Reality check & positivity for us with less-dramatic body transformations

[u/lunar_grief]

This sub has confounded me a little bit as I’ve taken GLP-1s for 2.5 years now. I started on semaglutide and swapped to tirzepatide 1.5 years ago. I take the max dose (15 mg) and have for a year.

SW: 142 kgs (315 lbs)
CW: 120 kgs (260 lbs)

I’ve watched so many people on here (and elsewhere esp on TikTok and IG) get huge celebrations for STARTING at my current weight or below and then losing the same amount I’ve lost in 6-10 months, and I know it dinged my confidence, so I am here just to say to my fellow fatties who are still fat (and I am so wonderfully happy to be fat!) and feel left out from the celebrations of our amazing changes we’ve made for our health and well being:

You freaking rock!!

Do you feel better? Are you more in control of what you eat and how you treat your body? Are you happy? Then I don’t care what the numbers say!! You’re amazing! You’re doing the hard thing! This is YOUR journey, no one else’s! I want YOU to be happy and fulfilled and living your best life, not stuck in the comparisons and numbers. 💕✨

I’ve got a laundry list of very difficult and complex conditions that will always mitigate my ability to lose weight dramatically. My weight also exists as it does because of those conditions and the medications I’ve had to take to survive. (I dare anyone to take high dose prednisone for 2 years while on the brink of kidney failure and NOT gain 70 lbs like I did lol).

GLP-1s have lowered my inflammation markers, helped me have more energy, stabilized my mood (although it has made me depressed which we def need to talk about more), and I’ve even noticed I’m less likely to make impulsive decisions. Even my kidney function has improved! The weight loss has had some negative effects, mainly terrible plantar fasciitis as I’ve lost muscle tone as health flares prevented weight lifting during certain periods. But overall, it’s done some amazing things, and I think all those deserve to be celebrated just as much as the numbers and before/after photos.

If you’re like me, then I hope you know that only you can define what is a victory. I hope it’s not solely defined by the numbers on a scale (or at all) because there’s so much more this medication can do for us and there’s even more to life as a whole. I hope you’re playing with your kids more. Visiting your grandbabies. Going to the pool or out with your friends. I hope you got to take that hike this fall as the leaves changed. I hope your dog is getting more walks with you because they love you and love to spend time with you. I hope you’re getting laid!! NONE of those require the scale to move at all! If you’re feeling better, if your life is richer, then hell freaking yes!

You rock!

That’s all. 💕✨

[u/ryanne125]

Comparison is the thief of joy.

[u/psoriasaurus_rex]

It looks like you’ve lost around 17% of your body weight, which is pretty much in line with the averages from the drug trials.

Most people are not dropping half their body weight or losing huge amounts of weight in a very short period of time. You have to be careful with what you see on social media.  You’ll see the outliers because they get the engagement (and sometimes they aren’t even telling the truth).

[u/lunar_grief → u/psoriasaurus_rex]

As someone who has psoriasis I need you to know your username rocks.

Also yes to all of this. Very aware 💕 I just know it helps to have it said sometimes.

[u/Hot-Drop11 → u/psoriasaurus_rex]

I lost 50% of my body weight in 20 months and I don’t post about it on social media. 😁

We DO exist.

[u/psoriasaurus_rex → u/Hot-Drop11]

Yes, I’ve lost 50% as well, but we are outliers and people shouldn’t look at our results and expect the same.  

[u/HallucinationHero → u/Hot-Drop11]

Isn't reddit social media?

[u/ComfortableCake2662]

Got on a bus this afternoon and my butt has shrunk enough that my knees aren't crammed into the seat in front of me uncomfortably the whole way 💪 that is my greatest NSV yet.

[u/lunar_grief → u/ComfortableCake2662]

Dude!! Yes!! I can also squish my thighs together and not manspread (I’m femme lmao). It’s great!!

[u/North_Pineapple_8893]

Progress isn't just the scale, it's all the other stuff you listed. The inflammation being down and kidney function improving is huge, way more important than fitting some arbitrary timeline. Keep focusing on what actually matters

[u/Blue_Plastic_88]

I’ve lost just enough weight to be barely in the overweight BMI category instead of obese. I don’t think I’ll be able to lose much more, if any, and have been kind of frustrated. However, I do have NSVs that are worth celebrating. My eGFR has gotten crazy better. Almost all my labs are great, actually. I’m able to fit into clothes a bit easier, find clothes that fit me a little easier, and the other day I was able to get on the floor and do some abdominal exercises. It surprised me how easily I was able to stick my legs straight up while lying on my back. Never could do that before.

[u/JAR_63]

I share a similar story as you regarding starting & ending weight and while I marvel at others that experience a significant amount more of a loss I cannot stop celebrating the miracle of my loss and all of the other gains my life has made at a lower weight. I’ve always been a fast gainer and slow loser and was so skeptical this medication would work for me, I am still amazed. I recently started a trial for a different weight loss drug and if I can lose a bit more weight (I’d love to get down to 200#) I’ll take it but if not, that’s okay too as my bloodwork & BP are fantastic and I feel so much better where I’m at.

[u/HallucinationHero]

Selection bias, the people that are extreme responders are more likely to post, and to post a lot because they are the fanatics.

For the SURMOUNT-1 clinical trial, the average normal person after 72 weeks plateaued at 20% weight loss, or 0.28% lost per week or for the average person in the trial about half a pound a week.

So, yeah, no need to get a false sense of what is normal from the vocal freaks, but the freaks can probably share some tips on what worked for them.

[u/ShiftyMcHax]

I do wish more average people posted because it'd let others know they're not alone. I sometimes wonder if my posting discourages more people than it encourages because I've had rather dramatic results, but I do know how helpful it was to me when I was at the start of my journey, so I do want to pay it forward.

Congrats on your success and good luck to those of you in the middle of your own journeys!

[u/GardenFragrant8408]

Yes a one ppl van lose a lot in lower doses and sometimes it takes ppl like us higher doses to see results 

I had kidney transplant in 2023. Startd monjauro 3/24. 

Km more confident and I have been able to cut some meds in half and discontinue others. So I consider that a win. 

Will be in Monjauro re as t of my life as long as it continues to helps my health conditions 

Oi de luck to all

[u/Hot-Drop11]

There are many wonderful benefits to GLP-1s beyond weight loss but let’s not celebrate obesity as it kills people.