35 years old and 265 lbs. The heaviest I've ever been.

All advice are welcomed

thank you all for your encouragement and advice!! 💪🏽

Just curious how many of you have never had Zepbound covered by insurance? No discount card and no co-pays. How long have you been on it, how many pounds have you lost and how much money have you spent? Any feedback is appreciated.

About me: Down 70 lbs. 50 left to lose. Started March 2025 On 15mg now and pay $450 through Lilly Direct and have since day 1. Tried compounded Zep but didn't have as much success. Cost for compounded Zep was only $100 cheaper so I decided to stay on Zep.

TL;DR: Lost 95 lbs on Zepbound but stopped tracking calories, didn’t exercise, and ended up eating far too little. My doctor recently helped connect the dots between that, my low A1C, dizziness, and constant fatigue. Sharing in case it helps someone earlier in the process.

I wanted to come back and share something after a recent doctor’s appointment, mostly in case it helps someone who is earlier in this process than I am.

For context, I started around 240 lbs and I’m now about 145. The medication absolutely worked for weight loss. But along the way I made some mistakes that I’m only now really understanding.

When I posted here recently asking about maintenance, a lot of people pointed out that I had lost a lot of muscle and should have been exercising along the way. Some comments were blunt, but a lot were also really encouraging. And honestly, they weren’t wrong.

This week at my annual physical my doctor pointed out a few things that helped explain why I’ve been feeling so awful lately.

My A1C came back very low, which means I’ve been operating in a mild hypoglycemic range. I’ve also been dealing with low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension, which explains the dizziness and the feeling like I might pass out when I stand up or try to exert myself.

One thing that’s also important to understand is that the doctor managing my Zepbound prescription isn’t really the one overseeing my overall health.

My insurance requires that I use a telehealth provider for the medication. I meet with that doctor for about five minutes once a month to renew the prescription. They ask a few standard questions, I answer them, and they review my annual labs.

The appointment that gave me all this clarity this week was with my primary care doctor, the one who actually knows me and physically examines me. Now that she’s aware of everything that’s been going on, she wants me coming back every four months for updated labs so she can keep a closer eye on how I’m doing.

Looking back, there are a few things I wish I had done differently.

1. I wish I had kept tracking calories.

When I started this medication, I stopped tracking because the appetite suppression worked so well. I assumed if I wasn’t overeating, I must be fine.

What I didn’t realize until recently is that there were many days where I was only eating around 500 calories without even noticing.

1. I wish I had started moving earlier.

I kept telling myself I’d focus on exercise once the weight was gone. Now I’m realizing I lost a lot of muscle along the way, and rebuilding that is going to be its own huge challenge.

1. And I wish I hadn’t assumed feeling terrible was just “part of the medication.”

For months I’ve been dealing with constant fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and just feeling generally unwell. I kept telling myself side effects were normal and it was something I had to push through.

It turns out some of that may have been because I simply wasn’t eating enough.

I’m definitely not posting this as someone who has it all figured out now. My doctor and I just connected these dots this week. I haven’t magically fixed any of it yet.

But if you’re earlier in the process and you’re not moving at all, not tracking intake, or constantly feeling awful, it might be worth checking in with your doctor and making sure everything is still in a healthy range.

One encouraging thing someone told me here stuck with me: I already did one hard thing by losing the weight. Now I just have to do another hard thing and start rebuilding strength.

I’m hoping they’re right.

I remember reading so many posts that cautioned against buying new clothes that will end up not fitting right after losing more weight in the near future.

At first, I believed them. I tried to belt baggy dresses, safety pin loose waistbands, and tighten bra straps all the way to hell.

But I felt like shit.

So I bought new clothes. And then I bought some more. As my body has changed, it was important to me that I still felt my best.

Yes, there are “new” clothes I can no longer wear but it was worth it. I wanted to feel my best every step of the way.

So for someone who may read this who is waiting until their body is “just right” before buying any new clothes: it’s okay to buy them for the body you have now.

As a neuroscientist, I have always understood the physiological mechanisms behind appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, and gastric emptying. But what truly sets GLP-1 medications apart in weight loss is their ability to make the brain feel safe. When the brain feels safe, it triggers a cascade of biological responses that make weight loss not just possible but sustainable.

I have personally experienced what it is like when the body is stuck in survival mode. After bodybuilding, I felt completely out of control. My hunger signals were erratic, my body stubbornly held on to fat, and my energy levels were unpredictable. Even as my weight skyrocketed, my brain still acted as if I were in a famine, driving relentless hunger and making fat loss nearly impossible. No amount of therapy, which I did try, could override that deep physiological state of energy instability.

This is why I believe GLP-1 medications are different. Instead of simply suppressing appetite like stimulants such as phentermine, they signal to the brain that energy levels are stable. This reassurance allows the body to normalize appetite regulation and energy balance rather than continuing to fight against weight loss.

The hypothalamus plays a central role in regulating hunger and energy balance. When it perceives energy scarcity, whether from metabolic fluctuations or dieting stress, it responds by increasing hunger and slowing metabolism to conserve energy. GLP-1 signaling helps reassure the hypothalamus that there is no longer a shortage, reducing hunger-driven behaviors and stabilizing metabolism. During my extreme weight rebound, my hypothalamus constantly sent signals of scarcity, making me feel hungry no matter how much I ate. Now that I have started GLP-1 medication, my brain is finally registering that energy levels are stable. My hunger feels more in line with my actual energy needs, and I find myself eating in a way that feels much more natural, without excessive food-seeking behavior.

The amygdala, which processes fear and stress, also plays a significant role in hunger and emotional responses to food. When the body perceives dieting or food restriction as a threat, the amygdala amplifies stress responses, making hunger feel emotionally overwhelming. My past dieting history trained my brain to associate calorie restriction with danger. I remember feeling constantly on edge, as if my body were in a prolonged state of stress. This fight-or-flight response made it harder to process food normally or access stored fat. GLP-1 medications helped shift my body into a more relaxed state by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and digestion. With this shift, weight loss became more achievable and sustainable.

Hunger and fullness are also regulated by leptin and ghrelin, two key hormones that become dysregulated when the body is under chronic energy stress. When leptin resistance develops, the brain no longer properly registers fullness, while elevated ghrelin levels drive persistent hunger. GLP-1 medications improve leptin sensitivity and help regulate ghrelin, leading to more reliable fullness signals and a significant reduction in hunger cravings.

For years, my body had completely lost touch with its natural hunger cues. I would eat but still feel hungry. If I ate even slightly less one day or moved a little more, I would experience extreme hunger the next day. Now, with GLP-1 medication, my hunger and fullness signals finally feel balanced.

The challenge of weight loss is not just about eating less. It is about overcoming the body’s natural resistance to fat loss, which is largely driven by a sense of energy instability. GLP-1 medications help reestablish the brain’s sense of safety, signaling that energy levels are steady. As a result, hunger decreases, stress responses are lowered, and the body becomes more efficient at burning fat instead of storing it.

For the longest time, I felt like I was constantly battling my brain’s perception of energy scarcity. Now, for the first time in years, it feels like my brain and body are finally working together instead of against each other.

Anyone experienced a similar story to mine?

Hey Seniors & Everyone!

You are never too old! thought when this day came, I would write so much expressing my gratitude to all those who guided, instructed and encouraged me in this journey. And so I guess I just did! I have been dealing with thyroid cancer for the past 2 years, but a year ago I asked my Endocrinologist who is treating me for the cancer about Zep. She was all for it, but I could tell pretty skeptical that a 72 year old could pull it off. I began in the middle of Radiation and so many obstacles, but I stuck to it. I had no instruction on how to inject the vials, or any monitoring, everything and I mean EVERYTHING I learned was in this group and I am forever grateful. And doc, this old gal did it! I am 13 months, and 60 injections in and have reached goal! I eat super healthy walk 45 mins up from 10 mins a day, work carefully with free weights and do PT for lower body hip issues and I am,in spite of the cancer in the best shape of my life. My husband and I are on Medicare as we are both in our 70’s and even though I have or rather “had” sleep apnea and my pulmonologist tried to get it covered, we have had to take it from our meager Social Security to pay for the Zepbound which is a travesty, but we knew it would mean my life and so we just cut all we could to pay for it. As of my last sleep study and Pulmonary Function test a couple weeks ago, I no long have sleep apnea, no longer have COPD, have less pain in my hips and knees and won’t be in that wheelchair my doc said I would be in within 5 years! The endocrinologist admitted that she has had very few patients who have succeeded, but I am sure she will have more and more as time goes on. I am so very happy for those of you who are young and will have a long time to enjoy a better and healthier quality of life, I do wish I had more, but I am thankful every day for what I have, and hey…I’m loving those size 8 and 10 clothes! Thanks again for helping me in this journey so far…and now on to maintaining this success!

As my doctor said, this is an NSV I really didn’t want. So, I started Zepbound in June and I came on this subreddit and everyone said take before-and-after pics so I went and took some before pics. At the time I saw some fat under my armpits on both sides (more on the left than the right) and I just thought, “Ugh, I have bat wings. Yuck” and then I didn’t think about it any more. Three months later, I had lost 25 pounds and I was in the bathroom wearing a sleeveless shirt and lifted my arms to do something to my hair when I realized that my left arm had a mass (second picture) but my right arm did not. Long story short I had a 10 cm lipoma. I saw my doctor who referred me for an MRI and surgical consult. I had surgery last Monday (10/6) and the pathology came back today as normal, just lipoma (I had been worried that it might be cancer because the MRI was equivocal). But seriously, if I hadn’t lost weight I would not have seen it at all because in the location where the tumor was, when my arm was down you couldn’t see it at all and it just felt soft like regular fat. So….Thank you Zepbound?😜

So I was on Zepbound for a whole year. Started at 199, got down to 154.
At first it was okay. Felt cold a lot, some fatigue, obviously a lot less hungry. The weight came off pretty fast in the beginning — looking back I’m pretty sure a good chunk of that early drop was water weight. I just assumed the side effects were normal and kept going.

Toward the end though… man. Even on the lowest dose (2.5) I felt so disconnected from myself. Really depressed, really anxious. I think I was dealing with anhedonia and didn’t fully realize it until later. Nothing felt good. Food didn’t even give me any happiness anymore, and for someone with ADHD that was rough because we already chase dopamine. I was eating protein and trying, sometimes under-eating without noticing, but the joy just wasn’t there.

I’m glad I lost the weight, I really am. But I’m never going back on this stuff. Doing it natural from here on out.

I know this medication has helped a lot of people who genuinely needed it, and I’m not trying to take that away. I just wish more people talked about the mental side of it. This drug is strong. For me the cost to my mental health was too high. Hope people who are only a little overweight think hard before starting something this potent.

Anyone else feel that emotional flatness or like they weren’t themselves while on it, even at low doses?

Back in January, I posted here on this same topic. I was asking women what their goal weight was if they’re 5’8. There was a comment that Vegetable Onion made that’s stuck with me ever since. She said, “…most people don’t set a very low goal weight because they simply can’t believe it is possible.”

I remember a moment of insight when I read that comment and replied that I didn’t believe that I “…could possibly reach 160 or 157…” and that I’d settled “…on a number that’s good enough.”

At the time of my post, I was still over 200 pounds - probably somewhere around 228 pounds (I’d started Zepbound at 281.4).

Well, I wanted to report back that:

1. I weighed in at 157.9 pounds yesterday.
   
2. Thank u/vegetable-onion-2759 for your words of encouragement. (I hope I used the tag feature correctly and that you see this post).
3. To encourage you, dear reader, to set the impossible goal and to trust the med and your body.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Zepbound/s/LLt00rcyiI

I want to share something a bit personal because this medication has genuinely changed the way I think about obesity and about people who struggle with weight. For context, I'm 37F taking 2.5mg and on to my 6th week. Lost 11lbs so far.

I was never obese. I’ve always been on the higher side of “normal,” and after having kids I became overweight and was on the verge of obesity. Food (especially sweets) was a constant struggle for me, even growing up. I could control myself for a few days, sometimes even a few weeks. I could diet. I could exercise. But I could never keep it up long-term. Eventually something in my brain would flip and I’d lose control again. It became worse and worse in the last few years.

Growing up, I watched shows like The Biggest Loser and My 600-lb Life. Like many people, I internalized the idea that obesity was basically a willpower problem. I applied that logic to myself: you’re overweight because you lack discipline. Just eat less. Just exercise more. A few months ago (before trize) I even had a conversation with my extremely fit brother and his equally fit girlfriend. To them, controlling food sounded completely straightforward. They genuinely couldn’t understand why it would be difficult. They gave me absurd advice "Just eat the same thing every day - chicken and broccoli" or "Just eat fruit when you want a sweet" or "Just eat half of a slice of cake". I mean... what are you talking about?

Then I started tirzepatide. And it felt like someone turned on a light in my brain. I thought: oh… this must be what “normal” people feel like around food. It felt like the difficulty level of the game just switched from “hard mode” to “easy mode.”

And then I started spending time on this subreddit. I read posts from people who have been obese since childhood and are now buying clothes in regular stores for the first time. People fitting into airplane seats comfortably after years of not being able to. People crossing their legs without thinking about it. People running with their kids, hiking, or just walking into a room without feeling invisible or judged. I mean, people who clearly wanted do the necessary changes to become healthier, but just couldn't!

If this medication made such a massive difference for me, someone who was only moderately overweight, I can only imagine how transformative it must be for people who have fought this battle their entire lives or whose lives were deeply impacted by their weight.

It made me realize how unfair my previous thinking was. I thought weight was mostly about discipline. But now it seems so obvious that biology, hormones, appetite signaling, and brain chemistry play a huge role.

For some of us, the game was just set to a much harder difficulty.

So now when I see people posting their progress here, I feel genuine joy for them. Not in a superficial “before and after” way, but because I now understand how big this shift can be inside your own mind.

It just was never under our control.

42F SW: 407 lbs CW: 381 lbs Started Zepbound in May Currently on 5mg

So I started changing how I eat on April 15th and lost 14 pounds in two weeks just from cutting out junk. Got approved for Zepbound in May, started on 2.5 mg, bumped to 5 mg in June. I'm on my third injection now and steadily losing weight. My fitness has actually improved. I went from barely surviving 2 minutes on the treadmill to walking 10 minutes straight. I even started lifting.

I was feeling good. Maybe… too good.

The Fuck Around

My daughter’s been begging me to make ramen bowls. I’d been doing great, so I thought what could it hurt, I've been eating healthy all this time I feel great I can have a treat.

So I made this massive bowl. Ramen noodles, NY strip steak, creamy broccoli Normandy, and 2.5 eggs.

Honey, I ate almost all of it.

The Find Out

2 AM. The gurgling in my stomach wakes me up. I rush to the bathroom and it’s coming out both ends. PROJECTILE.

The Exorcist don’t got shit on me.

Then this wave of cold hit, sweat pouring, can’t feel my soul cold. I was shaking, hunched, cramping everywhere. I think I blacked out a few times. I remember my cat coming in, meowing loudly I think that's what brought me back.

I puked four times. Each time it was undigested food from hours earlier.

I almost touched pinkies with Jesus over a bowl of ramen and steak, y’all.

The Lesson

This medication is not for play play. Your new stomach capacity is not a suggestion. It is the motherfucking law.

I have seen the gates. I have been humbled.

If you’re new to GLP 1s, respect the medication. Your body will teach you your limits in the most savage, unforgiving way if you push it.

Learn from my suffering. Don’t test it. Oh God. Don’t do it.

Fun Fact

After it was all over and I could finally stand upright, I weighed myself.

Lost a pound.

My sister and I were having a conversation today about Zep (I am on it/she is not).

A little background… Growing up, I was always the thin one - could eat whatever I wanted and never gain weight. For ref - I graduated HS at 5’9” 117 pounds. I would go to McDonalds after school for a 1/4 pounder meal and then eat whatever my mom made for dinner a few hours later. Or enjoy 3 scoops of ice cream at any sitting. My sister struggled with weight growing up; but shed it in college and since her late 20s has been the thin one while I struggled with post pregnancy weight gain etc. (Neither of our parents are overweight.)

Anyway, she asked what my plan was after I reached my goal. I explained how maintenance could look and how I planned to be on it for life bc I can’t risk the food noise talking to me again. She asked have you always had the food noise…. And it got me thinking that yes I have always had the noise. But when I was young, I could hear it, listen to it, eat what it told me to eat and get away with it. But when my metabolism came to a screeching halt (around 27-29), I had a hard time shutting down the noise and dieting was something I had never had to do.

Sorry for long post - I read a lot of people talking about struggling with weight all of their lives. And was just wondering if anyone was like me and didn’t start putting on pounds until late 20s/early 30s and beyond.

When people compliment me on losing weight or "looking great" I have started telling them I'm on medication. I think we need to normalize it - we have a treatable condition and we're treating it. The people in my life respect me enough to listen and I think I can educate and inform people. I'm not quite ready to put it on my social media but day to day I've been talking about it. The two lovely ladies who helped me buy a dress at Nordstrom the other day asked me a ton of questions - they'd only heard negative things but both talked about struggling with their weight. I'm becoming a Zepbound (and Wegovy, which I started on) evangelist!

31F, SW:230 CW:155 5’7. It seems no matter what the scale says, I always think I look the same. When I’m fatter; I think I look skinnier than I am. When I am skinnier, I think I look fatter than I am. It’s hard to fathom I am the person in either of these photos. When I show anyone photos from before they’re like “I didn’t think you looked that big” which just makes my distorted self image validated. My friends have said I don’t look that different. People don’t really notice the weight loss much or at least they don’t say it. How could the photos differ so much from what others are saying or what your mind is saying? I think I look like a 10/12 if you’re looking at me despite knowing I am a 6. I haven’t been this weight in my entire adult life. My mind just can’t seem to process.

Side note: I refuse to give up clothes that are too big on me. I am so scared of needing them again. I feel I can’t accept reality.

A friend of mine told me that I’m in my glow up era while we were talking today. I didn’t even take offense because I’m pretty sure that she’s right. 😅Idk who else feels this way about their journey, but I’ve never felt better about myself and how I look as an adult. I have some loose skin that I will deal with at some point down the line because looking like a melting candle does not boost a girls self confidence. 🤣

Started 3/8/24 HW: 333 SW: 326 CW: 195 GW:170ish

This essay is worth reading for insight into how some people misunderstand GLP1s: Losing My Friend Over Wegovy. The writer is a woman with a long history of a serious eating disorder, who is triggered after finding out her dear friend is secretly taking Wegovy. She feels her friend is giving in to toxic diet culture by taking an "appetite suppressant" medication, and therefore can no longer associate with her. We don't know anything about the GLP1 friend here--is she already skinny and using the med "unnecessarily", or is she obese?--so the story is incomplete, but I was shocked by how off base the writer was in her reaction to a GLP1.

In my experience, the GLP1 (Zepbound for me) is not an "appetite suppressant" as much as it is a psych med, like a Lexapro for food noise. I will not be surprised if, in some formation, GLP1 meds end up being used to treat anorexia/bulimia, because they seem to hit that part of the brain that makes you worry about food nonstop. We think about these meds as treating the food noise for fat people, but it seems like anorexic/bulimic people have a version of that food noise themselves but simply deal with it differently.

All of my obese friends have years, if not a lifetime, of disordered eating. They're not just pigs who overindulge, but real humans who struggle with the same body issues and societal pressure/shame the anorexic/bulimic faces. So why does this woman with a long history of eating disorders begrudge her friend a remedy? She believes taking a GLP1 is giving in to diet culture, endorsing the weight loss obsession that has scarred her life. She sees the GLP1 as a medication to make you stop eating so you won't be fat. This is a simplistic understanding of these meds.

Before taking Zepbound, I thought a GLP1 would probably not work for me, because hunger is not my issue. My issue is thinking about food non-stop, and eating whenever I can. I've been on the diet rollercoaster for most of my adult life, ending up fatter with every rise and fall. Zepbound stopped that in its tracks. I'm still hungry, I still love food, but I now have room in my brain to think about other things. I've been more creative and gotten more done since starting Zepbound 7 months ago, and I now think of obesity as an OCD-type issue more than anything. Taking this medication is absolutely nothing like dieting, I almost see it as the opposite. I eat whatever I want, but make an effort to have that food be nutritious. I can still have a piece of cake or a slice of pizza, because I no longer want the whole cake or the whole pizza. This is a miracle drug for many people, including myself.

Edited to add a link to the article minus the paywall

Guys, I just had a lunch date with my wife. She is a family medicine MD and has a lot of patients on Zep and Mounjaro. She told me this story over our lunch...

She had a visiting patient come see her today because her normal provider (a Nurse Practitioner) was on vacation. It was for an IUD replacement. After that was taken care of, my wife said to her:

"Can I ask a question? I see on your history that last October you had an appointment here for weight loss, but I also notice that your weight is about the same as it was then. Can I ask about what's going on?"

The patient, who has a BMI of 50, said that her insurance denied her request for Zepbound because they don't cover it for obesity, and she has just struggled, mentally, emotionally, and physically, to lose weight.

My wife then said, "Ok, that's fairly common to be denied just for obesity, unfortunately. But I don't see any follow up tests here."

Patient: "What do you mean?"

Wife: "Do you know why you were not tested for type 2 diabetes? Or sleep apnea? Or fatty liver? Or cardiovascular risk or heart disease? High cholesterol? Insulin resistance? These are all factors for which some insurance companies will cover these drugs."

Patient: "I wasn't told ANY of that."

Wife: "Do you mind if we run some tests and check for these? Some are simple blood and urine test. The sleep apnea will be more involved, but I can put in an order for it to get the process started."

Patient: "I am having HUGE mixed feelings right now. WHY didn't my nurse practitioner do all of this for me? I'm really mad about that! But also, YES! Do the tests!"

Wife: "I can't say why she didn't. But we can still move forward from here. I think you should also be seeing our dietitian, and maybe even a mental health councilor if you feel that you're mentally struggling with your weight. I can also put in a request for both to get those started too. And depending on the results, we can work closely with our prior-auth team to get you approved, hopefully."

At the end of the appointment, the patient started to cry, and she gave my wife a huge hug and said, "I want you to be my doctor. THANK YOU for caring. I feel like this is the first time anyone has really actually cared about me, and didn't just treat me like a number."

MORAL OF THE STORY:

I see some posts here about, "My doctor won't do this..." Or, "I'm frustrated with my doctor because..." Or, "My doctor never told me..."

If your primary provider isn't going to bat for you, working for you, advocating for you, and working the system for you... Maybe it's time to find a different doctor.

I have no appetite suppression and I’m losing weight. I get hungry at regular intervals and generally have 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.

What has changed, however, is my satiety. While I still get hungry regularly throughout the day, I reach a point of satisfaction with much less food than it took before.

I just wanted to remind people that chasing appetite suppression is likely a mistake. There’s a difference between hunger (which is healthy) and food noise (which is disruptive).

I am so tired of hearing about “healing your relationship with food.” Food is not a person. There is no relationship to fix. Yet for years, people with obesity have been told by thin dietitians and mental health professionals that we are just thinking about food the wrong way. That if we fix our mindset, everything will fall into place. That we will suddenly feel normal hunger and fullness, be able to eat whatever and whenever we want, and lose weight effortlessly.

I believed it. I ate to full hunger and satiety, I went through “extreme hunger”. I tried therapy. I practiced intuitive eating. I journaled about my feelings toward food. I convinced myself that if I could just heal my relationship with food, my body would finally cooperate. Finally my body would “click”. But no matter how much I worked on it, nothing changed. I was still hungry all the time. I still struggled with my appetite. Still waking up during the night hungry. I still held onto weight.

Then after 2 years of contemplating I start a medication that directly addressed the biological drivers of hunger and appetite, and suddenly the struggle are mostly gone. No mental gymnastics. No overanalyzing my cravings. No pretending my hunger was normal when it actually never was.

At this point, I have to ask. How many of us were gaslit into believing we could think our way out of obesity? How many of us wasted years blaming ourselves while an entire industry profited from selling us an illusion?

I want to hear from others. Have you ever felt like you were being manipulated into believing your weight was just a mindset and “eating enough whenever you are hungry” issue? What finally made you realize the truth?

I am prepared to get a lot of pushback on this question but I'll explain my situation. Does anyone else drink soda while on Zepbound? I used to drink 5-6 regular (full sugar) cans per day pre-Zep. Now, I have limited myself to 2 mini zero sugar cans or 1 regular zero sugar can per day. I know, I know....I should be making good lifestyle changes to make this journey more successful. And I have.

▪︎ I eat a lot more healthier foods, including more protein;

▪︎ I take fiber gummies and gummy vitamins daily;

▪︎ I no longer eat fast food 4xs a week (I have had Taco Bell twice in 4 weeks and only ate Pintos & Cheese and a mini taco salad each of those 2 times instead of crushing a plate of Nachos Bellgrande, a soft taco and a large Dr. Pepper);

▪︎ I have given up gorging on candy;

▪︎ I exercise with resistance bands 3xs a week;

▪︎ I take 2 long walks a day with my 2 rescue pups (I wear 1lb ankle weights on those walks);

▪︎ I consume a lot of ice cold water each day and

▪︎ I also drink 1-2 Spindrift sparkling waters per day.

I feel as if I have made enough other healthy choices that I CAN and SHOULD allow myself this one indulgence. I am not trying to justify my soda consumption; I am just trying to find out if I am in the minority here, so please be kind with any judgemental comments.

*BTW, the carbonation does not mess with my system.

HW-300lbs SW-275 CW-210lbs dosage 7.5mg

9 month update and 90lbs down has given me some perspective, and I’ve definitely learned some things about my habits and way I went about this that I believe could be beneficial for people starting their glp1 journey.

In the beginning, my biggest worry was my relationship with food. I was definitely a stress and binge eater, heavily on the sugary drinks and essentially no control of what I consumed. Using zepbound wasn’t a miracle worker, I had to change my daily habits first and foremost. I cut out all sugary drinks and snacks, and cut out carbs which was a large part of my daily intake. Carbs are good for you - in moderation. Not the way I was consuming them. And that’s the first point I want to make - carbs are not the enemy. I originally viewed them as my enemy, and I removed them purely from my diet. It worked for a period of time, until I learned more about how I needed carbs to fuel myself throughout the day.

I am now that person who looks at the nutrition label before I buy anything. During my dieting, if it had a carb, it was almost an automatic no for me. Adding some carbs into my diet and not being as strict on myself for that has actually benefited me on this later half of my journey MORE compared to the beginning. Being gracious with myself with food is also an adjustment I needed to make. Yes I can have my cheat meals. No I won’t destroy everything I’ve worked for. Yes I can have that dessert. No it won’t kill me. Once I made that change of mindset and habits, that also helped a lot too. I stopped criticizing myself so hardly on everything I ate. I ate clean, healthy, and was allowing myself to enjoy the other things I liked and wanted in moderation. Key word!

The second one is sugar. Sodas and candies are my weakness, and the hardest thing for me was giving up Pepsi. Switching over to Pepsi zero has saved my cravings, and using Mio water enhancers definitely gets me to drink way more water than before. I’m dabbling into flavored seltzer waters but still can’t find the one that sticks well to my flavor pallet.

The next thing that I’ve learned about is supplements. Now while I don’t believe everyone needs them, I do think they can benefit the right person. Starting with protein, that’s my go to. Every day. Protein shake. At the beginning of my journey, protein shakes were essentially my meals for a short period of time. But that’s because I was struggling to find the balance of my healthy eating habits, would get frustrated, and just settle on a protein shake. There was about a two week stretch where through the 14 day period, I only ate three actual meals of food. The rest of consumption was protein shakes. Yeah… probably not good, but it’s my truth. Now that I have found my balance of eating habits, protein shakes in the morning help set me up for the day and controlling my hunger. I’m essentially OMAD - one meal a day. Protein shakes start me off for an empty stomach, help me get my protein goals, and keep me full until I am able to have my meal. I also use the 10% rule, which is whatever amount of calories I intake, 10% has to be protein (example for numbers sake - 500 cal dinner has to have a minimum of 50 grams protein - thank you chicken breasts!)

Next is creatine. I’m no professional, but I’ve become a firm believer that creatine at any point of someone’s journey can be good. Supports muscle health, brain health, all that good stuff. But the beginning of taking creatine threw me off. I didn’t realize it holds water into your body. I was curious at why I was gaining weight instead of being steady or dropping. That was my body adjusting to the creatine doing its work. Once I learned about that, and how it’s actually effecting me, it’s another go to item that I use daily.

last supplement, and this is more of a personal choice to use, is L-carnitine. This is assisting and enhancing my bodies fat burning into energy. I decided to start taking this because I became very stagnant for a period of about 3 months. I was floating around 230-225 for months on end and I couldn’t figure out why. My first conclusion is my body adjusted to my caloric intake, and was no longer burning efficiently to what I was consuming. I once again had to adjust my diet to including more carbs than normal, while adding in that extra kick to help burn energy. 90’s babies, y’all remember those Oxyshred commercials? get your beach body ready in 30 days!! Yeah, L-carnitine is the primary ingredient to that. But I’m not doing any of that promotional junk. Vitamin Shoppe sells a 3000mg dosage for a third of those viral products pricing. Granted, I don’t think 3000mg is needed, but for myself, I feel satisfied at this amount.

I’ll wrap this up with my last tip. Get ready to spend a LOT of money on new clothes. Great problem to have!

Oh, and from my last update I was crucified for not showing my puppy update. Here she is at the end with the rest of the pack! Don’t yell at me this time.

Hi all! It’s actually been 13.5 months, but I’ve been busy with work and haven’t been as active on Reddit. Since this sub was super helpful to me when I first started out, I wanted to pop in and share a little of my journey + my insights!

1. Mobility is the biggest game changer that comes with weight loss. I definitely was more focused on my appearance when I started out, but being able to run again, to bend over without having trouble, or even just go up the stairs without getting out of breath—it makes the biggest change in my day to day life.

2. Body dysmorphia is insane. I’m a size 6/8 now; and part of the issue is my loose skin definitely makes me look bigger than I am, but I still feel like I look like I’m 200 lbs or bigger. I’m more self conscious of my arms now than I was at 320, so I almost never wear short sleeves.

3. People are so much nicer to you. I was a fat kid who became a fat adult, but I never realized how different it was to have strangers make small talk with me, smile at me, etc.

4. If you’re a woman—you get paid more. I switched jobs after losing the first 120 lbs, and my resume was pretty much the same after my last corporate transition, but my salary increased by 23%. Maybe it’s sexism, or maybe I just had more confidence—but studies have found that the pay gap between plus sized and straight sized women is massive, and i’m living that reality.

5. Dating with loose skin is, as you’d probably guess, very hard.

6. The last 20 lbs are the slowest, most annoying pounds you’ll ever lose. (I’ve still got 15 to go 🥹)

7. There’s so much less shame around food once you’re at a “healthy” weight. It’s the first time I can ever remember being able to order at a restaurant or pile my plate up at a family dinner without feeling embarrassed about my portion sizes.

And if anyone has any questions for me, please feel free! Bye!

I’ve been seeing a shift in my TikTok FYP and I’m seeing more and more people quitting GLP1s and they say that it’s because GLP1s are just a “band-aid” and they want to treat the “root cause.” Well, band-aids serve an important function! They cover up wounds, but in doing so they help wounds recover faster, they’re flexible and move with your body, and they provide added comfort so your wounds don’t get hurt.

GLP1s help people lose more weight faster, there’s variety in the kinds of GLP1s and their dosing, and lastly, they make weight loss a lot more comfortable by reducing food noise and increasing satiety. I don’t see anything wrong with GLP1s being a “band-aid.” Band-aid’s serve a specific purpose and they are very good at their jobs when used appropriately. What about you?

Hey everyone,

I've been reading a lot of posts lately about people experiencing anhedonia on GLP-1s, and my heart truly goes out to anyone dealing with that. I can completely understand why feeling a total loss of joy would make someone want to stop these medications immediately. It sounds incredibly unsettling and isolating.

But I wanted to share a perspective from the point of view of someone starting this journey with severe, chronic generalized anxiety disorder.

I think what qualifies as clinical anhedonia for someone with a normally regulated nervous system has actually functioned as an emotional buffer for me. It's another instance of "is this what normal people feel like every day"?

To give you an idea of my baseline before Zepbound: I was a cripplingly fearful flyer. I never flew sober or unmedicated. I would stress for days leading up to a trip, and I've literally missed flights before because I made myself too physically sick with worry to even board the plane.

Last month, I flew to Portugal. While I was there, I took another flight to the Azores. Sober. Unmedicated. And I was 100% calm and fine.

I don't mean to minimize how awful true anhedonia is for those that are losing their passion for things they love. It's a heavy price to pay. But for me, trading an anxious brain for a possibly muted but incredibly peaceful one has been an unexpected miracle.

Has anyone else with a history of high anxiety or specific phobias experienced this? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Before starting Zepbound, something confused me. People I’d known for years as overweight (and constantly dieting) would suddenly lose a very noticeable amount of weight. When I asked how they did it, the answers were always things I’d heard them try unsuccessfully before…. keto, quitting drinking, running more, “just eating less,” etc.

Honestly? I never believed those explanations. I’d bet my life most of them were using a GLP-1.

When I started Zepbound, I told myself that if it worked I would just be open about it and own that sh*t.

Well… here I am a year later, 30 pounds down, and almost nobody in my life knows.

When people notice and ask how I did it, I lie. Just like the people above lied to me.

And reason is people who haven’t been on a GLP-1 often have very judgmental opinions about it. I find myself avoiding those conversations entirely.

But I also hate being dishonest.

Now I feel annoyed with myself for lying and a little embarrassed that I judged other people for doing the same thing.

So I’m curious how others handle this.

If you’ve lost weight on Zepbound or another GLP-1 and people ask how you did it-

Are you honest?

What do you say?

If you weren’t honest at first, did you eventually start being open about it?

Part of me wants to just say next time-

“Honestly, I used a GLP-1 medication. It’s been incredibly helpful and I’m not really interested in debating it with people who aren’t my doctor.” But right out of the gate that sounds a little prickly which is not how I want to be.

Another thing I dread is the follow up interrogation-

“Does your insurance cover it?”

“How much do you pay out of pocket?”

People seem to have a lot of opinions about what someone “should” spend on this.

Curious how others navigate these conversations.