Week One Weigh In

 So it's been an interesting week learning how this works!

I didn't experience much at all in the way of Ozempic side effects, which is great! I did experience the appetite suppression, which seemed to wane as the week went on. That makes sense- I assume my body was metabolizing it. Early in the week, I was struggling to reach my daily calorie target and by the end of the week it certainly became easier to snack and I'd start to get hungry again. I will take my second shot tonight, and we'll see how it works next week.

Recently I saw a study that showed that people taking Ozempic and Wegovy do have different side effects based on where they inject their dose, but it's different for every person. There is no one better place to take your shot to minimize side effects without trying out different locations. I took my week one shot in my lower right belly, since my doctor recommended my stomach. The shot can go anywhere into fat tissue. I was thinking I would try a different location for my week two shot just to see if there are any differences.

I wear an Apple Watch to track my active calories, and I record all the food I eat in the Lose It app. I really like the interface and how easy it is to scan food items, as well as build my own recipes to save time when I eat the same meal in the future.

Generally from following the Nutrisystem program in the past, I know that about 1500 calories is the right amount for me to eat when I have 100 pounds or more to lose, and then I'd decrease that number to no fewer than 1200 daily. It's looking like I can't make that target easily in the first few days after my shot, so I may use the function on Lose It for their "weekender" plan, which uses the same total amount of weekly calories but shifts more to the weekend days and fewer on weekdays. I think that makes the most sense for me right now.

Stepping on the scale this morning showed me that the combination of the medication and the counting calories is working; I am down 3.4lbs this week! While I admit that I was hoping for more than that, it's still a great weekly number and it's hard to be disappointed when it exceeds the recommended amount of healthy weight loss of 1-2lbs per week. I know that some weeks will be better than others and this will be one of the better ones. The weight didn't come on in a week and it won't be lost in a week either.

Last night I made another delicious recipe from my Goodfood meal box subscription- if you haven't tried the service yet I can give you $40 off your first order! This salad is filling, delicious, high protein and low calorie, as well as low glycemic index. It fits perfectly into the Nutrisystem program as well as being a good choice for people taking Ozempic or Wegovy.

Fall Panzanella Salad:

2 tilapia fillets, approximately 5oz each
4 cups baby greens mix

200g diced butternut squash

2 tsp olive oil

12g pine nuts 

15g garlic & bell pepper spice mix

4 tbsp fat free italian dressing (or your choice of dressing in that similar palate)

if desired, a couple of thinly sliced black olives for garnish

Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan on medium, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Set them aside. Put the cubed squash in a Tupperware container with 1 tsp olive oil and 5g of the spice blend and shake until the cubes are covered. Saute in a large frying pan over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until tender. Transfer to a covered bowl to keep warm and reserve the pan. Heat your remaining oil on medium. Use the remaining seasoning blend on the tilapia fillets, and pan fry 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.

Assemble your beautiful and delicious salad! Greens at the bottom, top with the cubed squash and pine nuts, fish on top, and drizzle with 2 tbsp of salad dressing. Garnish with olives as desired. Serves two.

This is such a delicious, flavour packed salad and rings in at 326 calories, 11.5g of fat, 28g of carbohydrates, and 32g of protein. If you're on the Nutrisystem program, count it as a dinner entree plus 2 veggie servings and one extra.

Looking forward to seeing what week 2 brings!