Mounjaro / Zepbound Journey

  Wow!  My 80th shot this morning!    Holding steady at 230 pounds , but I feel good.    I finished  my 75th gym work out of 2024 and I am committed to keep that going.  My 10K training is off a bit given all the company I have had but I should be able to get back on track now prior to my October 10k.   Next up …    1) Write the great american novel 2) Find the love of my life  3) Live happily ever after  lol … Not doing too bad then! The photos were on two consecutive days .. the water tower shots were done by maneuvering on a boat to get the right angles … the sunrise with the reflection on the hood of the car was a random pullover on the way to work.   I love the shots!

  So I got my July 5K done this morning … a hilly trail run on a very HOT day … my time was almost 5 min slower than my last 5K but I was completely drenched in sweat on this one!  In the photo above that is the same shirt in both photos … I am down to two more 5Ks ((August & September) before my 10K in October.  I am heading to Cary NC for the 10K. I start my 10k prep this week with the Jeff Galloway Run-Walk program … we will see how that goes!!

  Funny t-shirt for Father’s Day.   And the gym seems to paying off. I am all signed up for my next 5K (the Saturday after July 4th) and I am signed up and committed to a 10K for my birthday month (October).   I still plan to do a 5K in August and a 5K in Septembrr on the way to the 10K.  I have been using the None To Run for my prep so far but I am going to switch gears and do a 13 week Jeff Galloway 10K to finish program starting the week after my July 5K.  He is Th master of the planned run-walk technique.   I was thinking that if I keep running then that would make a smooth transition to possibly a half marathon ... Is that a bridge too far for me?  We will see.  So far my knees are doing okay although I don’t like seeing my reflection when I am “running” … the image I see looks like a speed walker versus the runner I imagine in my head... Lol.  I am fluctuating around 223-229 pounds but I am still thinning out as I redustribute the weigh...

 So here we are … I have been at a prolonged plateau at about 230 pounds but making progress on all other fronts. I did my 5th 5K this past Saturday with a later life personal best of 44:25.97 which is very slow for accomplished runners but I am thrilled that I broke 45 minutes.   That is about a 14:20 / mile average … I think if I can get myself to 14 minutes that I will be ready for doing a 10K during my 60th birthday month in October.  I did that 5K non-stop but my dilemma is whether to keep going with a non-stop pace or switch to the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk ratio pacing … most the people around me at the 5K were doing some variant of that “Jeffing” kind of pacing.   i have been hitting the gym 2-3 times per week consistently for the past 28 weeks and I am feeling good about that.  I have been concentrating on upper body and to a lesser extent abdominals as I am concerned with hurting my kneess while I am trying to progress in the running side of the things. S...

  So I did my second 5K race yesterday  morning… 45:49 … I took 5 min off my 5K from last month … I listened to Calm Down by Rema on repeat for the whole race … Bonus: I got 2nd place in my age group (55-59) … lol … but I will take it!!  I have been training on a flat indoor track … these races have been outside with hills in them which are challenging.   I finished the 12 week None to Run with that 5K.   This week I will start the 8 week None to race 5k to see if I can improve on my times.   My next race will be in June.  Barring injuries I plan on one race per month through my October birth month when I turn 60.  My weight is still going between 224-226  pounds  but my waist seems a little smaller.    I am feeling pretty good. My dating life is nothing to write about.   Online dating sites have been no help really.    I have also been looking for hidden magic lamps that I can rub to see if there is a genie in t...

  So despite my super slow weight loss with my new work out program I did hit an even 224 lb this morning … the lowest I have been since 1987 (37 years ago!).  My BMI is 31.2 ..: with all the Zepbound shortages I am kind of afraid to get below 30 now as I have read that some pharmacies may not fill my prescription if my BMI is too low when it does become available again (I started at a BMi of 54 which really should be the BMI they go by!)  … Could you imagine if that was a risk for not getting your BP meds filled? So in summary, 132 lb down on tirzepatide for 37% weight loss (and  total 159 lb down from my maximum weight for 41.5% weight loss). I have been making positive strides in the gym and am slowly regaining my lost strength.   I definitely look good working out in a tighter shirt … funny how most of my adult life has been lived in oversized very loose t shirts because I did not like the way I looked ….  On the jogging front, I am up to None to Run We...

  So … on impulse I signed up and did a 5K run.   I had not fully trained up for it but I wanted to see where I was at … in all honesty I was worried that I might not finish it so I picked one an hour away where I would not know anyone! I am very slow at 49:21:59 but all in all I was happy with my performance.   I could not have done it any faster at this point.   But given how I never thought I would ever be able to do a 5K again before the tirzepatide  … it was actually wonderful! I am still looking to do a 5K for my birthday but hopefully I can train up to it being a little better time … I should have some PRs in my future regardless of how slow I am … lol! The tirzepatide cold feeling was real … it was 54 degrees with 10 mph wind gusts and I was wearing a t shirt, a fleece pullover, and a second t shirt and thank God I warmed up once we started …  I never experienced feeling cold like that before the weight loss! And I did hit the gym on the way home so...

  okay … those are my photos from today which was an eclipse day! Also noteworthy was I weighed in at 226.6 lbs which may not seem noteworthy but I am at the point where any weight loss is great!  That is a 129.4 lb weight loss since starting Tirzepatide in January 2923 (36%).    That is 156.4 lb down from my maximum weight which is a 40.8% loss from that weight … always amazes me!   My BMI is now 31.6 down from maximum of 53.4  (50 when I started tirzepatide)  from when I started my weight loss journey! I also did Week 9 Run 1 from the None to Run program!   I am crazy slow … when I am on the indoor track with power walkers an occasional one of them will pass me by 😀! I was trying to decide whether to post my stats from today because when I say slow …. I mean ssssslllllllloooooooooowwwwwww! My goal is to run (using the term loosely) a 5K by my birthday in October … I am hoping that I can speed up to 12 minute miles … yes, I said speed up to get ...

  So … this is my being vulnerable photos!   I finally broke the magical 230 mark and weighted in at 227.6 today … Whoop!  Whoop!   In honor of this accomplishment I decided to share the above photos …. If you subtract the right photo from the left photo you  will see what 150 POUNDS LOOKS LIKE!!!!  (128 of those pounds were lost on Tirzepatide since 1/23) So on the hair issue … The hair on my head has not changed dramatically before and after being on the tirzepatide but I actually have more body hair (getting the old greyback gorilla look!) Another observation, with all my weight loss I find that I take more pride in my clothes … I actually floss more regularly … and I have really gotten into working out.   As I feel better about myself I actually without consciously thinking about it … try harder.   It has been interesting! 

    So the scale hit 231.2 lb today … slow but positive progress!  I am feeling pretty good about it! (126.8 pounds lost since starting tirzzepatide over 14 months  ago…for a  35.4% weight loss)  From my all time maximum weight in the last 3 years I am down a total of 153.8 pounds for a 40% weight loss) … I never thought I would be here! So my workout to whomever is interested:  All exercises on cable machines at my local YMCA: I shoot to do the routine every third day … to be honest at my present age I seem to need the extra time to recover from the lifting fully to see gains. Bench Press, Military Press, Chest Flyes, Lateral raises, tricep extensions Narrow handle seated rows, Lateral pulldowns, back extensions, rveerse flyes, bicep curls Leg Press, Leg extensions, Leg Curls, Hip Abduction and Hip Adduction Abdominal crunch, Torso rotations I started with single set with low weight on each exercise and add weight and sets.   On a Sunday with ple...

  As if!    lol … yes I ordered this banana split because I was told it was the biggest one I will ever have seen … it was amazing!   I did share it and thanks to the tirzepatide I only tasted it … I did not indulge myself to the excess!   Quite an accomplishment compared to my old self! So after a year of injecting myself in only my thighs I finally mixed it up and did a belly injection.   I have now done two.   My take aways … it hurt less than the thigh shots (although the thigh shots are not bad) and I do seem to have improved appetite suppression for at least the first few days of the week.   I am not sure why the different site would change this perception but I will take it and will be using my belly for shots for at least a while. So I broke my plateau … well a little anyway.   I am ranging between 234-236 which is good.  Now I just want to get under 230!    Can I do it … I hope so!     ( Update 3/1/24 - scale...

  This is an AI rendition of what I would look like as a hippie … it made me think of the all the possibilities of what could be or what could have been … I am at a protracted plateau now fluctuating between 237-243 for the past couple of months.   The only thing I am doing different is that I am working out 2-3x per week in the gym trying to regain some of the muscle and strength I lost this past year.   It seems counterintuitive to me that working out would slow my weight loss down like this but maybe it does … for me! I have been amazied hy how many people have started their own weight loss journey.   Like me early on they want to keep it to themselves until other people notice a difference.   Human nature to be self conscious and afraid that what has worked for so many people won’t work for them.  I am going to stay the status quo for now and see if the weight loss starts again … but I will continue working out.  I am doing my shots every 7 days si...

  So as I begin Year 2 … I am at a plateau with today’s weight being 238.4 but my outlook for the year is very good.   It has brought me great joy sharing this weight loss journey with others and hearing their stories.  Ultimately the most important thing in life is connection and sharing these stories has been a great way to feel connection with others and the realization that so many other people totally understand and relate to where I started and how far I have come. So here are the experiences that so many people on this journey can relate to prior to their successful journey: - commonly having food at meal times stain your shirt (or dresses or sweaters or jackets etc) because everything falls down onto our stomach area (or breast area for women) and it is harder to bite something over our plates with our stomach area in the way when we bend forward with messy food. - having been asked to get off a roller coaster before it started or not even allowed to get on board ...

So in two days it will be exactly one year since I started tirzepatide!!   It has been a crazy year … there has been joy, happiness, anger, frustration, disappointments, accomplishments, and for me even betrayal!  Most of that was independent of my weight loss but my weight loss is my single greatest achievement this past year.   It is unfortunate that my great year of weight loss did not extend greatness to all other parts of my life but it reinforces for me the fact that your health although very important is just one aspect of your whole being. The photos above are from my Florida trip to see my sister (I just got back today) … That is the Skyway Bridge and the moon shot is on St Pete Beach … it was the view from my AirBnB. So since my knees are doing better and I have lost all that weight (about 120 pounds this past year) I decided to try jogging again…I started the None To Run program and I just finished my first week.   I have a limited goal for this year … I w...

  The Self Made Man by Victor Pina Happy New Year to All!   Thank you for the positive responses to my blog.   I printed a copy of that sculpture and taped it to my wall for motivation! I had my new life insurance physical and I weighed in right at 237 pounds which was a great feeling! Now a run down on things from this past month.   So I had been paying close to $1000 per month since I was using Mounjaro for weight loss and the coupon did not help since I am a non-diabetic.   (There was one month where I got it for $550 mentioned in a previous blog but it turned out to be a fluke so I went back to $1000 per month). When Zepbound came out with a new coupon for weight loss I was so excited … I went to the pharmacy to fill my new prescription and when it came time to pay it cost $1000 … I was like “…wait!  that can’t. be right…” but no matter how they ran it the total came out to $1000 for the refill. So since my insurance did not cover Mounjaro and I did not...

  So additional info from yeaterday’s post… Above is a photo from this morning and the last post had a photo at the bottom of me at my maximum weight!  My food plan: Mostly CorePower Chocolate Shakes (mixed with Fairlife chocolate shakes and CorePower Vanilla and Strawberry Banana shakes) One meal per day at home on work days … mostly Sloppy Joe’s made with ground turkey and keto buns with either side salad or fruit cups (no sugar added mandarin oranges or pineapple) and a 1/4 pint of ice cream (Hagan-Daz or Breyers).  Mix it up with chicken Tikka Masala or Ground Turkey tacos on keto friendly soft tortillas.   Those are with side salad or the fruit and possibly also the ice cream at the end. One weekends when I am being social I allow myself two regular meals without paying too much attention  to what I am eating (whatever is served) or something appealing at a restaurant … I do tend towards poultry and fish or vegetarian and avoid any heavy servings of red mea...

  Hello!   So today I weighed in at 237.6 which is awesome!      Here is a summary of my weight loss journey for the past 5 1/2 years … it shows my attempts before Mounjaro and although some success with gargantuan efforts it was completely unsustainable for me and very yo-yo like … my maximum recorded weight is in the middle of the chart so a couple of years in I weighed more than my first day!   The last downslope is the past year on tirzepatide / mounjaro / abound … Crazy!!   And now with sustained manageable  total daily healthy eating this past year  I have hit body  weights that I never honestly believed I would ever see again!  And I now believe I can lose even more … crazy but in a good way.   A complete mental reset. Here is the same graph but by BMI: The BMI of 53.4 and 52.2 were in the extremely obese (morbidly obese) category. My present BMI of 33.1 is still considered obese. I need to hit a BMI of 29 to no longer b...

  Merry Christmas!! I am so excited!!  Today I hit the weight scale at 239.8... I know I barely broke 240 .:: but I did!!  That is a BMI of 33 for me… crazy! Drum roll please … that is a 118.2 pound weight loss since starting tirzepatide in January 2023. .. a 30.6% weight loss.  ( I am down 37.8% from my maximum weight … 143 pounds down total.).  I have dated many women who weighed less than 143 pounds!

  How do you like my reading glasses?   I made a trip to Denver to see my daughter … the photo is at Breckenridge. So I am stagnant at 246 now for about 5 weeks.   I feel good and have started working out more to see if that will help with some further weight loss!   Obviously my body has reached a point where calories in and out are balanced so I need to increase the calorie burn and decrease my intake some more.  I got my Zepbound coupon and now just waiting for the zepbound to actually become available at the pharmacy so I can use the coupon!  My insurance does not cover it which is too bad but the coupon will cut my monthly expense in half so that is exciting!  If the coupon works out I may go ahead and stay on the medication through the end of 2024.   I would love to lose more weight before trying to come off the medicine.

  I am so excited!  The FDA approved tirzepatide for weight loss yesterday!!!!  The new name will Zepbound … odd name but I am sure it will grow on me… The really good news is that there will be a coupon coming out that I will qualify for!!  Whoop! Whoop!  My insurance won’t cover it but the $500 price break will be so welcome!!   I may continue using them for all of 2024 with the coupon … I am so crazy excited!! I am at 244 so I lost another 2 pounds since last week!   I am thrilled with it all !! I wanted to share this … that is me now and me last October … I lost some weight before starting Mounjaro in January. so this is 139 lb difference … 25 pound before Mounjaro and 114 lb since January …. I am so thankful…