GLP-1 and breaking the cycle

[cloratheshadow]

From the moment I administered my first injection, I understood this attempt would not be like the others. Over the years I have dropped a lot of weight and put a lot back on. For 15 years, starting when I was a young girl, I have been yo-yo dieting. I pushed through diets with sheer willpower until hunger and deprivation drove me to binge on whatever I could get my hands on. Every morning I would tell myself “this is my day one. We will follow the plan today” only to give in to my cravings. What came next was brutal self-hatred, which I turned into a reason to overeat again. The thought was always “if I can lose this weight…if I can get my eating under control…”

These days, I get up feeling content. I never require more than I am meant to have. I pick healthy foods because I know they will make me feel better. I step on the scale and the number drops every time. Each weigh-in renews my belief in myself and in this medication. I picture the clothes I will put on and the activities I have not been able to do. I wonder what my style will be. I think about how others will treat me with more kindness. How the first insult or label they reach for will no longer be “fat girl”

I am certain now that this will come true for me. It is bound to happen. And it is simpler than it has ever been. Hope has returned that my life will be fulfilling and that I can become whoever I want, with my chains removed.

I am especially thankful to the grey market for giving me an endless supply of very expensive medication. I get to live something that some people can only dream about.

85 lbs lost today. 60 of it without GLP, 25 lbs of it lost in 2.5 months on peps.

SW: 330 CW: 245 GW: 160

 

[desinr-gal]

Nice work!.. If you'd like a suggestion from me; take the weight loss slowly. Don't move up doses fast..

Let your body have time to get used to things. All that fat being broken down has to be handled by your organs, and at times it's too much for them.

stay hydrated with plenty of water and choose nutritious foods. get out and walk as often as possible, it's a big help.

You'll make it there, have fun along the way.

 

[Sasquatch]

Congrats! It works wonders for mental health as well, right?

 

[Grogu]

cloratheshadow said:

From the moment I administered my first injection, I understood this attempt would not be like the others. Over the years I have dropped a lot of weight and put a lot back on. For 15 years, starting when I was a young girl, I have been yo-yo dieting. I pushed through diets with sheer willpower until hunger and deprivation drove me to binge on whatever I could get my hands on. Every morning I would tell myself “this is my day one. We will follow the plan today” only to give in to my cravings. What came next was brutal self-hatred, which I turned into a reason to overeat again. The thought was always “if I can lose this weight…if I can get my eating under control…”

These days, I get up feeling content. I never require more than I am meant to have. I pick healthy foods because I know they will make me feel better. I step on the scale and the number drops every time. Each weigh-in renews my belief in myself and in this medication. I picture the clothes I will put on and the activities I have not been able to do. I wonder what my style will be. I think about how others will treat me with more kindness. How the first insult or label they reach for will no longer be “fat girl”

I am certain now that this will come true for me. It is bound to happen. And it is simpler than it has ever been. Hope has returned that my life will be fulfilling and that I can become whoever I want, with my chains removed.

I am especially thankful to the grey market for giving me an endless supply of very expensive medication. I get to live something that some people can only dream about.

85 lbs lost today. 60 of it without GLP, 25 lbs of it lost in 2.5 months on peps.

SW: 330 CW: 245 GW: 160

Great job on everything you've achieved. Not just the results while using glp-1s, but also the 60lbs you dropped beforehand. Your story will surely strike a chord with plenty of folks here in the forum. That one sentence really stands out to me:

From the moment I administered my first injection, I understood this attempt would not be like the others. Over the years I have dropped a lot of weight and put a lot back on. For 15 years, starting when I was a young girl, I have been yo-yo dieting. I pushed through diets with sheer willpower until hunger and deprivation drove me to binge on whatever I could get my hands on. Every morning I would tell myself “this is my day one. We will follow the plan today” only to give in to my cravings. What came next was brutal self-hatred, which I turned into a reason to overeat again. The thought was always “if I can lose this weight…if I can get my eating under control…”

These days, I get up feeling content. I never require more than I am meant to have. I pick healthy foods because I know they will make me feel better. I step on the scale and the number drops every time. Each weigh-in renews my belief in myself and in this medication. I picture the clothes I will put on and the activities I have not been able to do. I wonder what my style will be. I think about how others will treat me with more kindness. How the first insult or label they reach for will no longer be “fat girl”

I am certain now that this will come true for me. It is bound to happen. And it is simpler than it has ever been. Hope has returned that my life will be fulfilling and that I can become whoever I want, with my chains removed.

I am especially thankful to the grey market for giving me an endless supply of very expensive medication. I get to live something that some people can only dream about.

85 lbs lost today. 60 of it without GLP, 25 lbs of it lost in 2.5 months on peps.

SW: 330 CW: 245 GW: 160

Absolutely, these medications change lives, and absolutely, the chains come off.

 

[Smiter]

desinr-gal said:

Nice work!.. If you'd like a suggestion from me; take the weight loss slowly. Don't move up doses fast..

Let your body have time to get used to things. All that fat being broken down has to be handled by your organs, and at times it's too much for them.

stay hydrated with plenty of water and choose nutritious foods. get out and walk as often as possible, it's a big help.

You'll make it there, have fun along the way.

I will say it once more. The smallest dose that works. Commit that to memory. And I agree — this medication changes lives in a way nothing before has. It genuinely stands as a shield against the harmful deeds of the sinister elites ruining the population. Microplastics are beyond our control, but obesity has become a wall we can break.

 

[FartfulCodger]

Nicely put and easy to identify with! Well done!

 

[axlbul]

 

[lessthanhalf]

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

 

[cloratheshadow]

]

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

I really appreciate everything you shared! I’ve already moved up to 7.5 tirz, and I also take .5 Cagri — the combination has been fantastic. At 5mg I went roughly 3 weeks without any loss! So far 7.5 has been wonderful, and my plan is to remain at this dose for a while! Thanks for the guidance!

 

[Smiter]

cloratheshadow said:

]

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

I really appreciate everything you shared! I’ve already moved up to 7.5 tirz, and I also take .5 Cagri — the combination has been fantastic. At 5mg I went roughly 3 weeks without any loss! So far 7.5 has been wonderful, and my plan is to remain at this dose for a while! Thanks for the guidance!

Here's to 7.5mg of Tirz plus 0.5mg of Cagri wiping out all 85lbs of that fat between the two of them. Every single one of those damned adipocytes deserves to be savored as it goes down. Throw a party for their downfall. Taking pleasure in their doom is absolutely essential.

 

[CJsMom]

Wow! Congratulations on how far you’ve come!

 

[Smiter]

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Hi <1/2, how's it going? Doesn't that premise strike you as flawed, though? I'm asking because she began GLP with roughly 110lbs left to lose, and at this point she's got eighty-five lbs remaining—so shouldn't the math be based on that figure instead? Like, 110lbs out of 270 comes to 40%, which is what she still has to shed. My question comes from this: when you're trying to gauge how much weight someone has to strip away using GLP's, does it really hold up to go by the highest weight they've ever reached? Take me—my peak was 361lbs. At 309lbs I had my sleeve surgery. Then I began GLP at 255lbs. Before eventually landing at 210-215, I'm aiming for 176lbs. So do you figure that older figures could muddy someone's outlook and perhaps make the whole thing look scarier than it actually is?

 

[lessthanhalf]

I do believe the highest weight you reached is relevant, though the timing shifts how much. If it happened 10 years back, its impact might be smaller; if it was only a few years ago, I think it carries more weight. Suppose you're starting over at 270 lbs — that's a different situation depending on whether you'd previously dropped 70 pounds or none at all. Having lost 70 pounds means you sustained a pretty lengthy stretch of eating less, and your body almost certainly adapted metabolically to that lower intake as it worked to hold onto energy and fat. That adaptation drags your daily energy expenditure down, and the size of that drop seems to vary widely from person to person. In my case it fell by roughly half over a year: I needed 1600-1800 kcal to maintain at 75kg, compared with 3200-3600 at 145kg. Part of that came from having fewer fat and non-fat cells burning energy, but part was adaptation. For me it didn't budge — it stayed at 1600-1800 kcal/day for the following years right up to now. So from mid to late 2023 through 2026.

Not long ago someone posted here about eating 800 kcal/day, and pretty much nobody thought surviving on so little was believable. But given his situation — maintaining a massive long-term weight loss and still trying to shed more — it's not out of the question that he was eating that little just to lose slowly, if his energy expenditure had fallen below 1500kcal/day, which isn't wildly lower than what I went through.

How much this happens varies a lot, I think, and likely hinges on age, activity level, how many years obesity has been present, and how disrupted the hormonal and regulatory systems governing weight and appetite have become. (The fact that diabetics lose less weight on glps than non diabetics is fairly good evidence that this is actually an issue.) Losing weight is still possible, but the deficit has to come out of a smaller-than-average calorie budget, which means an even lower daily intake. Exercise probably helps, but almost certainly in a post weight loss state ( and especially in a post massive weight loss state ) the standard calculations about how many calories a certain exercise will consume are not going to be close to accurate. On the same calorie intake, walking 3 hours per day versus doing nothing made zero difference to my weight loss rate, when it should be 1-2kg per month weight difference.

The only thing that got me to lose any more weight after that was tirz15mg/reta5mg, that got me to 65kg over about 10 months, presumably by dropping calorie intake by about 100-200 kcal/day - it is very difficult to estimate calories that accurately without actually measuring everything. Though chapgpt did a pretty good job and is much quicker than looking everything up and calculating by hand. But to be accurate requires real exact weights of everything, which I generally am not going to do as my estimates are fairly close , within 10% which is usually good enough.

 

[Smiter]

lessthanhalf said:

I do believe the highest weight you reached is relevant, though the timing shifts how much. If it happened 10 years back, its impact might be smaller; if it was only a few years ago, I think it carries more weight. Suppose you're starting over at 270 lbs — that's a different situation depending on whether you'd previously dropped 70 pounds or none at all. Having lost 70 pounds means you sustained a pretty lengthy stretch of eating less, and your body almost certainly adapted metabolically to that lower intake as it worked to hold onto energy and fat. That adaptation drags your daily energy expenditure down, and the size of that drop seems to vary widely from person to person. In my case it fell by roughly half over a year: I needed 1600-1800 kcal to maintain at 75kg, compared with 3200-3600 at 145kg. Part of that came from having fewer fat and non-fat cells burning energy, but part was adaptation. For me it didn't budge — it stayed at 1600-1800 kcal/day for the following years right up to now. So from mid to late 2023 through 2026.

Not long ago someone posted here about eating 800 kcal/day, and pretty much nobody thought surviving on so little was believable. But given his situation — maintaining a massive long-term weight loss and still trying to shed more — it's not out of the question that he was eating that little just to lose slowly, if his energy expenditure had fallen below 1500kcal/day, which isn't wildly lower than what I went through.

How much this happens varies a lot, I think, and likely hinges on age, activity level, how many years obesity has been present, and how disrupted the hormonal and regulatory systems governing weight and appetite have become. (The fact that diabetics lose less weight on glps than non diabetics is fairly good evidence that this is actually an issue.) Losing weight is still possible, but the deficit has to come out of a smaller-than-average calorie budget, which means an even lower daily intake. Exercise probably helps, but almost certainly in a post weight loss state ( and especially in a post massive weight loss state ) the standard calculations about how many calories a certain exercise will consume are not going to be close to accurate. On the same calorie intake, walking 3 hours per day versus doing nothing made zero difference to my weight loss rate, when it should be 1-2kg per month weight difference.

The only thing that got me to lose any more weight after that was tirz15mg/reta5mg, that got me to 65kg over about 10 months, presumably by dropping calorie intake by about 100-200 kcal/day - it is very difficult to estimate calories that accurately without actually measuring everything. Though chapgpt did a pretty good job and is much quicker than looking everything up and calculating by hand. But to be accurate requires real exact weights of everything, which I generally am not going to do as my estimates are fairly close , within 10% which is usually good enough.

Appreciate it, man. I enjoy hearing your perspective, even if I'm usually too lazy to reply. But tonight I've got to stay up a bit longer anyway. To keep this short—not because I'm being lazy—I'll condense it. In my opinion, the whole thing comes down to that term: metabolic adaptation. Most of us who are obese deal with some kind of metabolic maladaptation. And from what you wrote, I gather you meant that as someone loses more weight, they need to eat fewer calories to hold onto that loss.

My view: sure, repairing the hormonal/regulatory system takes time. But TDEE can also be influenced. If a person adds muscle mass, the extra energy burn and the myokines produced would directly counteract the cytokine/interleukin chaos that comes with obesity. Funny enough, that YT video @ColdSmoke just shared has the guest doctor discussing exactly this, though only at a surface level.

So basically, if the Op stayed at the minimal effective dose and put on a sensible amount of muscle, it might not be so unrealistic that she could reach the Body Recomposition goals she wants Without an inflated dose. I'm not claiming it can't be done another way, but based on your own point about keeping the highest dose on AFTER hitting the target weight, I'd say it's a reasonable idea to put yourself in a position where the lowest possible dose is enough.

 

[desinr-gal]

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Each person's reaction is unique.. I'm with you on the opening point—if the pounds are coming off at a sensible pace, then remain at a low dose for as long as possible. Fewer adverse effects, lower cost, and your system gets room to acclimate. I'm acquainted with an individual whose gall bladder had to be removed.. the GLP effects proved too much for it. Rushing is completely unnecessary; this is your life, not a sprint to the end. Research indicates that weight loss can continue—and does continue—past the 1-year mark.

A lot of that hinges on your routines and what you eat. Dr Joseph discusses this in a you tube video, regarding maintaining the weight loss.. you might want to take a look.

 

[Smiter]

desinr-gal said:

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Each person's reaction is unique.. I'm with you on the opening point—if the pounds are coming off at a sensible pace, then remain at a low dose for as long as possible. Fewer adverse effects, lower cost, and your system gets room to acclimate. I'm acquainted with an individual whose gall bladder had to be removed.. the GLP effects proved too much for it. Rushing is completely unnecessary; this is your life, not a sprint to the end. Research indicates that weight loss can continue—and does continue—past the 1-year mark.

A lot of that hinges on your routines and what you eat. Dr Joseph discusses this in a you tube video, regarding maintaining the weight loss.. you might want to take a look.

Right, Lady D — same situation here. I need to brace for the worst while still wishing for the best. Unless someone happens to be a master hoarder sitting on piles of gold, the sensible path is to treat lasting healthy routines as the destination, and see GLPs as the route that gets you there — not the destination itself.

 

[lessthanhalf]

desinr-gal said:

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Each person's reaction is unique.. I'm with you on the opening point—if the pounds are coming off at a sensible pace, then remain at a low dose for as long as possible. Fewer adverse effects, lower cost, and your system gets room to acclimate. I'm acquainted with an individual whose gall bladder had to be removed.. the GLP effects proved too much for it. Rushing is completely unnecessary; this is your life, not a sprint to the end. Research indicates that weight loss can continue—and does continue—past the 1-year mark.

A lot of that hinges on your routines and what you eat. Dr Joseph discusses this in a you tube video, regarding maintaining the weight loss.. you might want to take a look.

When it comes to gallstones, GLP medications do raise the risk, though a good share of that risk comes from losing weight itself, and weight loss can cause gallstones whether or not GLP medications are involved.

What I'm describing here mainly concerns more severe obesity, not overweight problems.

My view of diet and exercise as an obesity treatment is not the usual one. In my opinion, only a tiny number of people really manage lasting, sustainable shifts in how they eat and move. In the short term, sure, most people can pull it off, but the reality that most diet weight comes back is solid proof that keeping those changes going over the long haul is largely too hard for people to pull off. So I see those approaches as essentially pushing a therapy that fails, apart from a small minority.

The explanation is straightforward: after weight loss, energy expenditure drops and hunger rises, so maintaining that loss over time will always demand fewer calories than your body is telling you to consume. Perhaps after many years things ease slightly.

GLP medications succeed at correcting obesity for most people. A few unlucky individuals barely lose weight, but for the majority they are pretty effective. They work whether or not you change your eating or exercise habits. Naturally, overall health is better if those habits improve, and GLP medications do lead to better food choices without any deliberate effort. Yet they still work even if the only thing they do is make you eat smaller portions of a poor diet.

Treating GLP medications as a minor piece of the answer is roughly like using them alongside a conventional diet, where you rely on constant deliberate effort to limit food intake and the medication merely helps curb excess hunger. The trouble I see there is that constant deliberate effort is exactly what eventually gives out, since most people cannot keep it up over the very long term, while the GLP effect on food intake is far more steady and dependable and shows no sign of fading over time, which permits long term weight loss, unlike diet based methods that succeed briefly but collapse later.

If GLP medications carried adverse long term effects, then keeping doses as low as possible would be sensible, but particularly for those facing higher health risks from obesity, GLP medications lower long term illness, and higher doses outperform lower doses at accomplishing that. For people who do not have severe obesity, lower doses do make sense.

 

[Gt3294a]

lessthanhalf said:

desinr-gal said:

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Each person's reaction is unique.. I'm with you on the opening point—if the pounds are coming off at a sensible pace, then remain at a low dose for as long as possible. Fewer adverse effects, lower cost, and your system gets room to acclimate. I'm acquainted with an individual whose gall bladder had to be removed.. the GLP effects proved too much for it. Rushing is completely unnecessary; this is your life, not a sprint to the end. Research indicates that weight loss can continue—and does continue—past the 1-year mark.

A lot of that hinges on your routines and what you eat. Dr Joseph discusses this in a you tube video, regarding maintaining the weight loss.. you might want to take a look.

When it comes to gallstones, GLP medications do raise the risk, though a good share of that risk comes from losing weight itself, and weight loss can cause gallstones whether or not GLP medications are involved.

What I'm describing here mainly concerns more severe obesity, not overweight problems.

My view of diet and exercise as an obesity treatment is not the usual one. In my opinion, only a tiny number of people really manage lasting, sustainable shifts in how they eat and move. In the short term, sure, most people can pull it off, but the reality that most diet weight comes back is solid proof that keeping those changes going over the long haul is largely too hard for people to pull off. So I see those approaches as essentially pushing a therapy that fails, apart from a small minority.

The explanation is straightforward: after weight loss, energy expenditure drops and hunger rises, so maintaining that loss over time will always demand fewer calories than your body is telling you to consume. Perhaps after many years things ease slightly.

GLP medications succeed at correcting obesity for most people. A few unlucky individuals barely lose weight, but for the majority they are pretty effective. They work whether or not you change your eating or exercise habits. Naturally, overall health is better if those habits improve, and GLP medications do lead to better food choices without any deliberate effort. Yet they still work even if the only thing they do is make you eat smaller portions of a poor diet.

Treating GLP medications as a minor piece of the answer is roughly like using them alongside a conventional diet, where you rely on constant deliberate effort to limit food intake and the medication merely helps curb excess hunger. The trouble I see there is that constant deliberate effort is exactly what eventually gives out, since most people cannot keep it up over the very long term, while the GLP effect on food intake is far more steady and dependable and shows no sign of fading over time, which permits long term weight loss, unlike diet based methods that succeed briefly but collapse later.

If GLP medications carried adverse long term effects, then keeping doses as low as possible would be sensible, but particularly for those facing higher health risks from obesity, GLP medications lower long term illness, and higher doses outperform lower doses at accomplishing that. For people who do not have severe obesity, lower doses do make sense.

No matter where your weight begins, this holds true — it comes down to the leanness you're aiming for. A lot of folks these days fine-tune their Reta dose to match the exact number of calories they plan to consume that day. I just ran into a guy who told me he's getting started, and he's 8 months away from a competition. Why put yourself through that constant hunger? When these first appeared, my reaction was: wow, this might actually be a real breakthrough….

 

[ici_guy19]

cloratheshadow said:

From the moment I administered my first injection, I understood this attempt would not be like the others. Over the years I have dropped a lot of weight and put a lot back on. For 15 years, starting when I was a young girl, I have been yo-yo dieting. I pushed through diets with sheer willpower until hunger and deprivation drove me to binge on whatever I could get my hands on. Every morning I would tell myself “this is my day one. We will follow the plan today” only to give in to my cravings. What came next was brutal self-hatred, which I turned into a reason to overeat again. The thought was always “if I can lose this weight…if I can get my eating under control…”

These days, I get up feeling content. I never require more than I am meant to have. I pick healthy foods because I know they will make me feel better. I step on the scale and the number drops every time. Each weigh-in renews my belief in myself and in this medication. I picture the clothes I will put on and the activities I have not been able to do. I wonder what my style will be. I think about how others will treat me with more kindness. How the first insult or label they reach for will no longer be “fat girl”

I am certain now that this will come true for me. It is bound to happen. And it is simpler than it has ever been. Hope has returned that my life will be fulfilling and that I can become whoever I want, with my chains removed.

I am especially thankful to the grey market for giving me an endless supply of very expensive medication. I get to live something that some people can only dream about.

85 lbs lost today. 60 of it without GLP, 25 lbs of it lost in 2.5 months on peps.

SW: 330 CW: 245 GW: 160

This is a really impressive outcome. I appreciate you posting about it. Only now are most people beginning to grasp just how transformative these medications can be.

 

[desinr-gal]

lessthanhalf said:

desinr-gal said:

lessthanhalf said:

Well done on what you've achieved, and on that feeling of hope that these medications can bring.

For me, after a large loss and a year of struggling to stop it coming back, GLP drugs made things easier and gave me a fair amount of confidence that I could hold onto the loss this time, instead of regain being the probable outcome over the long haul, which is what so many earlier attempts had taught me to expect. The amount I'm trying to hold off is very close to your own goal, slightly more than 50%.

Even though plenty of people here talk about staying at the smallest dose you can, my view is that for someone aiming to lose and then hold off 170 lbs, that probably isn't the wisest guidance. Where small doses are doing the job, where weight is coming off and sticking to your diet doesn't demand enormous mental effort, then small doses are likely okay. Still, since you're aiming at 170/330 = 51% of body weight, that sits above what any trial of any glp has averaged so far, even at full doses, so moving up to higher doses is almost certainly going to be necessary at some point.

And if your loss stalls before you reach your goal while you're on the maximum doses, you might have to bring in cagri or a different GLP or go beyond the standard max doses, or you could turn out to be a super responder and reach it on tirz or reta alone. Depending somewhat on age, there are solid reasons to remain on full dose GLP drugs over the long term, given how much overweight is involved, because of the health advantages GLP drugs offer in lowering diabetes, heart disease and cancers over time.

Each person's reaction is unique.. I'm with you on the opening point—if the pounds are coming off at a sensible pace, then remain at a low dose for as long as possible. Fewer adverse effects, lower cost, and your system gets room to acclimate. I'm acquainted with an individual whose gall bladder had to be removed.. the GLP effects proved too much for it. Rushing is completely unnecessary; this is your life, not a sprint to the end. Research indicates that weight loss can continue—and does continue—past the 1-year mark.

A lot of that hinges on your routines and what you eat. Dr Joseph discusses this in a you tube video, regarding maintaining the weight loss.. you might want to take a look.

When it comes to gallstones, GLP medications do raise the risk, though a good share of that risk comes from losing weight itself, and weight loss can cause gallstones whether or not GLP medications are involved.

What I'm describing here mainly concerns more severe obesity, not overweight problems.

My view of diet and exercise as an obesity treatment is not the usual one. In my opinion, only a tiny number of people really manage lasting, sustainable shifts in how they eat and move. In the short term, sure, most people can pull it off, but the reality that most diet weight comes back is solid proof that keeping those changes going over the long haul is largely too hard for people to pull off. So I see those approaches as essentially pushing a therapy that fails, apart from a small minority.

The explanation is straightforward: after weight loss, energy expenditure drops and hunger rises, so maintaining that loss over time will always demand fewer calories than your body is telling you to consume. Perhaps after many years things ease slightly.

GLP medications succeed at correcting obesity for most people. A few unlucky individuals barely lose weight, but for the majority they are pretty effective. They work whether or not you change your eating or exercise habits. Naturally, overall health is better if those habits improve, and GLP medications do lead to better food choices without any deliberate effort. Yet they still work even if the only thing they do is make you eat smaller portions of a poor diet.

Treating GLP medications as a minor piece of the answer is roughly like using them alongside a conventional diet, where you rely on constant deliberate effort to limit food intake and the medication merely helps curb excess hunger. The trouble I see there is that constant deliberate effort is exactly what eventually gives out, since most people cannot keep it up over the very long term, while the GLP effect on food intake is far more steady and dependable and shows no sign of fading over time, which permits long term weight loss, unlike diet based methods that succeed briefly but collapse later.

If GLP medications carried adverse long term effects, then keeping doses as low as possible would be sensible, but particularly for those facing higher health risks from obesity, GLP medications lower long term illness, and higher doses outperform lower doses at accomplishing that. For people who do not have severe obesity, lower doses do make sense.

On the glp advantages you listed, there's no disagreement from any of us. What's actually at stake is whether it's better to race toward the maximum dose as fast as you can, which appears to be your position, or to move up more gradually. With the first approach, a large number of people simply cannot tolerate the adverse effects and stop treatment. Their benefit ends up being nothing at all. Others end up with medical conditions that need procedures to fix. You write as though surgical removal of a gallbladder were simply an expected part of losing weight. That isn't accurate. If you go more slowly, it's possible to shed a great deal of weight without those serious complications.

At no point did I claim diet and exercise by themselves are enough. Still, making better food choices reduces adverse effects, and so does activity as basic as walking. Both of those things make you healthier overall. Sure, weight can come off without them.

Nobody proposed micro-dosing as a way to drop hundreds of pounds.