Mounjaro — it’s never too late to lose a quarter of your bodyweight — Part 18

Chapter 18

Mounjaro — Tai chi — bless you

Confession — I like TikTok.

It’s trainable — I get a lot of sport, comedy, music from the 80s and cat videos. Plus a fair amount of dross that is blockable. Like most social media, it quickly picks up on things in which you show an interest elsewhere.

There’s an amusing story of the dinner party, where a male guest tried to improve his image by complaining that the app was nothing but dancing teenage girls. Well, I guess it is, if you want it to be.

I knew I needed to exercise whilst on Mounjaro, but I got some pitying looks from gym rats when I took that route 20 years ago. I didn’t think I could cope with that again two decades on. I am fascinated by Far Asian culture and, years ago got to the first level of Aikido, having initially thought it was paper folding.

I was suddenly inundated with videos of muscular Japanese guys claiming to be 75 when they looked about 40. They put it all down to Tai Chi. I finally found an app that offered an intro — 19 euros for three months and I could do most of the exercises sitting down. I’m in my third week and am hooked. The Tai Chi part is easy, but it also offers slightly stiffer work outs which are also largely chair based.

So, if you want a reintroduction to stretching and strength training, you could do a lot worse than ‘Muscle Booster’. It’s gentle stuff but I can already feel my range of movement and balance improving. At the end of each session (max 20 minutes) I feel energised rather than exhausted as I was after gym sessions.

Combined with the fact that I haven’t eaten rice for a week and I’ve consciously aimed for more protein in my diet — things are looking up. I’m back in hotels for a few weeks so I’ve not been able to weigh myself, but the mirror at least suggests progress.

Now, where’s that chair…

Next chapter — coming soon

Previous chapter — It’s not just the fat

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