Wegovy Athlete Diaries, episode 2

This post is the second in a series documenting my journey with Wegovy as an athlete who has been classed as Obese for my whole adult life.  It follows on from this post. I suggest you read that first or you might find this quite dull! 

Weight on day of 5th jab (increased dose to 0.5mg): 85.25kg (ish - unable to weigh myself on the actual day); muscle mass 48.8kg (57.2%)

Week 5:

First day on the new dose, and I think I'm feeling a bit more full today than I did on the initial smaller dose.  Perhaps a smaller appetite? 

Day two though, and my appetite has definitely shrunk.  I'm feeling quite bloated today. Strangely, I'm starting to realise that I've never actually felt this before.  I've heard people talk about feeling full or bloated, and never really properly experienced it.  It's as though my body & brain have finally made up and started talking to one another after a 50-year feud.  

I felt cumbersome and slow for my training sessions today... is that just feeling a bit too full, or is it a lack of fuel?  Feeling a bit too full is meaning that I'm struggling to eat even 2000 calories - which I used to struggle to keep to as a 'low' number.  I used to almost always eat significantly more than that, or I would feel low on energy and headachy. 

Will the full/bloated feeling continue, or will it abate a bit as my body gets more used to the drug? 

I'm having to reassess portion sizes, and also the amount of time I leave between eating and training sessions.  The delayed gut emptying effect of the drug is definitely doing its job!  I just have to learn to manage life around it and to eat according to it.  To a lot of people this may sound unimaginable, but it's the first time in my life I have really been able to hear and interpret the feelings my body has given me to control what, when and how much I eat. 

Day 4 of this week and the bloated feeling is starting to dissipate - not sure if it's because my body's getting used to the drug, or I'm just getting better at judging portion sizes, and what & when to eat.  It's a relief, though! 

I feel like I’m seeing a pattern of feeling a little sluggish during training sessions, feeling a bit ungainly & not as flowing as normal. I’m off to Glasgow today for a 1:1 swim coaching session in the pool, and then for a high-intensity bike coaching session on the 'Belladrome’- the outdoor track in Bellahouston Park. Among other things this will give me the chance to investigate with Alan whether that feeling is real, or in my imagination. 

Session at the Belladrome done… and it was informative. I couldn’t hold high end power for an extended Time Trial: which tells us that I’m low on carbohydrate. So the calorie restriction that the drugs are imposing on me means I’m unlikely to be able to perform in any TTs in the near future- but that’s ok, it’s winter, and it’s all about building a good base. Short, hard bursts of power didn’t seem to have suffered though. Definitely food for thought in how the next few months will look. 

End of week 5: weight 84.55kg; muscle mass 48kg/56.8%. Loss so far: 3.05kg

Week 6:

On the day of my jab this week I’m feeling a bit full…

The morning after this week’s jab, I have an uncomfortable full feeling, a bit bloated, and maybe a bit constipated. I’ve never had constipation, so I’m not sure how it feels! Nevertheless, I tried prune juice - which seemed to help. My Garmin tells me tough that my HRV is lower than normal, and my resting heart rate is higher than normal, both signs for me that something’s a bit off balance. So I decide to ditch today’s training, and spend the day taking it easy. I feel like I need to rest up. Ginger & honey tea, and a blanket on the sofa. 

I wonder if, for the last few days in order to try and fuel training, I’ve eaten more than my gut currently wants me to. Prior to that I was getting quite good at paying attention to the feeling of being full, a new experience for me. So perhaps I need to home back in on that feeling again, now I’m on a slightly higher dose. It might mean that I eat less, and could sometimes mean I’m low on energy. This whole experience is based on trial and error. 

I try googling ‘fueling training while taking Wegovy’ as I have done many times already in the last few weeks… and draw a blank. 

I discuss it with Alan, and we agree it’s all about feel, and ‘learning how to manage the new reality’. 

The day after, and I’m feeling much better. Lesson learned I think, I need to eat to hunger and not to what I think I ‘should’ be eating. I ran before work today, and I’m starting to feel the benefit of being lighter, and more nimble. Lovely. 

Week 7 & 8 and onwards...

I've not been as meticulous at updating my notebook these last few weeks, and there have been ups & downs that I'll try to document here.  

Perhaps the biggest change I've noticed is what I see when I look in the mirror.  I'm visibly smaller: I'm starting to see muscle definition where there was none before, and my clothes are getting baggy.  I've had to replace some things, and am selling plenty of kit & clothing on Vinted!  A couple of people have commented that they're seeing a difference, which feels great.  But the biggest deal of all of this for me is in the photos: I saw some photos of myself taken in the last couple of weeks during a day on our bikes, and my feelings about myself were completely different to just a few short months ago. 

 

Also surprisingly, and very satisfyingly, I've discovered there has been a change in my body shape over the longer term.  The last time I was at my lightest (77kg) was in 2020 during the Covid Pandemic.  And at the moment, although I am currently still 6kg heavier than that, my hips are now the smallest they have ever been.  Which means that that 6kg has replaced body fat with muscle.  That is the reflection of several years of training and hard work.  

Into weeks 10, 11, 12... and it feels like my weight has plateaued a bit.  I seem to be stuck at around 83.5kg, which has been a bit of a challenge to manage psychologically.  However, I've also probably been a bit less fastidious about tracking everything I eat, following the Fuelin app recommendations, and filling in my notebook.  Which means it probably isn't surprising that things have slowed down a bit. 

So in the last few days I've reaffirmed my 'Why'.  Not just the Celtman 'Why', but the longer term, deeper, life-goal 'why'.  I needed a reminder: it's about me for the long term, reduced pain from arthritis, better movement, that feeling of flying that I get when I'm swimming, riding, running or paddling at my fittest.  Being able to get out of a chair or up off the floor in 30 years time.  Longevity.  Healthspan, not just lifespan. Celtman is just a conduit for that, a goal that captivates me and drives me forward.  I've also set some mini-goals to see me through the winter, and come up with a couple of adventures to aim towards.  All things to keep my brain focused on the long term plan. 

So this morning, day 75 since I took my first jab, I'm the same weight as I have been for around the last 3 weeks - but my scales tell me that I've lost 5.5kg of body fat in that time, and increased my muscle mass.  

The journey continues, and from next week I'm going to go up to the next dose: 1mg.  But I'm getting more used to managing any side effects, better at managing my energy levels, and more accustomed to the idea of being on these drugs for a good while, losing the weight steadily and sustainably, and changing my habits for the long term.  

Weight today: 83.5kg, muscle mass: 49kg (58.7%).