So if your friend lost 5 stone in 6 months .. would you wonder how ?

@FlappingMadly im certainly not criticising, being from a family of obese individuals and having worked with many severely obese people in my day job, I’m well aware of the complexities around obesity but I follow the weight loss injections threads with avid interest. Apart from those on those threads who make comments that indicate they have an eating disorder, there are many who make no efforts to change their relationship with food and have no strategies to boost their metabolic rate. When people are are on very low calorie diets over long periods of time they are driving themselves into starvation mode so ,without changing other factors, will have no hope of maintaining weight loss when they come off the jab and will, like many ,need to stay on it for life. People buying the jabs privately are using what appears to be a “simple “ solution for a complex issue but I think they need better support to improve outcomes around that use of the jab. What will hopefully eventually result from these drugs will be synthesising a medication with fewer side effects that can turn off the brain drive that causes over eating and other addictions….at the moment though pharmaceutical companies are rubbing their hands with glee as they realise they will have large numbers of people hooked taking these injections for many years.

Lots of normal or underweight people are still consuming very processed food, though, there's no miracle of being slimmer that means you are consuming great food, unless you consciously do so. That affects cancer rates, for example, see the rise in bowel and colon cancer in younger age groups. Sausages and bacon and cured meats with nitrates are not good for you, whatever your weight, although weight is related to cancer risk, so bear that in mind.

I've made my peace with it, I try not to eat nitrates, I don't drink, and I try not to become hugely overweight or do something if I do, but it is hard given the options for food in the UK supermarkets.

Reasons, not excuses. Show me the research that says otherwise. But if you’re just a naturally thin person or metabolically healthy and found losing weight no problem
bully for you. The anecdote of one is hardly science.

@FlappingMadly I agree completely, it is not possible to eat the same 'healthy' diet in the way it was in the past, because even most of the basic ingredients like meat, wheat, vegetables are grown to be less healthy and more superficially attractive, and this affects the nutrients in them.

In my childhood, our home-grown carrots or those from the grocer were small, hard and not that sweet- now carrots are huge and very sweet (and more carby sugar as a result).

Chickens are now fattier even the breast meat, as they are not running around, even the free-range ones are not for the most part (research shows this).

Eggs have a weird texture that I haven't got to the bottom of, more glutenous whites, not the same although I still eat loads of them as I think they are nutritious.

Vine grown tomatoes are pretty similar, but the watery large ones aren't, same with apples.

Ultimately unless you are shopping in a very very expensive farm shop for everything, and hand making your stock, pasta, from scratch, your diet won't be what it was all those years ago. There's lots of research on it.

Those who smugly say- well don't eat processed food, I agree that UPC is the work of the devil, but it's about 50% of what babies and toddlers eat now, and the other 50% is not as nutritious as it would have been in the past.

I feel very angry that we are overweight through horrible overprocessed food industry food that is not good for us, and it's become the norm for 99% of households. Men aged 55-65 80% are overweight or obese. Once you start to get to those type of figures, it's clearly not about willpower, it's about a very unhealthy obesogenic lifestyle that we now live that is almost impossible to counter.

All excuses.

More sedentary certainly plays a part but the increased availability of food and the amount of highly processed is immense. Work life has changed.
Just look at the massive range of bread at Tescos. You have the choice of heavily processed or sourdough that’s hard after a day. I make GF sourdough.
The local Tescos by my mum only sells processed everything. Eggs and sweet peppers, even a banana rarely available but great if you want a pasty. The other alternative is a lovely but v expensive farm shop.
Even the Mediterranean diet so often mentioned is aspirational -these countries have similar problems.
Do not criticise people unless you have researched it. Obesity is complex. And when a certain weight is reached it genuinely is difficult. Exercise isn’t equal, the body resets, metabolic changes, pre menopause starts way earlier than we imagine, culture, self esteem, family challenges, disability, high cortisol, changed gut, hormonal shifts.

Im not that poster you were responding to and I totally understand that some people suffer from insulin resistance and other genetic factors but anyone working in healthcare knows that the obesity issue in the uk has drastically worsened since the 90’s so it’s quite clearly a lifestyle issue on top of genetic propensities. You simply didn’t see the amount of severely obese people in the 60’s/ 70’/80’s that we do now and that’s because of huge changes in eating behaviours and sedentary lifestyles and people are kidding themselves when they blame everything on their genetics.

Can you buy the drug for me OP 😆

Ask if it was available would she continue using it, it she answers yes, tell her if she wants it, she can have it no strings attached.

Its clearly an ad - don't be (lipo)sucked in by it.

Can't imagine a doc talking about her/his colleagues like this.
This should be a kick start fpr her, as you say, she's started going to the gym so is motivated enough.

It would be as if you don't trust her to stay healthy without the jab.

It must be lovely when it’s that simple for you. For some people there is no ‘off button’. Some people are genetically predisposed to insulin resistance and diabetes. Keep your ignorance to yourself please.

Yes, I wondered. Very effusive and detailed answers.

That is because this thread is an ad masquerading as a post.

Strange how OP has not denied it. She will no doubt do so now.

This thread definitely highlights some of the problems with these new miracle drugs.

and I am convinced this is a thinly veiled advert.

This is a strange post. Can’t quite put my finger on why.

I think the OP is saying that the GP she spoke to said it's easy to undo what you have achieved on this drug, and that others in the GP surgery are taking it. I still wouldn't offer, because part of the motivation is for your friend to go without some things (extras, sweet things) to pay for it and to make this positive choice. I wouldn't undermine this at that stage.

I wouldn't want a friend to pay for anything but that's because I do earn enough to live on reasonably myself. I hated it though when I was unemployed and a friend used to buy me dinner occasionally. Embarrassing. So, it might not go quite as you think.

4 GPs and nurses state that she will bounce back to the beginning if not on this drug! Bollocks - this is a scam as nobody in the profession would even suggest that.

It’s nice of you but not your fight. Don’t muddy your finances with money.

I would not pay for a drug for someone else. It's an effective drug for the purpose but you don't know the long term consequences. Plus people value things more when they are paying for them. Let her manage her own finances and her own weight.

Well that post took a turn for the unexpected! 😂. I was all geared up to tell you to mind your own business - how your friend deals with her weight is her business, then you came over all saving angel! 🤣.

I think that's a lovely gesture and I'm sure your friend would too. The only thing I would caution is that it might create a sense of obligation on your friend's part which might change the dynamic of your friendship. If you were going to do this, I would suggest setting up a standing order for it and agreeing with your friend that neither you no she will ever again discuss her weight or her treatment. The subject should be off the table.

Spot on.

I think OP is a provider of this possibly and wants people to buy it. Hence the fishing title to pull you in then the promise of 5 months off in 6 months.