Hi everyone,
I’m a 37-year-old woman, 2 years postpartum with two babies born 20 months apart. I’m 5’6 and have been around 125 lbs for 20 years, staying fit through weightlifting and an active lifestyle.
After my first pregnancy, I bounced back to my pre-baby weight within weeks without trying (I only gained about 30 lbs). During my second pregnancy, I gained weight much faster and ended up 50 lbs over my normal weight after delivery. I assumed the weight would melt off like the first time, but here I am, 2 years later, still 30 lbs overweight.
I’ve never taken hormones or peptides and never struggled with weight before. I exercise regularly and track macros diligently. I lost the first 10 lbs in a few months, but I’ve been stuck at 155 lbs for a long time now.
I’m considering peptides or hormones but feel lost.
Do I blindly start a GLP-1? Does it help beyond appetite control? Are there any other peptides you recommend?
Should I run a full thyroid panel or DUTCH test first to check for hormonal imbalances?
If it’s hormonal, would GLP-1 still help, or are there better alternatives for weight loss that aren’t GLP-1?
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!
I would certainly start with bloodwork just to make sure something else is not going on.
Glp drugs are great and work very well but def start with bloods.
I was tracking everything I was eating, and that’s how I lost the first 10 pounds in about 1.5 months. I continued tracking for about another month and didn’t lose anymore weight. I got really sick after that with strep so I stopped tracking, although I was undereating at time point. My scale shows I lost muscle during that time, weight stayed the same. I have started tracking again now.
Did you reduce caloric intake at all when you stopped losing weight? You’re eating about maintenance level if not more from a TDEE standpoint.
I’d get a female hormone panel with thyroid as long as you know your cycle. You need to get two tests done around day 3 and day 20 respectively. Assuming all in check you can play with macros and calories as well as increase training. GLP-1s are also a good option if all other things are not working and hormone panels look good.
Thank you so much for your honest feedback. I just realized that I input the carbs where it said fiber… fiber stayed at 30g every day, what changed was the carbs. I updated the macros in my original post (100+g of fiber a day IS insane). These were target macros, but I was also hitting them consistently for the first 1.5 months.
You’re so right, I think I got off track with the sickness and have simply gotten frustrated that I stopped seeing downward momentum. I have gotten back on track and will continue tracking as I was originally (literally everything I put in my mouth was tracked) and I’ll give it a month or so to see if I see any more progress before I start adjusting further. I have an appointment with my PCP next week to run some bloodwork. Thank you for all your kind suggestions. I truly appreciate it.
I did not reduce caloric intake when I stopped losing weight. I mean, I did a few weeks later without meaning to because I got sick but I also stopped going to the gym during that time so I have no data points to know how much I was undereating or how my overall caloric output/input changed.
Thank you for your input on getting two tests done. I would never have known to do that! I’m back to tracking now and will play around with the macros and calories if I stagnate again.
Anytime and yes unfortunately when you stall a reduction is necessary. For reference my wife is your age and height. When she needs / wants to lose weight we have to target around 1600 cals to move the scale, but not all things are equal across genetics and activity levels.
I highly recommend chronometer. I also highly recommend weighing all food in grams. I was pretty shocked at how much different my portions were when I actually started to weigh them. Chronometer will give you far more accuracy than MFP.
I’m always struggling to get lean. My wife had 3 kids. We both have our best results with more cardio as said just above. Shes a champ. But damn, work, 3 kids, so it’s a balance. Best of luck (I had a thyroid issue from cancer treatment literally 27 years ago, had to take medicine for 10 years (thought would be lifetime), and if those levels are off, it’s hard). If you look at peptide, there is a lot of research into Reta now.