u/storyhill22

I started chewing tobacco daily in 2004, when I was 16. And I mean daily. Tins upon tins of Skol. Couldn't get enough of the stuff.

In 2015, I moved to Norway for a year, where pretty much all my colleagues were using snus. Naturally, I made the switch. And honestly, I loved it. More convenient, more discreet, and no more carrying around a spit bottle.

When I moved back to the States, Swedish snus wasn't nearly as easy to find, but Zyn had just hit the market. And holy shit, did I love Zyn. I was throwing in 2–3 of the 6mg pouches at a time. Buying rolls of the stuff. I was in nicotine heaven.

Then, in 2021, I developed some pretty severe stomach issues that scared the hell out of me. So I quit cold turkey. After nearly 17 years of daily nicotine use, I was done.

Surprisingly, quitting wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Sure, I missed the nicotine (and let's be real, that head rush was pretty great), but what I missed most was the habit. Having something tucked in my lip. That little ritual I'd been doing for almost half my life.

Fast forward to a year ago. Its been four years. No nicotine. No Zyn. Nothing.

And yet, over the past year, the cravings have come roaring back.

Today, I literally caught myself Googling Zyn. Reading about Zyn. Looking at the new flavors. Not because I actually want to start using nicotine again, but because I just want something in my damn lip. It's such a weird feeling to have gone this long without nicotine and suddenly find myself thinking about it so much.

I've tried some of the caffeine pouches (Grinds, etc.), but I haven't loved them. The texture is off, they tear up my gums, and frankly, I don't need to be throwing a bunch of caffeine into my system right before bed.

So I guess I'm here for two reasons.

First, I could use some recommendations: Has anyone found a genuinely good nicotine-free, maybe caffeine-free pouch that actually feels like Zyn? Something with a similar texture that doesn't destroy your gums? Bonus points for something soothing or calming.I miss the ritual, not the addiction.

Second, I just wanted to put this out there for anyone struggling with craving after having quit. It's been 5 years. FIVE YEARS. And apparently my brain still occasionally decides that a little pouch of nicotine would be the greatest thing on earth.

I don't regret quitting. I have no intention of going back (at least I think). But I also didn't expect to still be dealing with this years later.

If you're experiencing the same thing, you're not alone. And if you've found something that scratches that itch without the nicotine, I'm all ears.

I study GLP-1s for a living and I've now lost 50 lbs on the Wegovy pill: Lessons I've learned as both a scientist and a patient

If you want to read my original post its here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WegovyWeightLoss/comments/1qwup1m/i_study_glp1s_for_a_living_and_finally_started/

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. I'm sharing my personal experience and observations as someone who studies eating behavior, gut-brain interactions, gut peptides, and the microbiome, while also being a patient taking the medication myself. Everyone responds differently.

A few months ago I posted about starting the Wegovy pill and it seemed like you guys kind of liked the post, so here I am again.

At the time I was about 15 pounds down and still figuring things out.

Since then, I've crossed the 50-pound mark, and I thought it might be useful to share what I've learned.

For context, I'm a PhD-trained clinician and researcher. My work focuses on eating behavior, obesity, gut peptides, the microbiome, and gut-brain interactions. I spend a lot of my professional life talking about these systems and talking to patients about ways to manage their weight.

This year I finally started collecting some new data: my own personal data.

And I've been tracking everything.

Where things stand now

• Down approximately 50 lbs
• Food noise is dramatically reduced. If it was a 9/10 before, I would say it's a 4/10 now.
• Still doing Peloton rides and increasing activity, but definitely not working out a ton.
• Average intake is probably around 1,600 calories/day
• Current weight loss is slower than the beginning, which is completely expected

**One thing I want to emphasize: 1,600 calories was never a target. I don't wake up every morning trying to hit 1,600 calories. That is simply where my intake seems to land when I pay attention to hunger and fullness cues while taking the medication. Some days it's difficult to eat that much. Other days I eat substantially more. Last weekend at a lake cabin I probably ate well over 2,500 calories. Life happens. I was having fun. It's important to remember that one day does not determine the outcome.**

Anyway, here are some of the lessons I've learned along the way.

Lesson #1: The biggest benefit is not appetite suppression. It's reduced food noise.

This remains the most important effect for me.

Before starting, food occupied an enormous amount of mental space.

Planning meals.

Thinking about meals.

Negotiating with myself about meals.

Now food feels quieter.

I still enjoy eating. I still get hungry. I still love going out to dinner. But the constant background chatter is gone.

As a scientist, I think this may be one of the most underappreciated aspects of these medications.

We spend a lot of time talking about calories and weight loss, but less time talking about what it feels like to suddenly have more mental bandwidth.

I find myself more productive and able to concentrate on my work.

Weirdly, it's almost like I treated some previously undiagnosed ADHD.

Now, I don't think these medications treat ADHD, but it feels similar to how people describe starting ADHD medication for the first time.

It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it.

Lesson #2: THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON! The medication is not enough.

This is probably the biggest misconception I see.

People sometimes assume these medications are doing all the work. They're not.

The medication makes the work possible. I still track food, exercise, and weigh myself daily.

I still make decisions every day.

The difference is that those decisions are easier.

Imagine trying to climb a mountain carrying a 100-pound backpack. The medication doesn't teleport you to the top. It just removes 50 pounds from the backpack.

You still have to climb.

One thing I noticed after my first post was how many people were waiting for the medication to do the work for them.

I don't mean that critically.

I think many of us have spent years trying things that didn't work and we're desperate for something that finally does.

But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that these medications are amplifiers, not replacements.

They make it easier to do the things that already work.

Tracking.

Moving your body.

Building awareness of what you're eating.

Creating habits.

The people I see doing best are usually combining the medication with some type of structured behavioral approach.

One thing that has helped me is loosely following the Traffic Light Diet developed by Len Epstein and colleagues, one of the most influential behavioral weight management programs ever studied.

The basic idea is simple.

Foods are categorized as green, yellow, or red based primarily on energy density and fat content.

Green foods are foods you want to build your diet around.

Yellow foods are moderate.

Red foods are foods to be more mindful about.

The goal is not to eliminate red foods.

In fact, if you have no red foods at all, you're probably doing it wrong.

The goal is balance.

At the end of the day, you simply want more green than red.

That's it.

No food is forbidden. No food is bad. You're simply trying to shift the overall pattern.

I've been using an app called Lina that incorporates many of these evidence-based behavioral weight management principles. What I like is that it doesn't just track calories. It encourages habit formation, awareness, and balanced food choices without turning eating into a punishment.

As a clinician, one thing I've learned is that the best weight loss strategy is usually not the most restrictive one.

It's the one you can still follow six months from now.

The medication helps.

But the habits are what make the results sustainable.

Lesson #3: Progress is not linear, even when we think we've been perfect.

This one has been hard for me. Like many of you, I've had periods where the scale barely moved.

I've had weeks where I felt stuck.

I've had days where I was convinced everything stopped working.

I felt like maybe the food noise was coming back.

To be honest, I felt scared.

Recently I spent several weeks bouncing around the same weight despite continuing to eat substantially less than before treatment.

As someone who understands the physiology, I still found myself frustrated.

Weight loss is messy.

Water retention happens.

Exercise-induced inflammation happens.

Stress happens.

Travel happens.

Plateaus happen.

Sometimes the body needs time to catch up with what you're doing.

I think that's why tracking has been so helpful for me.

If I know I'm in a calorie deficit based on my tracking, the food noise hasn't returned and I am not overeating, and if my activity hasn't changed, then I can remind myself that I'm simply going through the process.

One thing that surprised me after my first post was how many people reached back out months later.

Several people who initially told me they weren't losing weight eventually reported that things started moving once they reached higher doses or simply gave the medication more time.

**That's not true for everyone. Other did give up though. That’s important to mention. I would hate to be accused of being a Novo plant again**

But these messages did reinforced something I already knew scientifically.

Early response is not the same thing as ultimate response.

Human beings are remarkably impatient creatures. I include myself in that statement.

Lesson #4: The 4 mg versus 9 mg decision is harder than I expected.

This has probably been the biggest challenge recently.

I've attempted to move up to 9 mg twice this year.

Once in March and again at the start of May.

Both times I developed significant GI symptoms.

Reflux.

Gastritis-like symptoms.

Eventually sulfur burps.

The first time was bad enough that I ended up in urgent care needing IV fluids because I became so dehydrated.

One thing people don't talk about enough is that GLP-1s can reduce thirst cues too.

We hear that hydration is important.

What we don't hear is that it can become surprisingly easy to fall behind.

So drink your water.

Both times I moved back down to 4 mg.

At 4 mg I had essentially no side effects.

The challenge is that once weight loss slows down, it's easy to start thinking:

"Maybe I need the higher dose."

The science absolutely supports higher doses producing greater average weight loss.

I know that technically 4 mg is not considered a therapeutic dose according to the Novo trials.

But in hindsight, it's been pretty damn therapeutic for me.

One thing I've realized is that "therapeutic dose" is a population statistic, not a law of nature.

The trials tell us what works on average.

Unfortunately, none of us are averages.

I've had to remind myself that I've lost a tremendous amount of weight while spending most of my time at 4 mg.

Still feeling hunger doesn't mean I'm failing.

As I'm writing this, I'm still debating another attempt at 9 mg.

Part of me wonders whether I truly need it.

Another part wonders whether I'm simply afraid that this too-good-to-be-true train might eventually stop.

One thing this experience has taught me is that the best dose isn't necessarily the highest dose.

It's the highest dose you can successfully live with.

Lesson #5: I've become way less obsessed with protein.

This one may be controversial.

I still prioritize protein.

I still think it matters.

But I think social media has taken protein recommendations into territory that isn't always supported by evidence.

For most people actively trying to build muscle, diminishing returns begin appearing somewhere around 0.7 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight, with variation depending on age, training status, and energy intake.

That doesn't mean more protein is harmful.

It just means every additional gram may provide less additional benefit.

Personally, I've stopped stressing about chasing extremely high protein targets.

If I hit 100 grams in a day, amazing.

Most days are more like 70-80 grams. Since I have an InBody scale at work, I am lucky enough to know while losing weight, I have lost almost NO muscle mass. And I am eating half the protein tiktok tells me to.

What I've started prioritizing instead is fiber.

I am obsessed with fiber.

Both as a scientist and as a patient.

Lesson #6: Fiber may be the most underrated tool.

My personal goal is around 50 grams of fiber per day.

I recently read that the average American consumes roughly 12-15 grams of fiber per day.

That's less than half of what most guidelines recommend.

I'm not doing this because some influencer told me to.

I'm doing it because the science is fascinating.

Fiber isn't just about bowel movements.

Many fibers are fermented by gut microbes into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate.

These compounds influence:

• Gut barrier function
• Immune signaling
• Satiety pathways
• Gut hormone secretion
• Brain function

There is even emerging evidence that microbiome-derived metabolites may interact with endogenous GLP-1 signaling pathways.

In plain English:

Your microbiome may influence how your body experiences hunger and fullness.

Now, I don't think fiber replaces GLP-1 medications.

But I do think they work together.

Your body naturally produces GLP-1, and those short-chain fatty acids influence that process.

I've noticed that on high-fiber days it often feels like the medication is working better.

That's anecdotal, not science.

But it's been my experience.

Interestingly, when I talk to patients and people online, almost everyone asks about protein.

Very few people ask about fiber.

Yet if I had to pick the single nutritional factor that has made the biggest difference in how I feel on this medication, fiber would probably win.

For me, fiber has been one of the most effective tools for improving fullness, satiety, and GI regularity.

Also, I don't care if it's processed fiber or natural fiber.

Give me my goddamn Mission Carb Balance tortillas with 27 grams of fiber.

Things I was wrong about

Looking back, there are a few things I would tell January-me.

First, I worried too much about dose escalation.

I viewed moving up as progress and staying put as failure.

I don't think that's true anymore.

Second, I underestimated how psychologically difficult plateaus would be.

Knowing the science doesn't magically make you immune to frustration.

Third, I thought weight loss would be the biggest change.

It wasn't.

The reduction in food noise has probably had a bigger impact on my daily life than the number on the scale.

And finally, I probably should have spent less time obsessing about protein and more time eating another burrito tortilla with 27 grams of fiber.

Common questions I got after my last post

"Are you still scared of gastroparesis?"

Honestly, yes. I study gastric motility. I probably think about it more than most people.

But I've also learned that normal medication effects and severe complications are not the same thing.

Being cautious is reasonable.

Being terrified isn't always helpful.

"Do you still enjoy food?"

Absolutely! This was one of my biggest fears before starting.

Food still tastes good. Restaurants are still fun.

The difference is that I don't feel compelled to keep eating after I'm satisfied.

"What's been the biggest surprise?"

How normal everything feels. Most days I don't feel like I'm on a medication. I just feel like a person who gets full sooner.

"What do you use to track everything?"

As I mentioned earlier, I've continued using an app called Lina.

I truly think a lot of my success comes from tracking.

This app lets me keep everything in one place.

Food.

Weight.

Activity.

Medication.

Habits.

I normally hate tracking, but they've somehow managed to make it easy.

Some people thought I was secretly advertising it last time, so let me be very clear: Nobody is paying me. I've tried a lot of tracking tools.

And in the interest of transparency, several apps and weight loss programs actually reached out to me after my last post.

I've never accepted money, sponsorships, or favors from any of them.

I simply use the one I personally like best.

Also. in the interest of full transparency, I have spoken with the Lina team because I genuinely like what they're building.

We've discussed ideas, features, and future research directions.

I've been impressed by how seriously they seem to take both science and user feedback.

If you're curious, search "Lina GLP-1" in the app store.

I won't make a single cent if you download it.

Final thoughts

The biggest thing I've learned is that everyone's path looks different.

Some people respond immediately.

I was one of those people.

Some people don't.

My messages were flooded by people who felt discouraged because they weren't seeing the same results.

Many of them later reached back out and told me things eventually started moving.

Some people tolerate high doses.

Some people don't.

Some people lose weight quickly.

Some people lose it slowly.

None of those outcomes make someone a success or failure.

What matters is finding something sustainable.

The scale matters.

But if the scale is the only thing improving, you're probably missing part of the story.

Less food noise matters.

More energy matters.

Better mobility matters.

Better sleep matters.

Better health markers matter.

Building habits that still work when the medication eventually changes or disappears matters.

For me, that's been the real victory.

Happy to answer questions.

And yes, before anyone asks, I really did write this myself.

I study GLP-1s for a living and I've now lost 50 lbs on the Wegovy pill: Lessons I've learned as both a scientist and a patient

If you want to read my original post its here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WegovyWeightLoss/comments/1qwup1m/i_study_glp1s_for_a_living_and_finally_started/

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. I'm sharing my personal experience and observations as someone who studies eating behavior, gut-brain interactions, gut peptides, and the microbiome, while also being a patient taking the medication myself. Everyone responds differently.

A few months ago I posted about starting the Wegovy pill and it seemed like you guys kind of liked the post, so here I am again.

At the time I was about 15 pounds down and still figuring things out.

Since then, I've crossed the 50-pound mark, and I thought it might be useful to share what I've learned.

For context, I'm a PhD-trained clinician and researcher. My work focuses on eating behavior, obesity, gut peptides, the microbiome, and gut-brain interactions. I spend a lot of my professional life talking about these systems and talking to patients about ways to manage their weight.

This year I finally started collecting some new data: my own personal data.

And I've been tracking everything.

Where things stand now

• Down approximately 50 lbs
• Food noise is dramatically reduced. If it was a 9/10 before, I would say it's a 4/10 now.
• Still doing Peloton rides and increasing activity, but definitely not working out a ton.
• Average intake is probably around 1,600 calories/day
• Current weight loss is slower than the beginning, which is completely expected

**One thing I want to emphasize: 1,600 calories was never a target. I don't wake up every morning trying to hit 1,600 calories. That is simply where my intake seems to land when I pay attention to hunger and fullness cues while taking the medication. Some days it's difficult to eat that much. Other days I eat substantially more. Last weekend at a lake cabin I probably ate well over 2,500 calories. Life happens. I was having fun. It's important to remember that one day does not determine the outcome.**

Anyway, here are some of the lessons I've learned along the way.

Lesson #1: The biggest benefit is not appetite suppression. It's reduced food noise.

This remains the most important effect for me.

Before starting, food occupied an enormous amount of mental space.

Planning meals.

Thinking about meals.

Negotiating with myself about meals.

Now food feels quieter.

I still enjoy eating. I still get hungry. I still love going out to dinner. But the constant background chatter is gone.

As a scientist, I think this may be one of the most underappreciated aspects of these medications.

We spend a lot of time talking about calories and weight loss, but less time talking about what it feels like to suddenly have more mental bandwidth.

I find myself more productive and able to concentrate on my work.

Weirdly, it's almost like I treated some previously undiagnosed ADHD.

Now, I don't think these medications treat ADHD, but it feels similar to how people describe starting ADHD medication for the first time.

It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it.

Lesson #2: THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON! The medication is not enough.

This is probably the biggest misconception I see.

People sometimes assume these medications are doing all the work. They're not.

The medication makes the work possible. I still track food, exercise, and weigh myself daily.

I still make decisions every day.

The difference is that those decisions are easier.

Imagine trying to climb a mountain carrying a 100-pound backpack. The medication doesn't teleport you to the top. It just removes 50 pounds from the backpack.

You still have to climb.

One thing I noticed after my first post was how many people were waiting for the medication to do the work for them.

I don't mean that critically.

I think many of us have spent years trying things that didn't work and we're desperate for something that finally does.

But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that these medications are amplifiers, not replacements.

They make it easier to do the things that already work.

Tracking.

Moving your body.

Building awareness of what you're eating.

Creating habits.

The people I see doing best are usually combining the medication with some type of structured behavioral approach.

One thing that has helped me is loosely following the Traffic Light Diet developed by Len Epstein and colleagues, one of the most influential behavioral weight management programs ever studied.

The basic idea is simple.

Foods are categorized as green, yellow, or red based primarily on energy density and fat content.

Green foods are foods you want to build your diet around.

Yellow foods are moderate.

Red foods are foods to be more mindful about.

The goal is not to eliminate red foods.

In fact, if you have no red foods at all, you're probably doing it wrong.

The goal is balance.

At the end of the day, you simply want more green than red.

That's it.

No food is forbidden. No food is bad. You're simply trying to shift the overall pattern.

I've been using an app called Lina that incorporates many of these evidence-based behavioral weight management principles. What I like is that it doesn't just track calories. It encourages habit formation, awareness, and balanced food choices without turning eating into a punishment.

As a clinician, one thing I've learned is that the best weight loss strategy is usually not the most restrictive one.

It's the one you can still follow six months from now.

The medication helps.

But the habits are what make the results sustainable.

Lesson #3: Progress is not linear, even when we think we've been perfect.

This one has been hard for me. Like many of you, I've had periods where the scale barely moved.

I've had weeks where I felt stuck.

I've had days where I was convinced everything stopped working.

I felt like maybe the food noise was coming back.

To be honest, I felt scared.

Recently I spent several weeks bouncing around the same weight despite continuing to eat substantially less than before treatment.

As someone who understands the physiology, I still found myself frustrated.

Weight loss is messy.

Water retention happens.

Exercise-induced inflammation happens.

Stress happens.

Travel happens.

Plateaus happen.

Sometimes the body needs time to catch up with what you're doing.

I think that's why tracking has been so helpful for me.

If I know I'm in a calorie deficit based on my tracking, the food noise hasn't returned and I am not overeating, and if my activity hasn't changed, then I can remind myself that I'm simply going through the process.

One thing that surprised me after my first post was how many people reached back out months later.

Several people who initially told me they weren't losing weight eventually reported that things started moving once they reached higher doses or simply gave the medication more time.

**That's not true for everyone. Other did give up though. That’s important to mention. I would hate to be accused of being a Novo plant again**

But these messages did reinforced something I already knew scientifically.

Early response is not the same thing as ultimate response.

Human beings are remarkably impatient creatures. I include myself in that statement.

Lesson #4: The 4 mg versus 9 mg decision is harder than I expected.

This has probably been the biggest challenge recently.

I've attempted to move up to 9 mg twice this year.

Once in March and again at the start of May.

Both times I developed significant GI symptoms.

Reflux.

Gastritis-like symptoms.

Eventually sulfur burps.

The first time was bad enough that I ended up in urgent care needing IV fluids because I became so dehydrated.

One thing people don't talk about enough is that GLP-1s can reduce thirst cues too.

We hear that hydration is important.

What we don't hear is that it can become surprisingly easy to fall behind.

So drink your water.

Both times I moved back down to 4 mg.

At 4 mg I had essentially no side effects.

The challenge is that once weight loss slows down, it's easy to start thinking:

"Maybe I need the higher dose."

The science absolutely supports higher doses producing greater average weight loss.

I know that technically 4 mg is not considered a therapeutic dose according to the Novo trials.

But in hindsight, it's been pretty damn therapeutic for me.

One thing I've realized is that "therapeutic dose" is a population statistic, not a law of nature.

The trials tell us what works on average.

Unfortunately, none of us are averages.

I've had to remind myself that I've lost a tremendous amount of weight while spending most of my time at 4 mg.

Still feeling hunger doesn't mean I'm failing.

As I'm writing this, I'm still debating another attempt at 9 mg.

Part of me wonders whether I truly need it.

Another part wonders whether I'm simply afraid that this too-good-to-be-true train might eventually stop.

One thing this experience has taught me is that the best dose isn't necessarily the highest dose.

It's the highest dose you can successfully live with.

Lesson #5: I've become way less obsessed with protein.

This one may be controversial.

I still prioritize protein.

I still think it matters.

But I think social media has taken protein recommendations into territory that isn't always supported by evidence.

For most people actively trying to build muscle, diminishing returns begin appearing somewhere around 0.7 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight, with variation depending on age, training status, and energy intake.

That doesn't mean more protein is harmful.

It just means every additional gram may provide less additional benefit.

Personally, I've stopped stressing about chasing extremely high protein targets.

If I hit 100 grams in a day, amazing.

Most days are more like 70-80 grams. Since I have an InBody scale at work, I am lucky enough to know while losing weight, I have lost almost NO muscle mass. And I am eating half the protein tiktok tells me to.

What I've started prioritizing instead is fiber.

I am obsessed with fiber.

Both as a scientist and as a patient.

Lesson #6: Fiber may be the most underrated tool.

My personal goal is around 50 grams of fiber per day.

I recently read that the average American consumes roughly 12-15 grams of fiber per day.

That's less than half of what most guidelines recommend.

I'm not doing this because some influencer told me to.

I'm doing it because the science is fascinating.

Fiber isn't just about bowel movements.

Many fibers are fermented by gut microbes into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate.

These compounds influence:

• Gut barrier function
• Immune signaling
• Satiety pathways
• Gut hormone secretion
• Brain function

There is even emerging evidence that microbiome-derived metabolites may interact with endogenous GLP-1 signaling pathways.

In plain English:

Your microbiome may influence how your body experiences hunger and fullness.

Now, I don't think fiber replaces GLP-1 medications.

But I do think they work together.

Your body naturally produces GLP-1, and those short-chain fatty acids influence that process.

I've noticed that on high-fiber days it often feels like the medication is working better.

That's anecdotal, not science.

But it's been my experience.

Interestingly, when I talk to patients and people online, almost everyone asks about protein.

Very few people ask about fiber.

Yet if I had to pick the single nutritional factor that has made the biggest difference in how I feel on this medication, fiber would probably win.

For me, fiber has been one of the most effective tools for improving fullness, satiety, and GI regularity.

Also, I don't care if it's processed fiber or natural fiber.

Give me my goddamn Mission Carb Balance tortillas with 27 grams of fiber.

Things I was wrong about

Looking back, there are a few things I would tell January-me.

First, I worried too much about dose escalation.

I viewed moving up as progress and staying put as failure.

I don't think that's true anymore.

Second, I underestimated how psychologically difficult plateaus would be.

Knowing the science doesn't magically make you immune to frustration.

Third, I thought weight loss would be the biggest change.

It wasn't.

The reduction in food noise has probably had a bigger impact on my daily life than the number on the scale.

And finally, I probably should have spent less time obsessing about protein and more time eating another burrito tortilla with 27 grams of fiber.

Common questions I got after my last post

"Are you still scared of gastroparesis?"

Honestly, yes. I study gastric motility. I probably think about it more than most people.

But I've also learned that normal medication effects and severe complications are not the same thing.

Being cautious is reasonable.

Being terrified isn't always helpful.

"Do you still enjoy food?"

Absolutely! This was one of my biggest fears before starting.

Food still tastes good. Restaurants are still fun.

The difference is that I don't feel compelled to keep eating after I'm satisfied.

"What's been the biggest surprise?"

How normal everything feels. Most days I don't feel like I'm on a medication. I just feel like a person who gets full sooner.

"What do you use to track everything?"

As I mentioned earlier, I've continued using an app called Lina.

I truly think a lot of my success comes from tracking.

This app lets me keep everything in one place.

Food.

Weight.

Activity.

Medication.

Habits.

I normally hate tracking, but they've somehow managed to make it easy.

Some people thought I was secretly advertising it last time, so let me be very clear: Nobody is paying me. I've tried a lot of tracking tools.

And in the interest of transparency, several apps and weight loss programs actually reached out to me after my last post.

I've never accepted money, sponsorships, or favors from any of them.

I simply use the one I personally like best.

Also. in the interest of full transparency, I have spoken with the Lina team because I genuinely like what they're building.

We've discussed ideas, features, and future research directions.

I've been impressed by how seriously they seem to take both science and user feedback.

If you're curious, search "Lina GLP-1" in the app store.

I won't make a single cent if you download it.

Final thoughts

The biggest thing I've learned is that everyone's path looks different.

Some people respond immediately.

I was one of those people.

Some people don't.

My messages were flooded by people who felt discouraged because they weren't seeing the same results.

Many of them later reached back out and told me things eventually started moving.

Some people tolerate high doses.

Some people don't.

Some people lose weight quickly.

Some people lose it slowly.

None of those outcomes make someone a success or failure.

What matters is finding something sustainable.

The scale matters.

But if the scale is the only thing improving, you're probably missing part of the story.

Less food noise matters.

More energy matters.

Better mobility matters.

Better sleep matters.

Better health markers matter.

Building habits that still work when the medication eventually changes or disappears matters.

For me, that's been the real victory.

Happy to answer questions.

And yes, before anyone asks, I really did write this myself.

I need help.

Today I picked up my new 2026 PHEV Rav4 GR sport. So that means j1772 connector only and up to level 2 charging. I live in a midwestern town of 120k people. Not a lot going on here.

But I live downtown in an apartment that has a public parking ramp attached to it. Thats where I park. There is a level 2 charger 3 blocks away (would take about 3.5 hours to charge) but my garage has several level 1 chargers I can use. My commute is 6 miles each way, so overnight at level 1 would be amazing. I called the garage and they said "go for it, but we arent liable".

1.Does this seem like a bad idea? Charging in such a public place on public outlets?

2. The plugs are 4 feet up the wall. The Toyota EVSE is HEAVY and its just hanging. Is this a problem.

Please be honest. I am new to all of this

Hi all,

Tomorrow I am picking up my new car. I have been a long time Prius driver, but to be honest, I never really learned about what the Prius could really do. Now, getting this 2026 PHEV Rav4 GR Sport tomorrow, I want to make sure I capitalize on it.

To be honest, this wasnt the car I was planning on buying. I have been on the R2 rivian waiting list and was really hoping to go fully EV. I live in ND, so there isnt a lot of infrastructure for EVs and the cold kills batteries fast. But with the Rivians range, I was hopeful. All this to say, my 2012 Prius had other plans and every brake and traction light came on my dash and it was going to cost me 3.5K to fix it. So I talked with the dealer and this is where we landed.

I dont know if this will be a long term car or just a car I am hoping hold value for 2-3 years before transitioning to an EV, but regardless, I want to capitalize on the PHEV capabilities. So I am looking for advice. For instance, does anyone know if I should be in Auto or EV mode generally. Should I actually be using the paddle shifters and if so, how?

Anything you got, I will take.

Thanks!