The Sixth Injection
Took the sixth dose this evening — stomach again, but the opposite side from last week. I think I could feel a small difference this time. The mild background hunger that crept in toward the end of week 4 seems to have quieted again, and the sweet cravings stepped back down. Could be the site rotation, could just be that the medication was due. Either way, I'll take it.
No new side effects. The body has clearly settled into this dose now — week six and the medication feels almost invisible most days. That's the goal: the drug does its quiet work in the background while the protocol does the visible work in the foreground.
Birthday Season: A Real Test
This time of year is birthday-heavy in my family. Several celebrations, all with cakes and pastries. A month ago I would have used "it's a celebration" as a reason to lose the plot for a day — or three. Not this time.
I didn't say no to anything. I had small bites. A piece of cake became three forkfuls. A pastry became a taste. The interesting thing: the small portions were actually satisfying. The medication makes it so easy to stop, and a month of protein-first eating has taught my brain that food doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.
I used to think portion control was about willpower — about wanting more and saying no. Now I realize a lot of "overeating" was momentum. Once you start, you keep going. Cut the momentum at the start, and "moderation" isn't a struggle. It's just… what you do.
The Hamburger Incident
We had a farewell lunch for a colleague at the local burger place. I went with a double cheeseburger and a Pepsi Max — skipped the fries, thinking I was being sensible. Halfway through the burger, my stomach noped out. Nausea hit fast, gut went into rebellion mode. Not my finest social moment.
Lesson learned: a 2.5 mg GLP-1 dose plus a brick of fat is a no-go combination. My stomach empties so much slower now that anything too fatty just sits there and ferments. From now on: lean protein options, even when the menu is built for the opposite.
Single cheeseburger, no bun if I'm honest with myself, skip the sauce-heavy options. Or just get grilled chicken if it's available. The fatty trifecta — double meat, melted cheese, mayo-heavy sauce — is what tipped me over. Not the carbs, not the meat itself. The fat.
The Plan Held: Protein, Water, Training
Despite the cake week and the burger misstep, the foundations held:
- Protein target hit every day. Eggs at lunch, full protein dinners, shake before bed. The schedule carries me even when willpower wavers.
- Hydration locked in. 2-3 liters a day. Still no constipation, which I was bracing for given how often it comes up online. Water and fiber from yogurt with seeds seem to be enough.
- Training rolling. The new trap bar is a real asset. Two heavy sets per session, deadlifts I can actually load properly without my lower back negotiating. For upper body I'm running higher reps — the pump feels better than grinding heavy weights, and the joints thank me.
Current Weekly Training Split
For anyone curious, here's roughly what each session looks like right now:
- Lower body: 2 heavy sets trap bar deadlifts, 2 heavy sets Bulgarian split squats. Done. That's enough.
- Upper body: Higher rep ranges (12-20). Pull-ups + dips supersetted, dumbbell presses, rows.
- Walks: 30 minutes daily on the treadmill at 12% incline. Plus the lunch-break forest walk most days.
Thinking Hard About This Whole Thing
I've spent a lot of this week thinking about the medication itself — what it does, what it doesn't do, and what I'm doing with it.
I'm glad I have a plan and I'm following it without compromise. Five weeks in, the things that scare me are not the cravings or the side effects — those are manageable. What scares me is the version of me that exists six months after I stop the injections. The version that didn't use this window properly. The version that thought the medication would do the work, only to watch the weight come back when the drug wore off.
Because here's the truth I've been chewing on all week:
The injections are not what get you out of bed early for a walk. They do not choose the protein-rich meal. They do not change your relationship with food. They do not build the self-confidence and discipline you'll need when the prescription runs out.
That part has to come from you.
This medication is a window. A few months of biological help to do the hardest work of your life — rewriting habits that have lived in your body for decades. If you use the window, you walk out a different person. If you don't, you walk out the same one, just lighter for a while.
I intend to walk out different. That's the whole point.
Next entry: Week 6 — halfway through my chosen 12-week stretch at 2.5 mg. Time to start thinking about what month two looks like, and whether to stay at this dose or move up.