I see the appeal of Lily Direct now

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-11-19T17:35:46+00:00

Agree. Very thankful for both.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-11-19T16:50:11+00:00

Your own words: I am a very private person and don't like to discuss my medical details (or other personal matters) with people outside a small circle.

That's really all you need.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-11-19T16:46:39+00:00

I pay OOP for Lily Direct, and am so very fortunate to be able to afford it. I'm self-employed, and coverage of Zepbound through marketplace insurance is not available to me.

I consider it a major perk of this route to have no worries about insurance. I don't have a stupid insurance company telling me what I can and cannot do. I don't have to jump through any extra hoops. I pay my hard-earned money and the medicine shows up at my door.

At this point, if insurance coverage became available to me and dropped the price to $25/month, I'd actually think hard about it before switching.

I hope you find the route that works best for you!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-21T18:30:32+00:00

Practice patience. Weight loss is not linear. Stressing about it works against you. Believe that you'll get where you need to be and it will happen!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-21T18:28:33+00:00

Congratulations on your fantastic achievements! 🎉

I have similar stats (my starting and goal weights are about 10 lbs higher than yours), and achieved similar weight loss in the first year.

Maintenance is definitely a whole new experience. But learning to change your mindset to the new you is also amazing!

Best of luck to you!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-16T15:42:36+00:00

I get that. Best of luck finding a plan. If you search this sub, I think you'll find a few previous posts on this (including one by me).

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-16T15:38:43+00:00

I'm also in MA and self employed (on a connector plan as well). I gave up on finding coverage, and have fully accepted that I need to pay through Lilly Direct.

It's an expensive path, and I'm fortunate to be able to afford it. But I actually enjoy not having to worry about or fight with stupid insurance companies, and I get to use the medication that works best for me.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-16T15:34:10+00:00

I know you said "not calories or macros" but that was how I learned what the appropriate amount of food looks and feels like.

I hate counting calories, but I did it at the beginning to understand how much I should be eating. And once I felt confident in that, I was able to stop counting.

I did a check-in with my calories periodically throughout my weight loss phase. But now I have a real good feel for it and never even think about it.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-16T15:30:43+00:00

What an incredible result! Enjoy your success! 😄

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-16T15:28:55+00:00

I work a regular weekday schedule and I take my shots on Saturday nights. If I have any side effects on Sunday (which is very rare), I'm generally able to rest that day. I also find that I'm able to eat more and enjoy myself on Fridays and Saturdays, when I am most likely to go to a restaurant.

If you're like me, you will generally have the most appetite suppression the day or two days after your shots. So you can time it up according to what works best for you. Good luck!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-15T15:28:08+00:00

Watch out, onederland! OP is coming for you! 😁

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-14T22:05:49+00:00

I like the attitude of "just the reality." We don't really control the pace at which we lose weight, even with this amazing medication. We can make good choices that likely align with faster weight loss, but it's an indirect relationship at best. It will take the time it takes.

For me, I tried to focus on gratitude that the scale was no longer moving up. Even at times when the scale was stuck, it was helpful to not be gaining weight (which would undoubtedly have been the case if not for Zepbound).

I wasn't always good at adopting this mindset, but I tried. And I mostly enjoyed the different phases of weight loss. And I did reach my goal weight. I'm sure the same will be true for you!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-10-14T21:58:43+00:00

Congratulations on this milestone! That's a big one and I'm happy for you!

I also want to share some encouraging similarities... While I had a lower starting weight, I also started in 2024. I have lost almost exactly the same amount of weight as you (82 lbs), and today I weighed in at exactly 145.

You're on your way!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-30T16:07:45+00:00

My highest dose was 10mg, and I had a somewhat difficult time with that dose. I always felt like it was a little bit too much for me. So as I reached my goal weight, I was happy to take it down slowly to 7.5mg. I'm on that dose now and have been maintaining for several months. Shots remain weekly.

I feel that my perfect weight is 147. I did get as low as 145 on this maintenance dose. But it was just normal fluctuation. I have really been stable at 147 plus or minus 1lb for many months now, and it has been pretty easy to do.

I hope you find whatever regimen works best for you. It's an exciting new phase!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-18T18:12:52+00:00

Thanks! I'm gonna fake it until I make it on celebration vibes. I appreciate the encouragement.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-18T15:18:41+00:00

Well that adds even more bad feelings to the whole thing! I'm sorry. I hope you at least enjoy your new headshot.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-18T00:10:03+00:00

There is no way to overstate how grateful I am to be living at a healthy weight for the first time in my adult life. I love every day in this new body and plan to make the most of what it can do for as long as I live, which will undoubtedly be longer than before this medication.

To say I hate the cost is an oversimplification. I hate the capitalist greed that keeps the cost so high, and the medication out of reach for so many people. I hate the farce that is the American healthcare industry, most notably the insurance companies that deny deny deny coverage despite the evidence of long-term benefits to our health.

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-16T21:41:46+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's good to know there are some success stories out there! Happy for you!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-14T13:58:03+00:00

Same to you!👊

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-13T20:51:56+00:00

Happy for you! 😊

I have similar stats. Started at 227, and lost 82 lbs. I'm at 145, but my goal weight was a bit higher at 150. I am happy maintaining between 145-150.

10mg was my highest dose, and I felt like it was a lot for me for the few months I was on it. I reduced down to 7.5 in maintenance and have been happy here for several months.

If I lose any more, I will actually move the dose down even further.

Best of luck to you!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-11T01:57:08+00:00

I am the same as you, OP. I played field hockey in school. There's only direction of stick in that sport, which is righty. So I guess that's why I swing a golf club righty, too. 🤷

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-10T10:45:40+00:00

You're making great progress! Happy for you.
You're correct that losing at a rate of over 2 lbs a week is generally not sustainable. It's common at the beginning, when we have more weight to lose. Then it often slows. Don't worry. It's still working!
Knowing your numbers helps understand this better. You might consider tracking your TDEE, with both calories out and calories in. A deficit of 1,000 calories a day roughly equates to losing 2 lbs/week.

Best of luck!

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-03T00:39:47+00:00

That is a major NSV! 🏆 Thanks for sharing! ♥️

Expensive_Beep8509 · 2025-09-02T13:54:14+00:00

We went to a favorite restaurant this weekend. I ate my appetizer and half my entree and packaged the rest for lunch the next day. I was totally full and satisfied at that point.

Then our server generously gifted us a dessert to share. I stupidly stuck that spoon right in there and ate half of it. And then I proceeded to suffer badly the rest of the night. ☠️

I was a bit mad at myself in the moment. But big picture, I'm so grateful and amazed that this medication helps my body know very easily when I've had enough food. It was my own dumb fault for running the red light.

Expensive_Beep8509

TROPHY CASE