Thanks! I think the Garmin Index S2 smart scale is pretty cool, does allow for some more breakdown. It also integrates the data into my performance data…so Watts and W/kg. Sad to think that 10 years ago, I had a 20min FTP of around 4.5W/kg ( this translated into a climbing rate of about 1100 vertical metres per hour).
I used to use it a lot, but less often now as some recent studies have linked it to liver damage.
Mostly linked to people with the HLA-B*35:01 gene but I never had any DNA tests
But is that because people in the US are, as usual, using it in stupidly large amounts?
I’ve seen that various supplements and vitamins from places like iherb sell incredibly dangerous amounts in a “daily” portion.
The Supplement industry in the US is unregulated and worth a couple of billion a year and gets pushed to naive, gullible people who want a get-healthy-quick solution.
I mentioned on another thread that a British surgeon who also has a podcast got offered a six-figure sum to promote a supplement brand on his podcast which he admirably turned down.
Indeed, supplements seem to be problem. No issues with using turmeric for cooking every once in a while.
A safety advisory from Australian Department of Health:
Consumers and health professionals are advised that medicines and herbal supplements containing the herb Curcuma longa (turmeric) and/or curcumin may cause liver injury in rare cases. This risk also relates to other ingredients from the Curcuma species as they contain naturally occurring curcumin: Curcuma aromatica, Curcuma zanthorrhiza and Curcuma zedoaria.
Medicines and herbal supplements containing these Curcuma species and/or curcumin can be bought in supermarkets, health food shops and pharmacies without a prescription and without the advice of a health professional. There are over 600 listed medicines included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) that contain these Curcuma species and/or curcumin.
Yes, indeed agree, @marton , @Tom1234 … a lot of the medicinal benefits of plants in small doses can turn into poison at large ones. Unfortunately, historical knowledge on herbal medicinal / supplement usage – dosing, optimal utilization, synergic or anti-synergic effects (between active principles), no-goes (i.e. contraindications), onset of action and length / resilience of the effects, which were on the acumen of human kind, gathered along centuries (of trial and error) - in oral or written tradition- have been ‘conveniently re-written’ as @axa mentioned, to "take one pill per day, and solve all of your problems’
And people take the pill…with god knows which concentration of active principle.
The Food Supplement (FS) and ‘nutraceuticals’ market (the same term, but more marketing) indeed makes several Billions per year…and is almost no regulated. Products with associations of active principles can be put in the market with very little (if any control) - also in Europe, and yes, it is scary what you see in the market, and more scary when you hear what people take, and for what…uncontrollably.
Whereas I am pretty liberal on how people want to kill themselves …(as long as they don’t damage or menace others), I think people should have objective information on the method used - which is not the case when they destroy their health overdosing with FS. The good news, is that at least in EU, the EMA realized the loophole some years ago, and started legislating – for the time being with Medical Devices. I hope the FS follow…
Let me quote Paracelsus: " The dose makes the poison", or in the original version: " Alle Ding sind Gift und nichts ohn’ Gift; allein die Dosis macht, das ein Ding kein Gift ist ".
and, of course, the genetic footprint…
that’s the lottery that we get from our parents… and Nature (or, combinatorial statistics?!). “We are well made, but not perfectly finished”… ![]()
Sorry, it has been a while,
13 weeks in, and I am down 11-odd kilos. last weight in this morning was 85.4kg. 12kg down, from my max weigh in at the start of 97.4kg. I’m still continuing at 0.5mg (a relatively low dose) which is working for me as the rate of loss is slow but relatively consistent.
Things did slow down a bit and I considered upping to 1.0mg, but then sped up again with activity. I’ve developed a plica injury in my left knee which is preventing running..Not sure if this is a symptom of muscle loss whilst upping activity (similar to overuse). In any case I’m definitely seeing and feeling now in my clothes. On the negative side, I have lost around 3-odd kg of muscle mass (25% of the weight I’ve lost) which I notice in pedal power… although W/kg still edging higher. It is still my aim to reach 80kg then start to wean off..maybe a few of months at 0.25mg before stopping.completely during Summer (when I can be more active).
Bottom line: Low dose can work, so don’t feel forced to up to 1.0mg or higher…I think this will only make it harder to wean off once a goal is reached.
Great news!
Does that mean you are taking the tablets, not injections?
Good for you (in all possible ways!)
No, on the weekly “fat shot” (Wegovy)
Just curious, as I am a MDI (multiple daily injections) T1 diabetic. How are you administering the dosage? Disposable needle and vial, pre-filled pen with selectable dosage, fancy dancy device especially designed for Wegovy.
Me, I’m on the pens.
Yep, it’s a quite idiot-proof “selectable” dosage pen with disposable needles. Good for 4 doses (4 weeks). It has a dial, but only one marked dose (maximum). The pen is identical to my son’s growth hormone pen, which actually has 0.05mg dose increments.
Perhaps one sensitive topic not mentioned until now: When I was in the 94-97kg zone, I noticed an impact on “intimate” performance, to the extent I was starting to think I was going to need blue pills. The weight loss has had a positive impact, however this could be due to both physical and mental improvements.
I’m hesitant to give a “heart” to this comment, lest it be misconstrued… ![]()
You feel better, and you feel better about yourself. Not surprising, really.
Thank you, it is not an easy topic to address on a forum without risking a crude response. Still I think it important to mention. I won’t deny it was one motivation factor.
Thank you for being so open about it, it’s something that people are often embarrassed to talk about yet it affects a surprising number of people and is not something which should be swept under the carpet.
I wish couples would talk about it more. Things get more complicated when kids come along, and especially when you begin to slow down in later age. Just keep the communications real.
This is almost a topic in itself. The key is a mutual understanding that one can make themselves vulnerable and fear neither accusation nor judgement.
Makes a big difference when you can see the important bits ![]()
A colleague of my husband’s decided to opt for bariatric surgery and has lost a lot of weight in the past couple of months, I suspect it’s because his wife was diagnosed with a condition during the pandemic and told to get her weight down (she was pretty big as well).
He’s doing ok, but I knew someone else who had bariatric surgery (where you get left with a tiny stomach) and it caused a lot of issues for her as she couldn’t eat properly years after. She seemed to just live on a lot of fancy chai latte drinks and if we went to restaurants she could only ever eat 2 or 3 forkfuls (I used to tell her just to order a starter). Her teeth then started to fall out and she had to have implants.
A really good friend was on the british version of 600lb life.
Had the tube stomach done along with his wife and son.
Seeing before and after is amazing, but
I am not sure it was the best thing.
