BMI under 27 - Off Label/less to lose

[ritala]

I am mid 40’s and just can’t lose the weight like I used to. I’m fed up of losing and gaming the same two pounds. I’m about a stone and a half more than my happy weight (where I would be approx bmi 23).

I have tried to find a thread for people who have been approved ‘off label’ Wegovy or Mounjaro with less to lose but couldn’t find one, so thought I’d start here. I have a BMI higher than 25 but less than 27 with a couple extra health conditions. Hoping to start after Easter. I’d like to stay with a very low dose if possible. Half a pound a week loss would be good for me. I really want to avoided side effects.

Anyone who is in a similar boat and wants to share experiences or ask questions, please join! X

I have felt quite uncomfortable going out for dinner. I’ve done it about 3 times since being on the jabs.

I now just have 2 starters, half a glass of wine at most and kind of just pick at it. Nothing too heavy so one of the starters will be salad based and one protein based. And lots of water. But I do come home feeling like I’ve eaten an entire tasting menu with wine flight!

I think I’ve found my energy levels to have increased if anything. I think that’s down to reduced inflammation.

But I’m not a runner. I do 3 strength classes and 1 spin class a week, and 10k steps a day walking the dog.

That's good to hear - thank you 🙏

Thank you @Beachforever
I managed a lunch out fine by eating the protein and only a bit of carbs. Hopefully I won’t feel too full and uncomfortable afterwards.

@maybethisway I go to CrossFit 3-4 times a week and have found my strength and endurance has reduced a bit since starting WLI. I workout in the morning and occasionally feel a bit of nausea if I’m pushing hard, probably because my stomach is empty. However once I reach my goal weight and increase my calories again I should be fine. Also now I have lost fat, I am finding the exercises that rely on strength to body weight easier. I also started running again a bit and the weight loss definitely helps there as well (I stopped running a few years ago mostly because I felt too heavy compared to when I used to run at my goal weight). I think it probably comes down to how badly you have SE, mine have been minimal.

First injection done! Thanks for all the advice.

had mushroom and lentil ragu with wholewheat pasta for dinner

I’m nearly 4 weeks into the jabs and am so so pleased with the results.

I’ve lost over 3kg and gone from BMI 25.4 to 24.2. This is stubborn weight that I’ve struggled to lose for years but it’s felt pretty effortless. I’ve eaten small amounts through the day and that seems to have kept side effects to a minimum for me.

My skin is better. I’ve still got energy for the exercise I enjoy (walking and weight lifting).

How do you all decide on what your end weight goal is? I’m thinking carefully about maintenance.

Done my first jab! Eeeeek

Just wanted to update! I'm on Wegovy 0.25mg and have decided to stay at that level for my next pen. My starting weight was 70.3kg at 5 ft 3 inches - BMI 27. I've just done my 4th injection so 3 weeks total so far. The appetite suppression was really strong for the first half of the first week - I had some mild nausea and one slight dizzy spell on the first day but not sure if some of that was to do with being so anxious about starting! I did struggle to eat at times especially over the first three days and when I weighed myself at the end of the first week I had lost quite a bit of weight - over 4.5kg and was a bit worried! I'm not sure what it was but weight was back up to 68.5kg at the end of the second week which then made me feel back in the weight loss/weight back on cycle that I have been in for the past 2 years. Now seems to be back on the decrease again at the end of the 3rd week. 67.6kg this morning and BMI down to 26. The appetite suppression is no where near as strong as on the first week but it is definitely always there, making it easy to say no to things and only eat when I really feel hungry. Hoping it continues like that to my next pen! Side effects have been minimal so far - I have felt more nauseous this past week - especially in the mornings before I have eaten but it has cleared up by eating small amounts relatively more frequently. Have also definitely felt slowed digestion with some constipation and have been dealing with that with some meds but also eating Kiwi and drinking lots of water!

Good luck to all those just starting!

Day 9. Very mild SE, nausea.
Food wise I'm still eating much as normal though not wanting extras and feeling very full. Minimal alcohol.
Took second jab a day early as going away and no problem. Will now stick to Monday as that suits upcoming holiday. Will miss 2 jabs while away and resume on .25 when I return.

Your post has got me thinking ahead.

What is everyone planning to do re holidays? I’m going away for 2 weeks in July and not sure what to do.

Apparently you can take the jabs/needles etc in hand luggage with your prescription. However, family don’t know I’m doing this. No one does, only you guys! And I don’t really want to be stood at Heathrow with them going through my bag by the scanner and having to produce prescription and have a debate. And god know what it would be like the other end in a foreign country!

That was my reasoning @Beachforever, no one knows. You can keep the jab for 6 weeks once started so I'm taking one the day before we go, missing 2, then start again on return for 3 more jabs.

I had it all worked out that I would use jab 4 from first pen before we went and get new one when got back so didnt need to refrigerate. But I made a mistake a wasted 2nd jab so had to use 3rd instead. Very expensive mistake!

I'm week 4 day 3 and really not feeling suppression. Friend popped in at lunch and brought a pizza and a cake with her. I only had one slice pizza and a small slice of cake but could happily have eaten more. I'm pretty sure I'd wasted some of my jab doing flow tests and getting rid of an air bubble, my new pen has arrived and I wonder if I should top up by 0.1mg or something.

My holiday in June is only a week. My jab is due 2 days before so planning to just do the next one when I get back.

@NinthBestOption I wasn’t really feeling any suppression this week (w4) either. Not helped by my period. Yesterday I actually drove to the shop mid afternoon because I was desperate for a chocolate bar which is something I’d not done since I started!

Got my .5 pen today and click counted .375 so will see how that goes over the next week.

Have you been on the same dose since you started? If so, I’d nudge it up a little.

I didn’t have much suppression last week and when discussing with my provider they said that your body can just get used to it so the effect reduces so recommended that I go up a bit this month.

I’m half way through the week on the slightly increased dose and suppression is back like when I first started.

I did my first jab on Friday morning. Had appetite suppression within a few hours and no side effects so far. Went for a run this morning. Didn’t feel amazing but I’ve been really inconsistent with exercise recently so I wouldn’t necessarily expect to feel great anyway. I’ve noticed I have no desire to drink alcohol, which to be honest was a big part of why I wanted to do this. I’ve got into a rut, drinking too much; not every night and never drunk but enough to make me feel shit and not be able to lose weight. Hoping that a couple of months on the WLI will shed the stubborn baby weight and also break the booze habit. So far I’m feeling positive 🤞

So I’m on holiday at the moment in a hot climate and have felt AWFUL, it’s been a constant battle of trying to keep hydrated to avoid headaches and eat something to stave off nausea but not being hungry. Thankfully it’s a 2 week holiday so I’ve basically just stopped jabbing and feeling normal now so hopefully will have a better second week!

I'm finally in a position to start wegovy, just back from holiday. I know not everyone experiences side effects when starting, but for those that did, do you remember when they kicked in?
I'm keen to get started but I'm back in the office tomorrow and wondering if I should time it with a WFH day or weekend in case I'm unlucky.

@kljdhs877

Oh no, that sounds rough! Did you up your dose in the run up to your holiday in the end?

Hopefully you’re having a better time of it now and can just focus on having a lovely time.

Well I finally decided to just go for it - figured there'll never be a 'good' time to be ill!
I'm also on a bit of a health kick from my holiday which I want to continue. I've no doubt that my calories will be high because I've been eating out , but I was eating well in my meals and not snacking at all in between. Would really like to try and keep that up. My downfalls are sweet snacks to deal with stress, and alcohol in the evenings for the same reason, I'm really hoping wegovy will help me reduce those.

There is some evidence that eating 'badly' in the couple of days before your jab causes issues so maybe a day or two of sensible eating before you jab if you've been eating more on holiday. Up your fibre immediately too.

You're injecting into flesh not a vein, it has to make it to your bloodstream then to your brain then influence the receptors etc so I'd guess a day before any effects and 2-3 before peak effects.

I only got slight nausea and maybe 5 days of disrupted sleep.

Thanks @NinthBestOption , I decided to just go with it last night. I've actually been eating pretty well on holiday; no doubt calories have been high as it was restaurant food, but I was in a tropical country so lots of meat/fish + rice, and lots of fruit. Fingers crossed I'll feel ok tomorrow, though if not I can blame it on jet lag!

So no side effects from .375 on Friday so far so I think I’ll test out the .5 this week.

I’m down to 70.7kg from 74.6kg when I started 5 weeks ago. Nearly halfway to my goal weight of 65kg.

I’m noticing differences in how my clothes fit, most items had become pretty snug and now they just fit, but no real visual difference yet.

Glad to have found this thread which seems to be a judgement- and gatekeeping-free zone.

I started microdosing 1mg three weeks ago with a BMI of 24 through Healand Clinic. My natural BMI throughout my life pre-perimenopause is 21 and I hope to get back to that. The first week I felt like I had strong appetite suppression for 2 days and then it completely wore off, but the effect seems to have got more sustained with time. I am not sure of how much I’ve lost, but my goal was for my trousers to fit comfortably again and not feel tight and that has already happened. I could have wept with joy!

My second goal was less aches and pains/improvement in inflammation/peri symptoms, but I haven’t felt any difference in that regard.

Interestingly MJ has given me much more awareness of the emotional/habit side of eating. The first couple of days I found myself wanting to eat but realising I couldn’t as I was too full. That new awareness of when I’m reaching for food out of habit has helped me through the days when the meds effect is lessened.

I have to say that some of the joy feels gone from life- I have had two G&Ts and didn’t even want to finish the last sip, shocking for me! - so I don’t know if I would want to stay on MJ long term, but so far I’m thrilled with the effectiveness.

Wk 3 day 7. I've never had much suppression but it's definitely quite low now. However I'm sticking to my 1200 cals a day so it's doing what I wanted.

Weight barely moving, fluctuating up and down by about 1lb for last fortnight.

Dont know whether to increase my dose tomorrow, I'm on the jabs to help me adhere to my diet and that's working so no need to increase, but then why isn't my weight moving?

I was considering doing 25 clicks on my new 0.5 pen so it lasts 6 weeks, it'd be about 3.3mg. Might be a sensible half way house..