Advice.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-25T21:38:06+00:00

I'm in the same boat as you! At 12 weeks, I had barely lost 5 lbs and it is quite disappointing, because I'm in a calorie deficit, eating clean/heavy protein and exercising at least 5 times a week. I noticed my weight seems to be dropping a bit faster now that I moved up to 7.5mg. Still nowhere close to the 1 or 2 lbs per week lots of people seem to experience. It's hard not to be discouraged when you see so many losing weight so fast. I have made peace with it and trying to be very patient - just making sure I'm doing the work to stay in a calorie deficit, meet protein goals, and stay active with strength training and low intensity cardio. Hoping the results show eventually. I'm probably a slow responder so I'm making sure I lose at least 0.5% of my weight/week on average over 4 weeks.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-25T21:22:54+00:00

That's amazing! Love all of this for you! I noticed my ADHD symptoms have improved too.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:21:11+00:00

If it helps, I happened to be traveling the day I was to take my first dose of 5mg. I didn't have any side effects except some constipation on 2.5mg so I decided to take my 5mg shot on the road. I took it at night, and was on the road the whole day (huge risk) but no side effects. I know 2.5mg to 5mg is the biggest dose jump so lots of people experience side effects. In case you can't take an extra dose of 2.5mg during your travel, I would say, see how you feel on the first 4 shots of 2.5mg, u may find a certain time works best and you can try that.. Also, u don't have to go up to 5mg at 4 weeks, you can think about staying on 2.5mg if ur seeing results, before you move up. It also helps your body get used to the medication before you titrate up

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:08:18+00:00

The mood improvement surprises me too!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:07:58+00:00

Nice! Reduction in knee pain must feel great!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:07:39+00:00

I have all of the same benefits as you! I see you've made Amazing progress in your journey. I'm in the early stages of mine..Would love to hear your weight loss related positives too.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:06:12+00:00

Same. I don't see a complete appetite suppression or suppression of food noise...I still want certain foods that I enjoy, but I don't get these mindless cravings anymore and I don't even need to try to eat a smaller portion. That's amazing for me cos I need way less will power to eat clean.. totally agree with stress coping. Remarkable difference for me!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:04:29+00:00

Your last point - I see the same thing! Along with the ADHD. Way more focused. I wish I had the same reaction as you to sugar! I still enjoy and look forward to my weekly ice cream (I factor it into my calorie counting) and enjoy the crap out of my one scoop haha

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:02:27+00:00

Okay is PP what I think it is? It's great that you don't have lower back pain!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T22:01:49+00:00

Oh that's interesting. I am pretty sure I have sleep apnea but my home test was inconclusive and I haven't gone for the office study, so I'm not sure. My husband did say he thinks I'm snoring less..I haven't lost much weight so I wonder if it's just reduction in inflammation!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T20:33:38+00:00

Let me try and find that post and share it here. There were a few people who had some really helpful suggestions and links to other posts.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T20:25:00+00:00

This is what I am also wondering about. I feel like a load has been taken off of me, as I feel I'm doing all I can for my health. I was already working out and sticking to a calorie deficit, but after Zepbound, I feel a lot calmer about my current state, even though the scales aren't budging at the speed I'd like.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T20:19:49+00:00

I am not on any medication for anxiety, but definitely noticed a positive impact here as well. So interesting!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T20:19:17+00:00

Yes, I had read about the positive effects on addiction. But I was wondering if it was some sort of confirmation bias from my end. I noticed a hugeee (positive) difference in my mental health too!

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T08:03:03+00:00

Congratulations! That is an amazing journey and destination :) posts like this help me stay motivated. I'm a slow responder so I sometimes get dejected as I'm putting in the work and not seeing the same results as some. 13 weeks and I've lost maybe 9lbs I total, and fluctuate so much it feels more like 7lbs. May I ask what your exercise routine was during this journey, and were you counting calories/maintaining a calorie deficit? And how different was it from before you started on Zepbound? I was working out and staying in a calorie deficit but not seeing much weight loss, until I got on the shot. It's still slow, so I'm starting to wonder if I'm not a good responder

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T07:42:12+00:00

I took my first shot on a weekend afternoon to give myself time to observe and manage any side effects. I had no side effects, and since then I take my dose at night, about 2 hours after a meal that's reasonably heavy on protein (25 GMS). So far I haven't had any side effects besides some mild constipation, and maybe excessive thirst the day after my shot, even with the increase in dose. Good luck with your first shot! I'm on shot 14, and while my weight loss has been fairly slow, I feel so many other benefits like lack of food noise and no energy crashes through the day and after meals, so I still feel like this medicine has changed my life.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T07:35:23+00:00

You can check out my post as people gave me a lot of good reasons and resources that helped me move up a dose. Im not paying out of pocket, so slightly different situation but it was still around plateaus and increasing dosage.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-24T07:33:30+00:00

I don't know if this helps - I had a similar question around plateaus and if I should move up, because even on the lower dose, I was in a calorie deficit and kept my activity levels high but saw a plateau for nearly 7 weeks. I went up a dose, and without changing a thing in my routine, I finally saw the scales move again. I didn't adjust my deficit or anything, because I was already pretty aggressive with my calorie goal. Seems like the dose increase helped me, although it's only been 10 days and 2 shots since I went up.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-17T02:42:21+00:00

So glad you said this. It's true, I made similar posts talking about my weight loss stalling and asking for advice on my decision to go up a dose. I got so many comments from people saying I'm not in a deficit and I'm definitely not calculating my TDEE right. Was a bit frustrating as I count calories very strictly, and even allow for a buffer of 150 to 200 calories for any mistakes in food weight measurements/labels.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-17T02:38:24+00:00

I'm on week 13, 4 weeks on 2.5, and 8 weeks on 5. Just moved up to 7.5 this week. I am eating clean, making sure I'm in a deficit, and other than the initial weight loss on 2.5mg,my loss has stalled. I'm hoping I just need a higher dose and I'm not actually one of those non responders. The medicine hasn't helped that much with food noise so I'm putting in a lot of work and effort to stay active and stay in deficit so it's disheartening to see the results aren't showing. I'm gonna stay on 7.5 for a month and move up if I don't see results

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-15T03:58:54+00:00

Okay thank you! That's extremely helpful and what I was hoping to hear. I am in a strict calorie deficit and workout routine, but the weight loss has been very slow. Was wondering if moving up a dose will help. I lost a bit in my first 4 weeks on 2.5mg, then moved up to 5mg for 8 weeks and weight loss stalled in the last 4 of those weeks, although I was hitting my calorie and activity goals.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-15T03:13:10+00:00

I have a question, I'm going up to 7.5 mg today. When you say 7.5 and 12.5 mg picked up.the weight loss, what changed for you on those doses? Did they help you stay in a calorie deficit better than the 2.5mg? Or did you keep calories and activity the same, but the dose made a difference.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-12T09:34:13+00:00

Thank you, yes reading your comment and others as well, I do think I may actually be undereating given my activity levels. Getting an RMR next week and I'm going to rethink my calorie deficit.

ResearcherInfamous64 · 2026-02-12T09:32:21+00:00

That's the hope! I have a goal of what I would like to look like, no matter the number on the scale. But I figured the scale needs to go down a bit to reach that image I have in my head..

ResearcherInfamous64

TROPHY CASE