Zepbound Goals – November/December 2024

Kind of skipped October, didn’t I? I had a tooth issue that started on Sept 28 and basically ate up the next 3+ weeks of my life, leading to oral surgery under IV sedation (no, not my wisdom teeth; those have been gone since I was 18). I wasn’t able to get back to the blog for an update until October 24, at which point I figured my time was probably better spent prepping the November “looking forward” post instead.

WAIT, NOVEMBER, WHAT???!!! (How/why does this happen? Every. Freaking. Month!!)

And, while I was typing all of this up amidst the chaos that has been October, I realized that it was very likely that something very similar would happen in November, meaning getting to do a proper November recap and December goal setting would be highly unlikely. “Know thyself,” as The Oracle would say. So this has become the November/December Goals post.

Current Status: I have officially lost 42 lbs (19 kg)

Y’all!!! Seriously, I am absolutely dumbfounded. I am literally wearing clothes from 7-8 years ago. I’m wearing jeans for the first time in a bare minimum of 5 years, probably more. Yes, ME, who used to wear *nothing* but jeans but had to stop because it was so hard to find any in my then-size that were also short enough and not horrendously uncomfortable. Still can’t *quite* wear those next size down long sleeve shirts, but they are from back at my smallest (since L was born), so probably another 10-15 lbs before I get there, which means it will likely be too warm to wear them by the time I’m small enough, but we’ll see.

I have recovered my sense of taste almost completely. It’s still a little off here or there, but I think it’s back to “Zepbound normal.” I’m back on all of my meds, and back on Zepbound at the 2.5 mg dosage. That really isn’t supposed to be a therapeutic dose, just a “starter” titration dose to work your way up to the higher doses, but hey, if I’m doing fine on that low of a dose, I’m happy not to take any more (especially if I lose my sense of taste again when doing so). My mouth issues set my progress back by at least 2 weeks; my body *really* does not like IV’s or physical trauma, and the “soft foods” I had to eat for about 3 weeks are almost all very high in carbs (there’s only so many times I can eat scrambled eggs in a day or week). It was disappointing but necessary.

How did I do on my September 2024 Goals?

Maintain current weight, even though temporarily not on Zepbound (due to tasting issues) – Check! I officially lost 6 lbs (2.7 kg) in September and 8 lbs (3.6 kg) in October. Given the challenges of both months, I think that’s pretty awesome.
Focus on water, at least 48 oz (1.4 L) per day (still struggling with this) – Check! I did much better here, especially in October. I wasn’t actually tracking, but I know there were several days each week in October that I drank at least two full 24 oz bottles. Actually tracking water intake is on my list of 2025 goals.
Do 20 “five-minute” mobility workouts – Nope. I only have 10 recorded in my journal, and though I know I had a couple more than that, I don’t think I managed more than 15, tops. I should definitely put this back on my November goals list.
Mall walk at least 8 times (average of twice a week) – Nope. Again, only about half of those in September, and none in October (see also: severe pain plus (minor) surgery, plus my walking partner being out of the country). Definitely going on my November list.
Cook dinner at least 8 times (average of twice a week) – Hahahaha!! Um, Nope. Definitely NOT in September. Probably yes in October, though I didn’t track, since scrambled eggs or mac and cheese became my “go to” dinners with my mouth issues. And after the “three weeks of hell” with my tooth and my recovery, I did actually make dinner – like for real dinner dinner, for both of us – 4 times in the last 10 days of the month.
Try a new recipe – Again, Nope. Not for September anyway, but yes for October! I tried a higher protein version of Mac and Cheese, made using cottage cheese as a base and pasta with more protein and fiber. It’s decent. I don’t love it, but I certainly don’t hate it, and the macros are good. One of the funny things about losing the mental highs and lows that come with food is that it’s not so bad eating foods that are a little more disappointing than usual. I’m not loving it, but I’m not miserably unhappy either. That’s a double edged sword, though, since it also means I no longer enjoy food the way I used to. I was eating a really good steak the other day, and I knew it was very good, but I wasn’t swooning and excited about it. I knew it was good, but I didn’t have that emotional reaction to it, and it actually made me a little sad. I miss REALLY enjoying my food, but I absolutely DO NOT miss those feelings controlling me.

My November/December 2024 Goals:

Maintain my weight through the holiday season – Basically, I want to weigh the same on Jan 7 (hopefully giving time for the holiday carb and travel water weight to dissipate) as I do on Nov 15. If I can manage that, I’ll be a happy girl.
Focus on water, at least 48 oz per day – Doing much better here, now just need to maintain it through the end of the year; will try upping to 72 oz (3 fills of my 24 oz bottle) for 2025.
Do 40 “five-minute mobility” workouts (20 per month) – Need to get back to these, especially with so much “down time” in October of little to no movement in any given day (being sick/hurt/in pain and recovering from surgery sucks, no matter how “minor” it is)
Walk for 30 consecutive minutes least 16 times (average of twice a week) – I don’t want to restrict it to “mall walking” since I’m unsure of our travel plans, but I want to do at least 8 longer walks in November and 8 in December, no matter where they occur.
Eat at home at least 12 times on non-Thanksgiving/non-Christmas weeks – We always cook a lot over Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it feels like cheating to count those, but for non-holiday weeks in November and December, I definitely want to eat at home at least twice a week. (It said “cook dinner” previously, but we usually eat Thanksgiving leftovers for a week after the holiday, so I just changed the phrasing to include eating previously cooked food. Takeout does NOT count!)
Try 2 new recipes – Now this one can be during Thanksgiving and/or Christmas week, if that’s how it works out. The point is just to try something new, regardless of when. (Or what; desserts count, too! LOL)

My progress on my overall my weight goals:

~~308 (139.7 kg) – down 1 kg and 1% starting body weight (SBW) – hey, you’ve got to start somewhere!~~ – May 31, 2024 (4 days)
~~299 (135.6 kg) – being consistently under 300 lbs~~ – July 9, 2024 (6 weeks)
~~295 (133.8 kg) – down 5% SBW~~ – July 22, 2024 (8 weeks)
~~285 (129.2 kg) – my previous “set point” pre-pandemic, 25 lb loss~~ – August 25, 2024 (13 weeks)
~~280 (127 kg) – down 10% SBW~~ – September 15, 2024 (16 weeks)
~~276 (125 kg) – below 125 kg~~ – September 23, 2024 (18 weeks)
~~273 (123.8 kg) – my full term pregnancy weight (weighed myself just before leaving for the hospital)~~ – October 11, 2024 (20 weeks)
267 (121.1 kg) – BMI of 49, move from “super morbidly obese” to just “morbidly obese”
261 (118.3 kg) – 50 lb loss, down roughly 15% SBW
253 (114.7 kg) – below 115 kg
249 (113 kg) – down 20% SBW, below 250 lbs
245 (111 kg) – BMI of 45, contact doctor to see if we can proceed with knee surgery
236 (107 kg) – 75 lb loss, my lowest weight in the last 15 years
233 (105.7 kg) – down 25% SBW
225 (102 kg) – my pre-pregnancy weight
218 (99 kg) – BMI of 40, under 100 kg, no longer “morbidly obese,” down 30% SBW
211 (95.7 kg) – 100 lb loss
202 (91.6 kg) – down 35% from starting body weight
199 (90.2 kg) – ONE-derland (consistently under 200 lbs), almost under 90 kg
185 (83.9 kg) – my weight when I got married, roughly 125 lb loss, down 40% SBW
175 (79.4 kg) – below 80 kg
171 (77.5 kg) – down 45% SBW
164 (74.3 kg) – BMI under 30, under 75 kg, officially moved from “obese” to “overweight”
161 (73 kg) – 150 lb loss; that’s the equivalent of “one Luke” (my slim 5’11″/ 180 cm son)
155.5 (70.3 kg) – Officially HALF of my starting body weight
149 (67.6 kg) – GOAL!! (my doctor’s ultimate goal for me, if possible)

And my progress on the NSV non-scale goals. (The order of these will change they are completed and bumped up to the top. I moved up a few others that I think are close-ish.)

~~Look down while standing (fully dressed) and not see my stomach~~ – July 15, 2024 (7 weeks)
~~Wrap myself in my bath sheet after a shower with no gap~~ – July 25, 2024 (8 weeks)
~~Have very clearly defined ankles~~ – August 8, 2024 (10 weeks)
~~Bend over easily/not feel suffocated while putting on and tying my shoes~~ – August 22, 2024 (12 weeks)
Be able to use the pink measuring tape for my hips instead of the longer yellow one (this is not about the actual measurement/number, just the milestone of being small enough to use a tape measure that was too short at the beginning of this journey) – August 26, 2024 (13 weeks)
~~Wear an old pair of capris~~ – August 28, 2024 (13 weeks)
~~Have my mom say I look like I’ve lost weight~~ – September 7, 2024 (15 weeks)
~~Need to buy new underwear~~ – September 28, 2024 (18 weeks)
~~Sit comfortably at the movie theater~~ – October 9, 2024 (20 weeks)
~~Catch sight of myself in the mirror and think “wow, I really have lost weight”~~ – October 22, 2024
Wear the beaded dress that was too small on our last cruise
Comfortably wear one of my 18-inch necklaces without an extender
Have someone I’m not related to ask if I’ve lost weight (or tell me I look good)
Notice that the car seat belt doesn’t “lock” anymore when I buckle in
Fly somewhere and not have to ask for a seat belt extender (typically the clasp and the insert piece can touch (barely) but definitely cannot connect)
Sit in my recliner without my legs touching both arms of the chair
Take a Disney cruise and sit in a dining room chair that has arms
Notice that I rarely have to move the booth seat or table to sit down
Wrap myself in my regular towel (even with a gap)
Wrap myself in my regular towel with no gap
Have my blood pressure taken with the regular BP cuff instead of the large one
Have knuckles showing on the back of my hand instead of dimples
Wear wide Brooks sneakers instead of extra wide
Wear the aqua dress I wore to my MIL’s wedding
Wear my wedding dress
Wear the blue silk dress (size 14) from my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary
Buy and wear something in a size 18 (no more size 20-something)
Buy and wear something in a size XL (no more numbers in front of the X)
Need to buy a new wedding ring in size 9-9.5 (starting ring size is 10-10.5; original is size 8)