The Saxenda Sisterhood

[Saxendastarter]

Hi all,

As the last thread is filling up I thought I'd start a new one so we don't get lost.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/4788207-im-starting-saxenda-this-week

This is the follow up from "I'm starting Saxenda this week" I'm personally journaling my way to a hopefully healthier and happier life. I'm journaling what I'm eating, the weight I'm losing (and gaining) and trying to see the positives outweigh the negatives on a daily basis. I'm joined on this thread and journey by many amazing women who are all very supportive and who are also sharing as much or as little as they like.

I'm finding I'm opening this thread instead of opening the cupboards, the fridge and the food delivery app on my phone and feeling less in my struggles and frustration and writing about my days makes me realize my life isn't all bad.

I'm thankful for all the voices in this thread and feel supported by the sisterhood of women from all over facing the same body struggles as I am.

I post some pictures and photos and I really like it when others do too.

If you're new please join us if you want to and let us know how you're getting on with your Saxenda journey. Come here for compliments when you deserve them and commiseration when you need some. You're welcome whatever your age, wherever you are and if you have 1kg or 10 stone to loose.

I've been on Saxenda for 10 weeks and lost 9.2kg (1st 6.2lbs) so far. I started at over 96kg and am now 87 and a bit. I have at least another 20kg to go to be happy with how I look - but knowing that the Saxenda sisterhood is here makes the journey seem less intimidating.

Thanks. I've managed a few sips of pepsi max and it is a bit better.

Yack. Those women are stupid bitches. It says a lot more about them, they are clearly insecure and jealous of your success. You got the job and you got the guy. Fuck them. Well done for being restrained in your response and also in your eating habits. You didn't** give them a reaction. You are so much more than your figure, and FPOTM clearly has excellent taste. I would kill them with kindness if I crossed paths with them again, and then discreetly remove myself from their company. Jealousy doesn't sit well on anyone. Do you follow Mel Robbins? I love her.

www.instagram.com/p/CuzX8fsytKH/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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www.instagram.com/reel/CuAp4aggOdD/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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And with regards to your weight loss @Saxendastarter well done for hitting the 10k mark!

It's not a race to the finish line, and you are clearly moving more, which is an amazing accomplishment.

I saw a dietician today, and it was great. She did reiterate that I need to stop the Coke Zero (I drink a full bottle a day) and talked about how to phase it out. Am struggling a bit with letting go of my treat as I also stopped drinking alcohol in the spring and I don't like coffee... but hey ho. I am clinging to the hope that saxander will quash my cravings, like some of you!

So now I have to write a 7 day diary, with photographic evidence, of everything that touches my lips. I feel that this will be an eye opener for me...

We have our next appointment on 8th August. Once that has been done, we can request permission to proceed with the insurance company. So getting closer...

@Saxendastarter , one last reminder... you come across as a genuinely lovely person. You take pride in your work, share your adventures, are vulnerable and tackling your demons. FPOTM clearly thinks you are a person worth spending time with. C'est des vraies salopes. Their gossip is no true reflection on you!

Hi everyone! I have been reading your posts for the past few months and decided to join you today to hold myself accountable.

Started injections in April (I think) but I cannot say I have been a pretty consistent user 😶Anyway, enough is enough now, so I am back on the horse!

Starting weight 97 kg
Height 163cm
Starting BMI 36.5
Current weight 92.8
Current BMI 34.9
Goal BMI under 30 (never been much under that my entire adult life, so I am fine with just below 30 instead of the "normal" 25 which is too low for me)

Like everyone else I have been having issues with sourcing supply. I have done a consultation and ordered from another pharmacy (I am self-paying and based in the UK), but let's see if it will be approved! I can't get over the fact I used to pay 250 for 5 pens and now it's 250 for 3! Going on holidays next week and I do have 2 pens left to see me over the 2 weeks on low dose, and hope I can find some stock when I am back.

So far the experience has been pretty good for me. I have had no nasty side effects aside from nausea in the afternoons (inject myself first thing in the morning in the abdomen) and feeling full too fast (which is the point!). I did go up to the 3mg dose, but since I had a break I am titrating up again. Currently on 1.2 and a bit and trying to ration my leftover stock 😇

Nice to e-meet you all!

Day 87 ( yesterday)

Breakfast
Coffee with almond milk

Lunch
Oeufs Mimosa
Rosbif Salad
Riz au lait
Coke zéro

Snack
coke zéro

Supper
2 turkey and salad muffins
Coke Zero

Still slightly reeling from the conversation I over heard yesterday. Spoke to FPOTM who told me not to worry and basically quoted @Glorfindels word for word. Getting to the end of this week seems like a marathon. Thankyou @MsLK14 and @justsaxy for your kind words.

@KPops22 I hope the side effects settle - mine were horrible for a few days but did get better.
Welcome @dontwanttostay 4.8kg is a great start. I hope you have a lovely holiday.

Day 88

Breakfast
Coffee

Lunch
Gaspacho
Brown bread muffin w/butter

Snack
coke zéro

Supper
Home made bean burgers / tahini sauce / salad
Coke Zero

So I leave on Saturday for my walk (can't come fast enough - I'm struggling this week).

I'm wondering if I go off Saxenda during the walk.

We're going to be walking for 5/6 hours a day everyday for 2 weeks - all meals are included - lunch is a picnic made by the guide and supper is included in the hotels, I guess breakfast too.

I'm really really fussy ( think like toddler levels of fussy) and specific about what I eat for example I won't eat anything from a tin except for chickpeas, lentils or kidney beans - I don't eat any pork, rabbit, shellfish or preserved meat of any kind, I won't eat tinned fish ( because it comes from a tin and I just can't deal with the small) and the only fresh fish I eat is salmon, cod, sea bass, tuna and monkfish. I'll won't eat things from glass jars either apart from some specific vegetables in plain brine and jam. I won't eat any veg thats been crinkle cut ( fuck knows why - I just can't). I won't eat anything I haven't cooked thats in a sauce. I won't eat anything that has an industrial vinaigrette or mayonnaise . I won't eat anything with crème pat, or anything with cream that looks like it has a stabilizer in it. I won't eat flavored yogurt. No tinned fruit.

So normally in a group, either I cook and eat or don't cook and only pick specific things or have a few people I trust to cook ( strange because I have no problem ordering food off random uber eats ... or getting cake from dubious looking boulangeries).

Every time I've been in a group setting for over 4/5 days I've actually lost weight ( even to the point of being too skinny at certain times) because I'd rather not eat at all than eat things I don't like or don't "trust". I normally go with the vegan options in hospital or planes or trains with set meals and just pick at those.

All of this makes me sort of think that it would be a "waste" especially with supply issues as they are at the moment to take Saxenda whilst on this holiday. I sort of doubt that in the evenings there will be food I want to "pig out" on ( i.e copious amounts of alcohol and cheese ) given that it's "all inclusive". On the other hand, maybe the Saxenda will help with hunger that comes from walking. I don't know. Also thinking that if I stop then I can titrate up again and maybe stop at 2.4 and not 3.

Does anyone have any advice or thoughts ?

Thanks

Do the organizers know about your food preferences, and will they cater for them?

@justsaxy I'm slightly ashamed I'm so picky so I just specified no pork, shellfish or rabbit and no tinned fish or tinned sweetcorn ( I really can't deal with tinned sweetcorn and won't touch anything it's been near!)

Oh no, I am sorry that you have these feelings. It is what it is though, and it is important that you can sustain yourself.

I have no advice re: saxander as I obviously haven't started yet, however, can you take some healthy snacks/nuts or such for sustenance?

Just started this.

Having bad Abdominal pains (I suffer from these anyway and pharmacist advised they would likely worsen)

Does/ did anyone else have abdo pain?

Also I took mine at night just before eating my one meal I eat per day. When does everyone else take theirs?

So excited to finally join you all after watching the threads

@Saxendastarter I understand your concerns- it's a tricky one to navigate. I agree with @justsaxy, and would look at taking some snacks, cereal bars nuts etc. & maybe see if you can stash some bananas or pastries from breakfast for later. I guess you will be able to stock up and get snacks in the villages you pass through too. I have no advice regarding dropping your dosage, but in your circumstances, where you need lots of calories for energy, I would certainty think about dropping the dose to the lowest to enable me to eat more.

@user40643 Sorry, I have no experience of abdominal pains on Saxenda. I do get bloated and then associated discomfort from that. It has got better as my body has got used to the medication.

Welcome @dontwanttostay.

@justsaxy I hope you get there in the end after going through all the faff. It may also be an interesting exercise recording all of your meals.

I've had to navigate a work trip this week, the client dinner, buffet breakfast, working lunch- Saxenda really worked a miracle for me. Didn't drink which helped (TBH was not hungry, so didn't eat much).

I have resigned myself to another week of not losing much, but maintaining and living your life is just as important.

Sending all my best to everyone else.

Hi all,

Welcome @user40643 I didn't have the side effects you mention but maybe you could try taking your dose a bit further away from your meal ? Are you only doing one meal a day ?

Welcome @dontwanttostay We had almost exactly the same staring weight! Long may the no side effects continue for you!

@justsaxy @Glorfindels I'm not worried about not having enough to eat - I'm just thinking that given that there probably won't be a lot I want to eat I can probably cope without Saxenda - as long as I don't carb load on the bread...

Thank you for replying.

I only eat one meal per day (not due to dieting, I've been doing this for years - insomnia)

Do you take it before or after a meal? Might try taking it in the morning.

Been having really bad Abdominal pains all day but determined to soldier on

@user40643 I too would take it further away from your meal, the half life is 13 hours I think so not sure you will get as much benefit if take it around your meal time if that’s only meal, in comparison to taking it 6-12 hours before

I take it around 11pm, I then have same meal at 1-2pm ish and then dinner in evening

Any of you have gallbladder stones? Pretty sure I may have, going to have to go to GP but is annoying and don’t want them to say I have to stop taking it. From what I’ve read saxenda is fine if do have gallbladder stones as it doesn’t cause them it’s the resultant weight loss that makes them quite common but getting increasingly niggling pain on/off now

Day 89

Breakfast
Coffee

Lunch
Burrata Pita with salad
lemon and tarragon polenta
coke zero

Snack
Oats with coconut milk and raspberries

Supper
Pasta with fried breadcrumbs
water

Thank you. I'm gonna try that

Can I ask, have you tried to change your diet much or is it similar?

Hi @user4063, yesterday was not a good day foodwize - and this whole week I've been feeling pretty down and so have been eating a lot more carbs than I usually do. I very rarely eat pasta. I'm generally eating smaller portions and trying to drink less alcohol. I eat out a lot - I'd say I'm in France and so it's cultural! If you go to the first thread (pinned in the first post) and hit show all OPs posts you'll see a lot more of my food diary. However, I'm eating what I want to eat when I want to eat it - I think this is the magic of Saxenda. I'm less hungry and feel full a lot faster. Also I'm snacking a lot less. Keeping a food diary has really helped.

Start of week fourteen and weigh in number 13 here

Weight loss this week : 1,1kg ( 2.4lbs)
Current Weight 86.4kg (13st 8.5lbs)
Total weight lost to date 10.4kg (1st 8.9lbs)

Starting Weight 96.8kg ( 15st 3.4 Ibs)
Goal Weight 70kg (11st)
Time On Saxenda 90 days
Total percentage of weight loss so far 10.74%
Total weight to loose when starting 26.8kg ( 4st3lbs)
Total weight remaining to loose 16.4 kg (2 stone 8.2lbs)
Side effets Tiredness / really really down this week
Goal for end of July 83kg
Dose 3mg - the full dose
Starting BMI 34.3
Current BMI 30.3
Average loss per week on Saxenda 0.79kg (1.75lbs)

And the graphs!

Hi @Sotiredmjmmy, Sorry to hear you're in pain - that's not cool. I don't have gallstones - thank G`d!
I do know that the lovely colleague I've mentioned a few times ( She's actually the person who told me about Saxenda and sent over her very organized zip file of all the studies on it ) finally chose to have a gastric balloon over GLP-1 solutions because of her history of gallstones - she had her gallbladder out a couple of years ago. How much have you lost in how long? Hope you manage to get an appointment.

@Saxendastarter Congratulation's on the loss. You must really be feeling it now. Just think 10kg is equivalent to 24 cans of coke- imagine having that in your rucksack on your walking holiday.

@Sotiredmjmmy I have no experience of gall stones, but I understand they are awful. I hope a trip to the GP will get you some relief.

@user4063 I have my main meal, around 6.30pm(ish), and inject at lunchtime 12.30/1pm but may have a light snack about 4pm. I have changed my diet considerably, as I feel better eating more protein, and less refined carbs & sweet stuff, (along side calorie counting). I have mostly given up alcohol (partly lost interest & also as it is a will power killer). I need to just get a grip on my coffee habit.