#904 Weight Loss Diary: One

May 8, 2023Scott Benner

Scott is taking Wegovy for weight loss. This is diary number one.

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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.

Scott Benner 0:00
Hello friends and welcome to episode 904 of the Juicebox Podcast.

Today's episode is going to be shorter and it's just going to be me sharing something that I've been up to. While you're listening today please remember that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your health care plan or becoming bold with insulin. You if you have type one diabetes and are a US resident or are the caregiver of someone with type one, please consider completing the survey AT T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juicebox. When you do, you will be helping to move type one diabetes research forward and you'll be supporting the podcast T one D exchange.org. Forward slash juicebox.

Today's topic is about me. It's health related. It's not scary, don't worry about that. And I thought it may be of interest to some of you so I decided to record it and put it here

this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by us med. US med is where we get our Omnipod and Dexcom supplies and they have so much more call 888-721-1514 right now to get your free benefits check or go to us med.com forward slash juicebox us med has an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. They accept Medicare nationwide and over 800 private insurers. They carry everything from insulin pumps to diabetes testing supplies, and they have the latest CGM like the Dexcom G seven and the libre three. US med always provides 90 days worth of supplies, and they have fast and free shipping. better service and better care is what you'll get from us med a company who has served over 1 million diabetes patients since 1996. US med is the number one distributor for FreeStyle Libre systems. The number one specialty distributor for Omni pod dash the number one fastest growing tandem distributor nationwide, and they are rated number one as the distributor for Dexcom in customer satisfaction surveys us med.com forward slash juice box or call 888-721-1514

Speaker 2 2:52
Hey guys, it's Scott. I have decided to try

Scott Benner 2:57
we go V for weight loss. So I'll talk more about why later but I'm going to make an audio diary. And this is my first entry so I've never injected it before. This is my first time. Got the instructions in front of me weighed myself this morning

step one.

Speaker 2 3:30
Prepare your injection. Pen alcohol swab gauze pad sharps container wash my hands

Scott Benner 3:41
choose my injection site I'm going on my stomach. Remove the pen cap. Okay

Unknown Speaker 3:50
that looks like this side. Oh this is

Scott Benner 3:56
incredibly similar to the G voc hypo pen the weight works.

Speaker 2 4:01
So pull the pen cap straight off. Inject push the pen firmly against your skin. Keep applying pressure until the yellow bar has stopped moving. Oh this is via this works almost exactly like the hypo pen. You push it firm. Okay, again. That's Jenny texting me. Sorry. We're talking about this. I'll silence my phone. Push it pressure against until the yellow bar stop. You'll hear two clicks during the injection. Okay. Well

Scott Benner 4:41
I've given a lot of injections but never to myself. So here we go

I'm not nervous, but I could have just pushed it by didn't know So give me a second here try to put the pen near the microphone

Unknown Speaker 5:21
Okay, try it one more time I think I got it no

Scott Benner 5:26
sorry it's more of a

Unknown Speaker 5:30
I'll explain in a second

Unknown Speaker 5:48
alright, I think that's it

Unknown Speaker 6:01
yellow bars stopped moving

Unknown Speaker 6:08
I didn't feel anything. So I'm just gonna have to assume it worked. All right, well, here we go V

Unknown Speaker 6:22
was telling Arden about this and she said

Scott Benner 6:28
one day it'll be like hey, you were Am I so we go v where my I forget how she put it she had like like a little like thing. Anyway, point two five milligrams to start once a week for four weeks. I will check back in on this recording every time I have something to add. So here we go. Hey, everybody, I'm back. That was six days ago. Today's Monday. So today's Monday, April 3, I recorded that first little bit where did the first injection on Tuesday the 28th of may wait March sorry, March, March, April, May area. I understand. I understand the months Don't worry. So tomorrow is my next injection. And I'll be back to do that with you. But I just wanted to kind of check in. So almost immediately, keeping in mind that I'm not a person who has a ton of like, appetite to begin with. But I now have to remind myself to eat. And I wasn't doing it at first but it's very important because you don't get hungry classically. So I was getting like woozy my head was like hey, what's going on? I think I need to eat. And I'm not having any trouble eating on this dose. I can't I could overeat but I would make myself nauseous I think so I'm not doing that. I'm purposely not doing that. Meeting a lot of steak and fish this week. Drinking a lot of water, that kind of stuff. No soda, nothing like that. I wouldn't before but I haven't I had an opportunity to have like a diet soda. I didn't do it. I had to have a one little sweets, that kind of thing like a candy because I got up on Saturday morning and I was like well I'm just gonna go grocery shopping and we needed eggs and a few things and I was like motoring around the store and got tired because I realized I'm like oh I haven't eaten anything. So I grabbed a little something to give me like a quick kick almost like a low blood sugar but I don't think my blood sugar was actually low and that helped to got me home I ate something and I felt fine afterwards. Nausea that some people talk about I haven't had like a I know the full feeling like like you'd ever have like a sick stomach where it feels like hollow inside. It doesn't feel like that but it feels like a tiny sliver of that like you know 2% of that sometimes when you're full. I've added more magnesium oxide. I'm taking two a day now instead of one just to make sure things keep flowing. And they are

Unknown Speaker 9:19
and I have lost

Scott Benner 9:22
six and a half pounds in six days. I feel fine. Like I don't have any weird side effects or anything crazy. I didn't eat oddly different than I would have normally. I have dieted before and eaten. Similarly to how I've eaten over the last week, I have certainly not lost six and a half pounds doing that before. So for the moment I'd say that I'm I'm noticing the hunger thing. Very, very diminished, if not completely on what's gone. And I'm looking on I should bring up This app for you, we got a scale Hold on a second, let me get my app open. We bought a scale that kind of measures. Some things to go along with our, our thing here, if I end up loving the scale, let you know which one it is for now. No need. But yeah, I guess I'm gonna use numbers here. So I started we go V on the 28th. And on the 28th, I weighed 233.4 pounds. The next day on the 29th, I weighed 230 2.6. On the 30th, I weighed 220 9.4, on the 31st to 28. Then I had a little issue with I didn't use the bathroom that day, which is when I added the magnesium. So the next day, I weighed myself on for one, and I was to 28 again. And then the next day to 27. So to 27 to 28 to 2930 3132 33, six and a half pounds, I have not weighed myself today. On top of that, my BMI is going down, my body fat is going down my hydration, like body water is going up. See some of the other things that the scale

Unknown Speaker 11:29
measures.

Scott Benner 11:31
Fat free body weight starting to go down, subcutaneous fat went down. very visceral fat went down.

Speaker 2 11:41
super interesting. Muscle mass has stayed the same.

Scott Benner 11:47
bone mass has stayed the same. I don't know how to scale news, all that. But we wanted to track as much of it as we possibly could. Anyway, I kind of am feeling the effects of the injection waning a little bit meaning. Last night, I had an appetite all of a sudden at dinnertime. So but I woke up this morning. And honestly I'm recording this at 2pm. So I woke up this morning, took a shower, manage the dogs, I had a meeting I had to get on soon as the meeting was over. I had to do a recording, I did my recording. And now I'm here talking to you. I'm still not hungry, but I'm gonna go downstairs and eat something right now probably have a couple of eggs. Scrambled, I might put them in a wrap and throw maybe a couple of pieces of steak with it. Or shrimp I'm not sure exactly which. And then I'm going to come back here up here and edit podcasts for you. I will be back soon to tell you what's next. I am back It is Tuesday, April 4, it has been one week since my first injection of weego V I'm on the point two five milligrams dose right now. Again, this is an auto injector pen. So I'm gonna pop the cap off, find a place to inject it, you push down it clicks once there's a window where you can actually I can see the liquid right now that's in there. And hello, we go V I see it right in there. And like a yellow arm comes down and pushes the visual it pushes the liquid in. And then when the yellow arm is completed, it clicks again. And you're done. Did the first time didn't hurt at all? I'm gonna do it again in the same spot on my stomach. And I am going to tell you before I do it, that the last couple of days, I've been thinking like, I don't know how this medication works exactly if the if it becomes less. I don't know impactful as the day is weighing on like you don't I mean almost like you know how you shoot your basil. And like if some of you're using older Basal insulin like Lantus or levemir, like you know, before you get to 24 hours again, you kind of notice it not working as well. Like I don't know if that's happening, but in a week situation where Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, I was like, Oh, I feel that I have this medication in me. But then maybe Sunday, Monday, I started thinking like, I don't think I'm feeling an impact from it the same way. And I did stop losing weight in the last couple of days. I mean, again, this all could have just been water weight. Who knows like I have no idea. So here we go V

Unknown Speaker 14:30
cap off. Cap is off. All right,

Scott Benner 14:36
stand up and put my belly closer to the microphone.

Speaker 2 14:41
Done. Little pinch here, and here we go.

Unknown Speaker 14:57
Okay,

Unknown Speaker 15:04
All right,

Scott Benner 15:05
I was at injection number two.

Unknown Speaker 15:10
I'll be back to tell you what happens.

Scott Benner 15:14
Hey, I'm back, it's been another week. Fastest recap, I've so far done to injections of wheat go V at the point two, five milligrams. Dose. This is the common starting dose, you kind of ramp up as you go. I was warned when I began by the physician that you know, people don't usually lose weight in the beginning, blah, blah, blah, that there can be some feelings of fullness and that some people even experience like vomiting, and diarrhea. I haven't had any of that. Going back to the beginning, I had that that very feeling a very fullness was like for the first three days. And then after that, as a as an actual physical impact that feeling has gone away. Although I am still full, it's hard for me to eat a lot of food. This last week, we ended up going shopping on Saturday and stopped at a diner on the way home. And I got a meal that was Turkey and had a potato and forget what else was with it. A couple of vegetables and I basically couldn't eat very much of it at all. Ate it got full stop. Had a little scoop of like a chocolate cake like honestly, like maybe two spoonfuls not fully been. That was it. I had the same experience this week that I've had so far, which is the first four days after the injection, I consistently lose weight. And then I stay kind of level for the last three days of the of the seven days. So that's where I'm at now, I have lost eight pounds. Since the first day I injected we go V. Now usually when I lose weight, it comes out of my face first. But it's coming out of my midsection first, which is interesting and great because it's where I want the weight to come from. So that's kind of been exciting. And this week was Easter. So I went to dinner. Once, you know on Saturday when we went shopping at this diner and then on Sunday, we went to a you know a family member's house. I didn't overeat by any stretch of the imagination, but I had some ham I had some pork I had what was with it, him pork, there's something with it, there was there was cake, I had a very thin slice of cake. And I had a rice krispie treat. And I still didn't gain any weight. And I'm telling you that historically through my life, just having like a rice krispie treat with a little piece of cake in the same day, I would have been two pounds heavier. Like that's how that's just how my body works. I start retaining water right away if I eat anything. So I've been eating more and lost weight, the first four days stayed stable with my weight the last three days. And I lost another four pounds. So four pounds the first week, four pounds the second week. And I have to be honest with you a couple of days ago, I was getting excited to take the shot and I was like let's go, you know, spoke with the doctor this week told her about the weight loss. She said that's very uncommon to have lost like this much weight right away. You know, it's almost a non therapeutic dose. It's just an amount that's supposed to get you going but it is definitely having an impact on me. And I snuck a couple of things in this week almost a test, it was almost like let me test the week Ovie I got a box of red hots, like those hot candies, I had those spread out over a number of days, I couldn't just like I couldn't work down the box like that would not have happened. But I had a couple here and there over a couple of days, almost just as a test didn't gain weight. And I was very impressed by that. So anyway, I'm excited to inject this and see how Week Three goes. Also, because of how the prescription model works with your insurance. As soon as I inject this, the next thing I do is send an email to the doctor that says I've injected my third pen, because they have to start the process of putting another script through because you're not just getting the same drug over again, although it's the same drug. It's a different dosage. So they have to re prescribe every month till you get up to a place where you stop. So anyway, do this that I send the email just because it's become what I'm doing on this recording. Take the cap

Unknown Speaker 19:44
off.

Scott Benner 19:48
Belly has been working good for me. Little pinch, push you get one click then you wait for the medication to dispense it clicks again until it's done. I like to leave it in another second or longer. So Oh, here we go 123

Unknown Speaker 20:07
I'm gonna wait a couple more seconds just because I don't want to waste any of this. All right, here we go V. I'll see you next week.

Scott Benner 20:21
Hey everybody, I am back with my fourth injection of we go V at the point to five milligrams dose. I didn't need as much this week, I didn't remind myself to eat and I ended up snacking in place of meals and I put two pounds back on. So we'll do that this week. Alright, this is the last shot of point two, five, and then we're going to the step up, which by the way I already have because my daughter is on top of things. And after the third injection, so you get a box of four after the third injection, that doctor asks for an email that says I've just injected my third pen. Then she sent a new script for the step up, which was already waiting for me it's in the refrigerator right now and waiting for next Tuesday. But for now we're gonna get through the fourth pen of the first box and then get to next week. Little pinch here we go

Unknown Speaker 21:30
all right. I'll see you next week.

Scott Benner 21:36
Hey everybody, it's Tuesday again and I have finished my first round of weego v. So the first round was for injections once weekly of point two five milligrams so now I'm moving up to the next level point five milligrams got it right here but I pop it in tell you a little something and I'll be back so this is like an extra point to five milligrams over what I've been doing in the past if this all feel any different going in so far I have not felt any of the injections. ready here we go

Speaker 2 22:25
That wasn't bad. Honestly, a big nothing perfect. Okay. Let me get out my

Scott Benner 22:35
app. tell you how much weight I've lost so far.

Unknown Speaker 22:40
I have

Scott Benner 22:43
gonna need some glasses here for this

Unknown Speaker 22:48
okay um, I need a calculator. I apologize. Hi, my starting weight and today's weight

Scott Benner 23:17
I have lost exactly 11 pounds in four weeks. The weight is coming out of my midsection where which is the place where my body just my whole life has held weight. I might have mentioned this to you before normally when I lose weight by cutting out carbs I lose water weight and it's very obviously comes out of my face first. I have not yet lost my face like it's all coming out of my my chest my sides my stomach my back. And really my stomach hasn't been the small and amount of time I don't I don't even know satiation big part of this I went away this weekend to visit with Arden at college. You know we were constantly in restaurants because of that I you know the menu gets a little smaller because you're like well I don't want to eat anything fried. I don't want to eat anything greasy. I don't want to like you know, you trying to eat like healthier in general because you don't want to feel nauseous. Which I haven't felt.

Unknown Speaker 24:25
But salads.

Scott Benner 24:30
Chicken I still couldn't finish anything. Arden got a cheeseburger at this place. It looks so good. I was able to eat like a third of it maybe. And then I was like well, I'm done. I can't I had a couple bites of her salad. I was like that's enough for me. It's been very interesting. don't crave things. Yesterday, and this is bad. I didn't do this on purpose. I forgot to eat dinner yesterday. It I got up I recorded the podcast. I had a piece of chicken I took Like a couple ounces of chicken, a couple ounces of steak, two eggs, and some lettuce. And I had that for kind of lunch yesterday. And I had it in my head, I was going to saute some shrimp for dinner and put it with a little salad. And I got up here and I started working on the podcast, and I just forgot. I never got hungry, and I forgot to tell myself to eat. So that's important to stay on top of like, continue to eat, I'm gonna go eat right now I just recorded the podcast this morning. wonderful woman from Denmark, which you'll hear one day, and, and then I did my injection with you. Now I'm going to go eat some food. And then I'm gonna come back up here and put together a presentation for a private talk. I'm giving this weekend about type one. So I still go in along here, this is going terrific. I don't know if any of this stuff's going to ramp up with a double dose. But I am prepared to feel fuller to be nauseous if I eat things that you know, don't sit well with me. And I have to really pay attention. I'm literally telling myself right now you have to remember to eat. So I might have to start setting some timers on my phone just so I don't forget, like I did yesterday because that was a that was not something I wanted to do. Okay, here we go. Hey, everyone, I'm back. I'm about to inject my six injection. But I want to give me some numbers before I get going. So I made my first injection of we go V which was at point two, five milligrams on April 28 2023. You've been hearing me report as I go along. I'm also using a scale that measures other things besides body weight. I have no idea how accurate it is. But the results are interesting. So my metabolic age has lowered by one year. It is still six years older than I actually my visceral fat has gone down two points. subcutaneous fat down two and a half points. My fat free body weight has lowered by 2.2 points. My skeletal mass has raised by two points. BMI is down two points. Body fat is down 3.1 points. This is interesting. My hydration is up 2.1. I looked that up. It says that lean tissue holds more water than fatty tissue which results in a drop in body weight. Those who struggle with obesity are more likely to be inadequately hydrated without the proper water balance. That's interesting. And I guess the number you're all kind of waiting for. I have lost a total of 13.4 pounds. This past weekend. I was at a speaking event on Friday afternoon. Saturday, Sunday morning till around two. So there were a lot of catered meals. I had no trouble being around the food. I did not eat all the food I was given. The only thing I had trouble with was they put cheesecake out and I tried to take a couple of spoonfuls of it it did not sit well in my stomach I got a little reflux from that. So I took a Tums and didn't do that again. Other than that, I have nothing to report that it's worrisome. It's still kind of working the same way. The weight loss seems a little more front loaded in the week, although it's been lasting longer. Yesterday, I didn't do anything particularly special with food to limit my food. I just ate two meals actually I had a breakfast and a dinner and I still lost point two pounds overnight last night. Now today I'm going to inject again. Now this is my sixth injection as I said this is the second point five milligram injection think I'm going to release this after I put this injection in so you guys can listen. All right. Still plenty of belly to shoot it into but much less.

Unknown Speaker 29:30
Here looks good. Click

Unknown Speaker 29:37
All done. Okay,

Scott Benner 29:42
so since I'm putting this out let me just say this. My entire life. I've carried weight in my midsection,

Unknown Speaker 29:54
my legs and my arms.

Scott Benner 29:58
No problem. I have no But to speak of my whole life. But I went to a doctor. And I was significantly over the weight that the doctor looked at me and assumed I was then we weighed me proved out the point. And I'm uncomfortable at age 51. Because I've done all the things. I've tried all the things, I've at times proven to myself, I don't do all the things. The only thing I could tell you for sure, is that where I carry my weight leads me to be concerned about a heart attack. And I do not want to have a heart attack. So some of you may listen to this and think I gave up, some of you may think I'm cheating or taking the easy way out to you, I say, please enjoy your feelings. I don't care. I am not having a heart attack. I am living for as long as I can. And if this little clique weight click is the way it's going to happen, then great people say to me, are you going to have to use your rest of your life, I respond back, I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. Don't want to have a heart attack. It's working. My brain does not ever tell me that I'm hungry. My stomach never hurts and rumbles and grumbles. And when I eat, I feel fuller sooner. Now, maybe more importantly, excuse me, I'll take a drink. maybe more importantly, the weight I'm losing is coming out of places on my body that I don't normally see the weight loss in the beginning. Most specifically, my stomach and my abdomen. The this is gonna sound embarrassing. But the line from my chest to my stomach. When I looked down is now much closer than it used to be. It used to go down and then out. And now it goes down and just out a little bit. Who knows after next week, but I am getting rid of the fat around my midsection. Because I would like to be alive long enough to I don't know, make the podcast more see my children have children enjoy my wife, my family, my life, all of you. Anyway, this has been very interesting so far. I don't think everyone's going to have the same reaction. I've heard people say that their hunger hasn't gone away. But they've tried it. I've heard people say they didn't lose as much weight. All the things. As Jenny pointed out, in another episode that we did, I have adjusted my eating slightly. But by that I'm just taking in more greens, mostly lettuce. I haven't graduated yet to like a real vegetable. But I am eating more lettuce, I guess roughage with my meals. I mean, it's been really great so far. And thankfully my insurance is covering it. And I will mention this here. A lot of people are making the mistake of going to their doctor and saying I want ozempic ozempic at this time is okayed for type two diabetes. We go V is been okayed for weight loss, okay, it means your insurance is gonna cover it. We go V and ozempic are the exact same medication. They have different doses, I think. But for insurance purposes. You go to your doctor. In my case, my BMI was high enough to support the diagnosis. They wrote the prescription for Wiko v. And my insurance company covered it. If you go ask for ozempic and you don't have type two diabetes right now, the way the insurance coverage is set up, you're not getting it. There are other drugs, there's Manjaro. No, I don't know if you maybe can get that. That also, I think right now has a distinction for type two. That's it. I'm not a doctor, this is an advice. I'm just sharing my experience with you. So far. My experience is this. I have lost 13.4 pounds in five weeks. And I'm starting my six week right now. That's pretty impressive. Although, the other day I noticed some of the weight came out of my thighs which is not a place I need to lose weight. And

Unknown Speaker 34:41
that pissed me off a little bit. I was like not there.

Scott Benner 34:45
Anyway, I don't have we go V face or ozempic face. I'm not saying it might not happen. I don't have any other side effects that I can speak of. I mean, I definitely have to be sure not to eat In the evenings before I lay down, that's the one thing I just can't can't and won't do. Like I said the cheesecake bothered me, I do very much. Avoid oil. I have had some popcorn that I've made in the house here, which was made in coconut oil. That's been fine. I make my egg in the morning with about a half a teaspoon, maybe a teaspoon of butter in the pan. That's been fine. Yeah, I mean, for me personally, I don't have anything bad to say. All right. Well, I really appreciate you listening to this. i If you're interested, let me know online. I'll make more of these. But I'm going to keep making these little diaries and trying to keep you abreast of what's happening. And speaking of abreast, I have less of that too. Thank you very much. I'll be here all week.

A huge thank you to us med for sponsoring this episode of The Juicebox Podcast U S med.com forward slash juice box or call 888-721-1514 To get your free benefits check Don't forget us med accepts over 800 private insurers and Medicare in the United States. They always provide 90 days worth of supplies and they have fast and free shipping Dexcom libre tandem Omni pod so much more US med.com forward slash juicebox. And if you have any questions about the weego V. Come find me on the private Facebook group. I'll do my best to answer them. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast.