Low Carb/Clean Eating + Trulicity

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chrissyinbloom
chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
edited May 2022 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Just wanted to share with you my new plan and hopefully spark conversation.

I have been actively trying to lose weight for the most part of 15 years, except during pregnancy. It’s been a lot of ups and downs. Losing and regaining. 2 rounds of phentermine.

Recently, I’ve really had an issue with sugar addiction. I’ve always loved sugar and ate it most days, but now am bordering on binging. My anxiety has gone up simultaneously. Not sure which causes which, but they run parallel, the sugar addiction and anxiety. I know that I need to get off the sugar and eat cleaner, avoiding highly processed foods.

I got brave enough to discuss this with my doctor a few weeks ago. She would like me to try taking Trulicity off label to help with weight loss. It is a GLP1 receptor agonist that is typically prescribed for Type 2 Diabetes. You may heard of Saxenda or Wegovy that are FDA approved for weight loss. Trulicity is one of their cousins. It slows gastric emptying, among other things but this is probably the most helpful. It keeps you feeling full! I’ve just taken my first dose on Saturday, so I have no feedback on the efficacy!

I know medication use for weight loss is controversial. I’m just at the end of my rope and if this gives my weight loss a kickstart, then I will be happy! The doctor says that this medication may help with my sugar problem too. After only 3 days, I can’t say this will last long term, but I haven’t eaten as much in general since my first injection. Mostly due to mild nausea and feeling full!

I’m working on following Dr Mark Hyman’s Pegan diet for the most part. Eating more organic fruits & veggies and grass fed meat.

Sorry this turned out to be a long post but thanks for reading to the end!

I’d like to hear your experiences!

Replies

  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
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    I don't know anything about weight loss drugs'- but if you are using it with the aid of your doctor-- then don't worry about anyone else- you do you-boo--- as the young folks say-- you and your doctor know your health limitations-- also remember it may take a while to lose weight-- I have found just using mfp and staying in a calorie deficit as it tells you helps me(also I take a daily weight THEN do my average for the week- to see if that is trending down.) I used to not able to weigh daily - I was too scared of the scales but once I SAW it as getting data(much like I take data as a school teacher ) then it helped me-- good luck-- I think as you eat more veggies, fruits esp. (berries, melons, etc) and meat-- YOU will see results- don't RUSH your body-- I actually had to eat closer to the high end to lose weight-- (for instance my maintenance is closer to 1450-1500 calories- I lose .05 each week on 1400 calories-- when I rushed it and would ONLY eat 1200 calories-- I could NOT lose---- maybe it was mind set-- but go for a range of weight loss each month-- like my goal is 136- 140(I am well within that BUT I am still losing weight also. take care
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    debtay123 wrote: »
    I don't know anything about weight loss drugs'- but if you are using it with the aid of your doctor-- then don't worry about anyone else- you do you-boo--- as the young folks say-- you and your doctor know your health limitations-- also remember it may take a while to lose weight-- I have found just using mfp and staying in a calorie deficit as it tells you helps me(also I take a daily weight THEN do my average for the week- to see if that is trending down.) I used to not able to weigh daily - I was too scared of the scales but once I SAW it as getting data(much like I take data as a school teacher ) then it helped me-- good luck-- I think as you eat more veggies, fruits esp. (berries, melons, etc) and meat-- YOU will see results- don't RUSH your body-- I actually had to eat closer to the high end to lose weight-- (for instance my maintenance is closer to 1450-1500 calories- I lose .05 each week on 1400 calories-- when I rushed it and would ONLY eat 1200 calories-- I could NOT lose---- maybe it was mind set-- but go for a range of weight loss each month-- like my goal is 136- 140(I am well within that BUT I am still losing weight also. take care

    Thank you for your kind words!

    I have had anxiety over the scale before as well. So, I stopped weighing. But then I regained all my weight! I've decided to weigh daily again to keep things in check. I love your idea of taking the average weekly weight. I might have to try that one! Thanks!
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
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    The Carb Addiction Doc on YouTube recently had a video in regards to medication. Dr. Cywes is a good resource and worth checking out. I am not carnivore but a lot of the principles he talks about in regards to carb addiction are very helpful. Here is a link to the video where he talks about meds.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=j7y7XHEbNAg
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    Xerogs wrote: »
    The Carb Addiction Doc on YouTube recently had a video in regards to medication. Dr. Cywes is a good resource and worth checking out. I am not carnivore but a lot of the principles he talks about in regards to carb addiction are very helpful. Here is a link to the video where he talks about meds.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=j7y7XHEbNAg

    Thank you for this link! I've seen his videos before, but not this one, it's less than 2 weeks old.

    Good to see he endorses Trulicity!
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I hope you find help in the medicine. FWIW, organic and grass-fed meats contain the same calories as their "regular" counterparts. For me, anyway, having that in the mix would add to my planning stress. Of course, you do you!

    Hi, thanks for the response! I know it is the same calorie-wise for the most part, but nutritionally, it is very different! I will buy it when I find it, if not, I will eat the "regular" food!
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    ccrdragon wrote: »
    chrissyinbloom wrote: »
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I hope you find help in the medicine. FWIW, organic and grass-fed meats contain the same calories as their "regular" counterparts. For me, anyway, having that in the mix would add to my planning stress. Of course, you do you!

    Hi, thanks for the response! I know it is the same calorie-wise for the most part, but nutritionally, it is very different! I will buy it when I find it, if not, I will eat the "regular" food!

    Actually it's not any better nutritionally than the 'regular' foods...


    What is your source on this?

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/

    This is just the first scientific article I came across...
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,604 Member
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    chrissyinbloom wrote: »
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    chrissyinbloom wrote: »
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I hope you find help in the medicine. FWIW, organic and grass-fed meats contain the same calories as their "regular" counterparts. For me, anyway, having that in the mix would add to my planning stress. Of course, you do you!

    Hi, thanks for the response! I know it is the same calorie-wise for the most part, but nutritionally, it is very different! I will buy it when I find it, if not, I will eat the "regular" food!

    Actually it's not any better nutritionally than the 'regular' foods...


    What is your source on this?

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/

    This is just the first scientific article I came across...

    2010. That's all I'm saying. :)
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 310 Member
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    ccrdragon wrote: »
    chrissyinbloom wrote: »
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I hope you find help in the medicine. FWIW, organic and grass-fed meats contain the same calories as their "regular" counterparts. For me, anyway, having that in the mix would add to my planning stress. Of course, you do you!

    Hi, thanks for the response! I know it is the same calorie-wise for the most part, but nutritionally, it is very different! I will buy it when I find it, if not, I will eat the "regular" food!

    Actually it's not any better nutritionally than the 'regular' foods...

    relevant source?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,001 Member
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    I have no personal experience of Trulicity.

    I do have experience of seeing patients prescribed it for type 2 diabetes and it is suppossed to be weight negative (ie people tend to lose some weight on it) which would make sense as it works by pushing more glucose out renally - ie you absorb less and therefore lowers your BSL - usually in conjunction with oral meds and diet.

    I havent seen anyone on it lose significant amounts of weight though.

    admittedly they are not trying to either.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    Don’t know anything about it, but googled it. Found something that said one study(didn’t cite study, so not sure if good source or not) found most people lost from 0 to 10 pounds. Sounds very expensive to lose, at most, 10 pounds. On the other hand, if it helps you control your sugar intake, and the cost is not prohibitive to you, maybe it’s worth it in the long run?
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    corinasue1143 wrote: »
    Don’t know anything about it, but googled it. Found something that said one study(didn’t cite study, so not sure if good source or not) found most people lost from 0 to 10 pounds. Sounds very expensive to lose, at most, 10 pounds. On the other hand, if it helps you control your sugar intake, and the cost is not prohibitive to you, maybe it’s worth it in the long run?

    Oh yeah, I saw that info.. 10 lbs in what time frame? The sources I read gave vague info but I didn't dig into that anymore.

    I only pay $25 a month, so It is totally doable for me.

    I'm on day 4 now... definitely cuts back on the amount of food I can eat! I feel full all the time. If I try to overeat, I get a twinge of nausea. Only ate like 900 calories yesterday. Need to try to eat a little bit more today.
  • RoseMarie713
    RoseMarie713 Posts: 12 Member
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    I also have been trying to lose weight and I’m beyond frustrated. I’m eating 1300-1400 cal low carb high protein, I do cardio 5x a week. 100+ oz of water and only lost 2lbs. In a month. I asked my doc to check my hormones but the blood wrk showed a high a1c. He prescribed trulicity and I’m hopeful. 1st dose today.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,001 Member
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    RoseMarie - depending on your starting weight, 2lb loss per month is perfectly reasonable.

    I would check that your expectations are realistic before jumping into medication.

    Not sure how high your HBA1c was - however for type 2 diabetes, Trulicity is not the first line.

    It is used in conjunction with diet and oral meds, when those alone have not been enough to control BSL

    from a cost point of view - In Australia it is on the PBS - therefore the price is capped at $42.50 for ordinary patients and $6.80 for health care card holders - you get 4 weekly injections in a box - so that is the monthly cost
    when the patient meets the criteria - which is basically type 2 diabetes not sufficiently controlled on oral meds and diet or patient unable to tolerate oral meds

    it is not a weight loss medication - it is a medication for type 2 diabetes which has the added benifit of being slightly weight negative.

  • jerms9
    jerms9 Posts: 14 Member
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    What are you doing to address your anxiety? Do you find you eat less on plan when your anxiety is high? What triggers it? (I've dealt with anxiety on and off for years)
  • Straitlover1965
    Straitlover1965 Posts: 39 Member
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    Curious why your doc gave you Trulicity instead of Saxenda? Saxenda is a larger dose of the same medicine. I took Saxenda for awhile, but I stopped losing after a while, so my insurance took away their approval. Don't know if it stopped working or if the problem was on my end. I lost 35 lbs (255 down to 220) and have since gained it back plus 15. I know for Wegovy, they have specifically that you pretty much have to stay on it forever, so I'm not even considering that since my ins co-pay would be over $200 per month.

    Giving it one more try on my own; if no luck, then it's on to WLS I guess. I am 57 YO, so it needs to happen sooner than later.

    Good luck!
  • Straitlover1965
    Straitlover1965 Posts: 39 Member
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    Correction - Saxenda is the same med as Victoza in a stronger dose, not Trulicity. Couldn't edit my message above. Sorry about that!
  • chrissyinbloom
    chrissyinbloom Posts: 64 Member
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    jerms9 wrote: »
    What are you doing to address your anxiety? Do you find you eat less on plan when your anxiety is high? What triggers it? (I've dealt with anxiety on and off for years)

    I've had anxiety my whole life. For as long as I can remember anyway! I am on Venlafaxine for it now, 150 mg daily. Definitely helps. Spending time outdoors and exercising are my main coping tools.

    Sometimes, I don't even know what triggers it! Big things trigger it obviously, like new students at work or moving (done with that, thank goodness!)

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