Gaining Weight on Wegovy
MissGeorgiaPeachy
Posts: 315 Member
Please don't be mean, I've been struggling with weight for my entire life and know this isn't a miracle drug, I just have some questions.
I just lost 23lbs taking Phendimetrazine, Metformin and Acarbose over the last few weeks, but I was doing a very low carb diet, under 30g a day and after a few weeks of that meat and cheese both started making me gag and I couldn't get or keep them down because I was tired of eating just that all day. I'm at the point where I pretty much hate every meat except pepperoni and chicken salad. I can't make myself eat it. It will come back up. It's a real problem. Almonds? Forget it. I can't make myself swallow those either. I literally spit them out because they gross me out so much when I previously LOVED almonds.
So, then I started Wegovy and it's working to make me not eat as much and keep me full, but I reintroduced carbs in the form of fruit and a few pretzel chips a day, but there are carbs in all the other things I eat too, but I'm not eating anything "bad" or fried and I've given up soda and juice completely and only drink water. I'm staying under what MFP says my macros should be, I'm barely eating up to 1200 calories, but I'm gaining a pound or more a day. It's getting discouraging and I'm starting to think maybe I'm just going to stay almost 300lbs even eating healthy. Walking doesn't change the scale.
Is it normal to gain weight in the beginning? Is it just bloating? Water retention? I'm drinking half a gallon of water a day, but assuming I need to drink more? I know fruit has sugar and everyone says it's bad, but I know I can't change the way I eat and just eat meat and cheese for the rest of my life. I'm staying away from bread, pasta and rice and if I eat potatoes, it's very little, less than half a cup, which is what my Wegovy diet plan says I can have.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'm feeling very defeated right now.
I just lost 23lbs taking Phendimetrazine, Metformin and Acarbose over the last few weeks, but I was doing a very low carb diet, under 30g a day and after a few weeks of that meat and cheese both started making me gag and I couldn't get or keep them down because I was tired of eating just that all day. I'm at the point where I pretty much hate every meat except pepperoni and chicken salad. I can't make myself eat it. It will come back up. It's a real problem. Almonds? Forget it. I can't make myself swallow those either. I literally spit them out because they gross me out so much when I previously LOVED almonds.
So, then I started Wegovy and it's working to make me not eat as much and keep me full, but I reintroduced carbs in the form of fruit and a few pretzel chips a day, but there are carbs in all the other things I eat too, but I'm not eating anything "bad" or fried and I've given up soda and juice completely and only drink water. I'm staying under what MFP says my macros should be, I'm barely eating up to 1200 calories, but I'm gaining a pound or more a day. It's getting discouraging and I'm starting to think maybe I'm just going to stay almost 300lbs even eating healthy. Walking doesn't change the scale.
Is it normal to gain weight in the beginning? Is it just bloating? Water retention? I'm drinking half a gallon of water a day, but assuming I need to drink more? I know fruit has sugar and everyone says it's bad, but I know I can't change the way I eat and just eat meat and cheese for the rest of my life. I'm staying away from bread, pasta and rice and if I eat potatoes, it's very little, less than half a cup, which is what my Wegovy diet plan says I can have.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'm feeling very defeated right now.
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Replies
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Talk to your doctor. ASAP. Wegovy is a serious drug, and can have serious (even deadly) side effects. Same with the other drugs you were on.That sounds like water weight, not fat. And that much water weight that fast can indicate serious things. Heart failure being one.3
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First off, let's start by saying you are worth much more than what you are putting yourself through. There is a lot I want to say to help and will be gentle but have to consider that this involves things that are medical in nature.
First off, the total meat and low carb diet are not healthful or sustainable,. They are not health promoting. Weight loss is way more than the scale. It is so vital to think about all health implications. CARBS ARE NOT THE ENEMY. I didl low carb until I had a cardiac work up which was an eye opener.
My best advice is First take a step back and look at the big picture. Make a list of reasons you want to loose weight, and what the risk factors are for obesity. Then consider your life long and short term goals. Please remember to be kind to yourself and understand this did not happen over night and it may take time to get to be a weight good for you. That is perfectly OK. It is a journey not a destination.
Something very helpful is try to realize real wholefoods are the top when it comes to nutrition. Pretzel may seem harmless and you may be counting calories but maybe it's not a good food since it is heavily processed. Sprouted or in tact grains are nutrient dense, gave fiber and are filling.
You can be remaining water. Yes, going low carb decreases weight but much of it is water. Given your history from what I see here is maybe you should consider a whole different approach.
Make a list of all the nutritious foods you love, that do not come in a box or package. What are your favorite fruits?vegetables? Whole grains? Root veggies? Protein? Btw we get plenty, if of protein already. Maybe too much💪
There are 2 great books, "How Not to Die"abd"How not to Diet"by Michael Gregor. They may help a lot, they helped me and my other half tremendously
Calories matter but more nutrient dense foods help keep you full, provide nutrients and can have all kinds of other health benefits. Perhaps seek out a registered dietician specializing in wholefood nutrition.
Don't pay attention to media claims, fads, " new diets" pills or other propaganda. Life and vitality and wholesome nutrition will get you where you want to and can be.
I hope this helps 🙏 💕
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sollyn23l2 wrote: »Talk to your doctor. ASAP. Wegovy is a serious drug, and can have serious (even deadly) side effects. Same with the other drugs you were on.That sounds like water weight, not fat. And that much water weight that fast can indicate serious things. Heart failure being one.
While some water weight retention after resuming carbs is normal, for the reasons above, do discuss with your doctor, without delay.2 -
I don’t have any advice. I just wanted to say good for you for working on this, good for you for reaching out and asking questions instead of just quitting, good for you for thinking and planning what you’ll do and problem solving the situation. Many don’t!!
So here is my encouragement to make whatever adjustments you deem useful and keep going.
How are you feeling physically, by the way? I think it’s good advice to check in with a doctor. There are some symptoms that might be alarming enough to make it an urgent task. Research side effects and think about what you are experiencing right now to make a good decision on that.4 -
First off, let's start by saying you are worth much more than what you are putting yourself through.
Don't pay attention to media claims, fads, " new diets" pills or other propaganda. Life and vitality and wholesome nutrition will get you where you want to and can be.
I hope this helps 🙏 💕
(I read your whole reply, but cut off most of the quote to make my response shorter, haha) Thank you SO much for this. I don't wholly trust the doctor I've been going to because he seems to be stuck in the past as far as what does and doesn't work when it comes to making healthy food choices. He was trying to prescribe me both Phendimetrazine and Wegovy at the same time until my insurance came back and told him he could absolutely not do that. He seems to be one of those diet pill pushers and just wants the fee I have to pay to see him every month. He literally took the Wegovy pamphlet of foods that Novo Nordisk said I was allowed to eat on Wegovy and marked out a bunch of vegetables, all beans, all fruits, all whole grains and all dairy except eggs and cheese. He told me I couldn't have any of that.
I have an appointment with a highly rated PCP at the end of June so I'm going to discuss all this with him and hopefully work out what's going on here, but trying not to get discouraged in the meantime so your comment really helped. Thank you!
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Does your health insurance offer personal or even phone visits with a dietician?
Dietitians are degreed professionals, as opposed to nutritionists, who may be well trained or may be some Joe Blow selling MLM products or hawking powders and bars for a commission at the gym.
Most MDs don’t have a background or much training in nutrition- their hands are full as it is.
My dietician rocked my world, in just a few visits.
It’s your life, your body, your health, and ultimately your responsibility to care for it if you want it to be as healthy as possible. (Took me almost sixty years to figure that out, so don’t be me.)
Weed out the good advice from the bad. Spend some time reading, researching, learning and recognizing how to sort the good advice from the trendy or downright dangerous.
Love yourself like you deserve to be loved.
~ Another Georgia Peach 🍑
😘4 -
herringboxes wrote: »I don’t have any advice. I just wanted to say good for you for working on this, good for you for reaching out and asking questions instead of just quitting, good for you for thinking and planning what you’ll do and problem solving the situation. Many don’t!!
So here is my encouragement to make whatever adjustments you deem useful and keep going.
How are you feeling physically, by the way? I think it’s good advice to check in with a doctor. There are some symptoms that might be alarming enough to make it an urgent task. Research side effects and think about what you are experiencing right now to make a good decision on that.
Thank you so much for the encouragement! Physically, I feel fine. I haven't really had any of the nausea, tachycardia or dizzy spells that some people complain about, it's just the idea of certain foods that I think I'm sick of that make me gag. I'm not fatigued or anything. I've just started the lowest dose at .25 though so maybe it will change when I get the higher doses. It's all very new to me. In hindsight I'm wishing I hadn't cut carbs so drastically so I'd have a better grasp on how my body is actually responding, but I think eating so little carbs and then suddenly eating more of them has messed up my body chemistry somehow, but that's just a theory and why I wanted to reach out because I really know nothing, haha. I'm hoping that's what it is because I really don't want to fail. I'm trying so hard not to compare myself to other people but it seems like I'm the only one having this particular problem.
I have to wait until June 30th to see a real doctor because if I tell all this to the doctor that prescribed it (just a run of the mill weight loss doctor that will give anybody anything) he's just going to tell me to go back to keeping it under 30 carbs and I just -can't- do that. I feel like I can cut so many things out and stick to it for life, but not that. I already know I can't do that. I need carbs, not even a lot of carbs, but definitely more than 30. I could keep it under 100 easily.0 -
springlering62 wrote: »Does your health insurance offer personal or even phone visits with a dietician?
Dietitians are degreed professionals, as opposed to nutritionists, who may be well trained or may be some Joe Blow selling MLM products or hawking powders and bars for a commission at the gym.
Most MDs don’t have a background or much training in nutrition- their hands are full as it is.
My dietician rocked my world, in just a few visits.
It’s your life, your body, your health, and ultimately your responsibility to care for it if you want it to be as healthy as possible. (Took me almost sixty years to figure that out, so don’t be me.)
Weed out the good advice from the bad. Spend some time reading, researching, learning and recognizing how to sort the good advice from the trendy or downright dangerous.
Love yourself like you deserve to be loved.
~ Another Georgia Peach 🍑
😘
I hadn't even considered looking to see if that's covered! Thank you! That's something I will definitely look into because I recognize that I need help just setting up the food on my plate, if that makes sense. I'm trying to follow the pamphlet and make sure my meals are balanced, but I might be trying to load too much of one thing and not enough of another and just don't know which is which since I've never spoken to a dietician. Definitely researching that!2 -
Any chance you're just getting your period soon and it's just a normal weight flux? Regardless, I agree with the above and I'd hop on a call with a doc asap since it could be a side effect with unfortunate consequences. Definitely not worth the risk and best to be safe!
What if you try mashing stuff up or doing teeny bites? Otherwise, if the smell is making you gag, can you try seasoning it with something or using a little BBQ sauce/ketchup/hot sauce or something you like?
Wishing you luck and sending you hugs though.
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BeanieBean93 wrote: »Any chance you're just getting your period soon and it's just a normal weight flux? Regardless, I agree with the above and I'd hop on a call with a doc asap since it could be a side effect with unfortunate consequences. Definitely not worth the risk and best to be safe!
What if you try mashing stuff up or doing teeny bites? Otherwise, if the smell is making you gag, can you try seasoning it with something or using a little BBQ sauce/ketchup/hot sauce or something you like?
Wishing you luck and sending you hugs though.
I don't get periods because I'm on a progestin only birth control that stops them completely. Definitely going to talk to my primary doctor to see if he thinks this is even the right medicine for me or if I should try something else.
I could try sauces to hide the flavor! Another problem I didn't mention is that I can't eat red meat or pork because I get gout so even my meats are limited, but I may need to explore some sauces for my chicken and turkey to see if that helps at all. I feel like a toddler. I swear I have never been so picky. I still love all kinds of things, but it's protein that I'm struggling with.0 -
Stubbs sugar free bbq sauce is good and only 15 calories per serving.
Heinz and Kroger both make a sugar free or low sugar ketchup that’s about 15/tbsp
Balsamic vinegars of the kind sold at oliandve.com are amazing and very low calorie. Great as salad dressing, on ice cream, as marinades, the honey/ginger even makes a light alternative to a stir fry sauce.
Speaking of which, Taylor Farms is available lots of places. Awesome stir fry mixes with sauces included, most are 70/serving including the sauces. We dice and brown chicken in a dry nonstick pan, add the bag contents and then the sauce or soy or whatever we’re using. No oils necessary. You can pad them way out if you serve them over cauliflower rice.
There’s lots of terrific seasoning mixes for that chicken. TJMaxx and sister stores often have Victoria Taylor spice mixes if you want to try them cheap. The chipotle is good, but I’m very fond of the honey aleppo.
You can marinate chicken in pineapple juice, and even season yogurt makes a great chicken marinade.2 -
Hopefully the gout will clear up with weight loss and give you more options. My GERD From Hell (the kind where you always have a change of clothes on hand and scout every toilet in a building) disappeared with the first twenty pounds lost. That was life changing in and of itself.
The only time it’s every returned is to simply tickle my throat if I have a wild binge. It’s just enough to be a sobering reminder to stay on the path.2 -
MissGeorgiaPeachy wrote: »BeanieBean93 wrote: »Any chance you're just getting your period soon and it's just a normal weight flux? Regardless, I agree with the above and I'd hop on a call with a doc asap since it could be a side effect with unfortunate consequences. Definitely not worth the risk and best to be safe!
What if you try mashing stuff up or doing teeny bites? Otherwise, if the smell is making you gag, can you try seasoning it with something or using a little BBQ sauce/ketchup/hot sauce or something you like?
Wishing you luck and sending you hugs though.
I don't get periods because I'm on a progestin only birth control that stops them completely. Definitely going to talk to my primary doctor to see if he thinks this is even the right medicine for me or if I should try something else.
I could try sauces to hide the flavor! Another problem I didn't mention is that I can't eat red meat or pork because I get gout so even my meats are limited, but I may need to explore some sauces for my chicken and turkey to see if that helps at all. I feel like a toddler. I swear I have never been so picky. I still love all kinds of things, but it's protein that I'm struggling with.
Hmm. Another thing - it could be interacting with another medication you're on and causing these side effects. I'm not a doctor btw, but I've had meds interact with other ones before and cause unexpected things.
What about egg whites? They're pretty much flavorless as they are. You could cook those up with some seasoning you like? Or just go bland with a little salt and pepper? And it's totally okay! I eat like a little kid sometimes. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do to fuel your body.1 -
I just want to be a voice in your corner right now.
Absolutely don't listen to a "doctor" like the one prescribing all these pills.
YOU are capable of losing all the weight you need to lose without eating some crazy combination of foods. Carbs are not the devil. Fruit and vegetables are not the problem.
Log food here. Start at 1500 calories per day. Use a digital food scale. Try to get as close as you can to your protein, fiber and fat Goals every day.
Take a walk.
Keep doing that. Eat the foods you like, try to stay away from sweets and treat foods as they will increase your food cravings. Being afraid of all foods is not a good thing. Just eat mostly lean proteins, whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, one or two servings of whole grains a day, some fats, dairy, and whatever nuts don't make you gag.
And don't talk to your friends and family too much. They are not professional dieticians. I think it's really important that you find a dietician even if you have to pay for one session.8 -
If you do see a dietician, go armed with a list of questions prepared.
It’s the best way to use your valuable time wisely, plus showing them you have intent makes them more invested in your success, and more willing to share, even “go over” on time.
Mine was absolutely thrilled when I told her I’d lost 50 (ultimately nearly twice that). I don’t think many people who sought her advice, actually followed through on it, and I felt like I was very professional fulfilling to her. That’s gotta be a tough field.1 -
cmriverside wrote: »I just want to be a voice in your corner right now.
Absolutely don't listen to a "doctor" like the one prescribing all these pills.
YOU are capable of losing all the weight you need to lose without eating some crazy combination of foods. Carbs are not the devil. Fruit and vegetables are not the problem.
Log food here. Start at 1500 calories per day. Use a digital food scale. Try to get as close as you can to your protein, fiber and fat Goals every day.
Take a walk.
Keep doing that. Eat the foods you like, try to stay away from sweets and treat foods as they will increase your food cravings. Being afraid of all foods is not a good thing. Just eat mostly lean proteins, whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, one or two servings of whole grains a day, some fats, dairy, and whatever nuts don't make you gag.
And don't talk to your friends and family too much. They are not professional dieticians. I think it's really important that you find a dietician even if you have to pay for one session.
Thank you SO much! I'll be speaking to a dietitian soon and also getting some labs/bloodwork done to see if I have any issues that might be causing me to hold on to the weight. I've been logging everything here and it definitely looks like I need way more protein than I'm getting. I already logged everything today and it was half a pie chart of fat, and then a third each of protein and carbs and I have to figure out how to cut the carbs more, but still eat enough (because I'm only coming in under a thousand calories) and add more protein. I think I'm my own worst enemy. I replaced the pretzels with celery though so there's one step! Haha I think I just needed something crunchy.
I appreciate all the encouragement and advice!1 -
For protein ideas, check out this thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also1 -
For protein ideas, check out this thread:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 🙏🏻0 -
UPDATE!!!! The scale is moving back down again and now I weigh less than when I started the Wegovy. I am guessing it was just some initial bloating or something as my body adjusted to the medication and got used to eating carbs again. 🙌🏻3
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Good luck! I really feel for you. I know how watching the scale jump up for no apparent, logical reason can throw you off your game. At one point, I even changed the batteries in my scale and reread the instruction book on calibration. There wasn’t anything wrong with my scale. It must have been me!
Like you, it finally started moving in the right direction. It will always be a mystery.0 -
Don’t forget, if you started (or plan to start) a new exercise, expect to gain several pounds of temporary water weight.
New movements can result in soreness. We’ve all experienced the dreaded Duck Waddle of Pain.
Long story short, soreness is micro-tears in muscle, and your body retains and directs water to those spots to aid in healing.
It passes through as soon as mission accomplished, but buy, I wish I’d known in advance!
I think that’s why a lot of people quit so soon. They’re cutting calories on the one end, and hammering away at new exercise on the other, and get frustrated their “weight” is going up, and quit in frustration. “This isn’t working”. They don’t hang around king enough or read the boards enough to have that lightbulb moment “oh this is temporary!”2 -
Glad you’re doing better. On the fruits… some are sweet but also have lots of fiber, like berries, and may be better for you than things with lots of sweet but little fiber, like grapes. Ditto some veggies better than others, like spinach and broccoli. Nonfat plain yogurt plus berries makes a meal that feels very different than meat, but is low cal and high nutrient. As to meat, maybe skip mammals and stick to fish and poultry to lower calories and lower fat while still getting lots of protein? Anyway, this is what’s working for me… 70 pounds down,70 to go, with many weeks (like this past one) with weight stuck or even going up a pound or two, despite very low cal and daily gym. But after a while, the needle moves again and I get a drop of a pound or even two in a day, so clearly some of what happens is just normal.3
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Melwillbehealthy wrote: »Good luck! I really feel for you. I know how watching the scale jump up for no apparent, logical reason can throw you off your game. At one point, I even changed the batteries in my scale and reread the instruction book on calibration. There wasn’t anything wrong with my scale. It must have been me!
Like you, it finally started moving in the right direction. It will always be a mystery.
OOP don't give me ideas! Haha I guess it's all just a learning process and sometimes our bodies will do what they're going to do and we have no control over it, even if we change the batteries in the scale. That made me laugh, but mostly because I GET IT.0 -
springlering62 wrote: »Long story short, soreness is micro-tears in muscle, and your body retains and directs water to those spots to aid in healing.
It passes through as soon as mission accomplished, but buy, I wish I’d known in advance!
I think that’s why a lot of people quit so soon. They’re cutting calories on the one end, and hammering away at new exercise on the other, and get frustrated their “weight” is going up, and quit in frustration. “This isn’t working”. They don’t hang around king enough or read the boards enough to have that lightbulb moment “oh this is temporary!”
THANK YOU for explaining this to me! I've always hated the initial weight gain with new exercises, but having it put in perspective like that helps a lot!
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Glad you’re doing better. On the fruits… some are sweet but also have lots of fiber, like berries, and may be better for you than things with lots of sweet but little fiber, like grapes. Ditto some veggies better than others, like spinach and broccoli. Nonfat plain yogurt plus berries makes a meal that feels very different than meat, but is low cal and high nutrient. As to meat, maybe skip mammals and stick to fish and poultry to lower calories and lower fat while still getting lots of protein? Anyway, this is what’s working for me… 70 pounds down,70 to go, with many weeks (like this past one) with weight stuck or even going up a pound or two, despite very low cal and daily gym. But after a while, the needle moves again and I get a drop of a pound or even two in a day, so clearly some of what happens is just normal.
Thank you so much for the advice! Yogurt and berries sounds so much better than chicken, chicken and more chicken. I'm forcing myself to eat the chicken anyway, but thinking maybe I'll force it down and then reward myself with something I DO like.
70lbs is incredible! Congratulations! You must feel so much better!
Thank you for assuring me that some weight gain is natural and not to freak out over it.0 -
MissGeorgiaPeachy wrote: »springlering62 wrote: »Long story short, soreness is micro-tears in muscle, and your body retains and directs water to those spots to aid in healing.
It passes through as soon as mission accomplished, but buy, I wish I’d known in advance!
I think that’s why a lot of people quit so soon. They’re cutting calories on the one end, and hammering away at new exercise on the other, and get frustrated their “weight” is going up, and quit in frustration. “This isn’t working”. They don’t hang around king enough or read the boards enough to have that lightbulb moment “oh this is temporary!”
THANK YOU for explaining this to me! I've always hated the initial weight gain with new exercises, but having it put in perspective like that helps a lot!
I am also on wegovy, for 4 weeks now. I weigh every day and can say the weight comes off in a down 2 up 1 pattern. As mentioned above, it does tend to go up on the day after a resistance workout. It also goes down big the morning after big endurance workouts but rebounds small the day after that. Just keep working the program - the long term trend is down.
Agree with above that you need a doc you can trust, and you need to keep them informed of unusual symptoms like the initial weight gain. My doc uses the MyChart app, and I can send messages that she responds to quickly.
As for side-effects, I have not experienced nausea. But I have found that fatty foods like cheeses and fatty meats causes stomach upset and bloating. I had some mild constipation in the second week, but that is mitigated by high fiber foods like green carbs and beans.
My experience so far is that I don't have to worry about the macro nutrient ratios. I just have to make reasonable choices to stay under my calorie goal for the day. So I avoid sugary foods, but not all carbs. I have personally found small amounts of breads work fine with wegovy - I am not overeating them. For example, I make a lovely homemade chicken noodle soup that is very satiating at about 380 calories per 2 cup serving.
Good luck, I hope this works well for you.0 -
Do you have a scale that not only tracks weight, but body fat, hydration level, bone mass, muscle mass? If not, you may want to invest in one. This way you can track whether it's fat, water, or muscle that is going up. If your weight is technically going up, but you're gaining muscle & not both fat, that would mean the scale was heading in the right direction. I added other things to track besides just weight on My Fitness Pal. In the Check In Tab, I also keep track of body fat, water weight, bone mass (which rarely changes), & muscle mass. If my weight has gone up, but I see it's muscle & not fat, I don't worry about it.1
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