Wegovy: Reversing 18 Years Of Slow Growth

[Manny]

I thought I'd start a topic on the Wegovy so I don't hijack Andrew's. 18 years of marriage can make you go a bit softer around the middle. I did the 5:2 diet, which works but makes me miserable and irritable. I reduced my intake of wine, bread and anything with seed oils - and that did exactly 0 in terms of weight. So I wanted to give the Wegovy a go. Especially having seen Andrew, who lost quite a bit on it.

Here's where we started:

Free GP appointments are rather hard to get in the UK nowadays. So 3 months ago I decided to have a private all round check-up. The full hit includes a treadmill with heart monitors, etc. Got a great consultant and in the broader context of health, we talked about weight. I raised the subject of Ozempic. He made some suggestions like consuming less wine, but said he could prescribe it, and said let's look at my blood in 3 months.

So I had that appointment this week, a few readings he wanted to see better were, and the rest he decided would get better with less weight. So he coughed up a private prescription for Wegovy (Ozempic). £425 for a three-month supply.

So like Andrew, there may be less of me in the coming months. 

I started about a week ago.

It starts at 0.5 a week for a month, then 1.0, then 1.75. We'll review it in three months.

He mentioned the tablets but said injectable Wegovy was better. It's easy enough, same as a T1D pen.

I did it last night, today I didn't even think about lunch. But later in the afternoon, I was feeling a bit foggy as I'd eaten nothing for about 9 hours. So I ate something, not because I was hungry, but because I recognised I needed to.

I've had my second injection over the weekend.

The main thing I have noticed is you don't feel hungry. Or at least, not in the same way. So there's no snacking. You eat because it's mealtime. If you skip lunch, you'll probably not notice.

Andrew talked about side effects in the past. I had a little bit of acid a few times, and the odd headache, but nothing serious, nothing you can't medicate with what you have at home.

The result after one week: somewhere between 1 and 1.5kg gone (2-3 pounds). 

So its promising up to now.

[Manny]

I'm on my third week of the Wegovy now.

Side effects are still minimal if any. The odd headache, a bit of a dry mouth occasionally, a bit of gas. Nothing to speak of.

Weight loss, however, I'm only at around 1.5-2kg still. No movement really after that first week. I think the 0.5mg is a very small dose and it might look up when the dose doubles in a week or so. However, ignoring what the scales say, I'm certainly eating less and I've had to start using a smaller belt. Maybe it's moving around before leaving. 

[andrewfi]

Your starting dose is intended to get you accustomed to the stuff rather than make of you a new man. So, yes, things should start to get more noticeable when you start the higher doses.

Also, this is not about losing huge amounts of weight overnight.

Here's a link to the STEP trial for semaglutide. It is worth reading to understand how the process works and what results you can expect. Being the kind of old coot I am, I benchmarked myself against the participants in this trial so that I knew what to expect and how I was performing.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36216945/

[Wiz]

Manny

All these medicine diets etc......are no good........

When my wife went home, last year, to visit Mama ....   

Lazy me....I went back to my previous habits......(before coming to England, back on the winter of discontent.)

Fresh Salats and vegs....and very little bread and from 118 kg went down to 76kg.

Unfortunately she likes cooking Heavy Russian recepies   with Plenty of Meat etc... and I am back to 115 kg...

Luckily she is going back at the end of the month and I know my lazy character and I hope I will go back to light Greek recepies.....and try walking more often.......

The best exersise to loose weight is...... the one we used to do in Corfu for the young prospective female tourists

We printed an A4 page this message

If you catch me ....you can......

and stick it on the back of young victims.....

 

[Manny]

Manny

All these medicine diets etc......are no good........

Wegovy works.

light Greek recepies.....

I agree with that. We're very big on the Mediterranean diet. Everything in our house now comes with a salad drenched in organic olive oil. We don't buy sugar, we eat almost no bread, unless it's bread made from mostly organic stuff I make. We eat almost nothing processed.  Here is this evening's bread I made with Greek olive oil (actually), black olives, pumpkin, flax and chia seeds.



But I only do that seldom. Maybe once a fortnight. Some of that with balsamic and olive oil is the only bread we eat.

There's no chippies, microwave food, seed oils, processed food or McDonalds going on in our house. We eat mostly stuff that is cooked properly from scratch. And now I have gone done the organic and fewer microplastics and seed oil rabbit hole, the range of what we buy reduces day by day.

Your starting dose is intended to get you accustomed to the stuff rather than make of you a new man. So, yes, things should start to get more noticeable when you start the higher doses.

Also, this is not about losing huge amounts of weight overnight.

Here's a link to the STEP trial for semaglutide. It is worth reading to understand how the process works and what results you can expect. Being the kind of old coot I am, I benchmarked myself against the participants in this trial so that I knew what to expect and how I was performing.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36216945/

Thanks for that, Andrew. 

[andrewfi]

yeah, Wiz, semaglutide, in all its incarnations, works for most people who use it. It is not mumbo-jumbo.

I wish I could get the injectable version here; it is undeniably more effective than my tablets.

Oh, I still fart like a tugboat. Fortunately, they do not seem to be too odiferous, but they are the noisy ones. When I stand up, I creak like an unoiled door!

[Manny]

So I started the 1mg dose just before the weekend, no side effects at all now apart from a little bit of reflux which is easily prevented with a tablet he gave me already (Omeprazole I think), weight loss to date over 5 weeks is 3 kg (6.6 pounds). It doesn't sound a great lot, but consistent and slower is better, and that is three bags of sugar.

I've already gone to a smaller belt and some jeans I bought in the US recently now feel loose on me. Stomachular vastness (as Clarkson calls it) is visibly reducing.

[andrewfi]

Keep it up mate. I am glad to read that you're not getting any significant side effects.

[Manny]

I'm approaching my ninth week now and I seem to be stuck at a smidge under 4kg loss and plateaued. Andrew tells me this is normal and weight loss will resume shortly.

My appetite has noticeably reduced, so I am definitely eating far, far fewer calories.

This Friday my dose increases to 1.75mg. Up to now, side effects are negligible.

[Orchid]

I'm approaching my ninth week now and I seem to be stuck at a smidge under 4kg loss and plateaued. Andrew tells me this is normal and weight loss will resume shortly.

My appetite has noticeably reduced, so I am definitely eating far, far fewer calories.

This Friday my dose increases to 1.75mg. Up to now, side effects are negligible.

To be plateaued is normal. Your body needs time to adjust to new weight.
The speed of weight loss must be adjusted to how fast skin is shrinking.
Do not focus on the dosage of medication. Focus on changing eating habit and lifestyle changes.
If you have reflex, it means your portion must be smaller.
Wegovy and other medications of GLP-1 class work like Botox.
They slightly paralyze intestine. Appetite is decreased because it takes longer to process food.
Please, be aware that paralytic ileus is adverse effect. NO bulk laxatives!!!
With that being said, enjoy unlocked energy and clear thinking as a benefit of GLP-1.

[2tallbill]

Focus on changing eating habit and lifestyle changes.

Orchid welcome back!
Ya skuchayu po tebe.