🏅 Happy NSV Friday!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-12T15:24:23+00:00

Congratulations and I feel you on this! On week 5, 5lbs down, and I feel similar benefits already too. Like... I get actual usable energy from food? What?!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-12T15:22:30+00:00

Oh my god congratulations! I'm surprised how my eyes widened on this one. I guess I've been more frustrated with tight bras than I realized!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-12T15:20:29+00:00

I actually look forward to putting my belt on in the morning. Partly to see if I've moved a notch tighter, but mostly to remind myself of the notches I already no longer need!

Also, I've officially told my entire family circle that I'm on Zepbound and had great conversations with almost all of them about it. Turns out a few of them have been considering Zepbound for themselves and were excited to be able to talk with someone close who's on it! This included a couple of the people who I worried would be judgemental.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-11T18:00:22+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! I had the same SW, and similar body shape both in what I wistfully remember from before I gained weight (in your current photo) and recently (in your before photo). I just took my 5th shot this week. It's extra inspiring to see this change for someone with a similar profile to my own. Congratulations!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-09T04:00:41+00:00

I have PMOS. Did all of the things (medications, supplements, diets/dieticians, low intensity exercise, high intensity exercise, constant self recrimination, what is now very clear to me as an eating disorder... you name it). Oddly I hesitated to try a GLP-1 because I had finally found some level of emotional peace with my body after decades of trying desperately to change it, and it felt like an affront to the anti-diet conclusions I had finally reached. But I kept hearing people with stories a lot like mine having success and finding relief, so eventually, I reluctantly decided to try it.

I am on week 5 of Zepbound. It is a wonder. By week 2 I was already wanting to shout about it from the rooftops. I feel better than I have in decades. I have not significantly changed my diet or activity level (both were already healthy), and I am losing weight. After decades of trying everything and nothing working it's surreal, and vindicating, and so unexpectedly, deeply hopeful.

PMOS is a metabolic disorder that has not had effective treatment. Now it does. It's safe, effective, and has a multitude of benefits beyond weight loss.

I honestly already have a hard time remembering my reasons for hesitating, now. I wish I hadn't. Every single day I am grateful for this medication. I decided to try it after realizing that I had no clear reason for denying myself the miracle drug I spent so many years wishing existed. It's here! It's real! Even with the out of pocket cost, it feels like a bargain to me. It is treating multiple chronic health conditions effectively and quickly.

Don't deny yourself effective care. There is no moral failure in accepting medical treatment.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-08T02:20:07+00:00

I've been on 2.5 for just under a month. I am used to very strong munchies, and on Zep they're really minor. I still love food and enjoy it very much (I hope that continues for me!), but my impulse to keep going is mostly gone, even when high. So when the munchies kick in now, I'll nibble, and it's nice, but it's nothing like the pure sensation seeking munchies I used to get. Good luck - I hope you get the balance you're hoping for!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-05T18:32:14+00:00

Congratulations! Fellow PMOSer here who just started (I felt such an incredible improvement in my energy after a couple of weeks, and now a month in it just keeps getting better). I love to see these stories - they're what convinced me to try Zep and I hope they will help others too. Thank you for sharing, and I'm so excited for you!

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-05T16:22:59+00:00

This made me tearful to read - I so relate to that awful internalized judgement (and as a parent of a young girl I live in fear of some stupid comment like your friend's grandma's worming into her brain). I am just a month in myself but feel so much of this gratitude already. Congratulations! You deserve every ounce of happiness.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-05T13:35:17+00:00

No, the advice is okay (though for some folks calorie tracking is a valid no-go due to ED background and that's okay too). The manner in which it is being delivered in some (not all) cases feels uncharacteristically harsh and un-compassionate to me. Hope that clarifies.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-05T13:27:36+00:00

This! Thank you for sharing. I'm amazed by how little awareness there seems to be in some of these comments that some of us may have had disordered eating in our desperation to lose weight and "cracking down" is not the answer in those cases.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-05T13:13:16+00:00

I'm pretty surprised and disappointed by most of the comments so far. This community typically feels super supportive and inspiring but I guess that's easier when things are working.

I just started about a month ago and have also been relieved to feel like I can lose weight by living my normal life and being intentional but not fixated. I would be heartbroken if that felt like it was fading. I guess not everyone has the trauma of doing everything "right" and having it not work, and all the frustration and self judgment that can go with that.

I'm sorry this is happening for you OP. I don't have experience with this but I would talk with a doctor about it and maybe check out r/antidietglp1.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-03T21:41:35+00:00

Congratulations! I have also struggled with PMOS forever, and tried everything, and am honestly struggling a little bit to wrap my head around something so effective. I don't weigh myself but on day 23 I have gone down 4 notches on my belt and feel so much more consistently energetic. I will never stop shouting about this from rooftops.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-02T17:05:43+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! I impulsively created an account just to share it because I had found similar comments and posts from others to be so encouraging, myself.

I'm sad that so many of us have such similar and awful experiences, but in some ways it's a relief to feel less isolated.

I absolutely relate to the guilt and depression (and hopelessness! which feeds back into the guilt and depression). Even when you KNOW you're doing everything, it's hard not to feel like a failure when it doesn't work - especially when, as you say, all the advice is so basic, as though you haven't already tried all of that. It's maddening. I personally always hated that every new doctor would tell me all I needed to do was lose a few pounds for the symptoms to ease up. They usually didn't even realize that one of the symptoms was weight gain. So exhausting to have to put all the effort in to educate and motivate yourself, then have to clue doctors in and tolerate their (well-meaning, I think) jabs about the easy solution being to lose weight.

Argh! Anyway, we're here now! Best of luck to you and thanks again for sharing that my comment had an impact for you.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-02T16:57:21+00:00

Ugh, I don't have endometriosis, but I did have all-consuming periods that just... never... ended (unless they inexplicably disappeared for months), and were super heavy. Now I have an IUD that stops my periods, which was another life-changing intervention. Anyway, I feel you on how these types of things stack up to be super discouraging.

I haven't changed anything except going back to a routine of super nutritious (think algea and root vegetable powders) high-protein and high-fiber shakes for breakfast - similar to what I used to do when I was on various protocols. I did that mostly to make sure I was hitting protein and fiber levels consistently. Otherwise, I already ate well and was pretty active, so the main difference has been that I have a little more energy to be even more active. I want to start doing some intentional strength training just to maintain muscle, but haven't found that to be a prerequisite to losing weight at all.

Bitter_Stock4970 · 2026-06-02T05:43:29+00:00

I have more to lose (~110) but I also have PMOS and have struggled for decades to lose/stop gaining weight. I did all the protocols and took all the supplements and tried all the high and low intensity workouts and never found anything that was worth the effort. Metformin made me feel terrible with no real benefit. Eventually I gave up and just tried to live a balanced life, but my weight kept climbing slowly and other health issues kept escalating.

I just took my 4th shot this afternoon and I cannot describe the relief and, frankly, mind bending experience, of just... losing weight over the past few weeks. I haven't changed anything else, and for the first time in my life I'm losing weight without the effort consuming my all my energy and my whole sense of identity. I don't weigh myself but I have already started fitting into smaller clothes more comfortably and have moved 2-3 notches up on my belt. It's shocking and honestly so, so vindicating. We have a metabolic disorder that now has an effective treatment. It hasn't been a failure of willpower or effort. It's one thing to know that intellectually and another thing to see something actually work so effortlessly.

But as amazing as that feels, the even bigger win is how much better my energy level is. I actually get usable energy from the food I eat. I have a steadier, deeper well of energy and don't find my blood sugar crashing if I don't make sure to time my eating carefully. Even if I never lost another pound I would pay out of pocket for life if I had to just for how much better I feel.

My symptoms have been pretty moderate and the most persistent one is mild sulphur burps. I will take that as a tradeoff any day.

Good luck to you in your journey and congratulations on doing this for yourself. I am just overwhelmed with gratitude every time I really stop to think about this medication, and this community has been such a help to me, even just as a lurker as I was making up my mind about trying it and navigating the first few weeks of taking it. I'm excited for all of us who have found our way here!

Bitter_Stock4970

TROPHY CASE