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.

Well done @Saxendastarter !

I wrote out a big king reply and lost it.

Am too tired to start again. But I to make you all laugh, this bird bit me today as I walked past it (and not very close, it had to make a real effort to get to my hand!) am telling myself, I am clearly tasty looking...

Shall catch up tomorrow on posts.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Managed to get one pen from chemist 4 u - wouldn’t let me order more

I seem to have plateaued for the last month (yes last month) having lost a stone. I'm going to keep at it though for as long as I can still get the pens. Hopefully it's just a mid-summer glitch and the scales will start sliding down again soon. I don't know why, but it never really seemed to have the same effect on me as others on here. I still can be quite hungry, and don't seem to have any side effects when I over eat/over drink. Oh, and I haven't gone off alcohol. I am feeling the benefit of losing the stone, I feel healthier and I have dropped a trouser size. Well done everybody on your losses.

Hi all,

Im sorry I’m still a bit out of it/ I’m dreading going back to work tomorrow and got home to réalise in horror that even though I had the impression I was eating but hung I put on 1.6kg during my walk wiping out a months progress so I’m down in the dumps.

i hope everyone is doing well and better than I am for the week to come. I’m sure I’ll snap out of it soon by this moment is tough for me.

Thoughts to all.

Hi @Saxendastarter .
first day back blues are horrible at the best of times but you are clearly not feeling great at the moment . Moments like these do pass so I hope you can start to feel more positive soon . All the best for today . Your weight gain is no big deal in the scheme of things but at the moment it will feel that way . Sending a hug .

@Saxendastarter you’d think all the walking would have offset the food and drink, hopefully as it went on quick it will come off quick too.
Reminds me of years ago when we went on an activity holiday when my kids were teenagers. I played badminton, did a daily Pilates class, kayaking, 15/20k steps a day and swam a kilometre and still put on 5 pound. Looking back I probably ate quite a lot more carbs than I ever would now, cos I ate some crusty bread, pizza and pasta during the fortnight. Low not No carbs has to be a lifelong thing for me now I think

Had a hectic last week, but just catching up.

Had loads of work stuff last week, but then a big Birthday Party and day or so away over the weekend. Eaten a lot of rubbish (mainly cake), and missed 2 doses of Saxenda.

I am trying to rationalize it, but it has caused a resurgence of old disordered thoughts about food, as I haven't had access to my 'go to' food or routines. Taking Saxenda stopped me having a massive binge yesterday, for which I am grateful.

@Saxendastarter Sorry to hear that you are feeling the back to work blues. You know what-it is okay to not be feeling it, no matter what, you are ahead of where you started back in April! Also, you could just have some water retention from all the extra exercise you have done over the past fortnight.

@justsaxy I think you have made a new friend there!

Sending everyone best wishes for the week ahead.

The request for Saxenda to be covered by my insurance has been done today!!!!

Now for the 1-4 week wait for it ti be approved...

But I did have a meeting with the dietician today and we went over my week long food diary (which included the fondue and a trip to IKEA to have meatballs...). I was given a few tips (such as to have my coconut yoghurt, flax and chia seeds around 3, rather than in the evening before bed). Also, who knew that ground flax is much more digestible and beneficial than while flax? I did not! (And I eat a lot of flax).

She made a big fuss of me for kicking the Coke Zero habit (two weeks!), which of course made me feel a lot better. I was saddened to learn that this won't impact of my newly discovered insulin resistance, but it will be much better for my health overall.

I am going to continue journaling my food, I found it really helped to make me accountable to myself. So following your lead @Saxendastarter . I hope that you have been kind to yourself today.

I hope that the cake was good @Glorfindels !

The sun has come out here, and so tomorrow I am off to spend the day at the local pool. Can't wait, I love it there.

@Saxendastarter the gain is probably just water weight, if you were eating a bit differently on your holiday, I should think it will drop off fast once you are back to normal 🥰

@Saxendastarter I had my all inclusive weeks holiday in June, when I got home I was a good few lb heavier. I weighed in at my next official weigh in and I was 1.5lb lighter than pre holiday. So really, give it time, don't worry, and you may be in for a surprise in a few days time 😊.

Still getting really bad side effects. Doctor said its to be expected with my chronic illnesses, grr! But I soldier on, I'd rather be ill than continue at my current weight.

Really concerned about where to get some new pens from. It's constantly out of stock. Has anyone had any luck with sourcing it?

@user40463 I was coming on to ask about stock too

Anyone that’s registered with Asda/zava, did they have any at 10 this Tuesday? I missed it as away and last week they didn’t release any so not sure if they were still out completely this Tuesday too?? If so that’s not great….

Hello! Back from holidays with a severe case of the holiday blues 😓

I stepped on my scale after 2 weeks of plenty of food (and perhaps not great choices of food - see Nutella breakfast!), and I am only 0.2 kg heavier. I am sure it is just water weight and a good trip to the toilet, so I will give it a few days and update my weight then. I was using around 1.8 dose per day and I noticed that the quantity of food I needed to feel full was not much, but my issue is that I inject in the morning and it's not effective until lunch time (hence the carby breakfasts). I am quite surprised I didn't gain much weight but I was swimming a lot and walking over 10k steps per day so I must have balanced the CICO somehow.

@Saxendastarter I am really impressed with your trip! I have decided I would like to find something similar to complete in the next year once I reach my first milestone! I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia which has been making my life pretty miserable the last year, but I am determined to not let this rule my life.

I am down to one pen which will last around 10 days and then it seems I am on my own. No stock on any of the online pharmacies; I am checking every single day! I was wondering if I can switch to a pill version (the name of the medication slips my mind now!). I will give it some thought, but please let me know how you are approaching the stock issues...

Have a nice week!

Just popped on to say that this is my current read, and it's fascinating so far!

It's really reiterating that weight management is so much more complex than eating less and moving more... (see second picture that really stood out to me!)

Hi all,

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. Getting back to Paris and the office is very tough in more ways that one. FPOTM had planned on collecting me from compostelle but had to fly to the US for work again - he gets back this weekend. I got back to a lot of metaphoric mess at the office and an enormous backlog of emails to deal with that just really set me off with the news that 3 more collègues have resigned … I had an inmpromtu supper party last night at mine with a couple of collègues who stayed the night and we came to the conclusion that we are all down in the dumps and after months of putting our best feet forward at work we just can’t anymore. As one of the lovely women put it - feeling great in a shit situation is not the sign of a sane mind…. I was really worried I was spiraling down into a depressive phase but she really put it in perspective and that has helped enormously - we all woke up today and mine and had a lovely morning before heading into the office together like some sort of renegade army.

So diet wize etc I’ve decided to get back on the wagon and start trying to journal again - I will not let this work shit fuck up my body and diet anymore that it already has.

Thankyou all for keeping this thread going even though I’ve been pretty quiet it’s been great to be able to turn here and see that I’m not alone in my struggles.

@justsaxy I'm hearing a lot about this book at the moment but too lazy to read it. Could you summarise the key points? That pool looks amazing as well.

@Saxendastarter knowing that your colleagues feel exactly the same must be a great comfort. Hope you manage to get your eating back on track now you're back from holiday and have access to your own food/kitchen. Has France been affected by the Saxenda/Ozempic shortages?

I'm still plodding along with the Rybelsus and losing weight very slowly. I only take a half dose to prevent headaches but I prefer to lose very slowly and feel well compared to lose weight more quickly but have awful headaches.

I am only weighing myself every couple of weeks as I know at weekends I overeat massively so if I weighed on a Monday it would be too depressing. One of the best things about losing weight is that I am now wearing my jeans again. When I'm carrying extra weight I avoid them as they're so uncomfortable but I went out in jeans and boots the other night and felt comfortable for the first time in a while.

@Pineapplepansy

Can I ask how your Rybelsus is prescribed? Want to try it if I run out of Saxenda but unsure how. Thank you in advance

@user40463 the same way as Saxenda I think - via an online pharmacy.

Which pharmacy did you use please? As I'm struggling to find it

@Pineapplepansy you can find her on instagram, under glucose goddess.

So the main points so far are, start every meal with vegetables. Even breakfast. Greens preferably, but even carrots and hummus are ok.

Then protein and fats, and then finally carbs. (See photo 1). This order helps with digestion, the sink represents our stomach and digestion.

Then eat a savoury breakfast! (Photo 2)

Eat whole fruits rather than juices or dried fruits. Remember all forms/types of sugar are still essentially, sugar.

That's as far as I have got so far. It's available on audiobook as well, but honestly, it's not a hard read and I do recommend it. It's quite incredible how all of these 'healthy' foods/snacks are marketed, and they are not doing us any favours, in terms of our health.

It has made me reconsider a lot of foods. Nothing is off limits, but just to be aware of what you are eating.

I think glucose goddess also recommends having a bit of apple cider vinegar first of you're going to have anything sugary to counteract the effects a bit? Also going for a walk afterwards.

I was on saxenda for a few months, then came off it and gained back all the weight I lost and a bit more 😞. I'd like to go back on it but can't find any stock.

Hi All
Have hit a bit of a slump this past week. Was really poorly for 2 days after coming back from holiday, and have since been left with a hideous cough and productive chest which means I'm not sleeping well (possibly covid for the third time). I've worked hard on not snacking to lift my energy levels but have still managed to regain 1.5kg so am back at 96kg again.
Am into my eighth week of taking saxenda, am on the full 3.0 dose and as it stands my weightloss has been about 2.5kg. I have to admit I am disappointed, other than fatigue when I first started I've not had any side effects, and I think in my case that means it's just not very effective for me. I dont want to give up just yet as this is the most positive I've ever felt about tackling my obesity, am really hoping I will turn that corner if I just keep on plodding (or have to hold out for wegovy when it finally comes out in the UK).
I'll be down to my last pen this weekend, the order I placed last week with Boots to collect at a priority store cant be fulfilled as they can't get hold of stock, have just placed another order but not feeling confident it'll deliver.
The only good news, and it is really good news to be fair, is that my blood pressure is great and I've dropped one of my medications as it was bringing my numbers down so low I was left feeling faint. Certainly proof for me that diabetes is not the only comorbidity that can improve with the use of these treatments, and if I could afford to and could get hold of ozempic I wouldn't hesitate.

Weekly up-date.

Start Weight: 129.27kg (29.04.2023)
Weight today: 106.39kg
Weekly Loss/gain: -0.54kg (-1.2lb)
Total Loss: 22.88kg (50.4lbs)

Happy to have had a loss this week, as had celebrations all weekend. Even though I didn't have a full food blow out, I didn't eat as carefully as normal.

This week: Aim is a 2lb loss.

Hi. On day 3 Saxenda not much happening at 0.6. I can't really tell I am taking it. I was wondering if I need to up it to 1.2 since it is having no effect. Maybe because I have so much weight to lose.