100 percent agree. As a dedicated exerciser and someone who eats mostly well, I was killing myself to shed the weight I was putting on throughout perimenopause, and it wasn’t working at all. Zepbound worked for me, though not very quickly. It took me just under a year to lose 45 lbs. That’s just under 1 lb a week. My weight gain was very stubborn. I don’t care what people say, this drug is helping me improve and maintain my health and I’ll take it happily, just as I do drugs to manage my blood pressure and cholesterol (which I still need even at a healthy weight. Genetics are also stubborn) 
7 Likes
I also ate a clean diet, hiked a lot and went to the gym 4 x per week and I just couldn’t lose any weight. I have found taking Zepbound very freeing as I no longer have to think about food or calories and battle hunger. I’ve used it for a little over 2 years and have been normal weight for 18 months. I now only use it every 4-5 weeks to maintain my current weight. I feel great and the healthiest I’ve ever felt and I’m late 50’s.
But for me it has other huge benefits. I used to have migraines every week, now I only have occasional headaches between week 3-4 post dose. Several years ago I had a rheumatology consult due to joint pain and a very high CRP level, my joint pain has now mostly gone, again I start feeling my ankles and knees hurting between week 3 and 4. And within 1 day of taking the dose the pain is gone. I’m not sure how these meds treat body inflammation but for me it’s been life changing.
3 Likes
Just curious as I’m following this thread since I’d love to do this but hesitant to take another lifelong drug. How does it affect you cooking meals every day when you don’t want to eat. I’m thinking of a husband here who can’t make toast.
1 Like
I’ll answer this.
Currently my H (who doesn’t cook) is also taking a weight loss drug, so fortunately he’s not hungry either, and is fine with me only cooking a little bit.
But in the past when I was on a different weight loss drug, and my H wasn’t, I started out trying to make him dinners, but found that I ended up eating even if I wasn’t hungry because it smelled/looked good. So I told him in order to be successful in my weight loss, I couldn’t cook just for him anymore.
Since he doesn’t cook, and didn’t want to learn, he purchased a bunch of frozen meals. He still gets frozen meals to take to work for lunch. He likes the ones from ModifyHealth. And he has learned to cook a few things - he CAN make toast, and a grilled cheese sandwich. I recently taught him how to heat up his Impossible Burgers in the Air Fryer. And he’s learned to make scrambled eggs and fried eggs (although last time he made them he burned them).
2 Likes
I have to cook - in addition to my husband (who can’t cook) I’ve got a HS senior athlete boy at home. So I have to COOK, because that boy eats a lot. I mean, really only dinner, as breakfast and lunch are all individual things. But what I try to do is just put less on my plate for dinner. Sometimes I do fine with that, sometimes not. Sometimes I’m better at “hearing” that I’m full part way through dinner so I leave food on my plate. And then sometimes I’m not feeling great and my husband offers to “handle dinner” so I don’t have to, which he does by going to chick-fil-a and bringing me home a sandwich, fries, and peppermint milk shake and I eat too much of it and then feel kind of sick for a while. (I did manage to stop eating the fries before finishing them, but still… it was more food than I’ve eaten at once in a while.)
1 Like
LOL- I remember having a teen boy in the house. One night he actually came downstairs and asked, “Did we already have dinner? I’m hungry”. So much for my memorable meals.
3 Likes
Re: hungry high school boys
Was it necessary to shop for food daily because any food intended to be used for meals in the following days would get eaten before then?
We once finished dinner, boy had a laden plate and ate the whole thing. I asked if he wanted anymore and he announced no, he was full. It was pot roast with carrots and potatoes and beans (because yes, my boys eat so much that I throw two cans of kidney beans in the slow cooker with the pot roast just to give them more to eat) and there were leftovers that were supposed to be my lunch the next day. I had JUST finished cleaning up the leftovers and getting them packaged when the boy came back down the stairs and asked if I could get him something to eat, he was hungry. HE HADN’T EVEN BEEN GONE FOR 15 MINUTES.
and @ucbalumnus - our fridge was ridiculous when both boys were home (two athletes, double the food fun!) I could only shop on Sunday, so Sunday afternoon I’d have the main fridge packed, no room in fridge or freezer, and basement fridge had overflow. BUt Saturday you’d open the fridge and find like ketchup and butter and nothing else. Anything vaguely “snack” like would disappear quickly unless it was hidden in the basement fridge, from which I’d resupply the main fridge during the week. While older boy was rowing crew he needed to consume at least 6000 calories a day to maintain his weight… this makes weight loss challenging for the mom who is putting all that food out for meals or keeping it in the house for the boy…
1 Like
While H is on Ozempic and has lost some weight, he hasn’t really changed his eating habits or the amount of food. Eating together has always been a very high priority for him, and he has gradually become accustomed to me eating something different. (I typically cook now; he or S2 used to do it almost exclusively). With Mounjaro, I seldom even have an appetite, and I know from previous weight loss efforts that I need to make lunch my main meal. A small salad with some nuts tossed in is as much as I want for dinner now.
So…while we’re sitting there together having dinner and watching TV, I bring down some craft stuff. Keeping my hands busy making fabric twine really works – I won’t eat and I won’t let food get on my work. Other times I’ll do stuff on my phone. When he starts eating his desserts, I get up an do other things. I just don’t need to see him eating that stuff. I have decent willpower, but it also just makes me angry that he won’t take care of himself.
2 Likes
I can’t really answer your question as my husband and I have very different work schedules ( he gets home at 5 and I get home at 8) . So we’ve never cooked for each other as a routine. It would be hard as often I wonder around the kitchen and nothing looks or sounds good.
1 Like
My parents had THREE high school boy teens, 2 girl teens (and we could eat our fair share too) and an extra 10 year old boy for good measure. They ate cereal in mixing bowls, 2 pounds of pasta at a dinner (with sauce, cheese, bread). My father shopped on Saturdays and my mother shopped on sundays to get all the ‘extra’ things we needed like TP and dog food and, well, food! I think we went through 4-6 gallons of milk per week.
But I’m still finding it hard to not eat even if I’m not hungry on Ozempic, mostly from boredom. I feel like if it is 5 pm, it’s time for dinner. I’m much better about not eating in the morning. If I’m out doing stuff all day, I don’t need to stop for fast food like I would in the past. I was gone today from 815 til 1, and I wasn’t hungry.
When I had my 4th child at age 36 my metabolism changed overnight. I had an 8 lb baby and left the hospital only 5 lbs lighter. I was never lower. My weight only went up no matter what I did. Wegovy is finally helping me lose some. It’s been emphasized to me that I must try to get 95g of protein a day and exercise so I don’t lose too much muscle, which we do as we age anyhow. It’s hard to do that if you don’t eat meals. Even then I end up with a protein shake in the afternoon to get there.
3 Likes
In case you have not seen the protein thread -
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/protein-powders-additives/
1 Like
Thanks! I had not. Some good ideas.
1 Like
Well, had to get weighed today at the doctors office (I went in because I’ve been coughing for 11 days - it looks like I have RSV).
I don’t own a scale, so while I knew I had lost some weight didn’t know how much. Since I started meds in July I’ve lost 27 pounds. So a good start!
14 Likes
Been coughing for two weeks, pretty sure it’s RSV also. So tired of not sleeping!
Good for you for not weighing. I’ve been an obsessive weigher for many years, first thing every morning. Because back when I didn’t own one, I didn’t know when weight was creeping up.
I’ve been on since early August. I think about 30 pounds down (got the prescription filled unexpectedly, so I hadn’t noted exact starting weight).
Just moved up to 5 last week and am very glad because 2.5 was weakening but man, I feel the suppression strongly now!
[Edit. “Good for you” wasn’t meant to sound sarcastic, just in case it came across that way ]
1 Like
I haven’t been having the same results. I’ve been on lower doses since July because of insurance and am still bouncing around a 10-12 lb loss. Due to go up to the next level Monday. There is one higher after that. I see the doc next week to go over it.
1 Like
I wanted to mention a book I have found helpful. My blood sugar has been difficult to control and I couldn’t tolerate Metformin, so my doctor started me on Ozempic. I haven’t lost any weight but my blood sugar is stable. I have struggled with some of the side effects and while I am still working my way through the book, there are some helpful tips in managing the side effects, diet and exercise (something my doctor wasn’t real helpful with!).
https://www.amazon.com/Ozempic-Revolution-Doctors-Success-Yourself/dp/0063417006
1 Like
Well, my doctor prescribed a weight loss medicine. I was excited to try it…except none of those medicines are covered by my insurance, and it’s $1,000 out of pocket. Forget it…I’ll do it the old fashion way.
One of my kids gained a lot of weight on a medication. Despite exercise and healthy eating she kept putting on more weight. She asked for Ozempic but the Dr wasn’t going for it. She did come off the one medication annd upped another and they gave her metformin. It’s helped and she is slowly losing. What I don’t like is it has zapped her appetite.
3 Likes