259 lbs → 130 lbs. After 34 years of losing weight and gaining it back, I finally broke the cycle!

Okay so first of all, I have been on some diet or another for literally my entire adult life. Keto. Weight Watchers. "I'm just going to eat less" (lol). The whole thing. I would lose 30 pounds, gain 45. Lose 45, gain 55. Until I woke up one day at 259.6 lbs...

April 16th, 2024, I decided something had to change. I started keto AGAIN because apparently I enjoy suffering. And honestly? It worked - kind of. I lost 50 lbs on my own over a year. But I could feel the pattern starting again. The restriction, the cheat weekend, the 7-lb swing, the shame spiral. I'd done this my whole life. Why would this time be different?

Meanwhile my dad and sister had been on tirzepatide quietly just... losing weight. Eating normally. In MODERATION. I didn't even know what that word meant in practice. It took me a long time to be convinced. I felt like it was "cheating." I felt like I hadn't suffered enough yet. (Very normal and very insane.)

Then I thought about Albert Einstein's definition of insanity and finally ordered the compounded tirzepatide on a Monday. It arrived Thursday. I took my first shot April 24th, 2025.

Here's what nobody told me:

The hunger just... leaves. Like a noise you didn't realize was constant until it stopped. I wasn't white-knuckling through meals anymore. I was just eating until I was full and then stopping. Like a normal person. I didn't know I could do that.

But here's the thing nobody REALLY talks about - the alcohol thing.

I grew up in a very alcoholic family. Drinking was just... the water we all swam in. I was drinking almost every single day before I started. Not falling-down drunk, but a glass or three of wine every night, more on weekends. It was just my life.

Within weeks of starting tirzepatide, I just... didn't want it as much. I'd pour a glass and take a sip and feel done. The compulsion quieted the same way the food noise did. I went from drinking ~57% of days in 2024 to ~34% in 2025. Now in early 2026 I'm barely drinking at all. I didn't set out to get sober-ish. It just happened. For someone with my family history, that side effect alone might be the most life-changing thing this drug has done for me.

I also stopped smoking and vaping. I don't fully understand the mechanism. I just know that the version of me who needed all of those things to cope is not who I am anymore.

The stats if you want them:

- Start weight on tirz: 219.8 lbs (April 24, 2025)

- Current weight: 130 lbs (February 2026)

- Total lost on tirz: ~89 lbs in ~43 weeks

- Total lost since I started my journey: 129+ lbs

- Went from size 18 pants / XL-XXL tops to size 4 pants / S tops

- Do hot yoga 3-4x per week

- Drink 96+ oz of water daily

- Don't smoke. Rarely drink.

- Am happy. Actually happy.

I tracked everything in a spreadsheet for two years. Every meal, every workout, every ounce of water. I was terrified of "ozempic face" and "ozempic butt" so I made sure I was eating enough and getting protein. It wasn't perfect - I probably underate protein more than I should have - but I was paying attention.

If you're on the fence: I put it off for a full year because I thought I needed to earn it through suffering first. I don't think that anymore and wonder why I waited so long in the first place. The drug is a tool. You still have to show up, track, move your body, drink your water. But it removes the static so you can actually hear yourself think. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm living in my body instead of fighting it.

Happy to answer anything. 💉✨