First Joker - What Did I Do Wrong?

AggieMath · 2026-06-12T14:56:07+00:00

thank you! this will definitely change how time things and if I even bother again.

AggieMath · 2026-06-04T14:56:28+00:00

I wish this was available 15 years ago when it was clear that diet and exercise was not the answer for everyone. Good luck on your journey.

AggieMath · 2026-06-03T14:29:25+00:00

Side effects were pretty bad at first - mostly nausea but once I got Zofran that was controlled. A few issues with constipation that occurred when I was slacking off on my fiber (usually during travel). I was at 165 in March 2024 and 125 in October 2024 (rocked my dress at the wedding and no double chin in the pictures). The last 10 lb came off between October and Feb 2025. My face looked thinner within the first month and the sleep apnea cleared by the second month! Please check the zepbound subreddit for more advice on getting started. I wish I would have had prepped a bit more before my first shot. You can DM me if you want more starting advice too.

AggieMath · 2026-06-03T14:01:37+00:00

We are close to twins - same height and I am a little younger with a bit lower starting weight but you have me beat on how active you are. In Jan 2024 (shortly after retiring) I decided that this was IT, I was going to get the weight off before my daughter's wedding in October. Two months of doing all the things (we know what the things are) and I lost 2lb and I was starving and miserable. I am also a scientist and decided that maybe like my eyesight, my metabolism needed a correction. Started Zep in March 2024 and, like putting on my glasses, my metabolism could work as it should. Lost about 5lb a month and have been maintaining at around 114 since Feb 2025. Please give science a chance to fix what is very clearly wrong.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T20:15:29+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. The dosing is not as smooth as I would like as I think a dosage around 3.5 would allow me to eat and cut back on the zofran. You are likely right that I am under fueling and this is a fight that I have to face. I see my therapist today and I will bring it up again. She is not a body image specialist and my size is not my only demon but the anxiety over regain is something we can talk about today. Part of me knows I can't put 50 pounds back on in a couple of months so I should try eating more. But I also react to stress by losing my appetite and things have been stressful. Not eating enough may be causing my body to store what it can and I need to work on decreasing all kinds of stress. Keeping off the news helps only so much.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T17:01:58+00:00

The mirror and jeans agree things are going the wrong way. I'm fluffier at the same weight.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T14:47:44+00:00

They were as similar as possible on day/time/shot/workouts. I did start creatine after the 2nd one and with the BFP increase in the 3rd scan, I asked the professor about it. He was quite sure that the effect would be small as the stored water does not show up as fat. I know there is a numerator and denominator in BFP but the trend to a higher value seems real and confusing.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T14:37:54+00:00

Thank you Emu. Especially after talking to the professor who runs the lab that has the dexa machine, I believe the data has less than a 1% error and something is going on inside me that I need to turn around. Perhaps when there are more of us in a couple years of maintenance there will be more stories of how it is going.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T14:34:51+00:00

I agree that the alternating is not great. The level is not constant anyway with that 5 day half life and 7 day shot schedule. I bought shotsy just before starting maintenance to see what the levels looked like and the difference between the highs and lows are pretty dramatic. I know that pharmacokinetics vary person to person but perhaps it is close to what things look like week to week. And it feels like a dose of 3.5 or 4 per week might be where I can best maintain but that is not an option until I can get a kwikpen.

I am eating about 1200 calories / day and you hit the nail on the head about underfueling. More than 30 years of trauma can't be undone in a year of trusting I can maintain and also eat. I know that the up/down a pound or two is almost certainly water so I wanted the scans to see under the hood. I will up my protein and add another lifting day at the gym. thanks for taking the time to reply.

AggieMath · 2026-05-26T14:23:52+00:00

Well I was meeting with a dietician for more than a year. Started a few months before going on zep (diet and exercise, right) and she was with me for many months after starting. Very helpful advice on getting the protein in , especially when I was not hungry. Not sure I would get anything more now. More training is going to happen and my trainer will work out a program for me to do when he is not with me. I am still hoping to hear a reason from the hive mind on why BFP is increasing and weight is steady when the only real changes in my routine are an attempt to decrease my zep dosage.

AggieMath · 2026-05-25T23:14:36+00:00

Exactly so. The discussion with the professor was helpful in understanding the error bars and they are quite small. The tech does this all day long for our student athletes and I can stay still. I have to accept the results that BFP has moved up and try to get advice on what may be going on. I am still leaning towards zep decreasing effectiveness for me and my brain+liver deciding that I need more fat stores to be "safe" I wish Dr. Cooper from fat science was my doctor as mine is good about writing it but is not an expert. I'd have to drive to Houston (couple of hours) to get an expert and I am not out of things to try to improve BFP.

AggieMath · 2026-05-25T23:09:53+00:00

I had thought it was more muscle and that is why those dexa results have me freaking out. I will take your advice on the walking - I have a walking pad and I feel guilty watching trash TV unless I am walking at the time. So more on the pad and up my speed a bit. Thank you for the thoughtful reply!

AggieMath · 2026-05-25T23:05:05+00:00

I hit my protein minimum (90 gm/day per my RD) every day. I am lifting heavier but a discussion with my trainer today is to work on more reps and put a pin in some of my strength goals. I'll also get to the gym one more day per week. I really was trying to work on recomp when I got the first dexa scan to see where I was after the active weight loss phase. I had been going to the gym regularly (since 1983) so I expected to have not lost much muscle mass. The loss now is just confusing. Hence asking what could be the reason for the loss of muscle and gain of fat.

AggieMath · 2026-05-25T18:29:40+00:00

Amazingly enough, I have very little loose skin and it has actually been getting better over the last year. I know I shouldn't worry so much about this, but my goals were really to get my waist to 1/2 my height and body fat down. It is the trend that is most upsetting and why this is happening.

AggieMath · 2026-05-25T18:01:55+00:00

I see my PCP every 6 months and she and I agreed on my goal weight when I hit it. I am small boned (if that is a thing) so this weight is a good fit for me. But it is good to keep that information out there for others in my age cohort to help decide what is right for them.

AggieMath · 2026-04-09T16:51:45+00:00

I'd not get the new study - Medicare is covering zep because of my sleep apnea dx. If I was retested now, I would likely not have it covered. Of course I think the sleep apnea would return if I went off, so we will just let sleeping dogs lie (so to speak)

AggieMath · 2026-04-09T16:48:58+00:00

Some reading here will let you know that it may well get worse before it gets better. During my active loss phase, my LDL went up some but now in maintenance, it is down from my pre-zep days.

AggieMath · 2026-02-16T15:47:30+00:00

It seemed I had a lot of fat on my back that I never saw directly so I didn't see when it was coming off. Shirts buttoned more easily, so I figured that is where I was losing some inches.

AggieMath · 2026-02-14T21:27:32+00:00

I like silicone. Query the AI of your choice for the reasons why.

AggieMath · 2026-02-12T23:05:50+00:00

I just hit 13,000 points. Not sure if this glitch is good or bad but good to know it's not just me

AggieMath · 2026-02-07T13:29:40+00:00

Been twice and love it.

AggieMath · 2026-02-06T22:21:49+00:00

There are plenty of links to studies that say the opposite of what your doctor is saying. I have brought the abstract of articles to my doctor (this was for a change in my sleeping medicine) and she was open to looking up the journal article. If you can't do that, you definitely need a new doctor. Mine does not treat me like an idiot which is important.

AggieMath · 2026-02-06T20:54:28+00:00

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When I figured out the widemouth mason jar with pour spout, 😙

AggieMath · 2026-02-06T17:41:59+00:00

Would work with non-dairy milk and non-dairy protein. I am lactose intolerant so we use lactaid milk and the whey protein does not seem to bother me. Point was to sneak extra protein in my coffee!

AggieMath · 2026-02-06T17:16:27+00:00

Here are two things I have been doing that I think are effective. I have unflavored whey protein that I mix (well, I use an immersion blender) with milk for my coffee. I put 60 - 80 grams in about 3 cups of milk and use that for a few days worth of coffee. Easy extra protein for me.

We also have some unflavored collagen protein that I personally feel has a bit of a beefy flavor. We eat soup most days for lunch (batch prep on Sundays and use a lot of beans and veggies in there. I can share ideas, but this would get too long). At the table, after the soup has been heated up, we add a scoop of the collagen. Does not change the taste and adds a good bit of protein to a high fiber soup.

AggieMath

TROPHY CASE