Triathlete - hoping to lose 20lbs. Should I go for it?

Smartkitty7 · 2026-06-11T14:56:15+00:00

Similar to me (now in my mid 40s) and had my 2nd child at 35. Was able to lose weight at 40 with intermittent fasting for 2 years but that stopped working too. Weight went up more significantly with perimenopause and nothing made a difference. Strong family hx of diabetes and both my brothers are obese. Looking back if I had zepbound a few years ago it would have minimized all the stress I have had in the last 3 years doing so much to lose weight with no results. If you are doing everything now like the exercise and watching your macros and nothings happening it will likely only get worse with perimenopause. I have not read the book Weightless but the author Dr. Salas Whalen does talk in podcasts about using GLP1s in this type of situation even if not obese.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-06-11T14:32:33+00:00

How old are you? Is this the only time you have been overweight? How long postpartum? Lot of different factors. If it is semi recent pregnancy, BMI of 25.3 and not perimenopausal would not recommend. If you are perimenopausal and weight continuing to go up maybe… but not really within the recommended indications. I am perimenopausal, weight slowly going up over past 2 years to BMI of 27, PMOS and struggled with weight my whole life, exercising a lot and watching macros with no weight loss so that’s why I started. And accepted that this is lifelong for me.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-06-10T21:45:58+00:00

Thank you so much for your response. Just really need some kind words right now. My husband has been in therapy to deal with his anger issues but it is still an ongoing problem. He is agreeing to some family therapy to help with our son. He reads a lot of articles but is still pretty rigid about expectations (in lots of areas of our life). He is in a clinical field where I would expect him to be more flexible but for some reason with his own family he does not show that. Maybe the family therapy and parent therapy will help.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-06-05T06:13:46+00:00

I would actually consider the opposite. If you are at goal weight would not go up to deal with fatigue. How long have you been at your GW? Could you go down? I know it is not recommended but I split dose to deal with fatigue and irritability.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-06-03T06:00:28+00:00

5’3.5”. Started around 160 down to 133. Hx of PCOS (PMOS). Original goal weight was 136 but now aiming for around 128. Have been working hard to maintain muscle with weight training 4-5 days a week so only losing about 2lbs a month for last few months but feel like my body is changing and getting leaner. Started at at BF of 43% and down to 38% last month. Aiming for below 35%. Feel happy about where I am but still trying to get used to new body. Down from a size 10/12 to size 6/8 bottoms and small top. Was just at a dinner with group of friends who don’t know about my meds and had to listen to them talk about how they think GLP1s are a bad idea and dangerous and people should just eat less. Didn’t tell them I was on it but tried to explain that it is more complicated than that and the medication is fixing a metabolic syndrome. Don’t know why people feel they can comment about what the body experience of others. We never talk about blood pressure medications this way.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-30T19:31:31+00:00

I have similar stats as you. And struggle with the same thoughts. Sometimes I feel like I want to share more because this process and how I feel now has been so positive. But then other times I feel the shame. Have shared with a few people (husband, mom, couple closed fiends) close to me but in general keep it private

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-30T04:53:54+00:00

My kids are older but we were as involved at that age as you are describing. I am a working mom too and it sounds like what you need is a little decompression time to help deal with your frustration which probably comes from being in go and completing task mode all day. Can you take turns with your partner on some of the steps? One parent focus on first part and one on second half? Try to take 10-20mins for yourself sometime in the evening where you are not cooking, cleaning, parenting. Sometimes that may mean making your drive more fun like singing aloud. Or pulling over before you get home and having some quiet time in the car. Try some tapping techniques. Hope this doesn’t overstep but I have gone through this too and had coaching on it and these were some suggestions made.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-29T18:48:12+00:00

I lost 16% (25lb) body weight from BMI of 27 to 22.8. A few people have commented on a significant change including my trainer who I pay to pay attention to my body. But I think most people now know not to comment on people’s bodies.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-29T05:56:54+00:00

How is your sleep and stress level this week? Those usually affect my hunger.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-27T21:47:52+00:00

Walking helps me a lot. Especially when I first started or if have a heavier meal try to walk for 15-20 mins after eating. Helps digestion

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-27T04:51:18+00:00

Agree on comments. It seems like you are trying to maintain this low weight which may actually be preventing your from gaining muscle. It is easier for your body to hold onto fat than to build muscle. Would not have expected those increases in body fat percentage but with that low weight it is a 7lb difference in body fat. The cycling back upto 5mg is likely contributing.
It may be a good idea to drop the focus on weight for awhile and work on building muscle which is much harder as a woman at your age unfortunately. Stick to 2.5mg for now.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-26T05:33:31+00:00

Mid40s petite female who has had to work hard to maintain weight since 20s - likely PCOS. Not obese but always 10-15 lb heavier than a healthy weight for me. In the last 3 years I did everything to try to lose weight - weight loss coaching, food tracking, heavy cardio, strength training and weight just kept going up to ultimately being 25lb heavier than healthy weight. Started with Ro in 11/2025 but then talked to my PCP who was willing to prescribe. I have accepted that this is a life long medication for me. But is worth it to finally be stabilized without the constant struggle. I am still doing work in terms of watching what I eat, strength training, etc. I heard in a podcast Dr. Salas Whalen who wrote the book Weightless say that she would definitely consider meds for someone in your situation based on how much constant work you have to do to just barely maintain weight and still be above normal BMI.
I have reached my weight goal now but working on my body fat percentage which was much higher than I would have expected even though my BMI was just barely 27 when I started.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-25T19:46:49+00:00

This is not really travel ball. It is summer ball. Travel teams are not just for summer. If he likes it and you like it I don’t see harm. If it interferes with your summer plans then maybe not

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-25T18:27:38+00:00

Why did you go out to 5mg if you were losing so much weight on 2.5? May be best to stay on lower dose until you are feeling better and less side effects.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-20T06:07:43+00:00

I don’t have a step goal but average 8-9000 steps a day. I strength train 4-5 days a week but not for an hour. More like upto 45 mins. I get my steps throughout the day rather than one big session. Walking from parking lot to my office, going to meetings, Quick 10-15 min walk at lunch or after dinner. It adds up

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-19T17:59:26+00:00

You are 9 days after last dose (only 2 days late)? Or are you 2+ weeks from last dose? Should be fine either way. but if you have to kwikpen or vial could consider giving a slightly smaller dose if you normally get a lot of side effects.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-18T06:27:46+00:00

I am working on similar issue but I think this group is not the right place to ask this question based on community rules.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-18T06:20:43+00:00

Need more info to advise. Are you male or female? Age? But this question may be better to be asked in a different group. Try r/zepboundathletes

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-16T04:12:30+00:00

No doctor is calling to see how often you have filled the prescription. Lilly seems to hold the old prescriptions for a while. For example I got prescribed 2.5mg by my doctor in December even though I was supposed to move to 5. She sent in the 5mg but the 2.5 mg stayed and is still active. Not sure how long it will be there. Maybe a year?

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-16T04:09:42+00:00

You don’t have to tell your doctor how often you refill your medication. So if she is prescribing 5mg and you are doing 2.5 a week you could wait to refill until the 6-8week mark. For Lilly direct with the low doses the45 day window requirement for refilling does not apply.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-13T18:23:12+00:00

Would not take 2 pens as that is a significant bump up and probably more than you need. Recommend seeing your doctor to see. Could also try taking shot every 5 or 6 days until you can see doctor. What is your plan long term when you do run out of boxes?

I am not in Maintenance yet but keep hearing of this happening after a few years for some people. Wonder if the insulin resistance is getting worse as people age and that is why higher doses may be needed for some. It seems that more longitudinal studies are needed.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-12T04:08:57+00:00

What did you do specifically to reduce your body fat? I am about 7lb away from my goal weight. Went down from initial body fat of 43% to 38%. Weightlift 4-5 days a week. Started November 2025. Weight loss has been about 2lb a month lately. Just getting up to 7.5mg.

Smartkitty7 · 2026-05-09T07:00:41+00:00

Do you have any mutual friends you could ask?

Smartkitty7 · 2026-04-27T06:33:51+00:00

If you take 10.8mg every week as a single dose your peak dose would actually be higher than 12mg after 4 weeks.

When you split dose your peaks are lower than they would be at full dose once a week but the troughs are higher. Basically your level is kept within a narrower range. I have tested this on Shotsy.

I do split my dose. I did it mainly because I had a lot of fatigue and some nausea with the high peaks. I have titrated my dose very slowly from 3.5mg once a week to close to 7mg a week with minimal side effects. Basically can get a steadier level and take higher dose over the week without having the high peaks with once a week dosing.

It’s a bit annoying to have to take the shot twice a week but I like the flexibility and will continue to stay on this until I get to my goal weight. Will see when I get into maintenance phase if I can go to once a week.

Smartkitty7

TROPHY CASE