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?

why do people think 2lbs is slow loss? I think 2 lbs is fantastic rate, I would love to be able to sustain this for few months. It's 17kg by the end of the year. That would bring me so close to healthy BMI - it would be phenomenal result. Imagine 2lbs of butter, that's a lot to ask from a body to get rid of every week and fantastic result. to be honest, even 1.5 is fantastic and great pace. 1lbs is bit on the slower side but I will take that too.

I feel I am using more willpower this week but I also feel this is linked primarily to my period. I guess we will see how weeks go. Either way I am sticking with 2.5, and I am well manage to eat and exercise as I plan to.

I have chosen a perfume I will buy myself the minute I hit healthy BMI

I agree, @MiaN. The recommended rate is UP TO 1% of current body weight per week, 2lb is 1% of 200lb, which is 14st 4. If you currently weigh less than that, then 2lb per week is pushing into the territory where the risk of things like gallstones, excessive muscle loss and hair loss appear. That said, it is common to lose quicker at the beginning because of the reduction in inflammation (and therefore water) - my weekly losses so far have been 1.7, 2.1 and 2.4%, and a grand total of 5% of starting weight. Slightly misleading figures they are from a spreadsheet where I record my dose and weight on jabbing days and I have slipped that by 2 days from the start.

I took my 4th jab today. There is clearly a golden dose in the pen, so that’s next week’s project. On the basis that golden doses are disappearing, I won’t bother with getting hold of any insulin syringes, I’ll just try the brute force method. But if that doesn’t work, I will have my new pen by then. I probably won’t go up to 5mg, though - see previous paragraph, if my weight loss is running above 1% over the previous couple of weeks, I SHOULD not go up a dose.

I have a different week coming up, as on Tuesday I’m heading off for an overnight stay and then spending the day with my mother and sisters. I would ordinarily do a 48 hour fast from this evening till Tuesday evening. But instead I’m going to eat normally tomorrow and then fast until lunch on Wednesday, which is 42 hours. It means DH will only have to fend for himself for one meal rather than two!

i don’t think it is slow over the long term. I said I was happy ?? I feel like that comment was directed at me.

I have 40kg to lose - I know it will take a long time and I am not in a hurry. 17kg would NOT get me anywhere near a healthy BMI.
But at the start of a new journey when my first week was 3 pounds and the next 4 weeks have been 3 pounds in total - it does feel a bit slow. I lost 10 kg in 12 months with Wegovy - I don’t expect fast. At the start it would be nice to see more than 0.5 - 1 lb a week but I happy overall and not in a hurry to move up. Honestly I am more upset that my rheumatoid arthritis isn’t responding as it did with Wegovy.

onwards we go however :).

I'm looking forward (but also nervous) to going up to 0.5. I haven't lost a single pound over the last few weeks. I haven't gained anything, but no loss either.

I have a holiday booked for the end of October, so I'm hoping any side effects from going up a dose will have subsidised by then. I'm due to take the increased dose in 2 weeks time.

@Belladog1do you mean 5mg or did you start lower than u he usual 2.5mg

5mg, but it says 0.25 and 0.5 on the pen

Ahh OK, I've heard a few people talk about 0.5 so just wondered. Thanks for clarifying

I think that is the wegovy values.

I can relate. I didn't mean to to you directly, there have been few comments on people being disappointed. We don't have an idea how long it is going to take, do we - we just have to do our best and try to be patient. I completely get it - I wish it can be quicker

Hope you get positive response very soon.

When i get in a mood for thinking I wish this and I wish that I like to think about this time next year. I will be storming the clothes shopping like lunatic and it will be all me me me - not like now I go out to buy things and come back home with gifts for the family.

No we don’t have any idea how long it will take. After years of dieting the only thing I do know is that it is a complex process affected by many factors.

I think the purpose of these threads is to support each others journeys whatever they look like and not impose a “well I would be perfectly happy with that outcome” even though we may quietly think that sometimes.

I love your ideas of having a special perfume in mind when you get to goal. Clothes are nice - I do buy too many for myself - but a lovely perfume is special.

i personally want to mix up my skincare so plan to purchase a new product of the range I would like each time I hit a mini milestone :).

Best wishes to us all.

I’m also quite nervous about whether to go up to 5mg this time or not.

i don’t have loads of weight to lose overall BUT I think I’m about to be diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and it is a bit tricky for me to lose. I think I might have only lost a pound this week.

I really want to get some proper consistency which is the thing I’ve always lacked with my eating.

Hi everyone. I hope you’ve all had a great weekend!

I did my 5th injection today, and have gone straight to 5mg for my second pen to see how I react. It was much harder to press the plunger on this pen, weirdly, and I could feel it going into me much more, despite taking it from the fridge 20 mins before.

On 2.5, I sometimes had diarrhea/ loose stomach on the second day, so I’m hoping tomorrow will be okay at work.

I’ll let you guys know if any side effects come up!

I’m on week 3 of 2.5 so last injection from first pen this Thurs. I’m leaning towards another 4 weeks at 2.5 - suppression/satiety still good, although not as strong as first two weeks. I think if I’m another 2lb off in week 3 then the lower dose is still effective and I should stick with it, but I’m also impatient to lose a bit more a bit quicker, and I feel fine on a fairly drastically reduced daily calorie intake.

Grateful for any insight x

Order 5, continue to do 2.5 by counting clicks while the suppression is good. The medication impacts the brain so we eat less, and the less calories intake causes the weight loss. You are having great calorie reduction so keep it up

I will count clicks but if suppression goes I can start 5 when ready.

I have broken another mini milestone - under 90kg. Next milestone is to get out of obesity BMI, about 4kg to go. I would love it to be this month but with well gone and well away it is likely to be October. After having few moody days this feels motivating

Weigh in day today - only 0.8lbs loss this week.

11lbs off since starting MJ.
SW 14st
CW 13st 3 lbs
GW 12 st
As I mentioned before I started dieting before Mounjaro and have now lost a total of 1 st 7lbs.

Forgot to add that I have now lost 10% of my starting weight.

tried slimming world a few years ago and didn’t get anywhere close to this.

Weigh day for me today - down 1.8kg

• Starting Weight: 104.5 kg (16 st 6.4 lbs / 230.4 lbs) — BMI: 36.1
• Current Weight: 98.6 kg (15 st 7.4 lbs / 217.4 lbs) — BMI: 34.0
• Goal Weight: 76.2 kg (12 st 0 lbs / 168.0 lbs) — BMI: 26.3

I'm sure most of that's water weight but I'll take it for week 2. I've ordered another pen of 2.5mg as I don't want it to go too quickly and I've been struggling with those sulpher burps etc.

So good to see everyone’s progress on this thread. It’s jab 5 for me today and I’ve gone up to 5mg: I’ve had no suppression for a couple of weeks and no weight loss, but have maintained the 7lb loss from the first 2 weeks. Hoping I continue with virtually no side effects: going to London for a meeting today so really hoping nothing unexpected happens!

This thread is so good for helping me manage my expectations. I’m really impatient now I’ve started this journey after months of procrastinating but I know I need to go slow and steady.

I’m on the subscription plan with Curely and payment for my 2nd pen has been taken today. It was going to default to another 2.5mg, but I had changed it to 5mg as I know I can always take half if I don’t want to go up.

I had 3 emails from them in quick succession: your order is accepted, please do this clinical review so we can check your treatment is still safe and effective, and your order is approved. So they approved my order before I’d even answered the questions in the clinical review, never mind them reading them!

One of the questions was about eating , are you eating 3 balanced meals per day. I replied honestly that I am eating 2 meals per day as I do intermittent fasting, and that they are varied and nutrient rich. Let’s see what they make of that. I confess I did not mention the longer fasts. I have however bought a book on Kindle which is all about combing fasting with GLP-1’s. Plus another one about GLP-1’s called Weight Less, which I think was mentioned on here.

I think I may just possibly be starting to see a difference in the mirror. Pretty sure I can feel a difference around my ribs/midriff area. But the tape measure keeps on changing its mind about whether my waist is above or below 85cm, and the scale is ambivalent about whether I’m just under or just over 13st. But hey, I’ve been bobbling around between 13-5 and 14 stone for the past 6 months, and was 13-8.5 on the day I took the first jab, so I’ll take it.

Just taken jab 4 and I'm down 5kg. I'm still going up to 5mg next week though because I'm not really noticing so much appetite suppression any more and I've had to keep reminding myself not to eat.

I think DH might give up because the side effects have been way worse for him and bothering him. And he only has 2st to lose so can probably do that normally.

Here’s the reply I got from Curely….. feels a little bit AI to me, but who knows. Main thing is they are happy for me to carry on.

“Your current weight of 13 st 2 lbs has been noted. It’s great to hear you’re feeling well since starting treatment and that your appetite has reduced while you’re still feeling appropriately hungry at mealtimes.

We’re pleased that your energy levels are mostly good, you’re maintaining your usual exercise routine, and you’ve had no problems with your injections while continuing to rotate your injection sites.

We’ve noted the loose stools you experienced after your first two injections. As these have now resolved, this is reassuring and is a common temporary side effect when starting treatment.

It’s also excellent that you’re maintaining your preferred intermittent fasting routine with two varied, nutrient-dense meals each day. The reduction in the “little extras” after meals is a positive sign that the medication is helping with appetite control.

Please continue your current routine — you’re doing really well.”

Isnt the pen supposed to be "used" only for 30 days according to the patient information leaflet? Also, won't the pharmacy sell you a new medicine if it is more than 4 weeks apart from the previous one?

Yes, patient leaflet says discard 30 days after opening. You can still do 5 doses within that, if you think about it (days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28). Many patients choose to use a pen for longer than that. At their own risk, of course.

Some providers will allow you to stretch it longer than 4 weeks, or pause. I guess you would have to experiment with what your provider will allow. Some people allow themselves to use up a stock, and then use it up when titrating down before stopping.

I seriously can't wait to go up to the next dose as my appetite suppression is non existent and hasn't been for a couple of weeks now. It's worrying though. Will I go up a dose, suppression comes back .... but literally goes again after a month, so up you go again?