and haven’t since I started. I think I’ll only count if I plateau. I also haven’t steered clear of carbs. I only eat one or two small meals a day and if that includes carbs or not, I don’t really notice or care either way.

Yesterday the family was having pizza, doughballs and salad for dinner, and I ate the same as them. I hadn’t managed breakfast or lunch as I wasn’t hungry - only had coffee and water all day at that point.

For dinner I joined them but could only manage two very small (child portion) slices of pizza (not large pizzas, I mean the smallish pizza express ones from the supermarket), two doughballs and good sized serving of salad. I even had a glass of wine. We usually eat healthier than that but it was a weekend treat and I’m not going to deny myself that. I even lost 0.5kg since I weighed myself yesterday.

It had made me realise my issues before haven’t been the type of food - it’s just volume I was eating before. We cook really healthily usually but in the past I’d easily eat two heaped platefuls of home cooked food for dinner. Then probably pick at leftovers later too. Plus all the other meals during the day and snacking. I was just eating way too much.

I was on AB's just before Christmas and had terrible nausea, went away a couple of days after I finished the course. Hopefully that is the cause for you too.

Yes I havent steered clear of carbs that much as its important to have some IMO however due to the severe appetite suppression I have tended to try and eat protein as priority so if I hadpotatoes9n my plate i eat everything else first then run out of room. There are carbs in pretty much everything anyway I guess. Portion size are most people's issue i reckon, for me it was snacking in between mainly then if having takeaway or meals out I was eating way too much.

@SexyFrenchDepression I had sinusitis just before Christmas, it was hellish and felt like it was never going to end. I also worried it was the jabs as I had started end of November but thankfully it cleared up after about three weeks. I begged the doctor for antibiotics but he wouldn’t give me any. I hope you feel better soon!

Its been just over 2 weeks so far for me. I think they gave them to me as I was going away, its definitely cleared up a lot since taking them but left with slight sinus pain and nausea. Hopefully in a week or so it'll be better. Travelling probably hasnt helped at all!

It had made me realise my issues before haven’t been the type of food - it’s just volume I was eating before. We cook really healthily usually but in the past I’d easily eat two heaped platefuls of home cooked food for dinner. Then probably pick at leftovers later too. Plus all the other meals during the day and snacking. I was just eating way too much.

I relate to this. But on top of that if I was dieting or restricting myself it made me crave days where I didn't restrict myself and want to eat crap as a treat. Now everything is much more on an even keel.

For me that is my favourite thing about MJ. Not thinking of food as treats, it almost felt forbidden before so if there was chocolate I would eat loads of it, now I could easily have 1 small piece, enjoy it and move on.

I’m very fed up today, basically in the last two weeks I’ve had a two pound gain and then a maintain. I know it’s not just about the scales but more than that I just feel like it’s stopped working. I’m having to work really hard to stick to my calories, food noise is back tenfold, and my ability to resist treats has disappeared. I can’t believe how suddenly the effectiveness has worn off, and it also makes me worry about when I stop it.

Does anyone know how I’d go about getting 7.5mg from a 5mg pen? Would I have to do 5mg, then change the needle and do 2.5mg? I don’t think it can do more than 60 clicks at a time.

Hope everyone is doing better than me, I seriously need to cling onto hope that a higher dose will work as right now I’m tempted to give up and spend the money on a holiday.

Or would I be better to bring the next dose forward? Jab day is Saturday and I want to get it back to Tuesday anyway, not sure if I could jab Thursday and basically just jab every five days until 5mg pen is gone?

@Springbaby2023 Yes do your 5mg dose and then 30 clicks for the 2.5. I dont change the needle buts it’s prob recommended.

I feel a bit like you, I’ve been stalled about 2 weeks now but I have gone off the rails over Xmas so lucky I haven’t put on. But I def am getting hungry now, snacking is creeping back in and I am not suppressed anymore. Toying with going up to 5mg today as that’s my new pen but worried as everyone seems to get bad side effects on 5mg so Jm procrastinating instead. Have drawn a line under it all and hopefully can get back on track.

Similarly i have had minimal losses for the last few weeks - 0.2lb for example!!
Not too worried right now as I this was my first proper week back at the gym since November but if it continues for another week i can see myself becoming seriously demotivated. Jab day today and then i have a new pen at a higher dose for next week, so hopefully that will help and if anything at least i know that this could be an effective maintenance dose.

@Fifiellz Glad it’s not just me! I had two weeks of not tracking calories over Christmas so maybe I’m just now getting the effects of that. When I first went up to 5mg I really struggled but after the first dose it’s been similar side effects to 2.5mg. I don’t think it helped that we had a stomach bug in the house at the same time as I went up so wasn’t sure what was illness and what was side effects.

@ChristmasCalsDoCount I’m the same in that I didn’t really exercise for three weeks over Christmas and just getting back into it. Was also in the office every day last week so very minimal steps compared to when I’m working from home and I do school run / dog walk etc. Fingers crossed it’s just a blip for us that we need to push through.

7 weeks today for me. I’ve lost 2st 9.5lbs. I’m still taking 3.75mg but I think I might go up to 5mg soon as I’m definitely feeling hungrier than I was. I’m trying to stay on the low doses for as long as possible to save £££ 🙈 (I should add I have a lot to lose!).

2st 9 lbs is incredible in 7 weeks! You must be really pleased.

Thank you @SexyFrenchDepression, I am. Just another 9st 8lbs to go 😅 Feels a bit less daunting now at least.

I think that is the thing with the WLI, it just makes it feel less daunting as you're not starving constantly so dont feel like you will mess it all up by falling off the wagon for any length of time!

Wishing you well to those who have stalled. Fingers crossed the increased dose, or moving the next dose to sooner helps. Amazing losses achieved so keep on going!

I’ve managed to stay on 2.5mg jabs despite having a 5mg pen now but I jabbed a day late this weekend (Sat night instead of Friday night) and really felt the difference a couple of days later - I was much more hungry than I’ve been since I started on the jabs. Had to draw on real willpower not to overeat. I think I’m back to reasonable suppression now. I’ve also just hit the very top of the healthy BMI range this weekend so I can’t justify increasing my dose. I’m aiming to keep losing to get nearer the middle of the healthy BMI range if I can. Assuming I have less suppression and need more willpower for that hopeful future loss then it feels like good preparation for when I have to stop the jabs.

Total loss 15.4kg (2 stone 5lbs) 🎉
BMI now 24.9
Current weight 73.6kg (11 stone 8lbs)

@SexyFrenchDepression That’s exactly it. I ate two pieces of pepperoni pizza this evening (my son didn’t finish his dinner!) and normally that would send me into a tailspin but it was fine, and that’s my dinner and I’m done now (whereas before it would have been a snack!).

@EducatingRosemary Well done on reaching a healthy BMI! That’s amazing 🥳

Haha, yes the leftover kids food that has zero calories, same as birthday takeaways, chocolate when you have had a hard day etc etc! I am abroad at the moment and the trip hasnt revolved around finding somewhere to eat, large amounts of treat food or alcohol and I have enjoyed it so much. Got loads of steps in and just eaten normal portions of dinner without stressing about over eating. I wonder if this is what its like to feel 'normal' about food?!

I'm pretty sure I'll be going to 7.5mg next pen @Springbaby2023. You are not alone.

It's very tricky because we all want to be the ones who can do it all on 2.5mg, hoping to a) have few side effects b) not have to fork out for the extra. But 5mg is still only the lowest therapeutic dose (?) and so it's not surprising. The online pharmacy says go up every 4 weeks if no side effects and presumably they're not only advising that for their financial benefit.

My food noise and cravings etc are still ok and I'm not really very tempted to snack. Im losing roughly 1lb a week but it's more of an effort. If im spending the money I want it to work as well as possible.

@SexyFrenchDepression That sounds amazing! Although all inclusive would not be a complete waste 😅 We’re thinking about Thailand for Easter and Thai food is my all time favourite so that will be a real test of willpower!