Ozempic and suchlike...know anybody on 'em?

[Eclipse]

If I have to buy meds online I get them from Weldricks
No idea if these are a good deal ?

https://www.weldricks.co.uk/wegovy-tablets

1.5mg Starting dose Month 1 Days 1–30 £99.00
4mg Month 2 Days 31–60 £125.00
9mg Month 3 Days 61–90 £139.00
25mg Maintenance Month 4 on Day 91 onwards £185.00

[Docca]

The issue with 'diets' is that, yes they work, you lose [insert goal] weight, so you congratulate yourself, get down the pub to celebrate and resume your pre-diet lifestyle. Ditto the jabs. They'll work, notwithstanding the side effects, but stop them and your appetite returns and you're back in the fridge as before.

I found out the hard way that you need to take a look at what you're eating and doing. I was never huuuuge, but the other day I saw a photo me 30 years ago and I had more than the regulation number of chins.

In no particular order, my musings on staying healthy.

Make protein and fibre your food goals. They fill you up and help with muscle repair. For example, my brekkie this morning was overnight chia seeds soaked in almond milk, fat free yogurt, some nut butter and roasted strawberries mixed in. That will keep me full til lunch.

Batch cook. The breakfast above was served in a rinsed-out yogurt pot, one of half-a-dozen in our fridge that Mrs. G has made. If you have a healthy option readily available you'll go for that rather than an unhealthy alternative, or grabbing something from a takeaway place that is full of shit.

Sound obvious, but move. I walk 15 minutes either side of train journey when I go into London. I walk past people waiting at bus stops who I know take the same train as me. Why not get the steps in? Join a gym, but book in for classes and/or rope in a friend. You're less likely to bail if you're letting people down.

Mix up the training. Do classes where you jump around and get your heart rate up, but also do resistance (applies to ladies just as much). Weight training strengthens bones and helps stability which reduces the risk of injury. You lose muscle mass as you age, so do your utmost to keep it.

UPF is addictive. It releases dopamine into the brain so you crave more. Avoid it like the plague.

Fruit is great. Full of fibre, vitamins and lots of healthy stuff. However, modern fruit has been cultivated to be bigger, juicier, sweeter and full of deliciousness. As a result, it is rather full of sugar, in the form of fructose. I know people who snack on a few bananas a day. Each banana comes in at c. 120 calories. You do the maths given that to lose weight you need to be in calorie deficit. Protein snacks are preferable, IMO. Keep you fuller, longer and help maintain muscle.

There is a theory (I'm open minded on this one) that eating sugary food on an empty stomach gives a sugar rush that sets the pancreas on a mission to throw out insulin to 'trap' the excess glucose and store it for later, which means fat. Some people advocate eating fibrous food or protein before any sugary food to slow the absorption of sugar. Try it for a few weeks.


I should point out that, although I do try to lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly, I'm on pills for cholesterol and blood pressure. Make of that what you will.

The Total Diet Replacement (NHS Diabetic one) is only 12 weeks of kickstarting gruel- then it's 40 weeks of psychology focussing on behaviour.

As I"ve said early, I've not stopped going out. I have stopped the nonsense food though.


I personally won't do the jabs unless I have no options left. My issue was poor discipline. That said, I'd be very happy for folk to do whatever it takes to get the weight off.

[Scotsrich]

Mrs S is on Mounjaro for her type 2 diabetes. On prescription from the doctor.

The diabetic clinic has just put her dose up to the maximum of 15 as the blood sugar level wasn’t dropping enough on the lower levels.

So far it seems to be working as intended as a drug for diabetes, it was never designed to be for weight loss, that is only a side benefit.

Weight wise it’s creeping down very slowly as with most diabetics the cocktail of other drugs makes losing weight very difficult.

[Sunny]

I love food. I have a fairly balanced diet, but still. I lost a stone last year by counting calories in the My Fitness Pal app.

It meant I didn't have to cut anything out, just balance stuff. E.g. if I wanted to drink a bottle of wine, I had soup for dinner.

I put 6 pounds back on post-Christmas, and did the same again, dropping it pretty quickly.

I've learnt from that weight creeping on over a few years (yay, middle age ) that I need to keep an eye on the scales/how tight my jeans are, and address any creep quickly it before becomes an extra stone.

[Horse]

How they affect spending & purchases!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy49w2knlrdo

In June, market research company Worldpanel by Numerator published a study looking at how this affects grocery spending among UK users. The research was based on survey responses and observed purchase data from more than 11,000 households in February.

A key finding was that households with at least one GLP-1 user spent on average £418 less on groceries in the year after they began their medication, compared with non-users.

This amounted to a fall of £780m in grocery spending nationally, it estimated.

It chimes with a peer-reviewed study from Cornell University, external published last year, which found that US households with at least one member using weight-loss drugs spent 5% less on groceries within six months of starting the medication, with that rising to 8% among higher income families.

[Taipan]

Deffo. Our food shopping (and wine) bill is greatly reduced!

[MrLongbeard]

(and wine) bill is greatly reduced

Hell Tesco took care of that for me by putting my bottle up to £8.50, so that's already knocked on the head.

[gremlin]

Eating less may be cheaper, but eating healthily costs way more, IMHO.

[Noggin]

I found out yesterday that eating in a certain way actually increases the natural GLP1 Need to read more but essential eating in an 8 hour window so a 16 hour fast and eat in order of - protein+fat ➣ fibre ➣ (minimal) carbs !! Apart from the 16 hour fast, that's almost what I do

So, gonna try that as apparently it also helps healing *crossing fingers on that second one* !!

[Docca]

So Friday is weigh in and I'm now 100.9 KG, which is 15 stone something. I haven't been 15 stone something for a very long time.

I've started on the overnight oats, shake for lunch and a healthy meal for dinner.

So, nearly 20kg lighter and feeling strong.

[Taipan]

Since losing 2.4 stone my blood pressure has dropped considerably. I’ve had one adjustment on my meds already. But now I’m getting dizzy when I stand up at times. Just checked my bp and think I may need to see my GP again!

[weeksy]

pulse of 87, wow... that's a LOT....

Well done on the weight loss though mate.

[Count Steer]

Since losing 2.4 stone my blood pressure has dropped considerably. I’ve had one adjustment on my meds already. But now I’m getting dizzy when I stand up at times. Just checked my bp and think I may need to see my GP again!

Have they got you on alpha blocker for the BP?

'Dizziness or Lightheadedness: Known as orthostatic hypotension, it occurs when standing up quickly. It is most likely to happen after your first dose, a dose increase...'

It's usually when you start on stuff like doxasosin but your dose might need regularly adjusting for loss of body mass maybe?

Myself I'd stop taking 'em at 66 diastolic! (having been 100+), make an appointment and keep monitoring.

[Taipan]

Since losing 2.4 stone my blood pressure has dropped considerably. I’ve had one adjustment on my meds already. But now I’m getting dizzy when I stand up at times. Just checked my bp and think I may need to see my GP again!

Have they got you on alpha blocker for the BP?

'Dizziness or Lightheadedness: Known as orthostatic hypotension, it occurs when standing up quickly. It is most likely to happen after your first dose, a dose increase...'

It's usually when you start on stuff like doxasosin but your dose might need regularly adjusting for loss of body mass maybe?

Myself I'd stop taking 'em at 66 diastolic! (having been 100+), make an appointment and keep monitoring.

I've started logging my BP each morning and night and once I've got a weeks data I'll contact the Doc. No pint in contacting her without any data as she'll tell me to log it for a week to see my average anyway I take Amlodipne which was dropped from 10mg to 5mg and I also take Candesartan 16mg, which used to be 8mg a few years back. Dunno what type of meds they are though.

[Count Steer]

Since losing 2.4 stone my blood pressure has dropped considerably. I’ve had one adjustment on my meds already. But now I’m getting dizzy when I stand up at times. Just checked my bp and think I may need to see my GP again!

Have they got you on alpha blocker for the BP?

'Dizziness or Lightheadedness: Known as orthostatic hypotension, it occurs when standing up quickly. It is most likely to happen after your first dose, a dose increase...'

It's usually when you start on stuff like doxasosin but your dose might need regularly adjusting for loss of body mass maybe?

Myself I'd stop taking 'em at 66 diastolic! (having been 100+), make an appointment and keep monitoring.

I've started logging my BP each morning and night and once I've got a weeks data I'll contact the Doc. No pint in contacting her without any data as she'll tell me to log it for a week to see my average anyway I take Amlodipne which was dropped from 10mg to 5mg and I also take Candesartan 16mg, which used to be 8mg a few years back. Dunno what type of meds they are though.

Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker and it put my BP through the floor and I felt v ill. Binned 'em off and tried a couple of other things. The latest is doxasosin and even after doubling the dose the effects aren't anything like as dramatic as with amlodipine - in either respect!

Haven't looked into Candesartan before but have now. Blimey your doctor is covering all the bases! I hope they're doing regular blood tests on renal function/potassium levels etc.

No wonder your BP is heading south and you're getting hypotension on a cocktail of those two (and weight loss stuff?).

[Count Steer]

Oh and PS - the doc shouldn't need a weeks worth of data to see that, for you*, your diastolic is waaay low.

* it might be normal for some boundary cases like Olympic athletes but if my BP monitor showed that I'd be banging on the docs door.

[Docca]

87 pulse without context is difficult to say much about.

Normal resting pulse can be between 60-100bpm.

If you’d not rested for 2 minutes (like
You’re supposed to) before taking your pulse, that could be a factor

Your pulse may also increase if you don’t like having your BP taken.

Bradycardia is more worrying ( low pulse) than an (out of context) pulse of 87.

When I was walking the dog this AM, my pulse got up to 110. 3 months ago, that would have been 150.

[Count Steer]

Oh, and while I remember, probably not relevant in Pietin's case but may be of interest to gentlemen of a certain age re amlodipine/calcium channel blockers - your GP really shouldn't prescribe them if you have prostate issues (BPH).

(They relax the muscles that include the bladder - increasing retention and the likelihood of infections - whereas alpha blockers, like doxazosin, only affect the smooth muscle at the neck of the bladder which decreases retention).

So, if you have high BP and a rambunctious prostate and your GP suggests a calcium channel blocker, tell them to go away and do their homework.

(Ditto decongestants like pseudoephedrine (which actually tightens up smooth muscle - like that at the neck of the bladder. Antihistamines may be problematical too but I don't have much info on that. I think the NHS actually says so though).

Just to stay on topic a bit closer - GP-1s and yo-yo dieting article -

https://theconversation.com/weight-loss ... sation.com