Getting set up for a successful Mounjaro journey

If you have decided to get started with a medicated weight loss journey there are some things it is important and helpful to have in place to start you off right. Here I will cover:

1. Your prescription 
2. Getting started with habit change
3. Understanding your relationship with food and eating 
4. Visualising success 

I have also made this post into a PDF workbook for you to work through at your own pace, ensuring you have in place what you need to get started on a GLP-1 medication. Click here to download it now.  

1. Your Mounjaro prescription

First things first - the essentials. Once you have decided to begin a medicated weight loss journey using a GLP-1 medication, the most important thing to have in place is a reputable prescriber or clinical team. Please do not cut corners with this as doing so can put your health at serious risk.  

If you are accessing the medication through a (reputable) online prescription service, ensure you have given them up-to-date and accurate information about yourself, including your medical history.  

If you have a history of disordered eating, or other health concerns or symptoms please do speak to your GP or medical team prior to starting a GLP-1 medication, so they can discuss with you any risks or medication interactions and can advise of a plan for monitoring you.   

2. Getting started with habit change on Mounjaro 

If you have tried to change a habit in the past, either to start doing something new, like more exercise or getting into a better morning routine, or to stop something that you don’t want to be doing anymore, like stopping smoking or cutting down on snacking, you’ll recognise that habit change is:  

1) not easy! 

2) it can be hard to stay consistent, and  

3) it is common to get into patterns of all-or-nothing thinking, like ‘I’ll start again tomorrow and do it right this time'.  

To get started on the right track with habit change, the following can be really helpful:  

• Start smaller than you think: Small, manageable steps are the key to building up new habits and routines. Starting too big (e.g. adding in exercise every day, cutting out snacks) can be hard to maintain and can get you stuck in the ‘all-or-nothing' cycle.  

• Ensure the habits you are trying to build fit in with your life and bring you closer to the version of ‘you’ you want to become. Habits that fit easily into your existing routine, and fit in with your values, are more likely to stick.  

• Get tracking: and I don’t mean tracking just your eating and your weight. Tracking your activity, your behaviour and your feelings are all really important for understanding what is going on with your eating and habits, and what might be tripping you up. This helps you really understand what might get in the way of your habits sticking. (For more detail on how to do this, check out my Three Key Skills Mini-Course here). 

 3. Understanding your relationship with food and eating  

Getting a really good understanding of your relationship with food and eating, past and present, is key to understanding what led to your existing eating patterns, the needs that these have been meeting for you, and when they might crop up in the future.  

It is a common misconception that if you plan to stay on Mounjaro long-term you do not need to address your relationship with food and eating, as the medication may help to curb cravings and prevent overeating. However, emotional eating, challenges around social eating, and self-criticism related to eating behaviours can continue to crop up even whilst using a GLP-1 medication. Understanding these, where they came from and what can trigger them can help to ensure they don’t knock you off track going forward.  

I have created a whole free resource and video series helping you to have a look at your relationship with food and eating, which can be found here. 

4. Visualising success on Mounjaro

Planning for, and visualising ‘success’ can help you stay focused on what you’re aiming to achieve. This isn’t just about the number on the scales, it’s about thinking about how life will look for you as you move through your journey. Asking yourself the following questions can help you to understand what you’re working towards and how you will get there:  

1. Define ‘success’: What does it mean for you and what will it look like? 
2. Imagine yourself succeeding: What will life look like when you get there 
3. What help do you need to get you there? Who can help? What support do you have around you?   

You should now have an idea of how to get started on your Mounjaro or GLP-1 journey, how to set off on the right track with your habit changes, how to recognise the eating behaviours and patterns that tripped you up before and how to keep what you’re working towards at the forefront of your mind along the way.  

For more tips on navigating your GLP-1 journey, sign up to my mailing list here, or send me a message with any questions here.