Faltering halfway - need a kick up the bum!

[threeeggsontoast]

It’s taken me 9 months but I’ve lost 3 stone and 1lb on MJ and feel great. I still have 2.5 stone to go but I feel like I’m in now in the ‘pudgy’ range rather than ‘really fat’ range. Quite a few people have noticed, I’m back in my size 14s and even though I know I need to lose a significant amount more, I’ve faltered since Christmas. I was on 7.5mg and was doing good but then as I lost weight, suddenly developed a lot of nausea. It went on for weeks so at my next dose I dropped to 5mg and since then although I’ve not significantly gained, I’ve toyed back and forth with the same 3lbs…lose it, gain it etc.

I am going back up to 7.5mg again on Thursday and I’ll just have to put up with the nausea but I think that, combined with all the nice comments has led my brain to think that somehow I’m ‘ok’ now and can take my foot off the gas. I guess it shows that messing with your dose can really mix things up!

Has anyone else had a blip midway? I need a kick up the bum. It feels like ‘old me’ is just nipping at my heels, desperate for me to return to my old weight. It’s not going to happen this time

No advice, OP, but just wanted to say you are not alone with a midway slump.

I have lost just over 6.5st, but still have at least 4st left to lose to get a healthy BMI. I am struggling to find my mojo and have pretty much stayed the same since mid December. Interestingly for me, I am a few pounds away from the weight that I have historically got to when I lost weight before, before weight gain began (my weight yo-yos and reflects my mental health), so for me I think there is also a bit of a mental barrier there too. I am also having a bit of a challenging time in work and personal life atm, which isn't helping either as I just want to comfort eat!

I am trying to focus on intermittent fasting and reducing snacking to get me back on track. I am also looking at trying new meals as I have ended up eating the same menus on rotation so I am a bit bored.

Good luck and I hope you get back on track soon!

Yeah, I got stuck for about 6 weeks losing/gaining the same 1.5kg.

Just keep going. Keep an eye on your calories and portion sizes, drink plenty of water, get a few more steps in each day. Small things that will all add up while not really requiring much effort.

You're doing great and you'll get over the blip.

Hopefully my post will be of some help and not too gloomy, I think halfway is the hardest point. All the 'easy wins' in terms of changing habits are gone and the weight loss naturally slows down but you still need the same level of focus on diet and exercise. Plus people start telling you 'Oh you can stop losing weight now', or 'don't you think you've lost enough', even though you might be miles off a healthy bmi at the time. I lost 20 kilos in the first six months (i was very overweight) and then it took me another 12 months to lose the next 12 kilos with plenty of stall periods. I'm at the top of healthy BMI now but have another 6kg to lose to get to my goal weight, which I think will take at least another twelve months even with sticking to a good eating and exercise plan. I did try coming down the doses when the prices went up but I found it difficult so have stuck with 7.5mg, which is the highest dose I have reached so far as it seems to suit me. It is very easy to slip back into old habits for me if I get stressed so I weigh regularly and really try to be mindful of my diet and exercise every day. I find peppermint tea helpful for nausea but usually I'm not drinking enough water if I start to get side effects. Good luck and keep at it! I'm sure you already look and feel a million times better than before.

Thank you, these posts really help. The mistake was in lowering my dose to 5mg as the food noise came back and I started making poor choices again. It definitely shows me that I have more work to do on my mental approach to food. I start 7.5mg again this week and I’ll just have to develop a plan for dealing with the nausea. This is the halfway point in diets where I always start to feel better about myself and then I give up! So this is not going to happen this time!

I'm stuck to, my BMI has been hovering at the 25 something mark for around 3 months. I only need to lose 3kg but they just aren't budging. In reality, I am living as I should if I were trying to maintain in a healthy way without relapsing to old habits. So while this feels long term sustainable, it's not going to lose me those last few kgs. I think Christmas didn't help, now it's my birthday week.

Regarding your dose, can you try 6.25mg for a hopefully happy medium, of 7.5 is too strong but 5 isn't enough?

I recently went up to 7.5 having tried to reduce my dose down, but I should have waited to goal. I did it because I wanted to be off by a big trip, but I wasn't ready

You probably are ok now, but are you good with ok. Or do you prefer great. This is your time, you have the tools to do it. We are the lucky ones. So, go for great. And then maintain.

I really like that thought - thank you!
This is the point I would normally think I was ok…I’m curvy but not ‘fat’ and I feel comfortable in my own skin. But as I know from past experience, at this point it very quickly goes back on, so yes you’re right. I have the tools and don’t need to go back into horrible shakes/soups (as I have done in the past). I’m due to jab on Thursday but have my increased pen of 7.5mg in the fridge so I might take it early on weds and get myself back on the right track again!

Honestly go for it. Everyone has that moment of falter. My initial goal was bmi 23. My end goal was bmi 20, as I feel the best and look the best at this weight. I simply stopped when I thought this is the perfect weight for me. And I’ve been maintaining for best part of a year on a low dose.

im delighted with it, most days im still startled by my own appearance, and its wonderful to know that whatever I buy it will fit me, im a size 8 now. And I love the fact I’m so much healthier, I can run, lift etc and am so much stronger.

its your time now. You get to decide. You get to have the body you wish. So go get it.

I’ve lost seven stone on WLI and in all honesty I did have a few blips along the way.

WLI took a very long time to be effective for me so that’s no surprise but I had it happen even when they were having an effect.

Of the two biggest blips, the first one a stomach bug kick started the loss again. I can’t recommend this as a plan of action though ut was grim!

The second time we went away and did loads more activity than usual and not only did I lose as a result but it did seem to kick start it again even when I went back to more normal activity levels when we got home.

All the way through I had times of more and less loss. Traditionally I just don’t lose weight the week before my period and I’ve just tried to start to see it as part of an overall journey and on those weeks, stick to the plan but actually weigh myself a little less so I don’t become dispirited.

But that’s just what works for me.

You’ve got this. Think of where you’ll be in summer with summer clothes!

I couldn’t hack 7.5mg in one go (or 5mg either for that matter) due to nausea so I started splitting it and doing 3.75mg twice a week and had no nausea that way. I still had good appetite suppression and reached my original goal of 10 stone in November. Now I’m 9 stone and have been doing 3.75mg a week for maintenance, about to try going down to 2.5mg

Just about every “group” on here that is over 5 months old is full of people that have had plateaux or blips over the last month or so. It’s hard, the weather is crap, there was Xmas etc. We need a huge communal kick start!

I’m halfway too and haven’t lost more than 1kg in the last 6 weeks.

i’ve lost 2.5 stone with another 2 to go.

I’m trying to tell myself I’m giving my face a chance to catch up.

Need to shift something soon - I’m still on 5mg but reluctant to go up to 7.5.

@threeeggsontoast you could consider taking a first dose of 5mg then four doses of 6.25mg from your new 7.5mg pen. That will fully use it with no waste and won't take you over 30 days. If 6.25mg doesn't work for you, being on it for a month might mean you won't suffer the same nausea if you then move up to 7.5mg.

I think this is a fairly common issue.
I have lost about 8 stone and gone from size 24 to 14/16.
I feel ok and not fat anymore just a fairly typical middle age size especially when compared to where I started. Have had lots of very positive comments and life is generally easier.
This is positive and negative because I am not as motivated to lose the last bit so I hover around the same weight.
I need to decide whether this is definitely where I want to stay or get on and make more effort to lose the last bit.
I can’t complain though because mounjaro has already more than fulfilled the promised result percentage wise.

I got on the scales yesterday and had gained 3lbs. I’m having a healthy ‘wind down’ day today where I eat lots of good protein and then I’ll take my 7.5mg jab this evening so it’s starting to kick in properly by tomorrow.

I’ve not lost anything at all in January (and actually gained) but I’m going to be kind to myself as had a massively stressful family situation as well as a bereavement so my routine has been all over the place.

Normally I eat three structured high protein meals a day but last month I’ve been grabbing food on the go and that, increased with more hunger and less suppression has not served me well. Looking forward to getting back on track and to finishing the
job!

This midway point is interesting though - I’ve actually never succeeded past this point before and there’s a strange part of my brain which is a bit scared. Weird! I don’t know what my body will look like or how it will feel to be a normal weight - it’s been a lifetime struggle of excess weight ever since I was 12 years old (I’m now 50). Psychologically I think there’s a reason I always give up at this point. I’m trying to figure out why.