Starting Mounjaro

[anon1411]

I'm getting my first lot of Mounjaro this weekend and just want to hear everyone's experiences...

I understand i will have to eat less calories and exercise more, how hard did you find this? Or did the Mounjaro genuinely help with this so it felt easy?

Also how much weight did you lose after the first 4 weeks?

I'm so excited to better myself, I could cry with happiness.

Good luck op, it does offer such hope for those of us who have been desperate for sometimes years to control weight.

I struggle mostly with the side effects and have to really work myself up to injecting. I generally do it on a Friday night so that I am able to feel unwell over the weekend and not during working days. Some have no side effects at all.

It’s brilliant because it genuinely silences my head. It’s like flicking a switch. No appetite and no compulsion to eat. You can plan your food in peace. You can concentrate on what you need to do without any interference.

After 20 years of slimming world, weight watchers, fasting, tracking, vegetarianism and veganism this has been the most painless way of controlling my weight… albeit with awful side effects.
All the best!

Obviously, everyone's experience will be different, so be prepared for yours to be your own journey. The initial 2.5mg starting dose isn't intended to produce significant weight loss, so if you do get decent weight loss in the first four weeks that's a bonus really.

I was lucky in that I had the full effect from day 1, so pretty soon after doing my first injection I had a lot of appetite suppression and found that I was completely uninterested in food. So no snacking, no overeating, felt full really quickly. Went right off carby fatty food.

I lost a lot of weight in the first 4 weeks, but my starting weight was very high at 22 stone, so it was very easy to create a large calorie deficit. I also found that a lot of the puffiness and water retention that I had went as well, which helped with the numbers on the scale.

Mounjaro has made it possible for me to walk straight past a plate of brownies in the work canteen without stopping. It’s allowed me to share a slice of cake with my husband. In the past I would have said “What do you mean, share?” It’s allowed me to feel satisfied eating a small chicken breast and some mixed vegetables, and not even think about what I’m having for pud. No more bags of crisps; I keep cashews on hand if I want a treat. I lost 5 lbs in the first 4 weeks.

SW 8 July. 91.6kgs
CW today. 74.5kgs

For the first 6 months, I didn't count calories because I just ate less when taking mounjaro. I lost 13lbs in the first month on 2.5mg.
Now, I need to count calories but mj makes it a lot easier. I think the main reason for this is that your body does adjust and I can eat a lot more volume of food now (I've been on it over a year now and 6 stone down.). I don't mind that, it means I can count my macros and make sure I get what I need.
I'm on 12.5mg now and I wish I'd started counting calories earlier as I don't think I'd have needed to go up to such a high dose.
I was relying on mj to do all the work at the beginning. Now I use it more as a tool and I think that's much better.

I was a little different, I had an issue with cortisol and inflammation. In the first week I lost 6 pounds, and my tummy started shrinking back immediately, I felt immediately better and my ankles stopped being sore etc. I then lost about 1.5lbs a week, till I got to goal. Total six and a half stone, now at bmi 20, where I’ve been for the last nine or ten months, I maintain on a 5mg dose.

how easy, it was easy in I had no food cravings, was satisfied with a healthy portion etc, but it took snd still takes dedication. I am very careful to eat a clean healthy diet, I have exercised throughout, 5- 6 days a week and consumed enough protein, min 1g per every kg of body weight, when I hit goal and started to increase my cals I did so in increasing protein, moving into body recomp phase, and increasing muscle mass. My body fat has dropped another two points since hitting goal, my weight maintained,my muscle increased accordingly.

im now toned, with clear muscle definition, any crepey skin, and a little turkey neck has disappeared completely, I look like I’ve always been this weight.

protecting muscle is a non negotiable, or should be, on this journey, or you really won’t like what you see when you hit target.

so easy in the sense of food, but it has taken effort, every single day and will always take effort, but it is achievable effort.

Yes it genuinely helps and makes it easy. Hard to explain the difference but what’s everyone’s already said really. Food just isn’t on my mind. I don’t graze. I have to plan and make sure to eat nutritiously. I get full with much smaller portions. But I still really enjoy my food, haven’t had any significant side effects, just some low level nausea the start (like mild morning sickness feeling). I started in April at over 14st and now maintaining since before Christmas at just under 10st. I never took more than 3.75 (well I tried 5mg once and found it too much). You may or may not need to go up the doses, but if you are still losing 1-2lb a week don’t move up. At the very beginning I did drop a bigger amount and a lot of that was inflammation, I felt so much better very quickly. Then it settled into 1-2lb a week, but give it time, that adds up quickly.

Right now - take lots of photos and videos and get an app called methreesixty to do a body scan. You will be amazed in a few months of the comparisons. Shotsy and dose diary are great apps for keeping track of your jabs and levels of medication in your system as it builds up. If you haven’t already join the January starters thread, there is one for every month and they are so supportive with people at the same stage.

@Stasis26 raises some good points.

I also have had no side effects. Howver I’ve been sure to eat a clean diet, low sugar, low fat, low sulphur, limited alcohol, and drink 3 litres of water a day, Amd take a psyllium husk every morning with a litre of water before I do anything to ensure I get my fibre, water is critical

you should be taking pics for your prescription, but progress pics are important.

id also recommended vinted for clothes as you move down sizes. And not to just wear old clothes too big for you for too long, it’s important to feel good about yourself during this journey and see the changes.

i was on 10mg as my optimal dose. The manufacturers say move up to find your optimal dose, which is the one below the one you can’t tolerate, but you never have to get there, you know when you hit optimal, as suppression is 24/7, no side effects, controlled appetite, but you can eat and still get hungry, but feel full after a healthy portion. Some people optimal is 15, others it’s the other end, we are all different and of course cost can play a large part of it.

its an amazing journey as for many of us, its the first time ever weight loss is effectively consistent, you can stick to it you’re not miserable and hungry, and you’ve loads of energy.

a word of caution though, the drugs don’t work for everyone, I think 15 percent in trials had no effect, and for some they need the higher doses to feel effect. Others feel it immediately. Don’t feel tempted to rush up if you’re not experiencing effects, it’s important to do the month at each dose, min, otherwise you could be quite unwell and end your journey,

also don’t be tempted to starve yourself to speed up weight loss. You will lose hair and muscle, do it in a healthy manner.

Thank you so much everyone 🥹

I think my main concern is the food part, I snack all the time and I wasn't sure if it would genuinely help with reducing that or not. The food part is my main issue really so it's great to hear how much it's helped you all suppress that!

I don't do full on workouts now but I'm an active person and walk as much as I can which I will maintain and maybe try a little harder to do better exercise too.

I just want to feel like me again and im so excited to start my journey after hearing all your lovely experiences. 🫶