A. Jinnie McManus

If you read this entire novel, you earned yourself a tall, refreshing glass of water as a reward.

12. Mounjaro doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes it manages your diabetes but not weight loss. Sometimes it doesn’t do either. And that doesn’t mean you failed. It just means you may need to try something else.

11. Drink more water. Oh, you think you drank enough today? You did not.

But if you struggle with body image issues, it would be good for you to know early on how you want people around you to react to your efforts and clearly communicate that.

10. If you’re successful with Mounjaro, be prepared for people you know to make comments or even not recognize you. I’m an open book and I made it clear I was happy to answer any questions.

Take pictures and watch yourself progress. It took me nearly 50 pounds before I could see the difference and that’s because I was wearing my old styles, even in smaller sizes. Don’t do that.

9. Don’t wait too long to buy new pants. And don’t restrict yourself to the styles and silhouettes you’ve always worn. Make it like a game show: try new things! They likely won’t work, but when they do, it’s amazing.

MJ rewired my brain to like vegetables, proteins and textures in food that old me wouldn’t have touched. Let yourself try new things. You might be surprised.

I’m hungry on shot day. Moreso than the day after shot day. So I let myself eat things that day that I normally skip. My appetite is still a shadow of what it was, and I’m getting nutrients that day that I’ll be missing the next. Listen to your body and be smart.

8. You need to eat on this medication. If you think starving yourself will help you lose weight faster, you are very wrong. And you are still allowed to like food. You can still have cake. And pizza. And ice cream. Just know that you’ll likely want less of it, and work it off if you eat it.

The day I weighed under 200, I cried. Now, don’t get me wrong. My BMI still says I’m too short, I still have work to do. But I had the success I’ve had because I gave myself some grace when I stalled or struggled with extremely severe shot day side effects.

7. Set realistic goals and know that MJ may take some time to work. If it works. My first goal was to lose 20 pounds. Then I decided to try and drop my BMI under 50. If you had told October 2022 Me that I’d go on to lose more than half of my original weight, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Work with your doctor on timing when to take MJ vs other meds. And before you add on anything else, especially supplements/vitamins, make sure your medical team knows and has checked for any possible issues.

6. If you take other medications alongside Mounjaro, be aware that the slowing effect it has on digestion may also hamper those. I’ve seen friends with ADHD and antidepressant medications not realize that and it caused some unhappy consequences.

Plus, then you can watch your overall trajectory and those graphs always put me in a good mood. And that smart scale will record the number whether or not you look at it. If you’re worried regular weigh-ins will stress you out, simply don’t look down every day. But get that data!

5. Get a smart scale. Weigh every day. Take the scariness of the big number away and make it routine. With a smart scale, even if the big number doesn’t always do what you want, the other numbers likely will.

It doesn’t matter how you move. Just do. Unfortunately, the more you move your body, the easier it gets. And sometimes it even feels good. So unfair!

When I started, my left knee was bone-on-bone. I found water aerobics my only real option because of that. I also went to the mall 3 times a week and walked around twice, sometimes with breaks for a cookie.

You need to work out, because you’re going to lose muscle mass as you lose weight—and you’ll lose weight more effectively if you help out MJ by moving your body. I’m not saying you immediately need to hire a trainer.

4. Mounjaro is not a shortcut. It’s a tool, not a solution. You will still need to make lifestyle changes and practice willpower. You need to make good food choices, because you’ll have less of an appetite and suddenly it matters what you put in your stomach.

There are only so many dosage levels. As long as your insurance cooperates, let the medication work where it is for as long as you can.

3. Stay on smaller doses as long as you can. That’s my one and only regret. If your sugars are doing better, you don’t need to move up. If your weight is going in the right direction, don’t move up until you have to.

If you let yourself give up after one injection or box, why did you even bother to try? That’s a waste of a prescription. Plus, some side effects are helpful.

You’re probably going to have some plumbing issues, sulfur burps, nausea, and possibly some itches as you start. That’s normal and your body adjusting. Give it time and don’t panic.

Otherwise, I’m speaking to you as someone in the 1% of horrific side effects: I would do it all over again. This medication saved my life. It is worth every single bad day.

2. There are so many “is this a side effect???” posts. Could your new freckles or third arm be MJ? Maybe but also highly likely not. This is why you should be medically supervised while on this. Ask your doctor if it’s something unbearable.

1. First and foremost: one of my pet peeves is grown adults posting that they have a prescription for Mounjaro and are too scared to fill it. Think of the thousands of people who can’t access MJ and would find it life-changing. Embrace your good fortune and suck it up.

So I started Mounjaro in October 2022. I weighed 297 pounds at my highest and my A1C was 7.3. This morning, I weighed in at 146 pounds and my A1C was 4.9. I’ve been on this a while and I’ve learned some things. This is what I wish I knew when I first started.

The cruelty is the point.

My new friend Kurt Geiger (an $11 thrift find) joined my insufferable yet motivational gym wardrobe tonight. All workout shoes should have crystal flowers, obviously.