Check-In - How are things?

TL;DR: I'm fine

I've finished three complete weeks on my GLP meds. So far, my side effects are only gas and some often present minor queasiness. I treat that with ginger hard candies. I also am often cold and when I'm not moving, huddling under blankets. I'm tracking my food meticulously through the WW app (interestingly, it gets easier the more you track, because it offers up choices you have used before). I am now doing a pre-plan in the morning, to make sure it's going to reach my protein and fiber targets. It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle - do I need to fit a different piece into lunch because it's not adding up? It's surprisingly difficult!

I lost some weight very quickly, so quickly it started to make me nervous. WW discourages looking at calories but I was shocked to see a couple of days were less than 1,000 calories! No bueno! I was eating to hunger, but I don't want my body to shut down into starvation mode. Now, I'm eating more by the clock. But still, I plan out my day with plenty of food, and then find I can't finish everything on my plate. Mostly, I put it aside and try to come back in an hour or two. Overall, I'm back to eating much more normal totals for the day. Generally I'm having two hefty snacks, one in the afternoon and one later in evening. The snacks may be leftovers, or they may be dried and salted beans (edamame or garbanzos, this week) or Wasa rye crisp with flavored nut butter, and fruit - mandarins and apples.

I need to rely on convenience foods or foods I will prepare in bulk for leftovers - I'm not cooking three meals a day for myself. My girl recommended a brand of bottled protein shake loaded with protein and fiber both - Koia - and I'll have one of those for breakfast after working out. I do have to have something afterwards, because while it's good, it does still have a bit of an aftertaste. My favorite brand of canned tuna, Wild Planet, makes a couple of tinned ready-to-eat salads, tuna and beans, loaded with protein and fiber. I have a good selection of lentil and bean canned soups, ready to heat up. I often add some shredded rotisserie chicken to them, to make sure I'm getting to the protein numbers. The craving for sweets has seriously diminished. I have usually just a single square of chocolate in the evening, and feel satisfied with that.

I did my first prescription renewal; it was pro-forma. I'm staying on the same dose for another 4 weeks at least.  I requested the refill via app, updated some vitals stats, later that day my clinician approved it, and sent it to the pharmacy. They acknowledged receipt still on that first day. Three working days later, (the outside of how long  they said it should take), I got a text telling me to pay. I did that immediately, and got a status update it had shipped and should be delivered the next day. But UPS didn't come through, the package took a detour, and it showed up a day later. With the weekend, it took exactly one week - I requested on Wednesday and it showed up on  the next Wednesday. I can't count on the one-week delivery, I think - I'll continue requesting the renewal around the time of my third dose, so I'll have two weeks for approval and delivery.

 I'm already thinking ahead on how to handle my next trip. I'm going to France! Did I tell you guys that? In five weeks! As it turns out, my trip departs on a Thursday, injection day, so that's easily dealt with at home. I return 8 days later, Friday afternoon. I'm really thinking I don't want to travel with my syringe and vial, worrying about refrigeration, sharps disposal, etc., and I should just postpone my shot until I get home. Then, I can either do the following dose back on my Thursday schedule or else switch to Fridays. I read that adjusting by a day is generally ok - it's 3-4 days that get complicated. 

 

So to address the big question, how's my weight? It's fine. Using start day to today, I've lost 3.5 pounds in three weeks. The past few days, the loss has stalled, but it's way too soon to worry about that. It makes sense my body will adjust after the big woosh at the beginning. I would like to lose around a pound a week max, so I'm on track for that. I'm working with my trainer to lift heavier than before (I just got new 25 lb dumbbells, woohoo, moving up from the 20s!) and I'm hoping my focus on protein and that will keep me strong.

My smart scale purports to track fat vs. muscle besides weight, but these readings are notoriously inaccurate. Still, looking at the trend, it thinks I'm losing a mix of fat and muscle, but losing the fat at twice the rate of muscle. I was heartened to read an article in the NYTimes this week that says while every weight loss will lead to some reduced muscle, there is no evidence that using the GLP meds leads to more muscle loss than any other form of weight reduction. 

I kept up my cardio on my inside machines throughout February on days I don't lift. I intend to keep to that. But I rarely left the house in February for walks due to weather, and I've got to get back into that before my next trip. 

But so far, so good!