An honest post about Mounjaro and stuff
Mounwhat? Call it Ozempic, Wegovy, or whatever....I'm here to tell you what it did to me
Happy New Year! For me, 2024 was a very good year…
It’s been a good year. One that underlined to me that with the right circumstances, thoughts and feelings, we can all make changes. We can all become the person we want to be! Who knew?
I never thought I’d be one to say that. For all my life, I’ve been fat, to the extent that, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t face the thought of beginning any sort of weight loss journey — the restricted eating, feeling hungry, upping the exercise, and I don’t think I could imagine myself in a thinner body. So I always got defensive when it came to weight loss, but had resolutely stayed around the same weight for about a decade.
There was always some future where I was a thinner me; I just couldn’t visualise it. Perhaps as a result of a health scare, I often thought. But why not nip it in the bud, rather than waiting for a catastrophic event?
I think my personality was ingrained in being fat. It’s hardly a culture, but I identified as a fat bloke and that was that. “I can’t do that, I’m too fat”, I’d always say. Now I’ve lost 28 kilos, and counting, I’ve realised I can’t use the “I’m too fat” argument for not doing stuff, when most of my refusals were based on fear, rather than size.
Becoming thinner has meant confronting that shield, that easy way out. Now, if I think I can’t — or don’t want to do something — I have to come up with more creative excuses, or just do the thing.
Thinner me isn’t a different person, a better person, but it certainly feels different. Someone took the piss out of the size of my ears on a social media post earlier in the year, and it made me laugh — a refreshing change to realise the (easy) target for making fun of me was no longer a bouncy castle belly.
My weight loss began in March, when I started injecting Mounjaro/ Ozempic/ Wegovy. Happy and privileged enough to pay for it, I embarked on a programme to lose about 30kgs, and I’m nearly there. And it’s been easy, honestly. These GLP—1 inhibiting drugs simply remove your appetite, leading to you naturally eating less, and I consistently lost about 1kg a week.
Of course, I upped my exercise, choosing to walk a lot more, and I got some free weights via Olio, and took up a bit of yoga again. Not as much as I’d like, but I felt better for it.
And amongst the horror stories of those taking GLP—1 inhibitors, I read that it is showing promising signs in helping alcoholics and smokers. So in September, having been hitting the tobacco again since lockdown, I kicked the habit. That was easy too. My local council has a smoking cessation team that sent me free nicotine chewing gum for six weeks, which was brilliant.
Eating less and giving up smoking meant money saving, too, and in terms of my health, recent blood tests revealed all my levels of everything are normal, and my blood sugar level — after being diagnosed as Type II diabetic in 2005, and pre—diabetic for the last two years — is optimal. So I’m no longer diabetic.
The cost savings to the NHS of me, as just one example, are a lifetime on less drugs, with less need for tests and check—ups. That alone, surely, should make the UK’s NHS give GLP—1 inhibitors to those who require them?
In terms of the BMI scale, a much—disputed weight metric, I’ve watched myself drop from morbidly obese (a fun category to be in), to obese, to now teetering at the high end of a healthy weight for my height.
This year I’ve also got back into meditation, too, which allows you to fully rest, relax and reflect.
I’ve also dropped the amount of time I spend working. That gives me more time to focus on me, exercise and my hobbies. My clients are happy, supportive and appreciate my work. I earn enough money to cover the bills, and I have no debt, and good saving habits.
Having more time meant I could put more focus on doing this Substack newsletter — plant—based planet — a true passion project — which I love writing, and I’ve developed a loving, friendly tribe of over 200 followers in six months or so. This gives me enormous pleasure. Thanks to you all for your love and support!
I suppose the point of me writing this is to share that it only takes a slight shift in your existing mindset to achieve goals that you might otherwise think are unachievable. I’m not likely to become a motivational speaker anytime soon, but now I know I’m more than capable of creating huge changes with patience, pretty low effort and help — there is always help out there somewhere — I feel like I’ve become a better, stronger, healthier and happier person.
And so what about this year’s plans? Watch this space!
TL:DR
I’ve lost 30kgs in 9 months
I’ve given up smoking
I’m no longer diabetic
You can do anything you set your mind to
Change can be slow, incremental, and easy, with time and patience