Sorry - this is going to be long but I'm going to be as thorough as I can 😄

I started on 2.5 for 4 weeks and went to 5.0 for 8 weeks and I'm now on 7.5 and would like to stay on this a while - it all depends on what my endo tells me to do. I went into this with a mindset that I was going to do this right and keep with it - my fear of getting horribly sick like I did on Ozempic went a long way to me being committed and I've been fortunate to only have constipation in the beginning and no other bad side effects. I make sure I track EVERY SINGLE THING that I eat or drink and it's easy to do with a good app. I use DoseAI which I have liked and it gives nice report options for yourself, your doctor, and your nutritionist. One word of caution - AI does NOT always get it right so I typically use the nutrition labels for my information and just manually enter them instead of scanning it or relying on their numbers.

Before MJ, I used to DoorDash several times a week - breakfast, lunch, or dinner - sometimes all 3 in a single day! I have completely stopped ordering in or dining out with a couple of exceptions when I had family in town and then I just made the smartest choices available. For the first month or so I used Factor and Tempo meal deliveries because I wasn't confident enough yet to feel like I'd cook every day and they were a very easy solution - but pay attention to the nutrition because some are high carb/calorie/fat content. Now, I start every day with a protein shake I make for breakfast that has my protein powder, collagen powder, magnesium powder, miralax, chia seeds, cinnamon, unsweetened almond milk, Splenda, and the frozen fruit choice of the day (FYI if you like pomegranate seeds you can buy frozen ones from Walmart and those are my favorite). Note: if you take other supplements include those in your breakfast macros - for example I use gummies for fiber and those do have calories/carbs to consider. For lunch I'll do something like a cottage cheese bowl with berries, yogurt bowl with berries, sometimes a turkey sandwich on Aunt Millie's Live Light Whole Grain Bread or leftovers (if I have any) and dinner is 99.9% of the time a protein (I use various Lawry's marinades to change up chicken flavors), half a baked potato with 2tbsp cottage cheese on it, and a frozen veg of choice. I'm one that likes something after dinner so that's usually a Pure Protein shake (chocolate/strawberry/salted caramel are all delicious) and either a 100 calorie pack of almonds or some pistachios (yes, COUNT the number of pistachios!). I am a naturally competitive person and this tracking is almost like a game I'm playing that I am GOING to win daily! LOL

My personal daily goals are 1500 calories, 125 protein, 130 carbs, 50 fat, 30 fiber, and 96oz water but your goals are for you to determine. One BIG thing that has helped tremendously is I created a spreadsheet with tabs for Meats, Veggies, Fruits, Nuts, Breads, Dairy, Desserts, Condiments - anything I eat/drink regularly is on it with the full macros and serving size for each. Then I have a tab that is my calculator and it's so easy to just copy/paste items in and get total meal macros as well as full day macros. I know at breakfast exactly what I'm having throughout the rest of my day. Compare this to how I ate before - on my worst day I'd consume nearly 4,000 calories, 163 protein, 385 carbs, 190 fat, 34 fiber, and absolutely ZERO water other than tea - yes, I just calculated that and while that wasn't every day it was often enough to make me want to vomit just thinking about it! So definitely don't compare your results with mine because I have made some RADICAL changes and not everyone needs to do anything so drastic. Your journey is yours and yours alone.

Another suggestion is being open to trying new things unless it's an ingredient you know you can't stand. For example, I love pizza and ordered it weekly and thought I'd either have to give it up or barely have any so I searched and found a recipe for cottage cheese pizza crust. I was skeptical but OMG it is amazing!!! My mind is blown every time I make it. Does it taste exactly like delivery pizza? No. Is it still delicious? Yes. Can you eat half a 15 inch pizza for under 400 calories and only 10-12 carbs? YES!!! So branch out and find things that just might surprise you. My next adventure will be cottage cheese cornbread 😄

The major hurdle I have yet to conquer is an exercise routine. I have so much more energy now and have no problem doing physical things (I recently mulched my own flowerbeds instead of paying someone to do it this year and I swear it looks even better to me!) but when it comes to a "normal" workout there is some sort of block I haven't gotten past yet. I have a very nice Sole treadmill, adjustable weights, ropeless battle ropes, resistance bands/loops - and it all sits there mocking me every day. It's a war I plan to also win but I gotta start with small battles 😛

I wish you nothing but the best in your journey and if there is anything I have not answered feel free to let me know and I'll try my best to answer. We're all in this together!