Mounjaro / Zepbound Journey

  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 I did not miss my regular wo

  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 there! My lifting workout distribution

  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 plenty of time I will shoot for 3 sets (es

  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 hit 233 this morning! … that makes my weight loss 125 pounds since s

  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 since I am on this plateau.   If I s

  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 because you we

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 would like to do a 5

  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 qualify for that coupon  I w

  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 meat because I don’t  seem