Obesity and weight loss: What weight loss plan worked for you?

Are you taking the max dose of Wegovy? If not, I might inquire about it. You could inquire about those people who need extra help. I haven’t taken this med, but you could inquire about an alternative.

You could also discuss your meal plans with a nutritionist. I recently met with one at my gastroenterologist’s office. She was quite helpful and reminded me I need protein due to my workouts. So, I’ve added 8 grams of protein after my workout. We looked at all my meal plans, which are rather similar and discussed the benefits.

When I say get back to basics, I mean I’m taking out the food scale and weighing all my food to confirm the calories I am consuming. And, then log everything I eat for at least a week. I’m not a low carb fan, but I require my carbs to have a purpose and prefer that come in the form of beans and vegetables. I like healthy fats, but fat is highly caloric, so there’s probably something I can tweak to get back in calories deficit mode.

Yesterday I ate a little differently, but that’s ok. It was a holiday, so I won’t fret over that. Getting back in gear today though and returning to the gym.

@celia16
First thanks for replying and for what you are doing about your plateau.

I was going to call WEGOVY about my frustration and still plan to do.

I am not sure, but I have found that by not eating a full breakfast (have yogurt) that my stomach does not have anything to work on. This is just a guess though. But don't want to eat a lot as exercise for 2 hours in mornings and some of those are swimming and can get GERD while swimming if eat a lot prior to exercise. When I come home from exercising, I am hungry and do not feel any appetite suppression.

But at dinner I noticed I have started to feel not so hungry and not wanting to eat so much. I think my stomach (and mind) is reacting to what I had at lunch. I don't get the feeling at lunch because I have eaten extraordinarily little at breakfast.

You asked what I will do next. I am going to try to eat something little prior to lunch and see if that reduces my appetite and snacking that is quite frankly ferocious. And in addition to call to WEGOVY will try to eat more high fiber and less carbohydrates.

It is just disappointing to have been on this medication for over 3 months and nothing. I am so frustrated that for me this maybe is not the path to weight loss. I will discuss this with WEGOVY and my PCP who did the prescription for it.

You referred to going back to basics and that is probably what I need to do.

That sounds frustrating. I’d be confused too, since I’ve heard great things about this med and weight loss.

I hate a plateau. I’m close to my goal weight and it’s so illusive. It’s time for me to strip it down to the basics of journaling my food and closely counting every calorie. I’ll keep working out, but I’ve always heard you can’t outrun a bad diet. I won’t stop now.

What do you think you’re going to do next?

I wish I could post had great results with WEGOVY but can't. Started with .25 then .5 then 1. and now on 1.7.

I don't eat much for breakfast as I exercise about 2 hours each morning 6 days a week. When I come home really hungry for lunch. I wonder why no reduction in appetite for lunch. I do notice at dinner there is a slight reduction in appetite and how much I eat.

So how much weight have I lost for over 3 months on WEGOVY. ZERO (0). I have 2 more injections of 1.7 and then move on to highest dose WEGOVY has 2.7. I checked with my PCP and he says I am probably one of those that needs to be on the highest dosasges for results. I am not sure of that but hope so but not doing to wait relying on WEGOVY

What I asked myself (yep talk to myself all the time) okay the WEGOVY is not working like I expected and I am just spinning wheels. So my inner self talks to ther other self and "says go back to what was working before and just don't rely on WEGOVY". Okay the other self says, "that is hard but got to get weight off." So back to watching the type foods I eat. I take a long look in mirror before I succumb to snacks. And I up my exercise even more. I just started this and hopefully will see some weight reduction (I weigh once a week).

Might I say I had rapid weight gain when I got COVID (first time even though took all shots and boosters). The COVID (which was bad enough) caused a really bad sinus infection, which caused a really bad bronchial infection. Repeated rounds of antibiotics, prednisone, inhalers and 3 months of no physical activity, and eating anything to make me feel better and coat my extremely sore throat. Then rapid weight gain.

I am not sure the COVID did not screw up my metabolism. I asked PCP to do test and have those test coming up. I have always been able to lose weight it is just keeping it off. Now the scale does not move. Hopefully my back to what worked in past will work again.

Please! I have read post of wonderful things that weight loss drugs have done for many and don't want to damping that method of weight loss. But looks like for me not going to work and have to use what does. Just have to keep healthy. Being active 6 days a week to no exercising and snacking is a killer for me. My throat during COVID was extremely painful and horrendous cough so ate soft ice cream for relief. Yes knew better but when really sick the last thing you thing about is losing weight.

I decided last week what I would eat for Thanksgiving. I will have a couple of small side dishes, turkey and a small piece of pumpkin pie. Since I’m close to my goal weight, I’m not going to go overboard with the food.

For snacks I discovered these prepackaged single serve bags of mixed nuts with cranberries or cherries. It’s only 100 calories and 15 grams of sodium. I like the almonds and walnuts with cherries the best.

Hi @gigihammett, I add my welcome. Congrats on getting some weight off slowly. It sounds like it is staying off too. As the fable says, slow and steady wins (The Tortoise and the Hare).

With the holidays fast approaching, what tactics do you use to stay the course and stay healthy or even make allowances for celebration?

@gigihammett

Welcome to group, there is lot of knowledge and experience from members of this group. Some members of group have had or are exploring weight loss surgery; others are using weight loss medication. Weather you're using either of those options or just trying to lose weight without surgery or medications, some of the tools needed to loss weight are the same. @celia16 offered some great ideas.

You might want to check out the Nutrition & Fitness blog at Mayo Clinic Press:
Nutrition & Fitness: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/nutrition-fitness/

Most dietitians recommend meal planning and a food journal so have written record of what your eating. I think if you have to write it down, your more conscious of what you eat. I am not a fan of journaling, but plan on starting again to make myself more accountable.

I have heard good things about Wegovy and Ozempic. So, hope you can get one of them if you choose.

I think weight loss is very individual, but I’ll share some of my experience. Something inside me clicked in a way I never had experienced before. It just felt right. It’s difficult to describe. I changed my lifestyle from what I ate and how I worked out. I met with a nutritionist and reviewed my meal plans. I followed a solid, healthy low calorie plan with delicious food I love. I stopped buying most snack foods like chips and cookies. I do get healthy snacks like nuts, yogurt, fruit, etc. I prepare meals I enjoy and love the foods I eat. I plan to always eat this way, as it offers me health benefits for more than my type 1 diabetes. I recently met with another nutritionist and tweaked my plan.

Do you have access to a nutritionist?

I found that working out made me feel stronger and more motivated to eat right.

I kept a photo journal of me at the gym to document my progress.

I hope you get more ideas. I’d like to read what others say too. I liked the post upthread by Max2, though I’m not going vegan.

Good luck. Your goals sound very reasonable to me.

Hello, I am new to this group, and I hope to learn a lot about how to become healthier on this website. I am diagnosed with Fatty Liver, non-alcoholic type of liver disease. I'm 77 years old and for the past about 8 years the weight has been slowly coming on. I weigh 195 and I'm 5'2" so I'm considered obese. I would be happy to get back to about 150 as I do not have a small frame. I know I'm addicted to crunchie salty items, and it's not a dill pickle :-). Sugars at times. So I am limiting my breads/carbs now. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. My doctor tried to get me a script for Wegovy, but insurance denied it. Now that I am pre-diabetic maybe the insurance will reconsider his request come December when I see the doctor again. Thanks for your attention, have a great day.

I purchased a good collagen (with vitamins) and proteins (15 gm). I put a small scoop in a cup of coffee in mornings. It desolves immediately. I also keep protein bars, yogurt (Iceland Skyr) which have another 10-15 gm in them. In Morning I have a Skyr yogurt with a teaspoon of non sugar granola (Walmart) and berries occasionally. I then eat a ready made salad for lunch or supper which has a minimum of 10mg of protein. I add a 1/2 teasp. Of a good olive oil to a tablespoon or two of a nonfat, no sugar Catalina dressing for spice. The 3rd meal is a protein, green veg of asparagus, brocolli, beans, etc. if we are having potatoes, I take a tablespoon only, no bread, etc. if eating out I eat the beef out of an Arby’s burger or chicken without the bread. I have a glass of milk with main meal. This took several years to develop. I have snack which may be an apple (Gala), banana (green), nuts, protein bar. Be kind and make your own plan you believe you can live with.