To not tell friend about weight loss jab

People I ikea and are non judgy I tell.

People who are dicks in general or dicks about being over weight or exercise I nonchalantly tell them "just eat less and move more, I don't know why I didn't do it years ago"

That's my decision. Not somebody else's - and it has the advantage of being anonymous, which is somewhat different to being asked outright. There are also things that I choose not to put out there.

Totally fine as it's no one else's business (and it's rude of them to pry) but don't kid yourself that they don't know that you're on the jabs.

Not that this is any individual's responsibility but pp upthread make the valid point that denying being on WLI feeds into the narrative that "now that I've stopped being lazy and greedy, the weight has just dropped off!" (which is, of course, bollocks!).

Like in many cases, there's a dichotomy between what is best for the individual, and what is best for society.

From a individual perspective, there is obviously a strong incentive to lie about taking weight loss jabs. This might be because you are embarrassed, or because you want the praise from having lost weight without "cheating", or because you have managed to convince yourself that you could have done it without the jabs (or any other reason).

However from a social perspective, it is an incredibly bad idea to have a lot of the population losing weight through jabs and lying about it, because it creates a distorted picture of what weight loss is like. If you are struggling with weight loss and believe that everyone around you is losing weight without a struggle (due to the jabs they are lying about) then it makes it more difficult to make rational choices.

Hopefully as weight loss jags become more prominent, the stigma will decrease. Back in 2010 it would have been mortifying to admit you'd met your partner through internet dating, wheras these days its no big deal

If people ask questions about things I want to keep private, I start by being vague but if they persist I have to lie. I’m not going to reveal something just because someone wants me to.

You seem to have no problem telling everyone on the internet about your own situation (which noone asked about, or is interested in tbh) so it feels strange you'd object so much to being asked about it in real life.

But regardless, most people who are losing weight do not have any deep seated trauma or history of abuse; theyre just a bit too keen on the chocolate biscuits

What if you're asking somebody who has

a) left the person who was raping her every night whilst she was asleep
b) had somebody die and the side effect of this death has been not having to work three jobs to fund their drug debts
c) has relapsed into Bulimia or Anorexia
d) was brutally sexually assaulted and can't bring themselves to eat anything due to the trauma
e) is now in an abusive relationship and part of this has resulted in significant weightloss and an absolute terror of anybody finding out
f) was so upset about how people treated them that they've started buying amphetamines

?

Nobody owes you the right to corner them and ask them prying questions on the basis that 'well, they don't have to answer me' - there are many reasons beyond a simple not wanting to be put on the spot by a nosey parker who's just looking for some gossip.

It's not lying, it's just not telling nosey parkers or oversharing medical information.

I would tell my close friends if they asked and my DH knows. Other than that people can keep their beaks out.

I agree - sure, it's your own business what medication you take, but I wouldn't lie to my friends' faces, even by omission. If she doesn't ask, of course you don't have to volunteer anything at all, but why not be honest about how you're losing weight? It would be very weird if you guys have always talked about dieting, weight, etc, to suddenly pretend you've magically discovered the secret (but lying about what it is).

I saw a friend recently and thought she looked fab. We’d previously discussed injections, but I didn’t know that she’d made any decision. Anyway she told me she’d been taking it for last couple of months. Clearly it’s working for her…. Kudos. But her decision to tell me or anyone else. I’m not judging! Thought about it myself but I’m not eligible.

It’s entirely up to you what you do and don’t tell people. It’s not anyone else’s business really. I do think that people who’ve been very overweight/ obese for years and suddenly lose 4+ stone in a matter of months are obviously on the injections, so your friend will probably suspect anyway.

I decided to tell my closest friends. Only one has been judgy (and I expected it from her) the rest are totally supportive.

I am very breezy about it, like it’s no big deal, why would anyone be remotely interested. I knew they would comment on my weight loss (22 pounds in seven weeks) and I didn’t want to be deceitful.

That's a weird take.

But still you are 'allowed' not to tell anyone anything about your life, medical or not.

I suppose you can ask people what you like. People may think you’re incredibly rude though.

To add to my post at 17:16:

I don’t know if it’s purely for weight loss, you might have to have another condition as well which would be expected to improve if you lost weight. I have at least two!

You don't owe her an explanation, it's your body, not hers 🤷‍♂️

Just tell her you're eating healthier and leave it at that.

If she doesn't accept it, that's her problem.

I think the people calling it "private medical information" are being a bit silly.

I mean yeah, technically you are being prescribed it by your GP but its hardly chemotherapy lol. I dont think its fundamentally any different from (e.g) people taking off-label ephedrine back in the 2000s to lose weight. Weight loss drugs have been around for a long time; literally the only difference between ozempic/mounjaro and older drugs like ephedrine/clenbuterol/etc are that the side-effects of the newer ones are small enough that the NHS is willing to prescribe them and you dont need to source them yourself. Claiming that makes it "private medical information" feels a bit disingenous.

A friend of mine is on Mounjaro, she plays it as if someone asks, she tells them. She otherwise keeps it quiet. She’s lost 6 stone so it’s very noticeable and she just felt too weird to pretend she’d done it without the support of the jabs when people asked about the weight loss. She looks and feels amazing! Good luck, OP.

Yesterday I was told by a doctor from my local NHS obesity clinic (if I heard the numbers correctly over the phone) that about 800 people in the country (England? UK?) are currently being given Wegovy for weight loss.

I was referred to the Tier 3 service about 4 years ago, and all through the programme they were saying that this drug was coming, but they weren’t yet allowed to prescribe it / couldn’t get supplies. Initially I timed out of the service (after 3 years?) without ever getting it.

It's still a calories in and out thing.

The jab doesn't melt fat away, it helps reduce cravings/hunger so it's much easier to eat fewer calories.

But you still have to 'diet' it just doesn't feel like dieting, it is easier because your body isn't fighting against you and demanding you to eat more.

Just like those people who have their stomachs stapled/reduced. They still have to diet the weight away. If they eat/drink high calorie food they won't lose weight.

Absolutely this

I have an acquaintance who exercises a lot, watches her diet and then tells people she does neither, that she can eat what she likes and that she's just naturally slim. She also denies having dyed hair and having skin treatments. She is incandescent about weight loss jabs, I'm guessing because she doesn't want lots of other people to become slim like her. She goes on and on about cheating, dangerous side effects, causing shortages for diabetics and how all these 'suddenly skinny' people will put it all back on on and serve them right. Her vocal fury amuses me no end. Good luck to everyone losing weight, however they do it. 💐

Honestly it’s going to be quite obvious don’t you think?

I wouldn’t ask anyone outright but I’d assume for sure!

Nonsense, you can ask people whatever you like. They can choose or choose not to tell you.

"Calories in/calories out eat less move more" is just basic scientific fact, not "noise"

Weight loss injections work because they reduce your appetite and cause you to each fewer calories, they arent some kind of magic.