January 2026 Starters - dog-gone weightloss

[BooptotheFloof]

I hope it’s okay to start a new thread as we are getting dangerously close to the end of thread 1

My current stats are

MJ 2.5mg just taken dose three
planning on staying on 2.5mg for my next pen
SW: 13 stone 9.4lbs
Week 1: lost 11 lbs
Week 2: lost 3 lbs
Total weightloss: 1 stone (a small jack russel terrier)
GW: 9 stone 7

We have some newbies joining mid month so let’s cheer them on - we’ve got this ladies!

I'm glad you're non e the worse for it! I didn't have much in the way of side effects either, possibly a bit burpy? The changes have been quite subtle for me, but if I stop and think I can spot them! Things like not feeling I 'need' to eat between meals, not nibbling on something WHILST COOKING DINNER, finding that actually I do have enough energy to exercise without needing a snack. Normally by this stage in a diet (I'm on halfway through my third jab), I'm finding reasons to give myself a treat, or getting fed up with calorie counting and having the same thing for breakfast every day etc, but I'm finding it much easier this time.

9lb in a month

I’ve attached a picture of my month’s weight . I weigh daily, so here you will see my daily fluctuations - they are so frustrating for me and quite off putting when they go up. However, I’m looking at the bigger picture and the total loss at the top.

I think I’m just going to continue as I’m doing , weigh daily, but then take my total at the end of the month and go monthly .

i start the 5 Mg tomorrow on MJ so will see how I go !

good luck everyone for the weekend ! X

@cravingmilkshake Congrats on the weight loss! I weigh everyday too, and my Renpho scales and Fitbit app put it into nice graphs like yours. I find it so helpful to be able to see that the daily ups and downs don’t take away from the overall trend.

Bombs away!

Day 1, Week 1, 5mg

Injected the first 5mg this morning. I had had no effects (supression,nothing) at all for the last week on 2.5mg, so let's see now what happens on the 5mg.

Good luck @goldylock . Hope 5mg is where we start to see more movement and higher suppression.

I'm on my second week of 5mg
And nothing 👎
I'm genuinely thinking of giving up now
Maybe I am at my goal weight and can't lose anymore

Oh gosh, really?

And had you not had any supression at all on 2.5 mg either?

I’m at 1 stone 5lbs too! Well done!

I have decided to take my 5th dose two days early.

I’ve stuck on 2.5mg for my next one but it’s arrived a day earlier than I expected and I can’t put it in the fridge - all my family are active fridge rummagers!

I’ve researched it and everything says as long as you have 72 hours between doses it’s fine… I do wonder what that’s going to do to my appetite suppression though as I’m off to a tradeshow over the weekend and I work in the food industry!

Aaargh! Why didn't I listen to my own wise advice?? I stepped on the scales. Doh. Knew it would be a letdown. Still at 8lb total loss, which I suppose isn't that bad, for three full weeks, but I can't help but be envious of those of you with bigger losses, especially as it hasn't moved in the past week. I know everything says the 2.5mg dose is a loading/starting dose, and the first therapeutic one is 5mg... but still!

Hey ho. I will cling to the fact I've been finding it almost unconscious to resist snacks etc, which is unheard of, especially whenever I have "dieted" in the past. I usually want to snarf everything "forbidden" in sight - so I think this is a win??

Oh no, same here re nothing happening. Im hoping 5mg will work. But if not no f'ing way will i pay hundreds of pounds a month to get up to 15mg when nothing is happening. If you could just zip straight up to 15mg by going up every week ok. But only being able to increase every 4 weeks is just crap. Obviously I know it's for safety reasons. But if it isn't working why throw away more money, waiting up to 20 weeks only to find out even 15mg didn't work and you're just resistant! Sigh.

@Ralphiesaurus I haven't got the very big losses either. It does make me wonder whether I'm doing something wrong but the upside is that slow means more time to make changes forever. Every week I try to make changes to my diet. What I eat, when, how much. I only change what I know I can keep up. So any meal or movement has to be something that I want to do, not something that I think I should do because Janet from the internet is doing it.

I am not doing too badly, I am averaging 3lbs a week at the minute but it’s definitely slowed up and still struggled with a lot with food noise etc which has been getting worse the last week or so.
I definitely think it’s time to move up to 5mg but now I have a quandary. I have the needles for the golden dose and don’t want to waste it but do think I need to move up.
Do I hold on for another week to not waste money and use the golden dose or do I waste it and move up?

@Ralphiesaurus I'd definitely take it as a win. I'm not having the same kind of suppression now that I'm in week 4 and I ordered another 2.5g pen for month two, because of side effects. However, the side effects have gone and I'm regretting the decision. The only thing that's keeping me hopeful is that, like you, it's still taking away the food noise.

I decided not to bother with it this month. I’m dying to get on 5mg!

Hi all 👋🏻 Been lurking for a while and am up to pg 5 of this thread! There’s a lot to take in!
Finally took the plunge an hour ago and did my first jab having had it sat in the fridge since Monday. I’ve been putting it off in case of side effects.
As predicted, I messed it right up 🤦‍♀️ I was shaking so much that the needle kind of bounced out then back in again 😳 I continued anyway and administered the MJ (hopefully I did that part right) but now I’m convinced that I’m going to die of some contamination related illness 😭
I won’t ask if this has happened to any of you as I’m pretty sure stuff like this only happens to me! 🫠
Anyway, if I do survive..how soon should I expect the side effects to kick in based on your experience?

Also, did anyone else feel really emotional doing it? Almost like feeling sad that it has come to this?

Hello everyone,
I hope it’s ok to post – I’m very new to Mounjaro and was hoping to find a bit of support or reassurance from other January starters.
I’m only on day 3 of the 2.5mg dose and I’m feeling quite wobbly about whether I can cope with continuing, emotionally rather than physically.
I’m not usually an anxious person, but for some reason starting Mounjaro has really stirred up a lot of catastrophic thinking for me. Over the last four years I’ve steadily gained weight, tried and failed at multiple diets, been diagnosed with high cholesterol, and honestly just lost hope that I’d ever feel comfortable in my body again. It had got to the stage where I wouldn’t let anyone take photos of me – even on holiday with my children – and that was a real wake-up call that something needed to change.
My hope with Mounjaro was quite simple: to help quieten the constant food noise, reduce junk cravings, and allow me to eat more sensibly so that by summer I might feel more like myself again. I did a lot of research beforehand (perhaps too much), and while most of it was sensible, I also read some very scary stories. As my start date got closer, my anxiety ramped up and I found myself worrying about worst-case scenarios, even though I knew rationally they were very unlikely. I actually delayed starting for a few weeks because of this, and felt quite cross with myself for being so fearful.
On Monday I finally plucked up the courage and took my first injection. I won’t lie – the anxiety hit me almost immediately and I panicked about what I’d done, to the point I needed a friend to come over and sit with me. I think the idea that it’s a weekly injection made me feel trapped in my own head. As the day went on and nothing bad happened, I calmed right down and actually felt proud of myself for facing the fear. By the end of the day I felt relieved and even hopeful.
Day 2 was genuinely good – a bit of mild nausea here and there but nothing dramatic, and for the first time in years I felt calm and in control around food. I was fully intending to carry on. It was only when I checked MyFitnessPal before bed that I realised I’d only eaten around 800 calories, purely because my portions were smaller, not because I’d skipped meals. I didn’t think too much of it and went to sleep.
This morning I woke very early after a strange dream and didn’t feel quite right. I had a light breakfast, went to work (quite a physical job), and then suddenly felt very weak and light-headed and had to lie down. I do understand logically that this was likely due to not eating enough, poor sleep and overdoing it, but it really frightened me and I struggled to shake the feeling. I ended up eating much more out of panic and now I’m sitting here wondering if I’m emotionally cut out for this, even though physically I know what went wrong.
I’m feeling quite embarrassed writing this as I’m very aware how anxious I sound, and I know some people may think I shouldn’t have started if I felt like this – but I really was (and am) desperate to make a change, and I don’t want to give up on myself yet.
I suppose I’m just looking for some reassurance from anyone who’s felt similarly at the beginning. Does it get easier as your body (and mind!) adjusts? Did anyone else struggle with anxiety initially but go on to feel settled? I really want this to work, but at the moment I’m still scared, even though I know those fears aren’t rational.
Thank you so much if you’ve read this far. Kind replies would really mean a lot.

800 calories is low but not dangerously so . Think of the diet Fast 800 that has been out for years and started by Dr Michael Moseley , it's called that for a reason .
If you feel that is too low for you then add a 100 calories more and see how you feel .
If that is still too low try another 100 or so .

I think it's all about finding the sweet spot that works for you . Enough calories to be loosing weight but at a level that suits your lifestyle .
It's also worth remembering the jabs don't melt fat away , they work on the body to not tell you are not hungry so we are eating less so that is the reason we lose weight
All bodies are different , you just have to work out what's right for you .

For example I'm due my 4th jab tomorrow . I weighed myself today and I've only lost one lb this week , when I've had good losses before . I've not eaten any more than the past weeks , I'm not due a period because I've been through an early menopause , it's just what it is .

Welcome @InstantRegret - and don't feel silly for being nervous with your first injection. I was terrified, especially so as I haven't told anyone I'm doing it, so really need to glide through with minimum side effects. So far, so good!

@GhostHQ - a big welcoming hug to you too. I can sympathise with the fear, I keep thinking what if I collapse and nobody knows I'm on it! I've spent the last year struggling to lose weight gained through illness and medical menopause and the last two and a half weeks have been so much easier (although I think I'm still thinking about food & dieting just as much, only a bit more positively this time). I'm still on the lowest dose, I think going up to the next level next month but possibly staying there as I don't want to find myself struggling to eat when I need to (I have a sedentary job, but run ~40 miles a week + gym!). It sounds like you definitely need more calories than you had yesterday, maybe portion up some nuts or dates or other snacks you have between meals if you're struggling to eat enough? In terms of worrying about injecting yourself with something and the consequences, bear in mind this is a well tested drug that's been around for a while, the only new thing about it is using it for weight loss. If we don't lose the weight, there's a chance we'll end up taking all sorts of drugs for the health problems we'll develop as a consequence of obesity etc anyway, I'm hoping this is the only medication I'll need to be on for a while, and that it's relatively short term!

Thanks, well done to you too!

Welcome to the newcomers, I think it’s natural to be a bit nervous.

Keep going to those losing slowly; I was watching a video earlier and it was saying how people often give up at the point when in a week or so they’d start to see the results. Hopefully the jabs will make it easier for most of us to keep going, even if some of us aren’t seeing the results as quickly as we’d like.

I still can’t believe how effective MJ is for me. I’ve said before but I did all this last year, for the same length of time and lost nothing (so gave up). I’m sure I have insulin resistance since peri/ HRT and it’s doing something magical for me.

Depending on your priming method - you may find your golden dose is around 3.33mg (if you draw all the remaining liquid out rather than stopping at 0.6) so a nice stepping stone to 5mg.

I’m planning on injecting whatever amount is remaining in my pen on Saturday for my 5th dose. As I’m also a little worried about the jump from 2.5 to 5 and side effects with it being double what I’m used to.

Welcome @InstantRegret I think it’s completely normal to feel like that. It’s such a big step to take. But well done on administering the jab yourself!

It’s such a fine needle, it’s so easy to jab in and out without realising and you won’t have contaminated yourself so try not to worry!

Side effects - luckily I didn’t get any. Maybe a headache the first time but that could have been stress and anxiety due to the jab 😂 I think others here have varied but writhing 24-48 hours.

Appetite suppression kicked in for me about 36 hours after my first jab.

Welcome @InstantRegret. I'm sure you won't regret this decision. I remember feeling so scared about injecting when I had IVF many years ago, but it definitely gets easier. I know what you mean about feeling sad it has come to this, but at the same time I feel very relieved GLP-1s exist as an option. There have been times in my life when my weight had felt so out of control I couldn't see any way back. Now I feel really positive. I hope you will too.

@GhostHQ Welcome too. I'm sorry this has kickstarted such an anxious reaction in you. I think it's quite normal to become overly conscious and analyse every twinge at the start. Having a wobble after not eating enough must have been scary. But 3 weeks in, I can honestly say it's starting to feel like my new normal. I'm not really thinking about it much at all anymore, definitely nowhere near as much as I was thinking about food before I started it! I feel so much better in myself - more energy, a calmer mind, better sleep and no food noise. I know everyone responds differently, and some on here are sadly having to deal with some pretty unpleasant side effects, but for so many it feels a little bit miraculous. Here's hoping things settle down for you soon.

Can someone tell me about administration of the golden dose, my friend advised me of which needles she had bought, but it’s obvs totally different to a pen? Any tips/advice?

I'm not near yet, just had second jab this week on Tues, have nausea and freezing and may not be eating enough as I can’t stomach it, I took a fybogel this morning and have had a fragile tummy/BM today - feeling a bit grim tbh…

Awww @GhostHQ no need to feel embarrassed, we are all here to support each other.

I can understand that what happened at work really shook you. But you know what caused it and you know what you can do to hopefully prevent it from happening again.

Apologies if I missed it but have you worked out your calories needed for a loss? If you’re using My Fitness Pal, this will be handy to check throughout the day to keep you on track. Ensure you’re prioritising protein if you’re not eating very big meals.

Maybe find some easy snacks that you enjoy to have to hand if you’re wanting/needing to up your calories throughout the day.

It will get easier and better as you continue and we are all here to help.