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This thread has been so inspiring for me. I began my weight loss in August 2023. Before that, I had given up on losing weight at all and decided I was just going to be fat forever.

I'm now down 93 pounds and for the first time since the 1990s am not classified obese! 15 more pounds to reach a goal I never thought I'd see!

Thanks for this inspiration! I hope everyone else who posted is doing well with their plans, too!

Oh, wow!! Go, Sadie! That’s awesome! You’re an inspiration for me!

I’m so glad leafields bumped this. I had my doctor call in a scrip for semaglutide again. I’m giving it another go. My friend had great success with it and I want to try again. Calling the pharmacy tomorrow.

This thread has been so inspiring for me. I began my weight loss in August 2023. Before that, I had given up on losing weight at all and decided I was just going to be fat forever.

I'm now down 93 pounds and for the first time since the 1990s am not classified obese! 15 more pounds to reach a goal I never thought I'd see!

Thanks for this inspiration! I hope everyone else who posted is doing well with their plans, too!

Congrats Sadie Mae! I am still going strong as well, I've got a few pounds to hit my ultimate weight goal (it might be unrealistic tho lol) but I keep smashing through my fitness goals which is most important to me :)

I started semaglutide again on April 19. I only took three doses the last time I tried it and stopped because nothing was happening. (Patience, grasshoppa!)

I always think that the things that work for everyone else somehow won't work for me, so when I got on the scale this morning, I didn't expect to see any movement. I was thrilled to see that I'm down about 4-5 pounds.

Others have said that semaglutide calms the constant food talk in one's head, and that is true for me, too. It's so nice. It's peaceful. I'm really, really liking that aspect. And it's been effortless. I haven't had to think about what I'm eating.

My only side effects so far are occasional mild nausea and heartburn. I'm on the .10 dose, so I know that when it's time to bump it up, I should expect the side effects to ramp up, too.

This is starting to get exciting.

ETA: My insurance covers it because I also have hypertension. It's only $10 month!

[This message edited by SacredSoul33 at 3:30 PM, Monday, May 6th]

Congratulations! That's great to see the scale start to change, but I think the most important part is the freedom from the thoughts.

One thing I've noticed is that, even if the numbers on the scale aren't changing, I can still feel my body change.

Congratulations! That's great to see the scale start to change, but I think the most important part is the freedom from the thoughts.

Thank you! It's really so exciting to feel these changes. It's 1pm here and I haven't eaten yet. I did a program in the past where I learned to pay attention to hunger cues, which was super valuable. I'm not quite hungry yet, and there's no little voice in my head saying, "You should go get those Doritos out of the pantry."

I was talking about semaglutide with a friend last night and she said that she read that it also helps with alcohol abuse. It's fascinating!

I got on the scale this morning, not expecting to see much movement because I've been hitting the cookie dough but it showed that I lost three pounds this week. I was like WHAAAAA? NO WAY. Weighed myself again, and sure enough, I saw a number that I haven't seen in a very long time.

It's been four weeks. I've lost about 7 pounds. Today is the day when I increase from .25mg to .5mg, and when the TikTok experts say is when the magic really starts happening. I'm excited!

[This message edited by SacredSoul33 at 4:28 PM, Friday, May 17th]

I've lost about 7 pounds.

Congratulations!!!

Holy crap, I have learned my lesson about not overeating while on this stuff!

I had linner (lunch/dinner) on Saturday at about 4pm. At 10, even though I wasn't really hungry, I had a little snacky snack of popcorn. Soon after, I had a slight stomachache, then terrible heartburn all night. The next day I felt overfull, mildly nauseated, and just plain icky, and wasn't even remotely hungry until about 5pm.

Note to self: Heed the hunger cues!

Also, someone messed up and I got my first month's supply for $10. I just assumed that was correct. When I got the invoice for $105 for my second month's supply, I called the pharmacy and the rep said, "There's no way you only paid $10." We decided that we'd both just stay mum about it and I'd count myself lucky that I got a break for the first month!

Just my POV...

I have had a relatively healthy diet as far as content goes.
Have tried keto, low-carb, Atkins and all that, but generally my meals have been a balance of meats, chicken, fish, pasta, vegetables and all that. I could probably increase the vegetables at the cost of meat. We might order out or go out two times a month, but generally cook from scratch. We are conscious of preservatives, trans-fats, glucoses and additives and – for example - prefer to buy fresh filleted fish and bread it ourselves rather than buy frozen preprepared.
I think a nutritionist wouldn’t really be too unhappy about what is placed on the table at the Bigger household.

What the use of these drugs has allowed me to do is the following:
Since I experience being full, I am less tempted by chance-offerings. Like I can walk past a cake at the office without taking a slice. If I do then one small slice suffices (like maybe a quarter of the precut slices). I will never be tempted to take another slice.
Since I experience feeling full I could break out of patterns like having a cookie or slice of bread when I come home.
Since I experience feeling full I could evaluate what was behind my need for a snack in the late evenings, and deducting it was habit more than hunger. Thereby breaking the habit.
Since I experience feeling full I realize it might take some minutes before my stomach and brain communicate about it. I therefore pause after finishing my dish before placing more on it.

Mention these things because IMHO the key to long-term success might be to relearn what and how we eat. Us that have dealt with weight issues are sort-of conditioned to think dieting is the only solution. I think (at least in my instance) the problem was portions and frequency. It was more eating too much and too frequently rather than what I ate.

I still have cream in my soup. I still have pasta with meatballs. Only it might be two meatballs instead of five. I might dip a spoon into the ice-cream desert, but not have three scoops. I wont take the candy offered with the bill. I won’t have a cookie later in the evening... Basically I try to have my mind ask my stomach: "Do we need that?" before it answers my temptations with a "no".

Very well said, Bigger.

I've been dieting off and on for my entire adult life - and for at least a couple of my teen years. I know what to do to lose weight. I know what to eat. I know calories and portion sizes and the proper way to exercise. Doing it consistently has always been the problem. And hunger. The difference in hunger on this drug is what gets the job done.

I made panzanella last night, which is a gloriously beautiful and delicious Italian bread salad. (I use Ina Garten's recipe, if anyone wants to try it!) It's my favorite. Usually, I'll eat a big bowl of it and go back for more. I only ate about 3/4 of my first helping and I was satisfied. And kind of sad that I didn't have any more room, but also impressed that it was enough for me.

My H was eating a pint of Haagen Dazs last night, and I had a couple of bites, but didn't feel the need to get my own bowl. It's so nice to not feel guilty, or like I'm sabotaging myself. I feel really good. My gym trainer also taught me a little trick: One bite to say hello, one bite to savor, and one bite to say farewell. That's a lot easier to do when I'm not ravenous!

On 2nd thought, to avoid copyright conflicts, I'm deleting the article. I suggest reading the article in the NY Times about OLP-1 drugs by Johann Hari from a few days ago. I believe anyone can view a few articles before hitting their paywall.

Hari argues for a different, positive view of the drugs.

[This message edited by SI Staff at 5:51 PM, Wednesday, May 22nd]

It's behind a pay wall, unfortunately.

I saw something earlier today that a couple of major food companies will be marketing high protein frozen meals to GLP-1 users because they're starting to notice a drop in sales of their snack foods. Heh heh. They're losing their hold on us and they don't like it!

Also, I was discussing cholesterol numbers with my best friend today, and my triglycerides are very high. When I looked up the reason for it, it tracks. Starchy, high carbs, which have always been my weakness, is what causes high triglycerides. I'm really looking forward to the coming changes.

[This message edited by SacredSoul33 at 9:07 PM, Wednesday, May 22nd]

Hari said essentially what Bigger says. He also argued a couple of other things:

1) We don't shame people who take drugs endlessly for hypertension. We ought not shame people who take drugs to manage weight;

2) more important, IMO, he reports a study in which rats were fed ultra-processed foods. They seemed never to get enough - no feeling of being full. When the u-p foods were taken away, they were very reluctant to go back to 'natural' foods. I hate to blame the food industry for my own obesity, but ... if the shoe fits. OTOH, I eat mainly unprocessed foods, except for cheese and ice cream from Big Business.

This thread is eye-opening. Thanks.

Bump

I have a question for those of you who have taken these kinds of medications and had a large weight loss. When you've obviously had this kind of weight loss, and it's visibly apparent to those close to you, what is helpful (or not helpful) to hear from them. My daughter has lost a lot of weight, and I've avoided making any kind of remarks because I know it's sort of taboo to talk about weight loss, particularly with women who are more prone to body dysphoria issues. I'm not in any means saying my daughter has this, but she does look so much healthier. But if I make some grand remark, such as, "Wow! Your weight loss is so dramatic," then it implies she was too fat to begin with. Which is stupid because why would she otherwise choose to take one of these drugs if she was not overweight. I feel like I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't. I want to be encouraging without being insulting if you get what I mean.

It's rough with mothers and daughters. I think the safest comment is one that doesn't address weight specifically -- "I love that sweater, it looks great on you!" That puts the ball in her court to bring up the weight loss if she wants to.

@BraveSirRobin - completely agree that mother/daughter interactions carry more than other relationships when it comes to body image.

She has made references to the weight loss along the lines of having to buy new clothes, and get rid of stuff that is way too big now. And I think I have shared how certain things look good on her. I just feel like not saying anything is akin to not noticing at all.

I'm just happy that the extra weight is off so that she can become more healthy - I know it can do a number on joints, etc. over time.

I've lost a lot of weight, like a whole person, 150 lbs. I use semiglutide, but I also completely fixed my unhealthy eating and I exercise a lot.

It's not a miracle drug, it's possible to out eat the drug and lose no weight at all. I've seen this happen to many people.

Even taking the drug there is work involved lifestyle changes involved.

I am very proud of myself for what I have accomplished, and I actually love when people notice.

If you are worried about how you say this to your daughter, you can always say how you are proud of how healthy she looks, you can see that she has been working hard!

My daughter has lost quite a bit of weight, I think mostly because she's getting married in a month. She looks great and brags to me about the size she's wearing and how much they've had to take in her wedding dress, so I feel okay complimenting her on how "fit" she looks. Had she not been leading the way, I'd keep quiet, I think.

It's not a miracle drug, it's possible to out eat the drug and lose no weight at all. I've seen this happen to many people.

Amen. I've lost about 18 pounds since April on semaglutide, but I don't exercise much and I have little treats. I know that if I would move more and eat a little better, the scale would move more quickly. I will say that if you try to out-eat the drug, you're going to feel AWFUL, especially on the higher dose.