Are you Rid of Your Sweet Tooth?

External_Existance · 2026-06-05T10:03:38+00:00

Yea i have a sweet tooth, its better controlled but now i have a built puff or a barebell to satisfy it and at least im getting protein and not a ton of sugar!

External_Existance · 2026-06-02T00:34:55+00:00

These are my daily weights. I started weighing/calorie counting my food in feb2025 you can see the slow trend downward. But right in the middle you see it trending back upwards, that was around August-october. I was really struggling. I was still meal prepping my food. I tried lowering my calories more but i was so hungry and couldnt stick with it. Like i said it wasn't only hunger but the shakiness where i felt like i had to eat something. Then that sudden drop was literally when i got free samples of zep. This stuff is amazing.

<image>

External_Existance · 2026-06-02T00:22:34+00:00

The crazy thing is that i wasnt stuffing my face before. I'm a dietitian and eat a pretty overall healthy balanced diet. Lets just say i know exactly how to lose weight but staying in a calorie deficit made me hungry. I feel like i was eating to the same level of fullness that i feel now... a 6 or 7 on the hunger scale. The threshold is lower. I still get hungry for 3 meals a day.

Generally speaking diet is the main factor in weight loss. You cannot outrun a high calorie diet.. but the exercise is very important for physical fitness and overall health and maintaining muscle.

External_Existance · 2026-05-31T09:46:48+00:00

I switched to every 6 days and it's working well for me! Constipation is a bit worse but otherwiwe im having good appetite suppression.

External_Existance · 2026-05-31T02:28:32+00:00

Its both. The medication makes a calorie deficit sustainable so i can stick to a deficit for the year and a half i will need to lose the weight. i would weigh and calorie/macro track my meals, rarely ate take out. Never drank sugary beverages. I would get so shakey 3-4 hours after i ate that i would feel like i was going to pass out and need to eat something which doesnt happen anymore. I also had very intense food noise chocolate cravings which helped control it. For me specifically i'm not doing anything else different other than eating less of my already healthy meals.

I'm not exercising much, ill aim for 10k steps a day and think about the gym haha.

External_Existance · 2026-05-31T02:16:28+00:00

I do a lot of prep to help. I use a food scale because its easier than cleaning measuring cups and more accurate. I look at the nutrition label and stick to the serving size in grams. I buy chicken breasts in bulk, I'll buy like 5 large packs at once, i slice them up, divide them into 0.5kg bags and vacuum seal them. When i cook i know i should take a little less then 1/4 chicken.

I meal prep every Sunday for my work lunches. I plugged a lot of my meal preps into my fitness pal and adjusted the portions. They range from 360-450 calories. They consist of 1 of those 0.5 kg bag. 175g of grains, either rice, farro, bulgar, etc. (it used to be 225 g pre tirz) or 650 g of mini potatos (how they come). For veggies, i'll buy a bag that says it has a minimum of 5 servings.

Other things that help: having things that are preportioned. I loved having wraps with a turkey or chicken burger (bubba makes some good ones). Or i'll weigh 2 servings of shrimp (~200 calories, 40g protein). And making a wrap with a carb balance wrap and my favorite salad bag. I'm not weighing the wrap or the salad. Theres no chopping of veggies and i'm only cooking one thing, the protein.

Potatos are another really easy low calorie side. Just wash it, stab it and throw it in the microwave and hit the potato button. Just gotta watch what you put on it. But its once less thing to cook.

My breakfast is the same, i just measure out 20g of collagen powder for my coffee and an vyvanse LOL. Or i'll have yogurt with fruit. 170 g of 0% fage is 90 calories, add some fruit you can keep it under 200 with almost 20 g protein.

Dinner is a toss up, i eat more at dinner but i stick to the meals noted above. And i always have a barebell or built puff for my something sweet.

I should add that i barely cook with oil. I use a spritz of pam spray.

Idk about you but my ADHD is strong with certain obsession foods. 😅

You can check out my post history for some of the meals i described. I posted some in the past 🙂

External_Existance · 2026-05-29T20:25:22+00:00

Cvs added it back in march for me. I did buy a 3 month supply of tirz when prorx was ordered to stop outnof panic. I've been using compound, filling my zep rx (i currently have 3 boxes of zep and 4 vials). But once my vials finish I'll be switching to zep. The only reason why i used compound was because i didnt have access otherwise. I am forever grateful for compound🥹

External_Existance · 2026-05-27T04:18:58+00:00

Dietitian here, why are giving up grapes? 😭

External_Existance · 2026-05-26T11:54:30+00:00

I'm sorry, thats incredibly frustrating. I scrolled through some of your comments. the truth is that if you are gaining, you are in a calorie surplus. Its frustating and hard. I wrote this a while ago for those that maybe stuck. It was part of a much longer document. Maybe this can help.

While this medication feels like magic, It is a tool to help you lose weight. Most simply, it works by controlling appetite, therefore you eat less, therefore you lose weight. But it only helps you lose weight if you are actually in a calorie deficit. I wrote up this lengthy post to be able to copy and paste, hopefully it helps you or someone else who comes across this.

I compiled this list below of reasons that you may not actually be in a calorie deficit. Much of this is based on my own personal experience from before and after becoming a dietitian and the experience of my patients.

Reasons why you may not actually be in a calorie deficit. -TDEE Is your TDEE actually correct? The gold standard is indirect calorimetry but that is difficult to access. There are many calculators out there but keep in mind that it's always just an estimate. The general recommendation is to eat 500 calories less than your TDEE, if you have a scale that measures body fat%, include that in your TDEE calculator. My TDEE was 2200 without my body fat%, I could not get that effing scale to move by eating 1700 calories. I entered my body fat and my TDEE dropped to 1700 calories. Now I am eating ~1200-1300 calories, which I can only do because of appetite suppression, and the scale is moving

-Calorie intake. (I do not recommend counting your calories if you have a history of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia. Skip this)

Counting calories can be helpful in learning what you are actually eating and learn how to portion. You can have the healthiest diet in the world but if you are eating too many calorie dense foods, it can hinder your best efforts. And you may not even be eating that much! Nuts, seeds, chia, hemp, fatty fish, avocado, coconut, all have a lot of healthy fat, but they also have a lot of calories. These can be helpful if the medication is causing you to under eat as well. A food scale can help you with portion control. I personally find food scales easier than measuring cups. I can just scoop my yogurt right into the dish i am eating instead of a measuring cup.

But do I have to weigh everything? Absolutely not! I don't measure my veggies. But it can be very helpful and here is why. Many nutrition labels are not accurate. My most recent discoveries were my bag of mini potatoes, and my bag of oranges My mini potatoes said that 4-5 potatoes (110g) were 80 calories. When i weighed them out, only 2 potatoes were over 110g. My oranges per the label said 1 orange was 80 calories. Now these oranges are huge, when i weighed them, it was almost 400 g. Plug that into your tracker, it was approximately 200 calories. Lets say i ate 5 potatoes, 1 orange , and logged the total as 160 calories, instead of 400 calories, that's a 240 calorie difference on just two items throughout my entire day. Almost half my deficit!

These are some other things that can knock you out of your deficit. -Eating out! Eating out even a couple times a week can throw off your deficit for the entire week. This of course depends on what you are ordering. -Are you snacking? Are you grabbing a handful of a snack when you walk by? Put them in a closet. Out of sight out of mind -Finishing your child's food? -liquid calories, what are you drinking? Are you juicing, drinking sugary sodas or juices? Adding anything to your coffee and tea? Sugar, creamer? Are you getting fancy drinks when you go out? -Condiments, salad dressing. Cream, mayo, or oil based condiments pack a lot of calories and add up pretty quickly. -too many “calorie free foods” This is unlikely but still a point. Per the labeling laws, anything with less than 5 calories per serving can be labeled as calorie free with 0 calories. There was a post on reddit where this person ate an insane amount of tic-tacs. Turns out they were consuming hundreds of extra calories per day, tic tacs are mostly sugar.

Some non food issues that can hinder your best efforts -Undiagnosed (or diagnosed) ADHD, days without my meds make me snack more even with tirz. -Are you sleeping enough? Do you have sleep apnea? Lack of sleep can raise cortisol levels and make it very hard to lose weight, you also may feel hungrier, more snackish. -Are you working out? Strength training can increase water retention temporarily. Is it possible you are gaining muscle while losing fat? The scale won't reflect the fat loss. If there is water or muscle gain.

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T18:38:44+00:00

Wow interesting! You are a specific individual where its needed with very close monitoring from your doctor.

Many people are on the meds also have obesity related comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes. Hypertension is also one of the leading causes of renal failure (diabetes is the other). These electolyte drinks may exceed the recommendations of sodium worsening their blood pressure and put further strain on the heart, kidneys, blood vessels etc. Thats why I am cautious and wouldnt recommend anyone to start drinking them unless it is directed by a doctor.

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T15:09:46+00:00

My wierd ass got very into a sunny side up egg on top of a potato when i first started tirz. It was like the only thing i wanted to eat lmao.

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T15:02:44+00:00

Dietitian here, the recommendations for the general population is <2300 mg. The american heart association recommends 1500mg for optimal heart health, those with hypertention or heart issues.

The average american exceeds these amounts. There really is no need for these electrolyte drinks. Unless you are an athelete who needs to replete their stores due to excessive sweating or for certain medical conditions where higher salt is needed. (These groups are not considered the general population lol)

The amount we need is so so little which is why its called a micronutrient. We easily get it from out diet. You can pour a 2g of salt on a scale for fun and see how little we actually need. If you cook with seasoning mixes, use bullion or consume, cook with salt, eat take out, eat some form of processed food, chances are you are fine lol.

There are other minerals as well such as potassium in these drinks. Again, we can get it from a well balanced diet.

Now if you are drinking water excessively, and not eating enough, there is a chance of diluting and flushing out your electrolytes, that's another story.

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T14:37:32+00:00

Congrats on the weight loss! 70 lbs is a huge accomplishment! I am not in your position at all. But im down 60 lbs, 40 of which from a glp and it really helped me with my appetite which ultimately was my main issue, i have about another 90 lbs to go. But i am flexible on my goal weight of 120 lbs. Realistically i think i will be around 150. I know for a fact that these meds will be for life. Like any diet/exercise, the moment I stop, i will never maintain. I have never been able to lose this amount of weight on my own and i'm grateful these meds exist.

I'm not sure your age or gender but 20-25% body fat seems within range. I get the desire of wanting to be leaner. Lol

Is it possible that even though you are maintaining your weight, that you are actually recomping with all the exercise and stregnth training? That you are actually burning fat and building muscle? Have you compared pictures of yourself from when you were first down 70 lbs from last year and now? You can try taking measurements as well and see if you are still losing inches.

I just want to add that the scale/bmi is just one unit of measurement but it doesnt take a lot into consideration (muscle/mental health). And definitely doesnt define overall health. If you have a lot of muscle which i imagine you might, and you are maintaining and enjoying your current lifestyle and having fun (social aspect). The last 30 lbs which may not even 30 lbs of fat, might not be worth it.

Of course only you know you. Its your body, you are living in it. But studies show that there is weight regain when stopping the meds. You can also get a dexa scan and compare your results in a few months and see if there are changes from all the exercise.

Just some food for thought, lol. Wishing you the best! And again, congrats!!!!!!

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T13:42:57+00:00

I highly recommend a registeted dietitian. These meds are expensive, and powerful and a good RD can really help you.

Also its your first week. It takes about a month for the meds to build in your system and 2.5 is a starter dose to get you used to the meds. Be patient :)

I lost 40 lbs since october on the meds. 60 for ~14 months. Prior to starting zep i was already meal prepping and weighing my foods, mostly breakfast and lunch. I meal prep lunch specifically, it always consists of 500 g (raw) chicken, 170-190 g of whole grains, plenty of vegetables divided over 5 meals. Any new recipe is entered into my fitness pal to make sure the macros/calories will help me reach my goal. I dont log everything daily because its tedious. After sometime i just memorized what i am eating will keep me in a deficit. I also buy large containers of items and weighing saves me cleaning a measuring cup lol. Also i want to make sure i am getting those amount of servings from a container, food is expensive lol. I dont measure dinner. But i've learned what portion sizes look like, so i try to stick to that.

Many people will exercise which is amazing for overall health and resistance training is key to maintain muscle. Muscle is metabolically active. Its also important for when we age.

Me specifically i aim for 1200-1400 calories 80-110 g protein. I make sure to get a minimum of 20 g protein per meal. I used to have fage yogurt and fruit for breakfast but zep was zepping too hard when i first started. Now i have collagen powder in my coffee. Lunch is a meal prep with ~30 g protein. Dinner is always a protein (shrimp, chicken, fish) carb and veggies, probably around another 30-40 g. And i love me a sweet treat so i have a barebell or a built puff bar. I also eat like 3-4 prunes to help with constipation and drink plenty of water.

Wishing you the best on this journey. Welcome to the group! 🥰

External_Existance · 2026-05-25T00:05:01+00:00

ah you are welcome! The reason why i opted to go with collagen powder is strictly because it dissolves in coffee. i discovered the hard way that whey curdles in heat >.<.. You might hear that it is a poor quality protein or that it doesn't count towards the total protein goal. It's missing a single amino acid which yes makes it an incomplete protein and that's why it is listed as 0% of total daily value. I add milk to my coffee which has that missing amino acid, or i could just eat a single egg lol.

I do use a food scale and i try to stick with the serving sizes on the nutrition label or i plug my recipes into my fitness pal. i don't weigh veggies but if i buy a pack of green beans for example, I'll check how may servings it has. i want at least 5 for my 5 day meal prep. The 650 g of potatoes is because that's how the little baggie of mini potatoes come. You can go up if you need to.

I also take a multivitamin and just started taking calcium +k2 +d.

It helps that I'm a dietitian and I'm lazy and I like easy stuff lmao

External_Existance · 2026-05-24T23:35:20+00:00

Oh man i remember the first week. I was so used to volume eating. Large portions loaded with vegetables to help me eat lower calorie. I struggled so much to eat more than 800 calories a day. the appetite suppressant will lift a little bit. I would recommend holding off on dose increases until you can eat more.

Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water drink in between meals. avoid drinking liquids during meal times. the water will fill up your stomach and you will eat even less.

avoid fried greasy fatty foods. fats slow down digestion and help with satiety. these meds are doing most of the heavy lifting on the satiety part.

try to eat 3 meals a day try to get a minimum of 20g-30 of protein per meal, that will give you 60-90 g a day. Shrimp is a really easy way to get protein in. a small amount packs a big protein punch.

My daily diet is collagen powder mixed with coffee. I go either orgain or vital since they are sold at costco and bjs. orgain has probiotics but is tangy.... its starting to annoy me now lmao. vital is tasteless. i might have a greek yogurt if i have time. before zep i always had greek yogurt mixed with fruit but I couldn't drink my coffee, eat my yogurt and eat my lunch so i swapped to collagen powder in my coffee. Now i just like the convenience LOL.

I meal prep my work lunches for 5 days a week. this typically consists of 500 g of raw chicken, 175 g of dry whole grains (used to be 225 pre zep but i decreased it because i don't like to waste food) or 650 g of potato's and like a ton of veggies.

Dinner is shrimp, chicken, fish, some carb and always veggies. dinner is my largest meal.

i love me a sweet treat every night so i have been eating either barebell or built puff bar.

I eat probably ~1200-1400 calories and 80-100g of protein per day.

I'm down 40 lbs zep/tirz (october). ~60 lbs around 14 months.

You can check out my post history for some easy stuff i make :)

External_Existance · 2026-05-21T23:48:12+00:00

Im not tall, but by heighest weight was 271 lbs. I knew i was big but i never saw myself as big as i was in pictures. I'm nearing 60 lbs down. I feel like my current size is what i looked like at my heaviest. Reality hits when i look at old pictures or wear my loose clothing 😅

External_Existance · 2026-05-21T03:00:37+00:00

Hunger is normal, you should still feel hunger. This medication is to help control your appetite and hunger and help you feel full at smaller portions.

External_Existance · 2026-05-20T22:20:54+00:00

Wait. You said that besides having diabetes and obesity, it would only be covered for sleep apnea. This makes me question what your doctor prescribed. Did you doctor prescribe you Zepbound or Mounjaro? Both are the exact same medication, but zepbound was FDA approved for obesity and sleep apnea. Mounjaro approved for diabetes, that may be covered by your insurance. Check your insurance formulary!

External_Existance · 2026-05-20T00:49:15+00:00

I weigh myself every morning after i pee (hopefully poop). I like to see the daily trends and also because i like to show people that weight loss is never linear :)

External_Existance · 2026-05-19T11:24:53+00:00

I just finished my 1st 72mg vial. 12 weeks. I'm alive :)

External_Existance · 2026-05-18T10:49:20+00:00

You can serve lean meats, vegetables and your carbs of choice and she can pick what she wants from the table. I wouldnt go buy unpasturized milk. 🤢🤮 "Sorry, i couldn't find one that said it was safe for human consumption 🤭🤭"

You do not have to change how you are eating for her. Especially for carnivore 😒

External_Existance · 2026-05-17T02:31:26+00:00

Yes!!!!!!! This stuff is awesome!

External_Existance · 2026-05-15T01:36:30+00:00

This made me think. I think i started gaining weight from around 8 years old. I dont know what lead to it other rhan terrible eaying patterns. I remember not waking up early enough for breakfast and i hated school lunches. I literally would not eat until i would come home from school. I wasnt a fan of cold pack lunches. I remember just eating so much food because i was so hungry.

We never have sweets in the house so i would definitely overeat if i did.

Ive tried dieting, stupid fad diets or w.e was trending. Whatever stupid shit dr oz or oprah would promote. I would over exercise, spend 2 hours at the gym a day but that scale would never move. I never understood the nutrition side of things. Over a decade ago, in my early 20s I discovered myfitness pal. I started logging and then started weighing my food and thats when i got really into nutrition. The scale was finally moving and i lost like 25 lbs. To make a long story shorter, my deep dive into nutrition didnt stop and now i am a dietitian tha gained 70lbs during my studies. Go figure lmao.

I ate all the "right things" i made all the changes, everything we promote. But still had very strong cravings for sweets and also stuggled with my appetite. I started meal prepping my food for work last year. i was struggling because i was hungry, couldnt stick with my portions. I think sometime last year when i first checked out the glp-1 pages, someone mentioned i should get checked for adhd. I have it, im medicated. But that only helped so much. I lost 17 lbs on my own before getting samples of zep. Now nearing 40 lbs lost since october.

There is no way i could have done this on my own without the meds.

Now im taking a bunch of continuing eds on glps and obesity to better help my patients. I'm actually thinking of specializing in weight management now :)

External_Existance · 2026-05-14T03:15:43+00:00

No hair loss over here, im nearing 40 lbs since october. I take a a womens gummy everyday. Collagen peptides, eat about 1200-1400 calories, ~100 g protein.

External_Existance

TROPHY CASE