February 2026 starters

[Crossfitgirl]

Hi all, I have my first pen on the way and as far as I can see there is no starter thread for Feb, so I hope it's ok to make one.
All welcome whether recently started or looking to start this month - I think by the time mine arrives it will probably be February!
Hoping for support, experiences, recommendations, more support and the rest!

I am nearly 40, 2 young kids and full time job, starting on wegovy, with the goal of lowering my cholesterol (and reducing my huge belly).

At least with buying local I don’t have to worry about storing unopened ones. I asked if I still needed to buy every four weeks to maintain an ordering pattern and she said of course not. She said as long as I still had monthly appts for check ups so they knew what I was doing, (with flexibility for holidays obviously) then I could just pop in and pick up my next pen when I actually needed it.

On a completely side note, my lot rarely rummage, they yell for me to come find whatever it is they’re looking for. 9 times out of 10 I look in the fridge and immediately put my hand on what they’ve been looking for, which is staring them in the face! Also no one in my house does fridge clear outs, just me, I’d be thrilled never to have to deal with a hairy courgette ever again. Good luck with your hiding place @RedApplePie

Morning all, thanks for making me laugh about your fridge-finders exploits! Apparently, I “hide” food in our fridge simply to wind my partner and twin teens up 🙄 even to the extent that they call me when I’m on holiday to show them where stuff is!!
I’m feeling really flat about my weight loss at the moment. I’ve lost precisely nada (or might be 2lbs due to scales move to flat floor) in the last 4 weeks. I know I’ve dropped to 2mg but the headaches were so awful at 2.5mg that I was really struggling….

So, pulling up my big girls’ pants today and trying to stay positive. I’m armed with electrolytes, prepared to drink 3 litres a day and some Holland & Barrett inulin powder, (apparently better than psyllium husk for a number of reasons), senna tablets and painkillers and I’m going in. I’m taking 2.5 mg and then next week going to start my long trek up to 5 mg as I need something to shift, preferably some weight!

Morning all,

Just reading through some of the posts and having a laugh about fridge antics! I am a little stumped on this one @RedApplePie. My immediate thought was some sort of metal double-walled flask you could put crushed ice in? If you had just the pen in a sealed bag inside it, you could pack ice around it? Your family wouldn't think anything of you putting ice in a drinking flask and it could be changed regularly without much attention? You like cold water now 😁

I have a 750ml Super Sparrow one that is a really good size with a wide neck to accommodate the pen and ice (from Amazon). It comes with interchangable tops - one is the type you unscrew completely and the other is a sip/straw sports type. The inner straw detaches from the sipping part and if the straw wasn't inside it you'd never know. You could even pretend to sip from the (strawless) sports top 😁

Editing to add that even the 500ml bottle would likely fit the pen and some crushed ice.

Week 13. 13.6 on the scales this morning. I’m wondering if the last 2 weeks are a whoosh and I’ll plateau the next few weeks. I’ve stuck to 0.5 WG because it seems to be working. Running outdoors going well, easily managed 6k and have signed up for a 10k later in the year. Food wise I’ve been sticking to smaller portions of what ever I’ve cooked and having salads or soup for lunch. I even happily ate one square of DH’s fancy dark chocolate without craving another. The butter consumption in our house has plummeted as I’m not spreading it thickly on toast morning, noon and night. Hope everyone else had a good week.

That's a great idea for a hiding place! How would you stop the pen getting wet / frozen though? I guess you could place in a zip seal bag, but I'd be worried ice would potentially freeze it if it was touching. Hmmmm interesting idea anyway! Thinking of this for my next pen haha x

I think it would probably work in a sealed plastic bag, perhaps with the pen wrapped in a bit of bubble wrap or similar to slightly shield it?

I suppose you don't need to pack it with ice, just enough to keep it chilled as it gradually melts? 😆

I can't remember if I've commented on where I keep mine - it's just on the drugs shelf in the fridge. We farm so always have bottles/bags/syringes in one section of the fridge and the vet bags are v similar to pharmacy. Hidden in plain sight. Simple!

Week 12 done! 15.3kg down (2st 6lb). I'm really happy with that, but the weighloss is definitely slowing.

I'm finding that by Thursday (I jab Fridays) I am falling back into bad habits with snacking. So this week I will go up to 5mg. I'm on my first 5mg pen, but click counted 3.75mg for the last 2 weeks. I've still got a loooooong way to go, so didn't want to rush up the doses.

SW 122.7kg (BMI 45.1)
CW 107.4kg (39.4)
GW 60kg? (22)

I'm still in my size 22 jeans, but they are definitely getting loose and they were awfully tight 12 weeks ago! I've achieved over 25% of my weight loss goal, so feels odd to see so little difference yet (paper towel theory).

I've only told my very supportive DH so far, and he says he's noticed the difference. No one else has mentioned anything, which isn't surprising given I'm still in the same clothes!

Bleurgh. I’m back to my miserable Sundays and I only went up from 2.5mg to 3mg, after 12 weeks on 2.5. It’s horrible. I’m in awe of people who could race up the doses every month. I do feel it was time to go up but I’m so glad I didn’t go straight to 5 if 3 is making me feel this bad. I don’t like it psychologically either, it pushes me right back into the bad feelings I had at the beginning about ‘why can’t you just do this yourself, what is WRONG with you that you need to take a drug to eat normally’. Plus I’d almost stopped worrying about major side effects and that switch has been flicked again. Feeling very sorry for myself 🙄

Oh no, @RedApplePie, please don’t feel too down…..
You are doing so well and whilst the weight loss isn’t rapid all the research seems to be that the quicker you lose the weight the quicker it can go back on again. Slow and steady. How about dropping back to 2.6 or 2.75 mg next time round?
I’m only just tolerating 2.5 mg but am going to have to go up a few mgs as the weight loss is really slowing or I’m putting on weight…..

Thanks Egg. I’m giving my head a wobble. Had just forgotten how icky I felt at the beginning. I hate the nausea and fainty feelings, for some reason they make me feel panicky. It’s such a tiny increase, I just wasn’t prepared for it. I even thought on Friday that I was being too cautious and should just go all-in, then thankfully chickened out.

Totally get it. You’ve lost a stone and a half in 3 months and you’re just one of the unlucky ones that gets side effects, nothing more sinister. Can you occupy your mind with something that’ll make you feel good today? I find the old mantra of “busy hands soothe troubled minds” does often work for me. I’m massively declutterring and selling on Vinted as going through some work trauma. It is helping a bit and far easier than eBay.

Yes, good advice. It’s a nice day here, will get out in garden and do some pottering while plugged into audible. Already have a couple of loads of washing out.

After doing really well I’ve messed up and eaten 7 packets of French fries and a treat bag of minstrels today. Ffs. Need it to be just a blip …..

Just put it behind you and get back on the horse. Was there a trigger? Is there anything you can put in place if the trigger occurs again? You’ve got this.

Thank you. I got tired and fed up at work. Nothing really. I need to give my head a wobble.
Tomorrow is a new day.

@Nocameltoeleggingsplease so far I've found MJ to be brilliant in that if I do have an off-day, it doesn't derail the process like every previous weight loss attempt!

I change my units of measurement between kg, stones and pounds all the time to give me positive milestone feedback (please tell me I am not the only one!). So today I am firmly into the 170s at 178 lbs (12stone 10 or 80.7 kg). Next milestone will be a kg based one.

Hope you’re having a better day @Nocameltoeleggingsplease

@RedApplePie I haven’t thought of doing that, that’s a good plan!

Morning all, good technique @RedApplePie might start doing that, hope you’re feeling more positive after the weekend slump?

@Castlebark agree with you @Nocameltoeleggingsplease don’t worry, one night of indulgence in 3 months is comparatively nothing and you really shouldn’t worry.

I am deliberating about staying in 2.5 mg now that I can tolerate it or move up to 2.75 mg as the weight loss has really slowed down to 1.7 lbs in a month. Any thoughts? I am actually off work so can handle the headaches and other side effects better and am getting low about the weight loss especially as off on holiday in 5 weeks.

Mornung all,

How are you feeling today @RedApplePie? In agreement with PP @Nocameltoeleggingsplease, it won't derail anything and the habits we had before starting are not so easy to shake. Some days we self-sabotage a little and don't know why - I know I do it. Hope you're OK.
@TheEgg2 as you're off work perhaps it might be an idea to try the 2.75mg while you don't have any other demands on you? Hopefully you won't feel unwell though. I completely understand the feeling at stalling weight, mine was stuck for a good 4-5 weeks. 5 weeks to go until your holiday is a fair chunk of time for things to move, hang in there!
@Crossfitgirl did you find a good cubby hole for your pen? 🤣

A little update from me - I decided to stick at 1.7mg of WG rather than move to 2.4mg as the suppression at 1.7mg has really kicked in after the second dose of it and I had a couple of stomach upsets I hadn't had before. I figured that my initial goal was my holiday (in 5 days!) and after that I'm quite happy to lose slowly as overall the goal is my future health and trying to prevent diabetes and heart issues (both in family).

I think WG will be a long-term thing for as long as I can afford it. It is absolutely wonderful to be 'free' of always thinking about food and not wanting to binge snack on crap after a few drinks (which was the reason for my rapid weight gain last year). I feel more in control of my own body and cravings and wish I could naturally feel this way. Previously, I have been able to lose weight with strict keto and I know now I'm an 'all or nothing' person. I would lose weight, look and feel great then revert to normal eating and gain it all back and some.

I have lost another 1lb this week and am down to 11st 9lb from my 13st 3lb start weight. My BMI now 27.1. I've lost 1st 8lb so far, and would like to lose around another 20lbs.

One of my colleagues (who knows I'm trying to lose weight but doesn't know I'm on WLI) asked me if I'd lost "more" weight last week. She is the only person to have noticed or at least commented and that was 1 and a half stone off at that point. My DP says she can really tell the difference in me and I have to say that with my holiday only days away, I'm so glad I started as I do feel a lot better about myself.

Just wish I could do it myself! Hence knowing it'll be a long slog in order to change my habits. I know with effort that it can be done.

Vitual high five to all 🙂

Who on here is on WG? I’ve just requested a switch from MJ to WG for my next pen. I’m on 5mg MJ so they’re switching me to 0.5 WG but I won’t start it for a couple of weeks yet as still have 2 more weeks of my current pen.
Just wondering how much weight you’ve lost so far on WG and if you’ve had any side effects?
My journey has been very slow on MJ (1st lost after 14 jabs) and I need to go up a dose but can no longer afford MJ.
Going to try WG for a month or two and if I don’t get on with it I’m going to call it a day on the whole idea and try and do it naturally again 🙃

I am on Wegovy, I've been taking it since the end of January. I've just had my 3rd dose at 1.7mg which has really switched on the appetite suppression for me.

I went from 4x 0.25mg injections to 4x 0.5mg, 4x 1mg and now on injection 3 of 4 x 1.7mg where I am staying for the next pen too.

I have lost 1st 8lbs as of today. I eat up to 1400 cals a day and have around 80-120g protein per day. I use Nutracheck and the GLP-1 setting to keep track of my calories and protein.

I assume you'll follow the titration schedule as above so you will lose weight I'm sure but the real suppression for many comes at the 'therapuetic' doses of 1.7mg and 2.4mg doses as far as I can gather.

Good luck!

Edited to add the side effects for me have been minimal. I had headaches for a good 2 months at the start and some constipation. I am now going daily again and the move to 1.7mg brought 2 episodes of stomach upsets after eating, a few stomach pains and a bit of nausea if I've drunk my protein shake too fast!