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.

@Atalosswhat2do

Well done on your weight loss, you’re almost there! I hope you don’t mind me asking but what’s your daily calorie intake versus total burn? I’ve been keeping track of everything too, but now I’m doubting myself and wondering if I’m calculating something wrong, as my total deficit is nowhere near yours.

I thought I hadn’t had a good week. I was out on Wednesday evening and had a burger and chips (although left half the chips) plus a couple of mojitos. Thought the alcohol, sugar and carbs would have done for me, so was braced for a stall or slight gain. Also, I don’t really bother tracking anymore.

Blimey… I’m another 3lbs down! Cant quite believe it. And my BMI is comfortably below 35 (obese category 1!) so that’s another mini goal ticked off.

SW: 109kg
CW: 93.1kg
Interim GW: 86kg (hopefully there mid-late March)
15% of body weight gone.

@SnowWhiteisMyFavourite If I adjust my calories to my new weight it's going to be in unhealthy territory. Not sure what's going on for things to suddenly change. I do feel like I may be holding onto fluids, but that also doesn't make sense, as I drink a lot of water.

Thank you! Ofcourse! Calories in are between 1000-1300, calories out between 2000-2500. My daily deficit is usually 1000+.

@maz99 wow, that was indeed a bargain! 🥳🌟

Well done on your amazing weight loss too! You wear those jeans with pride. 👏👏

Will you order from Numan again?

I’m stuck with having to order from only one pharmacy in NI who will deliver to the ROI, so I pay their fixed prices. They’ve never offered a discount even with my first order and I had to pay extra for the needles, sharps bin and wipes too.🙁

Still, it’s cheaper than if I was buying from my local pharmacy as it’s about double the price €€€, so can’t really complain. 😂

Actually, I’ve just had a thought…. I’m visiting family in London just after Easter so could I purchase a pen or two there and bring them home with me? Hmm 🤔

Been a while since I posted. I purposely didn't weigh myself between Christmas Eve and Jan 9th as I didn't want to de-motivate myself if I gained over Christmas. When I did weigh myself again I was the same I was on Christmas eve. I think I probably gained something at Christmas (although actually, I hardly over indulged at all compared to my Christmases of the past!) but leaving it until the 9th Jan to weigh again meant I didn't have to see the gain and get disheartened. However, I then gained 1lb the following week! Weight is such a funny thing. However I knew to just keep plugging away and I'd see a loss again eventually and happily today, I was 4lb down on last week. So I guess I've just experienced a plateau of sorts but have got through it, thankfully! Total of 40lb lost now. Really, really hoping that next Friday's weigh in will be the magic 3 stone milestone reached. Still obese, but less obese than I was! In September my BMI was 39.7. Today it is 33.4. Very pleased!

Thanks... I'm going to make some time to go through my wardrobe because I have clothes in sizes as small as size 14 - mainly jeans & dresses.

No, I don't plan on ordering from Numan again because they're too expensive. It was only the discount that made them reasonable.

If you know when you're going to be in London, then maybe you can arrange an appointment with one of the high street chemists that prescribe WLI. I know Day Lewis pharmacy do... and Boots.
But are they cheaper than what you currently pay?

@Atalosswhat2do Oh, I see. I’ve been tracking weekly averages instead of totals, that’s why I couldn’t get the numbers to work out! 🤦‍♀️ I checked my stats: total deficit so far is approx 126,000cals, and that’s -66lbs. Our starting point is very different (I was 19st 2lbs) so I probably had much more water loss at the beginning and it’s slowing down now.

@Chopsy123 I didn’t realise that - I wonder if it is because of the weight loss then? Slightly concerned that if my hair isn’t happy with it then I’m not covering my nutrients and I may be causing myself issues that I can’t see yet. I’m definitely eating a lot less but I’ve been so busy recently I just haven’t spent time creating healthy meals, I’ve just grabbed whatever I could. My plan this weekend is to write a healthy meal plan and go shopping.

@maz99well done! A size down is the best feeling, you’re doing amazing!

I’ve finally got down to the next stone bracket which is a great feeling, the finish line is looking more realistic now after being so far away all this time. I’ve been on 7.5mg for 2 weeks and it has really helped, I stalled a bit on 5mg as I was reluctant to increase because of price and it just seemed like such a high dose. I’m glad I moved up though, I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.

SW: 18 stone 4lbs (19 stone 11lbs)
CW: 14 stone 12lbs
LOSS: 3 stone 6lbs (4 stone 7 lbs)
target: 10 stone 5lb (although I’d be happy at 11 stone 5lbs)

I need to exercise now as I’m feeling very wobbly, I feel a lot lighter on my feet now so can probably do it without damaging myself like I did before. Thanks for the info @threescoops, I didn’t realise the effect weight loss could have on our joints in that way.

I’m learning so much from this thread!

Official weigh in day for me. I’ve been hovering within 250g all week so not much changed since last weekend but I’ll proudly record this as a win and a milestone: I’m 30kg lighter than I was at the end of August! Next goal is to lose 2 more kg to reach 90kg.

Weigh-in for me too and I'm still plateauing. Weighed in at 13 st again this week - for the 5th week running.

Plateau for me too, I’ve gone up and down within a pound since Christmas.

how on earth have you lost 66 lbs in about 21 weeks? I'm pleased to have lost 40lbs in that time! An average of 3 lbs a week seems a lot, what's your secret?

@SnowWhiteisMyFavourite What a fantastic milestone! Well done 👏🏼 👏🏼

@threescoops the secret: I have completely overhauled my diet and increased my activity levels.😄 and don’t underestimate your 40lbs, that’s a great number too!

I now recognise that my problem over the last 20 years has been carbs and portion size. My portion sizes have halved; my plate is now full of chicken or fish with green vegetables. I’m not prohibiting myself from eating anything, but I’ve cut down on milk, cheese, white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and sweets/chocolate from my diet almost completely. And wine! I now only drink when I think the occasion is worth the calories.

Exercise-wise, I have gone from nothing to walking 5 km almost daily (this didn’t happen overnight). The next step is C25k, but I’m not brave enough yet to start it. However, I know I have to, as I think my challenge to lose even more weight is going to get harder in the coming months. The weight loss has slowed down. I think I had a lot of “easy fat” to burn off to begin with, but those days are over..

i tried to edit my post above but it doesn’t allow me to do that. Just wanted to add that I’m very grateful that Mounjaro has help me to make these changes to my lifestyle. I don’t think I could have done it without it!

I have broken through my post-Christmas plateau and expect to hit 20% bodyweight loss in the next few days.

And I've been noticing some real changes - I have now lost enough weight that I can do knee push-ups rather than kitchen counter ones, and I can do lunges again without pain or falling over! And I can feel my bones uncomfortably when I'm in the bath.

Not sure if you have read the two threads from the same poster: the first one asking what happens after you stop injections (this is full of examples of people gaining the weight back), and another asking for positive examples (only a couple of replies).

A few weeks ago, I also read several articles based on previous studies that confirmed the weight will come back in most cases. What are your thoughts? Is the plan to stay on it forever and treat obesity the way you would treat high blood pressure, for example? Or is there another option where we can keep calories in less than calories out and maintain? I hope for the latter, but based on the press/comments, it sounds like an impossible task!

I'm in denial, not yet too worried about what happens later, thrilled to be 3 stone down and motivated to lose up to another 2 stone. I've got this far comfortably without going higher than 4mg, so plan not to go up much more, if at all, to make the journey back down easier and cheaper. I assume I'll then probably have to be on a low dose, more spaced out, to retain control rather than go cold turkey, but will review that if and when I get to where I want to be. It took me years to put it all on so am hoping that if I regain a little it shouldn't be impossible to lose it again rather than tackle the 5 stone it took years to gain. I'm not an unhealthy eater, but portions were too big and there were snacks. I know I'll have to be more discriminating and make conscious choices. I am not, and don't want to be, an obsessive calorie counter. And I know it's essential to keep active. I just hope I don't get too hungry, that would be hard. I've got loads of leftover Christmas treats in the pantry (crisps, biscuits, chocolate) and I am just not interested in them. I've been selling the clothes that are now too big, and buying some in a size that fits or are a shade on the tight side, so that is definitely an additional motivation as I'm really excited to be enjoying clothes again and don't intend to be unable to wear those lovely new dresses this summer. And above all for the sake of my health I don't want to be obese again. I was prediabetic, with painful arthritic knees and a leaky bladder, all improved already. It is brilliant what MJ is enabling me to achieve. I'm ignoring negative stories, the media likes to generate click bait and maybe some of the doomy anecdotes refer to people resuming unhealthy eating habits. And finally it might not be too forlorn a hope that the expensive pens might eventually be superseded with the same medication in cheaper form?

My friend got to target on MJ in September and came off, she just gone back on MJ as she’s gained a stone in that time. She never went higher than 5mg and told me when she first stopped things were ok for a couple of weeks but then hunger was so intense like she’d never experienced before. I know everyone’s different but more people seem to struggle when stopping.

I want to loose another 7-9lb probably. I feel like this last bit is going to be slow to go. But I’m definitely planning on sticking on it long term. Based on the fact I’ve had several weeks with no losses on 5mg I think this will likely be my maintenance dose, maybe 4mg at a push. I’d like to be in a position where I can take the odd week off e.g if I have a social event because I struggle to drink on MJ. There’s only £10 difference between 2.5 and 5mg with my provider so makes more sense to stick with 5mg even if I take a lower dose and get more weeks out of it.

I’m getting nervous too. I’ve still got at least another two stone to go.

My plan is to get to stage where I can run 5k 3 times a week, and really work on my weight training. I think muscle loss is a big factor in people’s weight regain.

I really don’t want to be on it long term but it works because it works, so if I have to I guess I’ll have to find a way to make it work.

Has anyone injected extra, and how did you do it? I've been on 5mg for over 3 months now and it's really not working for me any more. I've bought a 7.5 but my current 5 still has two doses left in it. I'm considering just binning it and moving up to 7.5, but I'm thinking I could inject the full 5mg dose, then attach a new needle, turn a few clicks (30 according to a click calculator I found) and inject again. Hopefully with the golden dose there would be enough for me to do this twice. Has anyone tried it?

Obesity is a chronic and relapsing condition - obviously the question ‘what happens when you come off them?’ is being asked a lot at the moment because WLIs are so successful at getting people to lose weight compared to traditional methods, but you could equally well ask ‘how are you going to beat those terrible odds on weight regain?’ to someone losing on Slimming World or Weight Watchers.

Out of interest, has anyone on here had a successful period of maintaining a healthy BMI after traditional weight loss methods before? I have had one period in my late twenties where I lost over 3 stone on WW, going from BMI 31 to 23, and then maintained for just over three years. If I think what was different then to any other time, I think it was a) very strong motivation in the first place (being a friend’s bridesmaid) b) I did an awful lot of exercise at the time (triathlons, half marathons, cycling from John O Groats to Lands End!) and c) it was pre-marriage and children, so I was generally shopping and cooking only for myself and had nothing to stop me going off on day-long bike rides at the weekend or week-long long distance hiking holidays.

Since having children nine years ago, I’ve done WW ‘properly’ 8 times I.e. stuck to it for more than 6 weeks, lost at least a stone. Plus probably another 10-12 times that I started WW but stopped fairly quickly. Two of the 8 proper times I just made it down to a healthy BMI, the first time (2017) I stayed there a month and the second (2020) I stayed there a week before starting to regain. I would guess my BMI has been in the obese range about half of the time in those nine years.

So that doesn’t make me think I have much chance of keeping weight off in my current life conditions!! And, oh my goodness, it makes me feel so TIRED thinking back over all the effort of those many many diets, all that optimism that ‘this time it would be different’ only to land right back at the same point again.

Hence I plan to stay on the jabs as long as I can really. If I really had to come off them for financial or health reasons, I think my best chance of success at keeping it off would be with high levels of activity that I enjoy plus I would use a journaling/ behaviour approach as set out in the Last Diet book.

@Kazzaa46 Wow that sounds cheap!

It’s £185 for 2.5mg and £205 for 5mg from my provider. A 7.5mg pen is £285 and a whopping £400 for the 15mg pen. I’m currently buying 5mg pens and taking 3mg and thinking of dropping back to 2.5mg dose from the 5mg pen to save money as it’s winter and I’m happy to keep losing slowly. I want to lose another 2.5 - 3 stones and would like to reach goal by about July.

@namechange0998776554799000 Yes, 30 clicks from a 5mg pen will give you 2.5mg. So 1 full dose plus 30 clicks will give you 7.5mg.

As you’re not trying to take the final 5mg golden dose, you’ll probably be fine as some pens will let you keep clicking all the way if you gently force them and others will stop and stubbornly refuse to move after a certain number of clicks.

I was taking the last golden dose of 3mg from my 5mg pen and it wouldn’t go all the way so I ended up with about 2.5mg injected. I should have used a syringe instead but thought I’d chance it. A syringe will extract all the liquid from a pen, so the click counter becomes obsolete.

Alternatively, take 5mg from your last pen and 20 clicks from your new 7.5mg pen. (8 clicks = 1mg in a 7.5mg pen).

@Chopsy123 that sounds expensive, I've just paid £150 for a 5mg pen from Ashcroft using a £15 discount offer? sorry if I've missed you being abroad or something

@namechange0998776554799000 I wouldn't bin any, it's too expensive! it's easy to extract every last drop from the pen with a syringe when you get to the end, and to inject from it, and you can see from the numbers on the side of the syringe exactly how many clicks that equates to. It has been a lot in my experience. Then you can make it up to the desired dose with the required number of clicks from the new pen. Despite what providers will say, you don't have to go up in those big steps either. I went up in small increments using the click counter tool, from 2.5 to 2.75 to 3 etc and after 22 weeks I am now on 4mg from a 5 mg pen. The click counter tool tells you how many doses of the desired dose you can get from any strength pen. I've been using www.vrgrowth.co.uk/mounjaro-clicks