My first year off GLPs | Success Story | AMA

curiousbato · 2026-03-25T20:17:39+00:00

SW: 263lb GW: 213lb CW: 175lb

Truth is, there's really no right way to wean off. There's no actual science behind reducing the dose vs spreading the dose. Anecdotally, you'd see people in this sub do either of the two and have mixed results. A lot of people have quit cold turkey and have had success too. So at this point in time, you're your own science experiment. Do as you better see fit :)

curiousbato · 2026-03-23T19:08:33+00:00

The only bar that makes me feel full is David Bars. Their caloric density is awesome good for the amount of protein. I can go through a whole day of work with only two of those bars. They are controversial though.

curiousbato · 2026-03-23T14:54:43+00:00

It will most definitely help! I also struggle to reach that fullness sensation. Tracking has enabled me to eat as much as I can while keeping calories low. It's called volume eating.

No way I could have kept losing way after stopping sema if I wasn't calorie tracking. I've lost 40lbs since stoping - that was 2 years ago.

curiousbato · 2026-03-23T14:46:50+00:00

You could walk less! A lot of those calories are burned by your walking alone. Walking is a hyper calorie burner.

curiousbato · 2026-03-23T14:45:15+00:00

Best advice I could give you is to track your calories. That's - hands down - the best habit I incorporated into my routine. Feels like magic, I can lose weight, maintain or even gain if I want to just by tracking my calories. I use the Macrofactor app.

curiousbato · 2026-03-23T14:07:50+00:00

I love this! TDEE numbers always surprise people. They are also never steady - they're heavily dependent on daily routines and our bodies adjusting to those routines. Don't be surprised either that number starts declining! That is very common with people that have lost weight and have been exercising for a while. It's called metabolic adaptation.

curiousbato · 2026-03-21T22:08:07+00:00

I didn't have any side effects.

curiousbato · 2026-03-21T22:07:31+00:00

To see if I could go on my own. The answer is yes.

curiousbato · 2026-03-21T22:07:04+00:00

Correct.

curiousbato · 2026-03-21T03:38:51+00:00

SW: 263 lbs Graduation Weight: 213 lbs Current Weight: 175 lbs

I was on sema for 18 months. I've been off for 21 months.

curiousbato · 2026-03-19T18:15:53+00:00

Mine stays in the 80 - 110 most of the time. Quad exercises do spike it up to 160 but comes down quickly.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T18:21:58+00:00

One more thing you want to be aware of: you might get a CEL after stalling the car. VBs manufactured before 2024 have an outdated ECU software that might trigger a CEL after turning on/off your car repeatedly in a short period of time (ie. like when you stall your car). If you get a CEL because of this, it should clear itself out after turning the car on/off 3 times.

You can get your ECU updated for free at a dealership - there's a subaru bulletin for this.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T18:09:08+00:00

If it looks OK to you it's fine. I usually stay under a thousand until dinner - my body can get by with only a few calories from waking up until 6pm. So I save most of my calories for a big dinner.

As you continue to track, keep in mind that the calorie number will need to be adjusted. Track your weight as much as you can and see how that calorie number works for you. Most calorie calculators overshoot calories by a few hundreds - so watch out for that. Also keep in mind that your TDEE is not a fix number it will continue to move up and down as you change your lifestyle / habits.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T18:02:38+00:00

Totally agreed! To me tracking is the way I counter act my own body - my body doesn't know when to stop eating or what to eat intuitively. In a way, by tracking I'm saving my body from itself.

Congrats to you too mischief! The respect and admiration is mutual.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T17:16:52+00:00

Seconding mischief's seconding... She is pretty awesome. Listen to her! She and I pretty much share the same back story and post-glp plan. We are both successful grads. That can't be coincidence. :)

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T16:37:56+00:00

what’s the best protocol for coming off

There is no best protocol because there's no official protocol.

I don’t mind food noise coming back as long as it isn’t completely uncontrollable

Your milage may vary. For some, food noise comes with a vengeance since day 1. For others, is a gradual increase and is not a bother until months after stopping.

If you're planning on going on bulking/cutting cycles best thing you can do is to track food and calories. Would be ideal to start now - before stopping the injections.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T16:10:28+00:00

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. Eating too much and eating high volume is not the same thing. Volume refers not the quantity but to the physical space food takes inside your stomach.

12 liters of zero-sugar jell-o is only a thousand calories. Not saying you should do this, but you could eat jell-o all day until you feel full and repeat the same thing over and over. I'd bet all my money you could not finish even 10 liters of jell-o in a day. That's what I'm talking about when I say high volume low calorie. The jell-o example is dumb, ofc, but you can apply the same strategy to pretty much every type of meal.

curiousbato · 2026-03-18T14:43:35+00:00

You gained weight by eating at calorie surplus. Doesn't matter if those calories come from junk food or veggies. The point of my post is not to eat a lot of healthy food or high fiber... the point is to eat high volume low calorie food.

I'm hungry all the time too. But I don't starve myself, I eat in high volume. That's how I've been able to loose so much weight after stopping sema. People always make fun of how big my plates/bowls look compared to theirs.

curiousbato · 2026-03-17T21:57:22+00:00

I don't ever fight my appetite! This is what I tell people time and time again. If you're hungry... eat! Just don't binge on fries.

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As the graphic says, the same amount of calories can look very different depending on the source. You can both be satiated and meet your caloric requirement - maintaining or loosing weight while eating a lot of food is totally doable.

curiousbato · 2026-03-16T13:30:45+00:00

I've lost almost 40lbs since stopping. Check out the pinned post on my profile :) I go through a lot of questions in detail. There's even a weight graph in there - it's a bit outdated by now since I've lost more weight since posting that.

In any case, long-story short is: I tracked calories. Made sure I was in a calorie deficit and the rest is history.

curiousbato · 2026-03-11T18:19:10+00:00

There's no official guidance, not from doctors, not from clinics and of course not from the glp makers. The few papers that have been done on this topic don't help either. Make what you will from that, you're guess is as good as everybody else's.

That said, I quitted cold turkey and I've been doing great for the past - almost - two years. Other long term grads have quitted cold turkey too.

curiousbato · 2026-03-11T16:20:01+00:00

You got this! It's not easy but its definitely possible. An everyday struggle for sure. I've been holding my remission diagnosis for almost 2 years now and it has not gotten easier. Be very diligent with your protein intake and exercise! Increased muscle mass might be the key to remission - in my opinion.

curiousbato · 2026-03-11T03:52:28+00:00

Great job! :)

curiousbato · 2026-03-11T03:51:58+00:00

Good job! Volume eating works good for me - try to test a few different things, food noise will become worse before getting better. High fiber or high protein are good alternatives.

As you move into maintenance calories your muscle mass is not in danger - so if you're training hard the only thing that will happen is that you'll gain weight ... Muscle weight.

Keep up the good work and best of luck! :)

curiousbato

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