August 2026 starters (Thread 2!)

[chocolatecoveredpretzels]

Hi everyone and thanks for the bestowed honour of starting the new thread, Puzzled!

It’s so lovely to have all of you along for the ride on here. Thanks for keeping me company! I love reading how things are going for you and being able to ask questions or share things.

Yesterday, I tried on a fleece top I bought last year. It fit me so snugly last year, I looked like a burst sausage in its casing. Now it’s actually loose. My rings are starting to feel a bit loose too- I wear my mum’s engagement and eternity rings and on the cold mornings, they’re starting to slip down my fingers.

I’m down 1.9kg this week and, although I’m still feeling hungry, it’s not an all-consuming hunger that leads to binging. I’ve actually needed to add more food as what I’ve eaten today and yesterday ended up being 1300 calories and 1100 calories. Given that my watch is still estimating approx 3000 calories burned on a typical day at school, I know I need at least 1600 to have enough oomph. Is anyone else finding the same?

I’ll link this thread in the old one so everyone can find their way here.

@CatMonj I have recently taken my fourth dose from my first 5mg pen and found it a big jump from my 2.5mg doses. It's double the dose, after all. Like you, very little suppression on the 2.5 dose at the end. I immediately felt good suppression on the 5mg but also considerable nausea for the first 5 days each week following injection.

I know a lot of people on here have moved up in increments by counting clicks, so you could try this if the 5mg is not agreeing with you. Try it and see!

I have not moved for the last 2 months. I am gutted and don’t know what to do. Yesterday I took the second jab of my first 5mg injection (I was on 2.5mg before then) and it hasn’t moved. I have calculated my TDEE and subtracted 500, I am eating more or less 1200/1300 calories per day but no success. I am at BMI 29.9 and I finding excruciatingly impossible. Thinking about giving up and staying like this forever but at least I will save the money.

@Sunnyskiesa have you tried any approach other than calorie counting? Low carb and/or intermittent fasting, for example. They don’t suit everyone, but they do suit some very well.

Thanks for your reply.
to be honest, I am a scientist and I do not believe in the science behind the intermittent fasting.
I could try low carb, but a calorie is a calorie whatever the food is.

A calorie is a calorie in a bomb calorimeter, but not in the human body. Not all of the energy we ingest is available to the body. The energy cost of digestion varies between macronutrients, and depending on the food matrix. Also, basal metabolic rate is not fixed, it responds to the hormonal milieu, which is profoundly affected by what we eat.

People vary in how responsive they are to macro breakdown, glycemic index, the food matrix and many other things. For some people, changing their macronutrient breakdown makes no difference, but for others the effect can be profound. It was for me - principally in its effect on hunger and cravings.

I’ve posted this before, but worth a look at the section around minute 10 about the difference in response to a high glycaemic versus a high fat meal between obese and lean women.

Of course it’s also possible you are one of the minority who does not respond well to GLP-1’s….. but maybe worth considering other possibilities before giving up altogether.

I think this is the study he’s referring to

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1383202/

Thanks! I will watch the video

@WombatCowgirl what an amazing loss. How are you feeling in yourself apart from the blood pressure issues?

Well done to everyone for sticking with it for it since August. It's so interesting how everyone seems to respond differently.

I'm taking jab 8 tomorrow still at 2.5mg and will continue with that for another two weeks I think and then go up to 3 or 3.75 as my stomach feels sensitive to it still. I don't have huge suppression but I seem to be losing between 0.5-1kg a week which is what I'm aiming for (even if I'd actually like to wake up tomorrow being 12 stone!)

Thanks for all the helpful info @PuzzledObserver and @MiaN I find the podcasts and videos/ articles really interesting.

Will check in tomorrow am with my weigh in as I find this helps keep me accountable!

Right, no messing around this week. 2 tracks from bodypump heavy workout every morning, and no I may try to do it in the evening. if I leave it - it's not happening. 10 to 15 minutes are tiny part of my day and it will improve my mood, my health, my weight loss, my maintenance chances, my posture, my strength and endurance. There is nothing else I could do for just 10 minutes a day to do more for my wellbeing.

If you aren't losing weight you aren't in calorie deficit. I take it you have checked your bloods with your doctor to confirm no medical reasons.

Else - are you counting correctly, weighting and measuring without much estimations.
How active you are? Could you add little more activity, even if it's just dancing around the kitchen?
Even with the meds, the only way you actually lose weight is the reduced calorie intake - do you find any food noise suppression and changes outside the weight?
You probably not going to like what my thoughts are but I think with that little calories, unless you don't walk much and you are also very petit if you are not loosing weight, and it's not thyroid issues - you are not counting correctly.

I would check the weighing and measuring and be very honest with my calorie counting and go up another dose if side effects permit. If no result, either on food noise or weight I will consider something else. My gp set me 5% weight loss target for 3 months and said he won't prescribe again if I don't lose that.

5% in 3 months is a/an extra good incentive. I have to admit this pleases me that GPs are doing this given I had to pay for mine yet was classed as obese.

Weighing in this morning and I'm in shock a little! I'm down to 94.4kg from 96.4kg last week - meaning I'm 0.8kg away from having lost 10% of my starting weight (MJ starting weight, is lost 10kg before that too).

Week 8 jab for me today, still at 2.5mg. Absolutely in shock at having bad a whoosh last week and another this week.

I haven't started exercising yet - apart from running after the kids but I need to build that in.

SW 104.50 kg (16 st 6.4 lbs)
CW 94.45 kg (14 st 12.2 lbs)
Total Lost: 10.05 kg (22.16 lbs / 1 st 8.2 lbs)
Average Weekly Rate: 1.26 kg (2.77 lbs) per week

I am paying for mine too, we don't get it free at all in Ireland. They still have option to say no though - they decide if you are get prescription or not.

I am going to share some thoughts on things that are true for ME without trying to change your views or plans.

Re fasting
It works for many.
Many religions include fast, usually after or before period of celebration.
I am not interested in any debates on the topic, or insist that anything that is true for me, is true for you.

I know myself enough to know that fasting is dangerous advice to me, and that if I didn’t know any better and went for it – it will decrease my chance to sustain the weight loss, it will likely to damage my fragile relationship with eating and food, it is very likely going to lead to binging. I do not want and will not do plans that require me ignoring my body signals of hunger and satiety – if I am hungry, I will eat food that satisfy. And if I am full, I want and I will stop eating. I want to eat to fuel my day, not buckle up and eat for other reasons then needigng to fuel my life. I want to eat when I am hungry, stop when I am full and focus on high satiety food (see satiety per calorie book). I have no interest in any links, videos or debate on the topic – I will ignore them completely as I know for me, it terrible idea. I know for others it works

I will go into calorie is a calorie (no it isn’t!) later but I am not going to do low carb either. In fact boiled potatoes are one of the most satisfying foods there is – and I try to not go under 150g of carbs daily for myself. I try to eat carbs that work for me – fruit, oats, rice, potatoes, but I am not going to take any advice on removing those. Yes, I balance them with protein and lots of vegies, but they are good part of how I eat.

Low carb, just like fasting works for many but I know myself enough, and I am learning based on how I am

The calorie is calorie I will share how I view this later.
But we have to appreciate we are all different and need to learn to be experts in ourselves

Also all resources I have read say keep the protein coming, and one meal with 50 does not make up for hours and hours with none. I try to eat protein every to 4 hours. Unless I feel very full for some reason.

Morning all. Fasting isn't for me either, @MiaN , mostly because I find dieting/counting calories/thinking about food incredibly boring. I don't want to make food any more of a focus in my life than "eat at mealtimes". I'm eating the same sorts of foods that I always have, but with smaller portions and almost no snacks. I've never had disordered eating habits, so this is working for me. I think the mounjaro is making it easier to resist the snacks and definitely easier to stop when full even if there's still food on my plate.

I've got jab #8 tomorrow, and the 4th at 5mg. I've ordered my third pen at a higher dose again: 7.5mg this time. I was in two minds as to whether or not to go up, but eventually figured "why not". I've had almost zero side effects so far, so it's probably fine.

Today I'm going to give blood, will have to remember that when I weigh in tomorrow 😂 One unit is about 500ml, so approx 500g...

I believe it may actually be part of the manufacturer’s recommendations, or even the licence conditions, for continuing beyond 3 months. If you’re not losing weight, it’s not working for you so there is no point continuing.

Morning all.

A few days ago I asked AI how my strength compared to low/average/good, based on the weights I use in a few basic exercises. It came back saying my leg and strength were excellent while my upper body is more low intermediate. Probably because of the weight loss - I needed strong legs and core to carry my old weight around, but that doesn’t make the same demand on the upper body. I’ve retained my lower body strength because I’ve been working out consistently, but haven’t built upper body strength to match it. That is going to change.

So I had it work out a new gym routine for me, and after a few iterations back and forth, I set off to do it this morning. It was quite tough, and a couple of the exercises I couldn’t quite complete the minimum reps. But nearly. And we build from here. Done and dusted in 30 focussed minutes, feeling virtuous!

Got to go now - more later….

Weigh in day today!! I have been feeling quite despondent about the WLI's as my weight really hasn't moved in ages. I have been loitering around the 13 stone 8/9Ib mark for about 6 weeks now.

One thing I have found though, is that I can go on holiday and eat and drink what I like ... and not gain a single pound. I don't lose any, but no gain either.

Anyway - I am going on holiday to Dublin in 2 weeks time, and I have saved up my pennies and I'm staying in a lovely swanky 5 star hotel and I plan on drinking ALL the cocktails offered to me. Therefore, I have decided to stay on the 0.5mg jab for another month as I should have been going up to 0.75mg next Saturday, but by then, with a week to go until my holiday, I couldn't risk ruining another vacation with possible side effects. I really wanted to move up, and I agonised over the decision, but decided to stick.

I have had two holidays this year. The first one was in April in Paris. I fell over on day two and broke my arm. The second holiday was a staycation in August (I'm lucky that I live by the coast), and a month before our holiday I fell over and broke my arm and leg ... so the holiday was spent with me sitting on every bench I could find eating chips and looking at the sea!! I was determined NOT to ruin another holiday this year and I couldn't risk side effects and spending the week sat on the loo.

However, a minor miracle has happened. My partner stayed with me all last week, and when he comes over I generally do eat more and definitely drink more. I have zero appetite suppression at the moment, and to be fair, have only really had it for 2 weeks during this entire journey, and that was right at the start. So last week I ate toasted sarnies, eggs and bacon, drank wine .... and this morning I got on the scales and I had lost weight!!!

But I am glad, as I am now on my own for the next 2 weeks before my holiday, and it has given me a boost. Hopefully I can lose another few pounds before I go away.

Starting weight - 14 stone 6Ibs (although it went as high as 14 stone 9Ibs)
Current weight - 13 stone 6Ibs
Goal weight - an optimistic 10 stone 7Ibs

Since starting dieting at the end of May and then starting Mounjaro at the end of July I have now lost 2 stone!!!

I can’t believe it!

I have already struggled with losing weight and especially in the last few years. Mounjaro certainly helps even though I have stayed on 2.5mg it still prevents me from snacking.

I feel so much better for the weight loss and even though it’s been slow it’s dropped off each month. Gardening is so much more enjoyable and even walking. No aches and pains.

@Belladog1 and @purplepie1 both refer to incredulity or impossibility and I can definitely identify with both of those. I seem to be in a period of uncertainty, confusion and anxiety at the moment, illustrated as follows

The size 16 White Stuff jeans I’ve been wearing last week are definitely loose, almost to the point I could slip them over my hips without undoing them. Emboldened, I did the trouser try-on previously mentioned, including size 14 So denim jeans - which Google tells me are cut to standard sizes whereas White Stuff are cut bigger. The 14’s almost almost fit. So when I put on a pair of M&S 16’s this morning I expected them to be loose, and was toying with the idea of trying on some 14’s in M&S tomorrow. But they are not loose…. they’re not tight, but they’re not loose. They fit perfectly, actually. I’ve lost over a stone, and a pair of jeans I was wearing before this summer fit me perfectly, which makes no sense.

Last night lying in bed, I felt really, uncomfortably full, like I’d overdone it. So I was convinced that this morning I would be up several pounds. Instead of which, I saw the lowest number I’ve seen to date, a smidge under 12 1/2 stone. Very confusing. Although maybe it means that the 2nd 4mg dose yesterday morning had increased my suppression, but I hadn’t been paying attention and ate through it.

And thirdly, I realise that on the trend weight scale I am within a stone and a half of being a healthy weight. And in this morning’s raw scale weight, I am within a stone and a half of my goal, and not much more than a stone away from the top of healthy weight. Give it another week or two, I could be within a stone….. this is exciting, but scary! Can it be real? Keep going, I could be there by Christmas, or early next year. What then? What happens next? What if I carry on losing weight, will I be able to stop myself? Will I get too skinny?

And, despite all this clear progress and the steadily reducing distance between me and my goals, I still look in the mirror and see, one minute, someone who looks perfectly normal, even slim sometimes int the right light…… and the next minute, I see flab and bulges and rolls of flesh.

I’m not expecting anyone to answer this or psychoanalyse me. Just getting it out there, really. The body’s changing, the brain isn’t quite keeping up. And the body is illogical!

@PuzzledObserver isn't that called 'body dismorphia'? I have now lost a stone, and i look in the mirror and see the same fat blob staring back at me. I know I've lost weight as the scales tell me, and my clothes feel looser. Even my bras feel looser (that's a shame actually as i have 10 all the same size), but I still see my reflection as the old blob.

I lost 3 stone by willpower alone approximately 7yrs ago. I remember then feeling great almost instantly. I marvelled at my flatter stomach, found cheek bones, and slimmer legs after just 7Ibs lost. My confidence soared. But this time feels different.

@Belladog1 I’m not sure…. I’ve always thought of body dysmorphia as being a really seriously distorted view, as in someone who is objectively underweight thinking they look fat. After all, I am objectively (by BMI) still overweight. Maybe I’ll do a bit of digging.

Got this from Google….. now I need to go and do some work, but will come back to the subject later.

Hmm…. well, I’m right in that what I’m experiencing isn’t body dysmorphic disorder, it’s a combination of the common mild to moderate body dissatisfaction which most women experience, and the lag between my mental image of myself and the physical reality as I lose weight. That second part will improve over time, once the physical side stabilises and the mental image eventually resets itself.

Then I dug a bit further into what happens to body dissatisfaction as obese people lose weight and attain a normal weight. Guess what? Body dissatisfaction decreases as weight is lost, but never reaches the level of the never-obese, and after a honeymoon period of 12-18 months, then tends to increase again. This is when the reality sets in…. the body, though much improved, is still not perfect. Furthermore, things like loose skin have improved as much as they’re going to, and the reduced-obese person is forced to accept they will always have the stretch marks and wubble. Plus, they retain more weight-focus than the never-obese person, because vigilance is part of what they have to do to keep the weight off.

Felt a bit depressed. So I cheered myself up by ordering some shape wear camis to give me a smoother silhouette….

God, it’s just not straightforward, is it? If only those lifelong effortlessly slim people realised what we go through.

I really relate to that. In my 20s when I lost weight pre kids I felt good about myself despite never getting 'slim' and I enjoyed my body.

I can't imagine ever feeling like that now I'm in my late 30s, everything is already sagging and areas I never used to have a problem with like my thighs, I now can pick apart and have varicose veins and all sorts happening now!

I think if you've never been obese it must be very difficult to understand. Sending love to all in this position - I've been overweight since a young teenager so have never had a 'normal' body

On a completely different note I need some new breakfast ideas. I usually have greek style yoghurt with blackberries and chia seeds or soy milk porridge with berries but I'm getting bored. My ideal breakfast is rounds of toast with peanut butter and Marmite or butter and marmalade!

Im vegan so don't have eggs but I can use tofu to replicate most egg dishes so please do share any ideas!

What sort of portion size are you all able to have?