August 2026 starters

[chocolatecoveredpretzels]

Hello everyone, I'm due to start on MJ in the next few days, and I'm feeling nervous!

I've been above size 20 since I was about 14/15 years old. The highest weight I've ever logged was 134kg, about 14 years ago. I'm currently 117kg. I also have issues with my heart caused by Cushing's, type 2 diabetes and PMOS.

In the past few years, I'm yo-yo'd between 125kg and 110kg three times. I know how to lose weight and can do it... but as soon as work gets busy or stressful, I fail and give up. I also have an issue with binge and secret eating.

I went for my annual diabetic review yesterday and the nurse basically used the whole time telling me about going on MJ, because my BMI is over 40 (well, as of yesterday's weigh in, I'm 39. something) and because of my other health conditions. I didn't have to fight for it, or request it.. they're just giving it to me.

Now I'm doing as much reading/ video watching as I can to clue myself up.

On my on-track days, I eat:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with some flavouring- chilli flakes or marmite or 15g cheddar.

Lunch: Chicken thigh fillet in some kind of seasoning mix, salad made of lettuce, pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, sugarsnaps, carrot. Sometimes 3 cream crackers and a laughing cow triangle as well.

Dinner: Varies- roast chicken dinner/ 5% fat mince spaghetti bolognese with wholewheat pasta/ beef burger without the bun with cheese, salad on half the plate, usually without chips, noodles with chicken and stirfry veg.

Snacks: Usually a portion of berries/ a nectarine/ cherries/ 25g peanuts at 4pm.

How does that sound?

I have a treadmill and run/walk at 6.5/6km/hr pace for 30 mins three times a week. The nurse said I should do some weights for my arms too.

Any recommendations for which day I should inject?

It’s so lovely to read all of your updates. For those struggling with side effects, thank you so much for sharing how you’re feeling and what’s helping.

I’m now back at work and despite the usual start of term tiredness, I feel good. Yesterday, we had our normal Friday night takeaway and I used myfitnesspal plus ChatGPT to make an estimate for calories. I overestimated a bit just in case, but still ended the day on 1660 calories. My smart watch estimates my daily calorie burn at around 2900-3000 on a work day, so I think weekdays just being at school is my cardio, then I’ll do strength training a few times after school, then a proper run and core/ resistance at the weekend.

I’ve checked back since I started this attempt to take control of my life again. Since mid-July, I’ve now lost 7.4kg. I’m coming close to my lowest ever weight in the last twenty years or so!

Raw numbers:
SW: 119.4kg
CW: 112kg

Goal: Really don’t know. Under 110kg. Then under 100kg. Hopefully 70kg eventually.

Wow, @MiaN you really had a rough time of it on Ozempic, poor you!

I’ve been to the gym and I’ve got that all over “I’ve worked hard and my body feels alive and ….. connected” feeling which comes after doing strength work. Super slow leg presses, as I read that that’s the best way to do it for knee stability. I’m also working on being able to stand up from sitting one-legged with arms crossed over chest, so slow muscular effort rather than using momentum. It is HARD! And standing on one leg while moving the other leg around and doing knee lifts - training balance, in other words. I’m protecting those muscles for all they’re worth and building myself a strong, healthy and fabulous future!

I'm sticking with 2.5 for my second pen. What are you all doing? Are you finding you still have suppression on that dose or are you moving up?

I did my 4th jab last night, found it difficult to get the fourth dose out of pen for some reason (new style)

I jab on a Friday, suppression had worn off by then and waiting for new jab to kick in now.

Hope I've done the right thing sticking to 2.5!!

3rd jab today. 4lb off this week. 7lb in total. I know some of this is due to diarrhoea and not eating for 3 days this week.
I've still got good suppression and cannot be off work again this week so I've dropped my dose to 1.25. It will be interesting to see if I keep any suppression.
Taking everyones tips on board for minimising sulphur burps and an upset tum. Very bland food for a few days. Fingers crossed.
It's so motivating to read everyones progress and the support here is great. Well done everyone. We've got this!

Yes I stayed with 2.5mg as I felt I still had suppression and still losing weight. It’s slow but I don’t want to lose weight fast.

Well done, but yucky having a week like that. We've definitely got this and I love coming on here to have a read of other people's experiences and take some of there food suggestions and tips on board.

A lot seem to be having fruit and yoghurt after dinner. I don't think I could eat a dessert after having my main meal. I have that for breakfast, a chicken salad for lunch and then dinner and don't really look for anything after that.

I've lost 10lbs so far, so fairly slow compared to some. I think I'm ok with that though. I'm terrified off hair loss as I've thin hair anyway bit I've always taken Collagen so hoping that and slow losses help pervent that and any lose skin too. Also, I had awful side effects at the beginning so that puts me off a higher dose right now.

I stayed with 2.5 but slightly regretting it after a week of being up and down the scales. Two motivational tools others might like: asking Ai to do a forescast per week if you lose 2lbs a week, so by Christmas I could be 15 stone, by my birthday 12 stone and so on. It helps me because 2lbs is nothing like a huge loss, just a consistent one, and it would still get me there!

The other resource is a website called MyBodyGallery. It's literally just photos of real women at different heights and weights, in clothes and underwear, you can filter by height, weight, body type, dress size etc. Somehow it really helps me to see women with bodies like I have, and then what a difference a stone off would make, or two stone and so on. I also ask Chat GPT to make a full body photo look three stones slimmer and that helps too, but MyBodyGallery seems more real!
Wk 5 completed
SW 20 stone 6lbs
CW 17 stone 7lbs

I'm still on week 2 (third jab Monday) but I think I'll stay with 2.5 again. With the bloating/ sulphur burps I've had this week I don't want to risk anything.

I am finding I'm getting hungry but don't know what I fancy to eat a lot. Has anyone else found that? Yesterday I had porridge/ raspberries/ soy milk/ flaxseed and chia seeds for breakfast. Lunch was one piece of bread made into a sandwich with some butterbean spread and salad leaves. Dinner was one fajita wrap with tempeh, peppers, sour cream and cheese. I was then starving at 10pm but couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat so I had another bowl of porridge with greek style yoghurt stirred in which did the trick and didn't make me ill overnight.

Anyone else finding they are getting genuinely hungry and any tips on what to have when that strikes? Someone recommended a protein shake but I can't stand the thought of it!

Your point about heart rate has just caught my interest. I’m going to check whether mine has changed over the last two weeks.

Completely agree with your point about slow and steady loss and not losing the energy to actually live you life.

Wow that loss is amazing! How are you feeling?

Never heard of the body gallery but I'm going to look it up now as I spend ages scrolling Instagram to try and do the same thing myself!

@CatMonj what collagen do you take please? I think I'm going to have some loose skin after this and have heard collagen may help a little. I'm post menopause so everything is sagging a little more these days but strength workouts definitely help.

I've done the AI thing too. I think 1-1.5lbs per week is realistic for me. I'm interested in the body gallery though so going to look that up now, thanks for the tip

I've tried a lot, but Willpowders is the best for me. No weird flavour. I use a large scoop of Collagen in my coffee along with MCT creamer which curbs appetite and doesn't break a fast if you're doing intermittent fasting (which i was prior to MJ). Also their electrolytes are good, I thought i'd like the watermelon best, but the cherry is 👌 I tried this sample tin to stay of with Willpowders

Yeah I have lost 11lbs since starting Mounjaro. It’s slow but like you I worry about hair loss and saggy skin. I have been taking ancient and braves collagen for about two months and after reading on here I have ordered biotin. Biotin is supposed to improve hair growth. I hope so as my hair has definitely got thinner over the past 6-7 years thanks to perimenopause.

Sounds like we're very much in the same boat or at the same stage @purplepie1. How much do you want to lose?

I stuck with 2.5 for two pens, but I've decided to go up next month as the appetite suppression disappeared. I'm constantly ravenous, however I am still loosing a little weight. I'm just over a stone down since I started the last week of July.

That's really good @Belladog1how much more do you still want to lose?

my first goal is 12 st so have another 1st 4lbs to go and then ideally I would love to be 11 st.

Ideally, I'd love to get down to 11 stone. I started off at 14 stone 9Ib. Today I'm 13 stone 8Ib.

The last time I was 11 stone was about 12yrs ago, when I starved myself to get down to that. As soon as I started eating 'normally' again, I put it all back on again over the course of a few years.

I can't see any changes in my body yet apart from my legs. I swear my legs look slimmer.

@Belladog1we're similar too then, I've 10lbs off, now 13st 9lbs and wanting to get down to ideally 10.7, but would be happy with 11.

We've got this!!

I need to get my arse in gear and move more because before I know it, it'll be winter and cold and wet and that'll be another excuse to add to my list!

@purplepie1snap!!

My resting heart rate has gone up since I started MJ, it’s very noticeable on the 1 year graph on the Apple health app. It’s gone up from 44 to 48, so I’m not going to worry about that! It had previously come down a lot since my peak weight. Though could be to do with fitness rather than weight per se.

@CatMonj I am getting 5mg for my 2nd pen, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take 5mg. If I’ve still got good suppression and the weight loss is still rattling along on 2.5mg, I will stick with that. That means the pen will last longer and I’ve still got the option of increasing dose without waiting for the following pen.

@CatMonj I continued with 2.5mg for month 2. Mainly because I am losing 1-2lb a week which I am happy with. Also I am going abroad for a week so I didn’t want to risk new side effects.

@WombatCowgirl thanks for sharing the tools. I found using AI motivating - I could be just over 12 stone by Christmas if I keep losing 1.5lbs a week - I’ve not been that weight for nearly 20 years!

I’ve had a good week including managing to navigate 2 meals out. I used ChatGPT to get high protein & calorie deficit recommendations and stuck to those. Hopefully in time making the right food choices will become second nature. For now I am still learning.

Hi all - great to read everyone’s updates and hi to a few new people who have joined in the last couple of weeks.

Jab 6 for me today and I am now 3kg down in the 5 weeks. So very slow compared to most but I think in ok with that. I have a long way to go (at least 20kg) and I expect to be on the treatment for a while. I have a script for a 5mg pen for next time, but not sure whether I will jump straight up or use the pen to move slowly ( or stay at 2.5). If I am still plodding along slowly I think I will try to focus on calories a bit more. I can easily have 1800 per day (and that should support a 500g per week loss) but I might attempt to drop it a little if things really slow down.

Happy Sunday to those who are there yet! Fathers Day here in Australia so heading out for lunch.