Rare Adventures

Category: Experiences

From business to personal life – its full of experiences

My weight loss journey 10 – Mounjaro after effects

Managing Weight After Mounjaro: A Real Challenge

See the rest of my Weight loss journey posts.

Coming down and stablisation

Generally the treatment was really successful in my view, but coming off Mounjaro has to be managed; it is deeply depressing to know that something like 80% of people put their weight back on within 6 months. The son and wife of one of my mates lost 5 stone before a trip to NEw Zealand, when they came back, they put it all back on again. To make matters worse, they are quite contented that if they need to lose weight off again it will cost them about £3000, so why bother staying fit.

I did some research around the topic and fortunately came across this podcast back in the summer. The podcast discusses the relationship between the food industry and the weight loss drugs. In summary, the problem is that many of us are addicted to food thanks to the disgraceful marketing by the food industry and now the pharmaceutical industry has found an antidote to the addiction.

So, it is like a heroin addict being hooked on Narcan as the alternative. There are people who even think there is a conspiracy between the two industries, but it’s not worth going there. Discussing it with another mate he couldn’t understand why people just couldn’t stop eating crap, he took some convincing that he was lucky to be one of the fortunate people who weren’t susceptible, just like he is inexplicably and annoyingly much better than me at mountain biking.

Positive side effects

The problem with Mounjaro is that you are likely to put the weight on when you come off it, unless you really focus on changing from the eating habits that got you there in the first place. The strange thing about the drug is that it seems to help with other addictions and habits, there is even evidence to reduces other addictions like gambling.

Human nature being what it is, people are continuing to use the jab to keep their weight down rather than taking the chance of putting the weight back on, basically people are hooked.

It helped me break some habits, notably I liked to have a drink in the evening while watching tv. This habit went back to when work was really stressful, I would come home, put the kids to bed and the drink was the signal to my body that it was time to relax.

It was normally gin and tonic, but since having the jab I can’t face a gin and tonic. The other mini addiction was bacon sandwiches or rolls in the morning, for some reason, the smell and taste just doesn’t do it for me anymore. My couple of months on the jab seems to have had more benefits than just weight loss.

I’m writing this just as the price of Mounjaro has increased 170%, apparently this is to reduce private demand so that there is enough supply for the NHS, apparently there are not enough stocks to treat the clinically obese and those with serious diabetes.

I’m sure the makers were heartbroken about imposing this price rise, but I suspect people will still find the money or switch to the slightly less effective Wegovy, which is now a lot cheaper, particularly if they are moving on to sustaining rather than losing weight.

I guess the major lesson from this experience is just how depressing it is that the food industry has got millions of people addicted to appalling and damaging food, yet no government on the planet is willing to stand up to them and stop it.

Negative side effects

Meanwhile, people are getting addicted to being thin, guaranteeing years of income to the drug companies, the whole thing is mad but here we are in the 21st Century, half the world is starving and the lucky inhabitants of the free world are taking drugs to stop us eating.

There are lots of other suggested side effects being suggested, including muscle wastage and impact on mental health, so anyone considering it should do their research first, there is a ying and yang to everything in life.

I’d recommend the approach for anyone who is in the privilege position to be able to enjoy it.

See the rest of my Weight loss journey posts.

22/10/2025
Ibiza Night clubs for Gen X

A pensioner on the loose

Ibiza has always been a gap in my back catalogue of life, I’ve been all over the world having a great time, parties, adventures and visiting the best places, but for some reason Ibiza had passed me by and I do enjoy a gritty clubbing night out, so at this late stage in my life, it was a chance to fill the gap, so I said “great, let’s go”.

Technically I think I’m a Baby Boomer, but what the hell !

After the first night, we are on a roll

Time to go clubbing

Next day I was amazed we were up in time for breakfast, went for a walk and by the Premier League kicked off we found ourselves in Ibiza Rocks bar, listening to an excellent DJ, watching the games and preparing for the second night. Things were rather complicated by a friend of my mate (Sue) coming over and needing to be picked up at the airport in the evening. This was a good opportunity to doze of the beer before preparing for the night out, which was one of the biggest clubs in the world, Hi Ibiza, formerly Space.

Hi Ibiza and Glitterbox

Sunday is one of their big nights, with the Glitterbox theme. We pitched up at midnight and it was only EIGHTY FIVE (85) euros to get in, Sue proved her worth at this point and scrounged some discount armbands from outside Ushuaia, so it was only 55 euros. It was only 15 euros for a water, quite a bargain really.

So, this was it, my first visit to an Ibiza super club. The clientele was an interesting mix for sure, no youngsters as it was too expensive, people in bondage garb, and most of all, a few grey foxes like me, though more bald than grey in my case.

The place takes around 5500 people, and it was rammed, if one person had a cold we were all going to get it. First room was the main room, which was huge dance floor surrounded by VIP suites and balconies. Big sound system and graphics wall as you would expect, the problem was that it was so rammed there was hardly room to move let alone dance, people were moving around and bashing into the people dancing. To be honest, first impressions were that it was crap, you can’t enjoy a night club if you can’t dance and the first DJ in there didn’t help so we moved on.

I was then informed by my chums that we were off to the Toilet room, the next dance floor. It. seemed an odd name, and we squeezed into the space that indeed looked like a toilet. It was so full that the only part of my body I could move was my head, which eventually gave me a sore neck. I then realised we were actually in a toilet.

They had put a DJ booth in the bog, while we were dancing there were people pissing and dumping in the cubicles, The DJ was brilliant and seemed to have her whole family in the booth with her mixing drinks and selling them to the people pushed against the screens, writing this up I’m beginning to wonder if the whole thing was a figment of my imagination, anyway, I went in a cubicle just to have a dump with a DJ playing 3m away for the experience.

A bit confused, we headed for the Club room, and this was the real deal. Phenomenal sounds system, top music, people dancing everywhere and even a bit of space at the back near the fire exit for me to get going. Unexpectedly a pole dancer appeared (see video) in the middle of the dance floor and displayed amazing skills on the pole, this caused me a bit of a problem.

A Simple misunderstanding

As it happens my youngest daughter took up pole dancing as a hobby, so I was admiring the dancer’s amazing agility, so I did a quick video and sent it to my family. To my horror, they thought I was in a lap dancing club at 4am and I woke up to lectures and abuse from all of them the next day.

We finished off the night back in the main room, which had thinned out and the last set was brilliant. A dance mix based on Talking Heads “Once in a Life Time” is now permanently baked into my memory of the night with more videos of dancers just to agitate my family. After that it was back to San Antonio for a pizza and in bed by 6am.

The mother of all storms hits town

Day 3 we didn’t make it to breakfast and much of the day was lost eating and enjoying the sun because a storm was being forecast for that night. The clouds came in and it got a bit muggy, but at midnight we headed out to the West End again for some predrinks before heading to Eden that night.

At about 1230, there were spots of rain, after 5 minutes it was time to take our drinks inside, and after 45 minutes the main drag was a torrent of water, the deluge was unbelievable. After an hour there was enough water coming down the street to use a body board. We had been in tropical storms in Costa Rica only 8 weeks ago and now the weather god had tracked me down in Ibiza. By the time we splashed out way to Eden, the streets were 2 inches deep in water and we were soaked through to the skin.

This was our 3^rd night, and my body clock was adjusting and ready to go at 2am. Unfortunately, the storm had put the dampers on things, but we were undeterred and headed into Eden, which was probably less than half full and everyone was soaked. If it hadn’t been for the circumstances, I think this would have been my favourite club, a bit grungier and full of people wanting to dance rather than just “be there”.

My commentary on Eden is a bit brief mainly because I can’t remember much about what happened, other than dancing and thinking the water was cheap at 10 euros a bottle and the disappointment that the pizza shack was closed when we left, or maybe it was just washed away and another 5am night under the belt.

Next morning didn’t really exist and we missed another breakfast, and again I woke up to more WhatsApp messages, this time checking I was alive, turns out the storms on the island were all over the UK news, especially in Ibiza Town. God looks after drunks I always say. I even had a civil emergency warning on my phone which wasn’t easy to process as my grip on reality was weakening.

The Legendary Pikes Hotel

Research into the options on Ibiza for oldies had highlighted the legendary Pikes as the place to go. So, we kept this one for our last night and it was great fun, the Wham video of Club Tropicana was filmed here, it was Freddie Mercury’s holiday retreat, and the owner Tony Pike was at the centre of the Ibiza phenomenon.

It was a relief to be able to go somewhere that opened before midnight, so a few predrinks, then we picked up Sue and off we went for a 10pm start. We needed an early night as we were flying home the next day.

When we arrived, we were confronted by the house rules, which seemed very appropriate and contributed to an excellent night. My daughter in law expressed her surprise that I was allowed in with these rules !

The whole place was really quirky and cool, though the swimming pool was a bit tempting for an adventurous spirit like mine but they soon moved us inside after 11 so the residents of the hotel could sleep I guess.

Unbelievably, there was no entry fee on the door, and the drinks were less than 10 euros, so I drank beer instead of water for the night. The music was amazing and a dark and sweaty dance floor as well. When it got to 2.30am with no sign of letting up, we decided to call it a day, it was now or it would be 5am again before we knew it, so I grabbed a naughty photo of the garden on the way out !

The amazing things was that we didn’t seem to have hang overs as our body clocks had adjusted, though once we got home the Ibiza flu kicked in we’ve all been feeling crap since, but we will get over it and only have the memories of a great few days.

I’ve also discovered I’m proudly hedonistic – so on to the next pleasure, but not before arriving home with horrendous colds/flu symptoms and spending a week in recovery.

It’s almost as if I am too old for this stuff – nah.

21/10/2025
Weight loss journey 9 – Mounjaro, the short cut to weight lose

Mounjaro, me and food addition.

Would I recommend Mounjaro– yes most definitely, it is changing people’s lives for the better, but it comes at a cost.

See the rest of my Weight loss journey posts.

For 8 years I’ve been largely on top of my weight, the scales would sneak back up slowly but I’d find a reason to kick in my tried and trusted method to reduce it again. There was always some target to focus on, like a 100 mile bike ride, or climbing the Inca Trail, or a weekend mountain biking, whatever it was, I’d find a reason to kick in the calorie counting and down my weight would come.

If you haven’t seen my other articles on weight loss and my journey, you can find them here.

6 months ago, I noticed the weight creeping back to an unacceptable level, but for the first time I couldn’t find the motivation to deal with it. I was living a happy life, gym and sport every day, but that weight was creeping on because my appetite seemed to be getting bigger all the time.

First, I passed through the 15 stone barrier, it was a mental upper limit for the last 8 years that normally caused me to react, but I didn’t. It was only when it reached 15st 4lb that I knew I had to do something because I was heading towards 16st fast, but why, I felt good and was living my best life.

My wife was the same, she had a method for losing weight with the Alavera clinic, but her cycle was different. She would lose 2 to 3 stone in a clinically controlled way, but it would always go back on. So, we were both on the upward weight cycle and both struggling for motivation, none of the adventures we had planned required much extra fitness, so why bother?

The awakening

Then we bumped into a friend in a bar, and I was totally stunned by the amount of weight she had lost, she was a totally different person, about a half the size version of the one we had seen a year earlier. After a bit of chatting she let us in on her diet secret, she was using the fat jab (in secret from her husband I hasten to add). I’d never heard of anyone using it, but it transpired we were probably the only ones left in the world that weren’t aware of it, we thought it was something only very obese people had access to on the NHS.

So, I did some investigation and was surprised how cheap the Mounjaro jab was. In fact, the monthly outlay was far less than what we had previously paid for the weight loss clinic, so in some ways it was a bargain at £200 per month and the promised weight loss was huge. Knowing my wife can be a bit slow to embrace opportunities I offered to go first and try it out and see what was involved.

Next day I was logged into the Numan website starting the process. First problem was I wasn’t 30 BMI, but not far off, so I calculated the weight I needed to be and uploaded the data and I moved on to the next stage, which involved a photo of me to prove I was fat, so I took a few photos of me breathing out in a baggy t shirt, and without much bother, I was through the medical stage and the medicine was on the way.

By this point, I was fully fired up on my weight loss mission. The sooner I got this weight off the sooner I would be off the medication; I wasn’t keen on the whole jabbing idea. I was straight into the calorie counting and my exercise was focused moved to calorie burning, I had lost 3 lb by the time the package dropped through the letter box a week later.

Starting the treatment

The first week of the dosage took me back under 15st, my first milestone achieved. It was difficult to know if the drug was having an effect or whether it was placebo. I had also started above my normal weight, so I had pounds to lose.

The second week we had a bit of a hiccup, I overdosed. I used the jab and was a bit confused why the syringe had not gone right down, the syringe goes down about 20% each week and leaves a drop in the bottom. I tried 3 times to apply it, on the assumption that it wasn’t working, I reported the matter to Numan.

An overdose

When they saw a photo of the syringe, they pointed out that I had used it up all up in one go.

If it was placebo before it certainly wasn’t over the next 5 days, I felt nauseous, floaters in front of my eyes and certainly no appetite, in fact I had to force myself to eat in the end. However, it did have some even better side effects as I lost another 4lb, so I was down 7lb in 2 weeks.

As I had proved my incompetence to Numan, they sent me another month’s worth of the minimum dose. To be fair, the support from them was really good. You get a coach to help with advice on food and lifestyle, and a clinical team for issues with the syringe and dosage. For the coach I was sorted with my approach, but it was good to have an online chat about different strategies and options.

I mentioned the jab to a few friends and their reactions were really interesting. I suspect a lot of people are embarrassed about using the jab, but the reality is that it is just another way to diet, so I wasn’t embarrassed at all. It was no more embarrassing than Weight Watchers or Man v Fat, you just want to get the weight off as soon as you can because it is making you sad and it isn’t good for you to be fat.

3 friends signed up to the treatment, which was excellent as we both got price reductions on our next batches, I almost became a dealer I was referring so many people. Most people started off inquisitive about the side effects and impact, and most of all the size of the needle!

From a personal perspective, the change wasn’t that noticeable because I was just getting back down to my normal weight which I had been 6 months earlier. I finished off after 3 months of “treatment”, my dose only reached 5mg (the max is 15mg), which is normally the second month. By that time, I had lost 16lb in weight in 3 months, so I hadn’t had time to become too dependent on the drug and in the hottest summer for 50 years, I didn’t put any weight back on.

So all round a very successful experience, however there are side effects that you should be aware of and need to be managed that I cover in the next article

17/10/2025
San Antonio bars for a Gen X

Lets get the party started in San Antonio

Is 66 too old to go clubbing in Ibiza, so technically I’m a Baby Boomers. This was the first question I asked myself after my mate “The Mechanic” announced he had bought us a short break in Ibiza, as a “thank you” for helping him out. I was also overwhelmed because no one buys me anything much anymore

Ibiza has always been a gap in my back catalogue of life, I’ve been all over the world having a great time, parties, adventures and visiting the best places, but for some reason Ibiza had passed me by and I do enjoy a gritty clubbing night out, so at this late stage in my life, it was a chance to fill the gap, so I said “great, let’s go”.

I did a bit of research and over 40s and 50s seemed to be enjoying it over there, so why not. I had been late into the dance music scene 35 years ago, so had always been one of the oldest in a venue, or “the oldest swinger in town” as my wife puts it and I’m not particularly self conscious.

The thing I try to remember is that I’m a guest in the young people’s world, so it is important to respect them having a good time and get into the spirit of the event, only speak to them if they speak to me, don’t oggle, and don’t be a twat or be one of them. Keep a smile on your face and get into the party mood and nobody has ever troubled me up until now.

The Easyjet Ibiza Express

First challenge was the flight out from Bristol. there were clearly 3 distinct groups heading to Ibiza. Firstly, there were the young ones in their teens or early 20s on their lads or lasses’ holiday and making a lot of noise. The second group were stag and hen weekenders to celebrate something, often with two generations of family involved and they made even more noise getting on the flight, the final group were the grandparents heading to their all-inclusive and full English breakfast holidays. The Mechanic and I tried not to be associated with any group and listened to music looking cool.

The EasyJet steward was French and less than cool, lacked any sense of humour after no doubts a long week and then drawing the Saturday night Ibiza Express shift. As soon as the door shut, he was up on the microphone giving everyone a lecture and warning us that if anyone made any more noise, we would not be going anywhere.

At this point a Welsh hen group told him to cheer up and started singing, in response he threatened to turn the plane around (we had only gone about 25m) if there was anymore lip. So, we headed to Ibiza in a plane full of drunk people who did a lot of sniggering and giggling, mostly uncontrolled, that reached a crescendo after the drinks trolley tour and the alcohol levels had been topped up, we came into land.

San Antonio West End strip

We arrived in Ibiza and made our way to the hotel in San Antonio by midnight. The hotel lobby was full of young people around the age of my youngest lad; he would have been quite at home sitting in reception at midnight staring at his phone as well. So, we quickly unpacked, plugged in my speaker, cranked up the music, opened the duty free and went out on the balcony to see the sights and sounds of San Antonio, including a view of the Eden night club which was next door.

The hotel balconies were full of party goers, so no chance of an early night.

After a quick scrub up we headed to the West End strip (there are a few strips around apparently), a street of bars that seemed to be in place for one purpose, debauchery and fun, not to mention drugs that were on sale on every corner. It had just about every type of entertainment on offer so we settled for an Irish bar as a safe haven to get our bearings and enjoy the fun atmosphere.

To be honest, we were amongst the oldest party goers in town, but it didn’t seem to matter as the party rolled on. We ended up in the Saona bar opposite the Irish Bar (we didn’t have to wander far) with probably the most bonkers DJ I have ever seen, not to mention his mate the Italian answer Eminem who looked a lot better than his singing but it all added up to a great night.

The night drew to a close around 4am and we headed home but not without a bizarre incident. As we headed out of the strip, I was accosted by a woman of the night offering a range of services that I didn’t need, whilst groping around my person. I politely declined her offers and wandered on. 60 seconds later she tapped me on the shoulder and gave me my wallet and ran off.

As you can imagine, I was a bit confused and hugely grateful for her honesty. I assumed she had found it on the floor, so I ran after her to say thank you and to give her some cash as a gift. When I tapped her on the shoulder and said thank you, she looked very confused as well, it was at that point I opened the wallet and found she had already taken a “thank you” in the form of all my cash. However, I still had my cards and driving licence so wandered off happy and 10 euros poorer.

Next day I was amazed we were up in time for breakfast and ready to go after the night before.

09/10/2025
Navigating Insurance Claims with Car Rentals: Lessons Learned
For some years I have been happily using Car Excess insurance when renting cars around Europe. For £60 a year it seemed like a bargain to avoid all the rip off extras that the hire car companies load on top of the prices they advertise.

The Lessons from this story are:
1. Be careful that you have and keep hold of copies of receipts and contracts.
2. Be careful what insurances you are choosing not to take out with the hire company, like recovery.
3. The Excess insurance worked, but you need to be prepared to follow a rigorous procedure.
I normally book the car through Holiday Autos and pick out the best deal going from the list their portal produces and never take out the additional excess insurances, much to the dismay of the people on the counters.

You have to be careful, as they are always changing what your fee covers and as long as nothing goes wrong everything is OK, until the day something goes wrong.

Back in Dec 2024, I rented a car from Enterprise CH in Switzerland, a very reputable company to enjoy the opening week of the ski season. All went well until the last day. We packed the car and set off for the slopes. As we left the appt there was a bumping noise and a rumble – flat tyre.

The breakdown

Unfortunately, I had a nail through the tyre, there was no spare provided and the tyre was ripped so no chance of using the inflator kit they provided rather than a spare. So, I called Enterprise Ch to discover that I had not taken out the rescue service and I would have to pay for the call out, which would be about 100 – 150 euros. Not to worry, as I had insurance.

A local recovery garage arrived, towed the car to their depot, fitted a new tyre and we were off to the slopes with a couple of hours missed. The next day we dropped the car back to Geneva airport, no issues at the check in and no mention of the tyre damage and apparently all good.

Enterprise Car Hire

All good until we received the credit card bill. Enterprise had taken out £1000, which was the full amount of the “virtual” deposit on the credit card. There was no warning, no emails to explain, no paperwork, they just took out the money, unfortunately it was on Christmas Eve when the world was shutting down.

Repeated attempts to contact Enterprise Switzerland got me nowhere. Calls to their number just rang out and emails were all ignored. Eventually I spoke to Enterprise UK who were very helpful, found out the cost of the repairs and sent me the information. The repair bill was £450 (yes, get that, £450 for a Renault Clio tyre) but they could not explain why the £1000 had been taken and couldn’t help with a refund of the balance.

AXA Car Insurance

Time to contact AXA insurance and reclaim excess. This was all online and a long list of documentation they required. Obvious stuff like receipts, contracts, invoices and evidence of payments. None of it seemed unreasonable to be honest, they had their due diligence to follow, and it should have been straightforward.

At this point the AXA process met the Enterprise process, and I was in the middle. Checking my emails I realised I had paid Holiday Autos, so I did not have a receipt from Enterprise. You will all know that when you rent a car there are all sorts of things you sign at the desk, and they normally print off or email you confirmation of the contracts etc.

Enterprise CH processes had been so slimmed down they didn’t exist, I didn’t receive anything in paper or electronically, so I had no record of their contracts. I also don’t believe there are any people involved other than those at the airport desk – there is simply no back up.

Numerous attempts to contact Enterprise CH failed, and Enterprise UK always did their best to help (normally logging complaints on their system directly to Switzerland but they were ignored to). Digging around on their website I eventually I pulled together most of the information for the AXA claim and sent it off.

AXA allocated an agent to manage the claim, and over the next 10 weeks, AXA would ask a complicated question, I would do my best to find an answer, AXA would say “you haven’t replied we are shutting the claim”, I’d explain I had replied and around we would go again with the questions. On reflection whilst writing this blog, I am wondering if I was dealing with some sort of bot.

At one point, AXA asked for a receipt for the tyre fitting. Obviously, Enterprise CH didn’t respond, Enterprise UK said it wasn’t in their system so I had to track down the recovery garage in France, who were very helpful but pointed out they couldn’t give me the receipt because I wasn’t the customer, it was confidential. Back to AXA to explain again, and then we had the whole “you haven’t replied” saga again.

On my next trip to France, I decided to go into Geneva Airport and speak to the guys on the rental desk and try to get the information directly. This nearly worked, as the guy on the desk did explain that Enterprise CH were absolutely useless, had no back-office staff and ignore customer complaints, it seems that is their policy.

He explained that they didn’t keep any records, so there would be no copy of the invoice for the tyre and recovery, apparently, they pay the bill and throw the paperwork away.

This sounds incredible, but all the evidence was suggesting he was right. In the meantime, we had unexpectedly received a refund to our credit card of the £550 theyowed us, there was no warning, it just appeared 2 months later on the credit card bill. At least there was some good news.

Meanwhile, back at AXA they then informed me they were unhappy with a clause in the Enterprise contract and couldn’t proceed unless I addressed it, I was totally bemused at this point.

Unexpected payout

What on earth was going on at AXA, and I concluded their processes were designed to ensure they did not pay out on the insurance. They asked for a receipt that I would not expect to have access to, between Enterprise and the garage, and now they were challenging the standard contract terms – WTF.

I have to admit that at this point, I had given up hope of reclaiming the £450 for the tyre and was just grateful to have got the balance of the deposit.

Then in early April (3 months on), totally out of the blue, £450 appeared in my bank account from a cryptic source. This was rather mysterious and coincidental, as it was the exactly the amount I was owed by AXA. A couple of day later an email arrived confirming they had settled my claim in full and that they would like to have a call.

In the call, t transpired that someone had undertaken an audit of my claim and discovered that the agent I was dealing with had been “over enthusiastic”, which I took to mean was a complete idiot.

As this was my first claim on this type of insurance, one of the lessons is that if you start getting impossible questions don’t assume the person at the other end has a brain so escalate it. I might not have even been dealing with a person, it might have been a bot.

In hindsight I think AXA did OK, because they spotted their internal failure and dealt with it. I can’t say the same for Enterprise CH, who I would never ever use again.
08/07/2025