Weight loss drugs

[Rick Kirchner]

I'm 65, and have been experiencing an average gain of a pound a year since 1990. Really didn't come on like that though, it would always be a 5-6 pound jump, usually associated with an extended period of travel for my job. Although the 1 lb per year thing has been more constant after COVID and my retirement.

I don't exercise as much as I should, and often hurt myself in the process. Back (degenerated disks and numb feet as a result) and knee problems especially (a scope and a partial replacement of my right knee), and a near frozen shoulder late last year that required surgery. But when I hit 230 earlier this year I decided somethings gotta give. Doc said I'd edged right up to the border of pre-diabetes. I can't walk or hike as far as I used to. I've had high blood pressure (fairly well controlled) since I was 50, but had some incidents of it running off and palpitations recently. Also sleep apnea and that damned CPAP machine.

Now I could take a big chunk of my IRA and go out and buy another race car, or a classic street car. Instead, I decided to invest in my health. Reducing my weight should help every ailment I currently have.

Despite all that you hear about the cost of the new weight loss drugs you can get them cheaper without even dealing with a compounding pharmacy. I'm taking Zepbound, and at it's lowest dose, its about $360/mo, through Lilly's own pharmacy (neither CVS Caremark nor Wal-mart could fill it). The trick is to buy their bottled product - not the stuff in the outrageously-expensive-patented-five-ways-from-Sunday pen. You use insulin needles (which they supply) and they are so thin you cannot feel them.

I'm losing about 2 lbs/wk, which is a pretty healthy rate. Doc was going to up my dose but we're staying here unless I plateau early.

I'm having no side effects except - you really have to learn to eat less. The drug essentially regulates your hunger and slows your system down so it absorbs more, but when you do eat it it has to be less, or else you'll have a nasty bout of overly fullness and some indigestion. Restaurants are tough - the amount of food they serve is roughly twice what I can eat. And liquid adds to that - so two beers are going to one. Wish more brewpubs served 12 oz-ers. We went out to watch the NBA finals and I had a pretty normal sports bar meal and I was stuffed for 36 hours.

I usually get hangry, headaches, etc if I don't eat, but none of that so far despite not eating much. Evening and car snacking cut way back as well, and if I do snack, probably going to skip a meal as a result.

Today starts my 4th week, down more than 7 pounds so far. I'm hoping to be below 200 by my next race, and I'll probably hold it there so I don't lose a lot of muscle. At that point I'm going to need gas in the tank to make weight.

So if you've ever been considering this but think you can't afford it - reconsider. And next year the cheaper and even more effective pills should be out, but don't wait, just git-er-done.

[Dave Petzko]

Rick, my situation is very similar to yours. I was on Ozempic, then Wygovy without much success. Switched to Zepbound (now at max dose) and am down to 200 lbs from a 233 lbs starting point. My rate of loss is about 1 lb/week…less than you’re seeing and probably due to my other training. I’m doing 45 min of Zone 2 cardio 6 days/week (some sessions with a weighted vest) and 4 days of full body weight training each week. It’s tough, but the medication really helps. I find that after about 1/2 plate of a meal, I’m full and just stop. I suspect that’s the medication. And the best part is how comfortable I now am in the race car. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

[Rick Kirchner]

I'm playing an hour or two of pickleball a couple of times a week. Trying to get back into the gym but its summer and I have a ton of projects I need to get done, so while its not cardio, it is eight hours of activity every day.

But high impact stuff and a weighted vest? That would probably put me in the hospital with back issues.

Yeah, the fullness is the medication. It can catch you by surprise. One of my challenges is that I have to drink a ton of water because I have chronic kidney stones and its hot and dry out here. And the water keeps me right on the edge of "oof" level fullness.

[hdsporty1988]

I'm 66. February 1st I weighed 218. I went on weight watchers and have now leveled off at 182. I feel full eating about 1/2 what I used to and feel full. For reference I was 6 ' and152#s when I graduated from college but was running cross country and track so about 80 miles or so a week.

[Rick Kirchner]

I think when I graduated from college in 1982 I was about 175 or so. Played a lot of basketball, was able to swim a mile a night, then 8 miles every other night running and 25 miles biking on the off nights. Which, 25 miles given the bicycle tech of the early 80s was pretty good.

Work entailed a lot of travel, a lot of overtime (with dinner in some bar after), a lot of softball, and a lot of drinking. When I met my wife in 84 I was 185 and she thought that was unacceptably skinny at 6'. The running gave me hip pointers and my bad back is courtesy of the softball and genetics.