Talk about changing my mind!
My blog post last week was all about my decision to move to Wegovy pills as a way of maintaining my weight without having to battle the increasing food noise and appetite that has become a real nuisance recently.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that my circumstances are a little different from those of many people considering these medications. I’m not trying to lose any more weight. In fact, I’m very happy with where I am. My challenge is maintaining my weight whilst keeping the hunger and food noise at a manageable level.
That got me looking more closely at Wegovy injections rather than the newly licensed Wegovy tablets. Whilst the tablets are certainly convenient, I began to wonder whether the injections might offer more flexibility in fine-tuning a maintenance dose.
As a result, I completely changed my mind! This decision was driven in part by the fact that I didn’t have a firm date for the delivery of the Wegovy pills (I don’t want to be waiting months…) and I continued make cost comparisons.
I cancelled my order for the Wegovy pills and instead went back to my original supplier, Voy, who were running a special offer on Wegovy injections for returning customers. After an online assessment process of my weight loass medication history, my weightloss goals and how I was coping on my present medication dosage, they recommended that I start on a 0.25mg dose, and I’ve now taken delivery of my first order.
The cost was £84.00 for the first month, which I felt was a reasonable price to pay if it helps me maintain the weight loss I’ve worked so hard to achieve.
One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed since reducing my Mounjaro dose to 2.5mg is that I’m now feeling genuinely hungry again, just three hours after eating a main meal.
Now, however, things are changing.
I think there are several reasons for this. Firstly, the appetite suppression simply isn’t as strong on the lower dose. My stomach feels as though it’s emptying more quickly, and my brain is no longer receiving those powerful “I’m full” signals that I had become accustomed to.
The other important factor is my very low-calorie allowance. At just 4ft 8in, 63 years old and with limited mobility because of my disability, I only need around 1,100 calories a day to maintain my weight. That really isn’t very much food spread across an entire day. Even when I eat balanced meals with plenty of protein and fibre, I’m finding that genuine physical hunger returns much sooner than it did on the higher doses.
Alongside the hunger has come something I’d almost forgotten about – food noise. I’m thinking about food more often again. It’s not that I want to binge or eat unhealthy foods, but I’m becoming much more aware of my next meal and having to rely on willpower once again.
Reducing my Mounjaro dose has been a useful experiment because it has reminded me exactly what life was like before I started taking it. The return of food noise hasn’t been dramatic, but it’s definitely been noticeable. I’m finding myself thinking about food more often, feeling hungrier between meals and having to rely much more heavily on willpower.
In many ways, this has been quite an eye-opener. It has reminded me just how much Mounjaro was doing in the background. It wasn’t simply helping me lose weight; it was making it feel effortless to stick to my calorie allowance because I wasn’t constantly battling hunger.
It’s this realisation that has led me to decide to continue with GLP-1 medication. My goal isn’t to lose any more weight. It’s simply to maintain the weight I’ve worked so hard to achieve whilst remaining comfortable, mobile, independent and, hopefully, not feeling hungry just a few hours after every meal.
Anyone who has followed my journey for any length of time will know that I’m a determined person. Throughout my life, I’ve overcome countless challenges and battles, and I’ve rarely shied away from hard work or perseverance. But this is one battle I’ve realised I don’t have to fight alone. If there is a safe, effective medication that can quieten the hunger and food noise, allowing me to maintain my weight, mobility and independence, then I’m happy to accept that help. For me, that’s not giving in – it’s making a sensible decision that gives me the best chance of protecting the health and quality of life I’ve worked so hard to achieve.
I took my first dose on 26th June – I will keep you posted about its effect on my appetite. In the meantime, I made a little YouTube video about this decision.
Weight this week: 55.7kg (8st 11lbs)
Weight last week: 55.7kg (8st 11lbs)
Weekly loss/gain: no change
100% – 4 months, 17 days in weight maintenance range (54-56kg or 8st 7lb – 8st 13lbs)