Starting Zepbound in My 60s

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...

Welp, I'm almost at the finish line of week 1. It was pretty smooth sailing all in all, until yesterday (Day 6) when I was literally hungry all day. I even woke up overnight with hunger pains. No matter what I ate, I was still hungry.  But despite the hunger, I managed to stick to my healthy eating plan. I didn't experience any wild, out-of-control, eat-everything-in-sight hunger, just a constant, dull ache. I had a lot more carbs (the good kind--whole grains and legumes) than earlier in the week, so that might've contributed. This morning I am still hungry, but will try to focus more on proteins. I have hit my protein/fiber/water goals every day this week and I am very proud of it! Tomorrow I will step on the scale and then take shot 2. Hoping for a positive result but determined to stick with this. I do think my pants are fitting just a touch looser but that could be because I haven't run them through the wash yet this week. 

So I've been tooling around these past few days and all was well until...BAM at about 5 PM on day 3 I hit a HUGE energy sink. I'd gone to back-to-back rehearsals after lunch (I'm a musician) and had forgot to bring a water bottle. Decided to run an errand on the way home, which took way longer than expected, and come 5:00, I felt like my body wanted to shut down. The good news though: I was surrounded by fast food places and had zero interest in hitting a drive through. I even thought about it, and my brain was like, nah. I just wanted to get home, get some water, and whip up an early dinner ( impossible burger on Dave's thin - 25g protein , 11g fiber - not too shabby).  I'll see how the next four days go, but I am wondering if I need to track calories . I feel like I've eaten enough when I look at my log, but man, that low energy hit me hard.  Will sip water for a bit and read a book to relax. I have a few more things I need to do this evening, but need to g...

The chills finally subsided around 2:00 AM. I woke up way overheated from my 2 layers of clothes and 2 blankets.  It's about 9:30AM now and I'm feeling pretty good. Had my coffee (black), and feeling a very slight hunger pain . Not an intense, gotta-eat-everything pain; more of a "oh-I-should-eat-something" pain. I'm planning an egg sandwich using Dave's whole grain thin bread (the absolutely tastiest healthy bread out there!) with a few mushrooms on the side: 19.6g protein, 6.5g fiber.  I seem to be avoiding the issue of exercise , so I need to work that out.  Post-breakfast update: While I didn't have to force myself to eat, I definitely found myself eating more slowly. I wasn't ravenously shoving food into my mouth, but instead, taking small, thoughtful bites. This wasn't intentional, so I think it must be the Zep kicking in! Fingers crossed. 

It's been twelve hours since the first injection. I've hit my protein and fiber goals, and am nearly at my water target.  So far I don't notice any changes to my appetite, although I'm only the lowest dose (2.5mg) and prepped the kitchen with plenty of options. I'm focusing on mainly whole foods, but did supplement with a protein shake and a protein bar for extra fiber.  I napped earlier, although I don't know if I was tired from the Zep or just tired from not sleeping soundly. I am hoping that as the weight drops off, my sleeping gets better. One side effect that's taken me completely by surprise though: the cold ! I'm in a 71 degree house, wearing multiple layers, and still shivering. It's like the chills that accompany a fever , but without the fever. I did some googling, and this seems to fairly common. It also seems to wear off, so hopefully I won't need to spend the summer bundled up.  The NP instructed me to get an A1c blood test before...