Losing weight, weight loss injections or gym?

The gym isn't a substitute for calorie deficit. You cannot out exercise over eating and excess calories. You would need to spend countless hours in the gym to generate the deficit needed to see weightloss.

No matter how " joyless" it is, you have to cut calories and generate a calorie deficit to lose weight.

The injections actually make the processes less joyless , because you you don't feel starved on the deficit and its more sustainable because you aren't craving and thinking about food constantly.

There is no way to lose weight other than cutting calories. The injections make that a little easier and are a handy tool.

FFS. If it was that easy no-one would be overweight would they?

What an ignorant comment.

There is usually a deep rooted psychological reason that a person overeats. Disordered eating doesn't just encompass anorexia and bulimia but there is very little support for overeaters. We're just seen a greedy / unable to control ourselves / lacking in willpower / thick and uneducated 🙄

Probably already been said but spend the money on a small freezer and batch cook healthy meals or buy a meal subscription. Being overweight may not be good for your health but eating badly is far worse. Focus on good nutrition and then a few mins a day of yoga for flexibility, strength and the MH benefits.

You sound just like me. 3 months ago I was a 16. BMI 33. Now I'm a 12 with monjaro. I have a fancy gym membership but it's only now I'm 12 that I want to go- as I look okay in gym stuff/swim wear and I can actually move my body now it's 2 stone lighter x

I get mine via Boots and my GP was happy to monitor me alongside. There are actual doctors at Boots prescribing (admittedly you don’t meet them). Boots sent the details to my GP practice so they know exactly what I’m taking. My GP was in favour.

Well done. Slower weightloss and implementing diet and exercise changes you can (mostly) stick to is often thought of as the most realistic plan for long term success.

Then spend the money on a dietician and life coach that will sort your head out and make you not want to eat mindlessly.

The injections might fix the weight but won't fix your head which is the issue.

I'd then pair the life coach thing with a personal trainer session twice a week.

They will stop that.

You get hungry at appropriate times, but are full on very much smaller portions so you will struggle to finish your own large portion let alone eat the children's.
You will find that you don't think about food or feel driven to graze between meals.

It's hard to describe, but it's the most liberating thing not to feel constantly hungry.

I am very ambivalent about the injections.

I've struggled for 6 years to lose weight and overall I've ended up gaining.

I stopped drinking alcohol (went completely alcohol free) over 2 years ago and now I'm totally addicted to sugar.

I know I need therapy. I need to tackle my reasons for comfort / binge eating. If I had spare money it would go on therapy.

FWIW someone very close to me has just come off of Mounjaro as it made her so poorly. She lost a fair bit of weight but was weak, tired, felt constantly sick and dizzy and quite frankly looked bloody ill. She's absolutely anti weight loss medication now for obvious reasons.

I would use the extra money to buy an extra freezer. If you don't have room in your kitchen, put it in another room - it's such an important tool when you're too busy to cook but want to eat well.

Then I'd start researching batch cooking. I did read your OP and I know you don't like cooking and don't want to do batch cooking specifically but, honestly, much of it barely counts as cooking. Lots of recipes now just involve dumping ingredients in a slow cooker and leaving it alone.

There are entire books and websites devoted to the concept of putting ingredients in a bag and freezing it. Then, the evening before, you take it out of the freezer and leave it in the fridge to defrost. The next morning the bag is emptied into the slow cooker and maybe stock or something is added. And you come home to a meal that's cooked. You can then freeze any portions that are left over.

I hope you can find a way to prioritise your wellbeing - aim for good health above anything else. I hope none of this sounds preachy - you've found coping mechanisms for lots of difficult challenges, you have 'kept calm and carried on'. But your coping mechanisms aren't working so well now and you want to find new ones that do work for you and really help you.

I'm doing IM and more exercise- just a lot of walking and a simple weights exercise off youtube. I've lost a stone since Xmas and the next stone is starting to come off. It's really slow,.and sometimes demoralising and the weight loss injection is tempting as friends of mine have lost an incredible amount of weight in 6 months and actually look skinny. But I can't justify the cost, and I am hoping my slow way means it will stay off. I don't like the sound of the side effects either.

I'd think long term health in your situation and make time to sit down and think what you can realistically do. If you'll use the gym, get a program and stick to it you'll be healthier and that's better for your kids. Equally if you did c25k same thing, or walked 5 miles a say.

Then make a meal plan that includes protein, veg (lots) and carbs. Make a packed lunch the night before. You probably need to eat more not less.

Really no the weight loss drugs, you have 2 young kids and no one knows the long term effects of the drugs. But changing your lifestyle is sustainable....

Less, but also better quality perhaps.

To be honest, I don't know anything about weight loss injections, the risks and benefits associated with them, but for me, it would always be the gym and exercise, over taking a pill or injecting something into my body.

The benefits to regular exercise is much more than just losing weight, mentally and physically. Most of us have busy lifestyles , but if you want results you find the time. For me, this means setting the alarm at 5.30am and hitting the gym at 6am and doing an intense HIIT or bootcamp class in the mornings, 3 times a week.

If you've lost weight before with fasting, then why not start there? Just don't do such a brutal version that leaves you shaky, easy in gently. It has so many health benefits beyond weight loss as well - improved energy levels amongst the many.

Start with 12h fast/12h eating window, get used to that, then go from there.

If you're buying crap because you're skint, then use the money to buy better quality food. Prep your meals the night before so that you just grab something healthy rather than reach for crap.

But you need to be willing to make some changes, and at the moment it doesn't sound like you're there.

I used to feel that way about exercise too, until I found the one I loved - swimming! I also love to walk but not been a really good long walk in a couple of months.

Exactly. I swear people think that we see the injections as a magic cure, they are not. They are not a magic weight loss drug, they are a tool to help with weight loss.

They won't work without a lifestyle change which for me is giving up alcohol, eating in a calorie deficit, gym 2-3 times a week, walking at least 10,000 steps a day, high protein, low carb and 2 litres of water! All of which I intend to keep up with after injections, but the benefit of the injections is they've stopped me thinking about food, craving food, using food as a crutch or a reward which allows me to shut off all that noise and focus on building healthy habits.

Are weight loss injections the new diet pills?

If you're not losing weight you're eating more than a couple of slices of toast and a pot noodle.

You're currently struggling to buy healthy food but now have an extra £150 so instead of using it to buy healthy food for you and your children, you want to buy weight loss injections.

I agree

i did or should i say do both! a lot of people think these injections are the magic answer and initally you will lose weight, but you do also have to look at your diet and do some exercise alongside them

Wish I had that! I have the opposite. I hate exercise, I find it mind numblingly dull, I honestly hate every second of it, and I'm resentful - it's taking up time when I have so many other things I could be doing/need to be doing. I get no mental health benefits from it at all - it's completely the opposite.

But still I carry on, through gritted teeth!

Do you enjoy the gym? If yes I'd do that, as it would help your mental health too and create a positive cycle.

If not, i'd invest in better quality food. I think that there's a triangle of quick, healthy, and cheap, for meals, and you can't get all three at once. You're currently choosing quick and cheap, but you could instead go for quick and healthy, but pricier.

I don't know anything about the injections, but will just say you're going to have to look at your diet no matter which route you go down. The gym will not make you lose weight unless you tackle your diet alongside it, diet is the primary cause for weight loss/gain, you could lose weight without ever taking a step of exercise, but you don't lose weight if you exercise everyday but consume too much in compensation. I'm assuming even with the injections you'll need to be careful with your diet, I assume it impacts appetite so you'll want to be sure what you are eating is nutritious.

So my vote is you spend the money on getting into cooking, some nice recipe books, perhaps some equipment to make it easier (my food processor was life changing!) and that'll support which ever route you decide to go down, and will be important for the children too.

I also hugely recommend Chris Van Tulleken's book, it's been life changing to me. If you do injections, read that book alongside them.

You've expressed what I was thinking fairly well.
The mental health benefits of exercise are very important, for me at least.

Focus on food. If you don't have time to cook then you don't have time for a nice gym.

The calories in a pot noodle and the like are.very high and the nutrients low.

Think of proper food as self care.

Weight loss injections won't nurture your body. There are some really quick and easy meals, things like poached eggs, porridge with nuts and seeds and jam, roasted veg and hummus with roast potatoes.

What is the barrier to eating healthy food? Is it time e.g. putting the oven on for an hour is too much when you walk in amd are hungry or is it effort e.g. 30 mins prep and 15 mins cooking is roo much because you're tired?