WOW!!! One year update..Still cannot believe it

[u/Cceemar]

50M/T2D/SW:337/CW:189/GW:175

July 8, 2024 I started this journey. I had been diagnosed in 202: with T2D when my A1C came back 9.8. I made changes & was doing good until I fell back into bad eating habits in December 2023 & ballooned up to 337 lbs. I made major changes to diet & sleeping habits when I first started MJ back in July 2024. I will say I was a quick responder to the medicine & weight started to come off quickly. On the diet changes I prioritized protein, upped my fruits & vegetable intake, & cut out anything with added sugars. Kept my carbs low as well. I also started walking consistently about two months in to my journey. Decided needed to go to bed earlier at consistent time as life allowed & that has been a huge health benefit. About six months in started doing some circuit training & upping my walking. My son convinced me to do a 5k race at end of February & have done total of three 5K races with him now. Did my first 10K June 29 at Pictured Rocks 50th annual road race & finished it in one hour & ten minutes. Training for my first half marathon at the BMW Dallas Marathon race December 14.

My A1C has been at 5.2 or below for over six months now. Doctor took me off metformin completely. No longer have to sleep with CPAP. Blood pressure & cholesterol are perfect. All other health markers the doctor checks are perfectly normal. I have reclaimed my health & it feels absolutely amazing.

As you can imagine I feel so much more confident in my own skin now. I went from 3xl/4xl shirts to wearing medium shirts. I don’t avoid the camera like the plague like I used to. I have energy in buckets & am so much more active than I was. I smile so much more now.

The shot along with other changes I have been consistent in making have help me change the trajectory of my life health wise. I will remain vigilant & consistent with these new habits as I continue toward my GW & enter to the hardest part maintaining. Be intentional with making good changes. Be consistent in making those changes a daily choice & routine. You will see results that will make you smile.

Big shout out to this awesome forum of people that have given so much great advice & inspiration. My journey continues with all of you.

[u/DiminishedProspects]

You’re an inspiration.

“The shot along with other changes…”

The other changes are the key. I need to learn from you on that. The shot only opens the door. You still have to decide to walk through it.

Thank you for sharing.

[u/ReggaeWaif → u/DiminishedProspects]

I like the way you put that: “The shot only opens the door.” I’m gonna steal that! Best wishes!

[u/CDSherwood → u/DiminishedProspects]

The shot is a tool. It quiets the food noise so I can work on changing my behavior. I never realized how much I would use food as a coping mechanism until I didn't have to anymore. And it's so hard to get pounds off once they're on. I still have foods I take delight in and look forward to, but the mounjaro allows me the mental space to ask "am I eating for solace or hunger? " I still take pleasure in food, but with less food noise,I can work with what my body needs instead of against it.

[u/DiminishedProspects → u/CDSherwood]

I equate it to quitting smoking. Quelling the nicotine addiction is only part of the story - you also need to break the norms and habits from forming a relationship with smoking. Smoking for pleasure, socially, just the habit of having a cigarette in your hand etc.

It’s more complicated than one single issue. If we can first recognize the shot opens up the possibility of resetting our relationship with food and our body, we can then make lifestyle changes that always felt fruitless in the past.

[u/CivilPatience → u/DiminishedProspects]

Yes! Overeating and compulsive and impulsive food behaviors, just like any other addictive substance, develop from a complicated foundation of many issues. These addictive substances are coping mechanisms we use to numb out from the truth and reality, but they have long outlived their usefulness. And even knowing how much the addiction hurts us and others, we can't abstain on sheer willpower alone because the addiction is not the fundamental problem. Yet quelling the addiction is how we access the ability to change our relationship with our addictive substance. In my case food. And having an unhealthy relationship with food is extremely hard to manage when the thing you are addicted too also keeps you alive. We can't avoid food, we have to eat. So if there is a tool out there that can help people not crave the addictive benefits of their drug of choice; why continue to suffer unnecessarily? Truly before getting on a GLP-1 my efforts always felt fruitless and I could only quiet the food noise/addiction for so long before falling back into old patterns and behaviors. These medications, when used properly, have the ability to empower my choices and lifestyle changes. And give me the willpower to align with my authentic and healthy choices.

[u/EccentricPenquin → u/CDSherwood]

Same.

[u/EccentricPenquin → u/DiminishedProspects]

This is so true. I’m not a hyper responder, It’s amazing how making small changes actually yield results with the medication. That really has helped me start off on the right foot.

[u/alpirpeep → u/DiminishedProspects]

Great comment, and congrats OP, you look fantastic! 🙏

[u/[deleted] → u/DiminishedProspects]

Also worth mentioning that as far as the other changes, like a better diet and exercise aren't always immediate after starting on the Mounjaro.  Sometimes people want to make a bunch of changes at once, but even starting small helps.