September 25 starters - new year, new trousers.

[outofofficeagain]

We won’t make it to Christmas without a new board.

Well done to everyone for getting this far and thank you for your company.

Here’s to a healthy and happy 2026.

@OneDayIWillLearn I agree about the face in photos thing! I never disliked my face in the mirror when I was bigger (except when I smiled for some strange reason), but in photos I hated it ...could hardly bear to look!

Well done on reaching your target, that's super!! I wonder if some of the underwhelm comes from feeling a bit flat that you no longer have the motivation of the target to look forward to, and the highs (and occasional lows) of the weigh-ins. It's a bit of a rollercoaster, but it can be quite addictive. I'm ND, and it's a hyper-focus/special interest thing for me, and I'm a bit worried about when I'll need to let that go.

I think focusing now on clothes is a brilliant idea. Such a fun job to have. Definitely experiment with your style!

Aaargh!!!

I’ve been getting those helpful “you don’t need to lose any more weight” crappy comments from well meaning friends. 🤯😤.

Anyone else?

My BMI is currently 26.9, down from 37 so it’s great but I’m still officially a tad overweight. I’d like to lose at least one more stone. I’m now a size 12/14 and only 5’3” so I do not look remotely skinny. Far from it. I have chunky calves and ankles so can’t ever wear skirts unless they’re maxi length.

One of my friends who is a bony looking tall older woman (probably a size 6/8) who spends hours doing daily yoga and Pilates was relentlessly questioning me last week in front of friends about what I was eating etc., saying I need to stop dieting otherwise I’ll start to look really unhealthy. A couple of friends agreed I looked fine but the bloody cheek of it!!! 😂

@Chopsy123 that’s very annoying! I think people just fixate on the change I.e. that you look a lot smaller, rather than the objective facts of what your weight and BMI are. Yes I’ve had some of this, I’ve countered it by a mixture of being very factual about ‘well this is what my BMI is’ and ‘this is what I weighed in my late twenties’. And then a bit of just going along with the idea that I’m not really planning to lose much more. Which is true now, but I’ve said that for a while even when I still have over a stone to lose! Depends who it is as to what I’ve said, sometimes I just can’t be bothered with an annoying conversation and it’s not like they are going to see me on the scales.

This weekend I did appreciate a few things that weight loss has brought!

1. took the children swimming after much persuasion from my daughter and wasn’t that horrified about the thought or experience of wearing a swimming costume.
2. moved wardrobes after having our bedroom redecorated and came across my wedding dress - it not only fitted but was even slightly loose!
3. Also came across a dress I wore endlessly in my late twenties/ early thirties and used to LOVE. Thought I didn’t have it anymore to be honest, haven’t worn it since having children. It fits!
4. my daughter took a silly photo of my with the dogs from an unflattering angle. And I didn’t hate it! It was just a silly photo, rather than an ‘oh god I am so fat’ moment.

To be honest this stuff means so much more than that number on the scale.

Weight this morning was 79.2, although lowest mid week weight was 78.7, so I feel I’m getting more comfortably in the 70s now. Had a pretty high fat meal last night of M&S Indian food (butter chicken, black daal, pilau rice - the posh stuff 😊), although only a small portion and DH had the rest. In the old days I would have comfortably polished the lot off.

Was in M&S to pick up a new nightie I’d ordered. Size 14 y’all! Fits like a dream,

Got back from our visit to London (to see family) on Tuesday evening. Very grateful to be back home where it’s in the low 20’s and with a breeze.

However, went a bit overboard on clothes shopping and bought a whole new summer wardrobe. I also forgot to pack my existing long shorts for the chub rub (size 20) and wore flimsy dresses out in the heat and realised I didn’t get any chub rub. 🫢😁

I’ve rarely bought new clothes over the last few years so I even surprised myself with the extravagance! 🤣

Another kilo down this week. Weight this morning was 78.05kg. That’s 12 stone 4lb. I’m only 2lbs away from my next target, which I should have hit at the beginning of June, but I’m pretty relaxed about being a month behind schedule. I think I’m now just 1.5lbs away from a 5 stone loss.

Pleased with progress this week as I ate out (although at one of those “small plates” places - the drug really works as I couldn’t finish what we ordered and we didn’t order that much), drank some booze and even had a Magnum.

Might be the heat, but I really haven’t felt much hunger this week. When I start to feel hungry I eat something.

Yesterday, had a late breakfast of fruit and yoghurt. Started to feel hungry around 4.30pm so made myself a cottage cheese omelette (I love them and have two or three a week), a piece of smoked trout and some kimchee. Followed by a small Fulfil protein bar. And that did me for the rest of the day.

And @Chopsy123 - the lack of chub rub is an unexpected delight. I can’t believe how slim my thighs have got although I still have the calves of a Premiership footballer.

Oh, the lack of chub rub! I will share your delight about that. What a great feeling 😄

I’ve been maintaining (by default but also by accident) my weight at around 75-76kg for the last few weeks. I have started working my way down from 4.75mg and extending the gap between the jabs. The hot weather is helping as I don’t feel like eating anything heavy but I have enjoyed a few ice creams, and they add calories very quickly!!

Anyway, I’ve decided that the current pen will be my last one, and I’m going to try life without Mounjaro.
My TDEE, if I’m not exercising, is 1700 calories. That increases to around 2200 when I do my runs and exercise classes. I’m currently averaging 1600 calories a day, so I should be able to maintain my weight, maybe even get to my target of 72-73 kg.
I know this is a weight where some people start their weight loss journey, but for me it feels right at the moment. If I lose more, great. If not, I’m happy with where I’ve got to.

@GhostOrchid please share your recipe for cottage cheese omelette, I would like to try it.

ooh, good luck with weaning off @SnowWhiteisMyFavourite… big news!

Cottage cheese omelette

2 eggs
2 tablespoons cottage cheese
salt and pepper

blend everything together until mixture is pale and frothy and most of the cottage cheese lumps have disappeared. I use a Nutribullet type thing but a stick blender works just as well. Not tried a balloon whisk.

get a non-stick frying pan nice and hot and then lightly oil. I use a dribble of sunflower oil and brush around the base with a pastry brush or piece of kitchen roll. Meanwhile, turn your grill on.

lower the heat to medium and pour in your egg mixture and let it settle. It will take longer to cook than a regular omelette and you don’t want to move it around too much. I sometimes pull the cooked edges away from the sides and let the uncooked mixture run back but as it cooks it will solidify. It’s much spongier and more pancake like than a normal omelette.

When I judge it’s almost there (say after 3 or 4 minutes), I put in under the grill to finish off the top. It only needs a minute or so.

Then turn out and enjoy on its own or with whatever you fancy. It’s packed with protein.

It might take a couple of goes to get right. Don’t cook on a high heat, don’t move it too much and be a bit patient. 😊

77.4 kg this morning. I’ve been there pretty much all week. It means I’ve hit my 5 stone lost target. New target set of 70kg.

@GhostOrchid well done 👏👏 you will catch up with me soon, I still haven’t got below 75kg. At least I know my maintenance calories now 😬

thanks for the cottage cheese omelette recipe, it’s very easy to make! I like how fluffy it is.

I weighed in at my ‘target weight’ of 10 stone 7 lbs for the first time on my official weigh day of Tuesday this week.

I’m still doing 5mg (now from a 7.5mg pen) every 6 days. I’ve done two jabs from this pen and thinking I’ll stick on this 6 day schedule for the rest of the pen. Ideally I’d like my weight to settle in the bottom half of the ten stone bracket which will take a couple more pounds, but I basically feel I’m there now. I’m not really sure what next though! Maybe back to 5mg every 7 days? Or 4.75mg every 6 days?

I’m really enjoying food and drink being less of a minefield this summer - not feeling like I have to constantly manage my urge to overeat/ indulge because I just don’t want to.

congrats @GhostOrchid that’s epic!

Well done everyone, lots of fantastic losses 🤩
Just thought I'd post to let you know how i'm getting on with maintenance. This is a whole new mine field that needs navigating but it feels harder as there's not a lot of advice and a lot of companies seem to frown on talk of titration outside the official doses 🫠
Anyway, i'm down to 3mg doses each friday and i've been on that dose for 10 weeks. Next week I will jump down to 2.5mg and see how i get on. I guess the next step is extending the days but I won't rush into that.
Target weight was 8 stone 7 and I am currently 8 stone 5. I've been bouncing between the two weights but i'm quite happy with that wiggle room.
Is anyone else on maintenance?
I still track my food but i'm not as strict as I was. My protein intake is definitely not as good as it was at the start.

Wow, lots of great losses from the gang. Well done everyone!

Someone upthread mentioned trying to guess other peoples dress sizes and I found myself doing this too when out shopping and noticing what sizes the ladies were picking up off the rails, and I realised I didn’t have a feckin’ clue. 😂

Don’t answer this if you don’t want to obviously, but wondering what dress sizes you are now and what you started at? I started at about 20/22 and I’m now around a 12/14. I’d like to get to a 10/12 ideally but a solid 12 would be perfectly fine. I estimate I have another 1.5 stones to go.

I jabbed back down to 2.5mg (from 3.5mg) on the day I went away as I didn’t want high suppression for the week and I ate well but was sensible and didn’t feel any urge to over indulge. However,… I weighed myself the day after I got back and had put on 4lbs. I think some of this is inflammation/water retention (?) from the heat and flying as I’ve weighed today and I’m back to my pre holiday weight again. I also jabbed 3mg earlier this week and intend to jab back up to 3.5mg next week. I’m also thinking I might need to increase my dose up to 5mg at least to lose the last stone. 🤔

@JustPickleRick Yes, I’m wondering how I’ll manage maintenance when the time comes, so I’m interested in your experiences as you’ll be the group expert by the time I’m ready to maintain. 😂

Must admit, the 4lbs increase when I was away for only a week has unnerved me a bit as I was still jabbing and really wasn’t over indulging at all. 😳

Ha. I’m just back from a little shopping trip as I want to get a trouser suit for work and had seen one I liked on the Next website but had no idea what size to buy. I went to my nearest Next. They didn’t have the suit in stock, but I tried the jacket and trousers of a boring navy suit just to get a sense of size.

Got a 14 slim fit suit trousers from the rack and blow me down they fit fine, even a little roomy on the waist. Both the 14 and 16 jacket fit, which astounded me as I’ve always had terrible problems with anything tailored. I tried on a size 20 jacket in Next shortly after starting Mounjaro and it was too small. I’ve ordered the suit I like in 14 trousers but I’m going with the 16 for the jacket as it was just a bit more comfortable (big boobs and still carrying a fair bit of fat on my upper back). It’s also been heavily reduced in their sale so bonus.

Also grabbed a pair of jeans in the sale. Size 14. They look pretty tiny to me on the hanger but fit fine, if a bit big on the waist. Oh, and I tried on a little tailored cream herringbone jacket in Hobbs. Fit fine, looked good. Size 16. Didn’t get it though as it was the best part of £200.

It’s all so weird. What they say about taking time for your brain to catch up is totally true. It’s hard not to gravitate to the 18s and I felt like a fraud trying on smaller sizes.

Next stop: some decent bras.

Well done @JustPickleRick I agree maintenance is definitely a whole new level of learning, with very little support available.

I’ve increased my cals to 1900-2000, reduced my dose to 2.5mg every 12 days and officially have 5 doses left and then will be stopping MJ. My initial goal was 9st 1, then 8st 7, now I’m maintaining at 7st 8lb. I still track everything as it’s became part of my norm, I do 20,000 steps per day, weight train 3 to 4 times per week, and have a lean, muscular physique, and have found the start of a 6 pack underneath all that fat 😆. I don’t look underweight or old or scrawny at all; I actually look brilliant. I’ve went from a tight 16 probably was really an 18, to a size 6.

We are off on holiday at the end of July and I can’t wait to wear whatever I want, and feel comfortable in my own skin; for the first time in my adult life I have no body hang ups.

@Chopsy123 I've gone from a size 16/ 18 (as in, I wouldn’t buy size 18 due to vanity but size 16s were often too tight unless a stretchy or loose style) to size 10/12. Down 3 stone 3 lbs and BMI from 30.5 to 23.

@Atalosswhat2do size 6!!!! Oh my! That’s just incredible.
Well done and huge congratulations. 👏👏👏👏👏

It sounds like you’ve gone from a couch potato to an Olympic athlete with your new physique. I’m in awe. 🤩

How do you manage to do 20k steps a day? Are you running a lot?

I hope you have a wonderful new wardrobe of clothes to show off your hot body on holiday. You deserve it. 💃 🏖️

Thank you! I know it’s unreal, I literally have gone from struggling to do 4,000 to 6,000 per day to 20,000 it’s mental. I still do my indoor stepping. I’ve just become really good & efficient at it after almost 10 months I split it into chunks so do 10,000 in the morning, 5,000 in the afternoon and another 5,000 in the evening. I watch the tv when I do it, so it distracts me. Yes I have a whole new wardrobe for this holiday!

@Atalosswhat2do do you have a treadmill/step pad for your steps at home?

I'm easing up on the weight loss as I move towards maintenance, keeping my dose the same where I might previously have moved up, and continuing to lose weight but at a slower pace and with less appetite suppression and more food noise. I'm hoping that I can maintain on a lower dose by really focusing on good long term habits. I'm currently 10 stone 5, size 12, BMI 23.4 and ideally I'd like to lose around another stone to maintain at a BMI between 21 and 22. But in all honesty, if I stayed the size I am now, I'd be fine with it. I started off at 15 stone 5, size 20-22, BMI 34.7, so it's been a big change.

I use the Renpho scales, and I know that the data should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, but it is useful to see the changes I'm making to my health. And I'm now solidly in the green zone for all areas which is something to celebrate.

No I just do them stepping/marching on the spot. My thinking when I started was that I would remove every opportunity for me to have an excuse or obstacle not to do them; and it’s worked!

well done, that’s brilliant progress, the way I look at the smart scales is that yes the data is not 100% accurate but the progress you make is absolutely relative and should be celebrated.

I like the Renpho scales telling me when my metabolic age has reduced.

I started age 60 (I am currently 54, 53 when I started to take MJ) and am now down to 58!

I assume if I turn all the readings green, it will drop to my real age…?