Starting Zepbound in My 60s

Things are churning along. At the end of Week 5, I was down 12 pounds ! Some of my clothes are fitting a little looser now, although the changes seem to be mostly above the waist. I have a pair of jeans that are still stubbornly snug, although maybe a little less snug. I've maintained my 100g protein , 30g fiber , although I read this morning that the body can't process more than 30g of protein at one sitting , so my tally might be a touch off (but not by much), Since my first walk (!), I did 3 walks in week 5 (about 75 minutes total) & am at 2 walks so far this week.  I've cut back on my music activities for the summer. Partly so I can experiment with other music things - alto flute & flute beatboxing - but also so I don't have the time pressure to practice. During the fall and winter, I regularly put in at least 3 hours a day. But with the nice weather, I want the freedom to do more and longer hikes, as well as yard work, etc. Speaking of yard work, I never ...

You guys, I did it! After yesterday's post, it hit home that for Zep to really work, I have to get moving. So this morning, I had my coffee and oatmeal, then thru on leggings and a baggy sweatshirt. I had to dig a bit to find proper footwear (did I mention it's been awhile?!), but I managed to locate hiking shoes and off I went.  There's a park a couple of miles from my house that has a mostly flat paved walking trail that's just about a mile loop. My form wasn't necessarily very pretty and I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath, but I did it! 1 mile, 25 minutes. I am very pleased with myself. And even better, I didn't hate it.

 I'm rounding out Week 4 - just today and tomorrow, and then my 5th shot. This week seemed like smooth sailing.  Diarrhea update: I finally stopped racing to the bathroom - it lasted about Friday to Wednesday - and now find myself mildly constipated. Sigh. I've read that 4 ounces of pear juice in the morning can do wonders so I will start that tomorrow. I have a performance today and would rather not have to race off the stage! Food update: I decided this week to start counting calories. Although I tracked protein, fiber, and water for the first 3 weeks, I had a sneaky suspicion that I was still eating too many calories. According to my smart scale, my BMR (basic metabolic rate) is only 1400, which would put my TDEE at 1680 (1.2 times BMR for a sedentary person). To lose a pound a week, this means that I would need to shave off 500/calories a day from the TDEE, making my daily max only 1180!! Obviously this is too few calories, which means I have to boost my TDEE. Two ways t...

Did my end-of-week-3 weigh-in this morning and was a little disappointed to see only one pound gone this past week. I'm still happy with my 7.9 pounds lost over three weeks, but I was hoping for more. I had my second Walgreens virtual appointment. They require it after the fourth shot and won't refill the prescription without it. It as basically a $49 text chat lol. The NP said since I'm losing on the 2.5mg , she recommended I stay on it for at least another 4 weeks. No complaints from me, as I believe the price from LillyDirect jumps up $150/month for the 5mg dosage . I will say that even with the medicine, it's taking a lot of willpower and determination on my part. This is not a magic, eat-anything-you-want, fat-melting cure. What it does do though, is stabilize my hunger . In the past 3 weeks, I haven't had any enormous spikes that usually have me stuffing my face. I am also feeling full earlier during meals, which is helping me to cut back on portion sizes. ...

I'm a couple days shy of completing my third week on Zep and I wanted to share some side effects. Early in the second week, I experienced a somewhat scary bout of lightheadedness and dizziness . In retrospect, it was scary only because I didn't realize this could be a side effect and it hit me seemingly out of nowhere.  I'd been lying on the couch cuddling with the kitties before bed. When I stood up (maybe too quickly?), everything felt off kilter. My head felt light and I'd lost my balance. I sat back down to recover, and that helped, but it persisted throughout the rest of the evening. Luckily I felt fine the next morning and it hasn't recurred. Today's side effect was a bit more problematic. I was out shopping before the weekend, and I felt the urge to poop . I'd already been to the bathroom three times today, so I should've realized this was concerning. But I was too wrapped up in shopping to think about it so I continued on my merry way. I went to...

Yesterday morning I did my second shot! Before that, though, I stepped on the scale, eyes closed....down 4.4 pounds! While I was very happy to see a loss, I think only about 2 pounds was real, as my weigh-in on the day I started seemed a couple of pounds high. Anywho, I'll take it! The effects of the shot definitely wore off towards the end of the week, where I was hungry 24/7. Even after shot 2, the hunger pains didn't really subside until late evening.  This morning I woke up not hungry, so that was good! I made a bowl of oatmeal with raspberries & that seems to be doing the trick. Prior to starting Zep , I talked with a friend who's done compounded something-or-other for the past 18 months. She cautioned me that I'd have zero interest in eating, but had to make sure I did! Well, so far that has not happened. I still enjoy eating very much, but I seem better able to make good food choices and control my portions, although I'm not sure if this stems from t...