u/rowlybirkin

Today is my last day of the 1.5mg pills, so I thought I'd do a final update for those who are curious.

Side effects: Apart from burping a bit in the first week, I have had no side effects.

Bowel movements: Prior to starting the pills, I was suffering from chronic diarrhoea. The pills have stopped that, and I am able to have normal movements once a day, which is unheard of for me. I started taking psyllium husk supplements about 10 days ago, and this has also helped.

Weight loss: I have lost 5.5 lbs, which is fine. Most of that was in the first week and then it stalled. I haven't been logging as I can't do that (I logged for 6 years straight and it took over my life and I became obsessive and scared of certain foods). If I'm being honest, I wasn't being particularly disciplined up until about 3 days ago. I have now decided to put the effort in if I want to make the money spent on these tablets worth it, so I am being strict on my IF schedule and making sure I only have 2 meals a day plus one small snack if I really need it. This works well for me and doesn't trigger my brain like calorie counting does. The scale is starting to move downwards now too.

Hunger signals: In the first 2.5 weeks I was not really hungry or thinking about food much. This has gradually tapered off and I find myself hungrier in the latter cycle of the 1.5mg pills. Not ravenous, but definitely hungry. And I can eat a bit more than I could at the beginning. So, to me that suggests moving up to 4mg is a natural next step. In terms of the food I eat, it is largely homemade and unintentionally with minimal UPFs, apart from the occasional protein bar which I genuinely enjoy. My partner and I do also eat out a lot and I cant see this ever changing as its our time together, but I have been eating way less and boxing up my leftovers to eat the next day. So, I eat nutritionally well, just typically eat too much which is why I started these pills in the first place!

Exercise: I have completed 19 strength training sessions in the past 4 weeks, as maintaining muscle is important to me. Again, these have been a bit undisciplined as I was struggling with fatigue. It is also taking me much much longer to recover - I am getting DOMs from what would usually be a warm up workout for me and my muscles are sore for days, despite eating enough protein and not training the same muscle groups back to back. However, I have decided to start taking this seriously and return to basics - a 5x5 stronglifts routine, which is where I started my weightlifting journey many moons ago. So, focusing on compound lifts (at a frustratingly lighter weight) and I will add in accessory work when I feel like I can manage it with my current energy levels. I do a minimum of 3 miles walking a day ( I have done this for years anyway) and have bought a fitbit air to give me a better sense of overall activity.

Aesthetics: I haven't been able to locate my tailors tape measure to measure my waist and hips etc but I can see my old shape starting to peer through. There is still way too much fat on my frame but I am pleased something is happening. I will take a progress picture once a month so I can compare, as its so easy to miss things when you see your body every day.

Hope that is helpful to anyone considering the pills, or to anyone who is simply curious 😊

Today is my last day of the 1.5mg pills, so I thought I'd do a final update for those who are curious.

Side effects: Apart from burping a bit in the first week, I have had no side effects.

Bowel movements: Prior to starting the pills, I was suffering from chronic diarrhoea. The pills have stopped that, and I am able to have normal movements once a day, which is unheard of for me. I started taking psyllium husk supplements about 10 days ago, and this has also helped.

Weight loss: I have lost 5.5 lbs, which is fine. Most of that was in the first week and then it stalled. I haven't been logging as I can't do that (I logged for 6 years straight and it took over my life and I became obsessive and scared of certain foods). If I'm being honest, I wasn't being particularly disciplined up until about 3 days ago. I have now decided to put the effort in if I want to make the money spent on these tablets worth it, so I am being strict on my IF schedule and making sure I only have 2 meals a day plus one small snack if I really need it. This works well for me and doesn't trigger my brain like calorie counting does. The scale is starting to move downwards now too.

Hunger signals: In the first 2.5 weeks I was not really hungry or thinking about food much. This has gradually tapered off and I find myself hungrier in the latter cycle of the 1.5mg pills. Not ravenous, but definitely hungry. And I can eat a bit more than I could at the beginning. So, to me that suggests moving up to 4mg is a natural next step. In terms of the food I eat, it is largely homemade and unintentionally with minimal UPFs, apart from the occasional protein bar which I genuinely enjoy. My partner and I do also eat out a lot and I cant see this ever changing as its our time together, but I have been eating way less and boxing up my leftovers to eat the next day. So, I eat nutritionally well, just typically eat too much which is why I started these pills in the first place!

Exercise: I have completed 19 strength training sessions in the past 4 weeks, as maintaining muscle is important to me. Again, these have been a bit undisciplined as I was struggling with fatigue. It is also taking me much much longer to recover - I am getting DOMs from what would usually be a warm up workout for me and my muscles are sore for days, despite eating enough protein and not training the same muscle groups back to back. However, I have decided to start taking this seriously and return to basics - a 5x5 stronglifts routine, which is where I started my weightlifting journey many moons ago. So, focusing on compound lifts (at a frustratingly lighter weight) and I will add in accessory work when I feel like I can manage it with my current energy levels. I do a minimum of 3 miles walking a day ( I have done this for years anyway) and have bought a fitbit air to give me a better sense of overall activity.

Aesthetics: I haven't been able to locate my tailors tape measure to measure my waist and hips etc but I can see my old shape starting to peer through. There is still way too much fat on my frame but I am pleased something is happening. I will take a progress picture once a month so I can compare, as its so easy to miss things when you see your body every day.

Hope that is helpful to anyone considering the pills, or to anyone who is simply curious 😊

Today marks 2 weeks since starting the pills. I have to say everything has been fairly consistent. So no nausea or stomach issues, although my acid reflux has been a bit worse.

In terms of food - I am still getting hunger but its less urgent, and I eat a lot less. So all the same there. Its been interesting to notice that I think of food when I am having a bad day, although it's really clear on the tablets I'm not actually hungry. So that has been useful as I now know I need to work on that response.

In terms of weight loss - I have lost a total of 4.5lbs since starting, so the rate of loss is slowing. I am short at 5'1 so I know from prior experience I have to be in a big deficit to actually lose anything meaningful.

The only downside is I have less energy to do my usual workouts, so I've had to adapt to doing a kettle bell routine rather than my usual barbell routine. Maintaining muscle is a big priority.

Overall, still happy with the whole journey but definitely need to work on my thought processes around food to make any changes sustainable.

​

As the pills are so new to the market, I found these sorts of posts incredibly helpful while making my mind up on whether to go ahead, so I thought I'd record my own experiences as I am now 1 week through.

Before I started I was suffering with chronic diarrhoea so the potential side effects were a big concern, but I thought I'd risk it anyway as I've gained 2 stone in the past few years and my lifestyle has become so hectic I was finding it an uphill battle every day. Important context - I lost over 2 stone naturally before and kept it off for 4.5 years then I had a change of lifestyle, job, and a bout of depression that undid all my hard work. So I already have a very good understanding of CICO and how to exercise for my body.

I have been very fortunate to have no side effects at all apart from the occasional burping. No stomach issues, no nausea. So that was a relief.

The appetite cessation was immediate for me. I eat in a 16:8 window already, so by around 11am I am usually so hungry I can't focus, however that has been removed. I still feel hunger but it is less urgent, and I am eating a lot less. My desire for sweet foods and alcohol has more or less subsided. I still think about food but only when I choose to and its in the context of what can I eat that is nutrionally sound while I am in this deficit.

Overall I am very pleased with how its going and will keep trying to build on positive habits. If I average out my loss, I am 3lbs down, but most of that will be water weight. Curious to see how I go now I've likely shifted the initial water weight.

As the pills are so new to the market, I found these sorts of posts incredibly helpful while making my mind up on whether to go ahead, so I thought I'd record my own experiences as I am now 1 week through.

Before I started I was suffering with chronic diarrhoea so the potential side effects were a big concern, but I thought I'd risk it anyway as I've gained 2 stone in the past few years and my lifestyle has become so hectic I was finding it an uphill battle every day. Important context - I lost over 2 stone naturally before and kept it off for 4.5 years then I had a change of lifestyle, job, and a bout of depression that undid all my hard work. So I already have a very good understanding of CICO and how to exercise for my body.

I have been very fortunate to have no side effects at all apart from the occasional burping. No stomach issues, no nausea. So that was a relief.

The appetite cessation was immediate for me. I eat in a 16:8 window already, so by around 11am I am usually so hungry I can't focus, however that has been removed. I still feel hunger but it is less urgent, and I am eating a lot less. My desire for sweet foods and alcohol has more or less subsided. I still think about food but only when I choose to and its in the context of what can I eat that is nutrionally sound while I am in this deficit.

Overall I am very pleased with how its going and will keep trying to build on positive habits. If I average out my loss, I am 3lbs down, but most of that will be water weight. Curious to see how I go now I've likely shifted the initial water weight.