Gym vs jabs

First of all well done for abstaining from alcohol and hitting the gym. Not easy.

Secondly, I would move your focus from your weight only and to body fat percentage and how you actually feel. As already pointed out you have started on a weight training programme, that will build muscle mass as well as help you lose body fat. Plus, there is always a lag between exercise and results, the first six weeks of any new regime is the hardest as initial progress seems slow to non existent while at the same time you are probably suffering from muscle soreness etc. You are doing brilliantly to get this far. I would invest in a set of smart scales that measures your body composition including body fat %. Also just look at your body, you should start noticing changes in yoir shape even if this does not translate into 'weight loss' readings. Also, always weight yourself at the same time once a week. You are looking at an overall trend spanning weeks so dont get disheartened if one data point is not what you were expecting. Your body changes weight daily by at least a kilo based on hydration alone.

What a stupid answer

Does 2 stone overweight make you a good candidate for jabs? I thought it needed to be more than that.

You have to readjust your expectations. Exercise is nearly irrelevant for fat loss. 90% of it comes from adjusting your nutrition. As they say "you cannot out exercise a bad diet". However, as someone who's now been doing strength training for nearly a decade, I look better, feel better and I am much more functional that most of my friends. Regardless of weight.
I often joke that if my partner has an injury on a remote hike, I can deadlift him out to safety. Maybe I am not that strong but I can certainly help him lift a washing machine up three flights of stairs without much bother.

You need to do a lot of exercise to lose significant weight - Mr Monkey is a distance runner who runs at least four marathons and 20 half marathons a year and at least 50 miles a week training. He eats like a horse and is whippet thin. A couple of gym seaaions a week is not going to do the job.

BUT you need to exercise otherwise you will swap being fat and unhealthy for being thin and unhealthy - which will not serve you well in later life. Exercise will also help keep you tined while you lose weight.

Gym will not make you lose weight per se. Gym will make you gain muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat! So you may actually gain a little or lose less than you hope. Have you done measureme ts like waist ? That can be a good indicator? Or a fat percentage test.
Make no mistake people in the jabs are often losing muscle as well as fat. They will need to work extremely hard to avoid too much muscle loss and even harder when they come off not to regain the weight as fat.
You are doing a great thing for your body longer term. Your older self will not regret this muscle ! Be proud of what you've achieved

You will be healthier and more likely to keep it off. The jabs alone aren’t enough for a healthy lifestyle, the gym and changing eating habits are

Can I ask where you live and how old you are.
All your mates are on jabs?
Not a single person has told me they are taking jabs and off the top of my head I can think of one who looks like she might have.

Depends what you value. The exercise you are doing is amazing for your health, immunity, bone density, will improve sleep quality, increase muscle, give you better posture, lower risk of many illnesses and conditions if you continue, improve quality of skin, hair akd nails if you continue, increase digestion if you continue, etc, and yes you will lose bodyfat too if you continue, which will be way more likely to be maintained over time, with less chance of loose skin.

If you take the jabs you'll lose weight a lot faster, that's the benefit. But most of the other benefits you'll lose (although there's some great effects on losing bodyfat on various conditions). If you don't also train muscles in a gym you risk losing muscle and also risk quicker bone loss. At the moment it seems that lots of people are regaining the weight very fast.

Finally don't underestimate the mental and emotional benefits of exercise - they can be truly life changing.

If short term fat loss is your only goal though, the jabs will get you there faster.

I read the other day that it takes a year to see the full benefits of strength training, but you need to hang in there, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself. You are looking at the long term, changing lifelong habits. You are already seeing the benefits imo! I’d be happy with 3lb lost over a month.

Weight can fluctuate massively. For me I alway weigh myself first thing in the morning as last thing in the day I can see a big fluctuation.

With regards to protein, I think lots of people can find this bit confusing. You need decent quality protein as well as fibre that you can eat in a deficit. Nuts for example for have fibre and protein but are high in calories compared to chicken. Its difficult to know without understanding what you are eating.

Everyone I know on the jabs is also doing the diet and gym routine. They’re a really useful tool to help you stick to a healthy diet plan. And no-one I know has had any sickness or serious side effects, possibly because they’ve stuck to the lowest effective dose or possibly because they were lucky.

I did both. I've always done weights and still became overweight.

Weight loss mainly happens in the kitchen as they say. I am not weighing but have lost probably 4-5lbs in January. Only way for me is calorie reduction - 1200 max (i’m very short). Gym is great but you need to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit, which you clearly are or you wouldn’t be losing but track calories and you’ll lose faster. Jabs of course are easier, as they take the hunger noise away.

You wont lose weight just going to the gym, you will still have to eat a calorie deficit every single week. Some people on the jabs lose nothing for a couple of weeks then lose loads. I know 2 people this happened to. 3lb is more than recommended anyway and depends on if you are actually 2 stone over a healthy weight, or 2 stone over the weight you like to be.

My normal weight used to be more than 1.5stone under a BMI of 25 so to be 2 stone 'overweight' I'd actually only technically be half a stone overweight so probably wouldn't lose as quickly as someone 2 stone over BMI 25 I guess.

Gym and weights are great but at the end of the day the only way to lose weight is calorie deficit. You need to be addressing diet alongside the exercise. It sounds like you’ve made a great start cutting alcohol upping protein. I’d continue what you’ve done for another month and see what happens. Well done on making these changes.

Stick at the gym and add some cardio / impact in.
Weight loss is important but heart and lung strength, muscle mass and bone density is essential going forwards. It's a marathon not a sprint.
*don't do a marathon, maybe a gentle 5k.

I'm doing the gym and jabs. Don't get demoralised, hard work is hard work.

The jabs aren't a quick fix all, yes they have helped me shift 3 stone 9 pounds since May (I have a long way to go still) I'm on wegovy so it doesn't seem to work as potent as mounjaro does. I actually plateaued between September and November. Then luckily started losing slowly again.

I realised me doing the jabs just wasn't enough so I've started the gym. The jabs stop the food noise more but I needed to get active to do more.

You can do this and so can I! We've got this.

I’ve lost over 2st on the jabs, combining low dose (2.5-5mg) with improving my diet and walking more. I stopped early December and even with Xmas have maintained my new lower weight. I still have another 1-1.5st to go and plan to do that doing c25k, but I just couldn’t get the first lot of weight to go by itself especially now I’m perimenopausal.

It’s not even been a whole month since you cut out alcohol. You’re doing well so far.
Have you made my other changes to your diet? The exercise is a really great start but ultimately you need to be eating less calories than you’re burning.

People on the jabs should be going to the gym regularly. Its not either or.

Staying in calorie deficit for long periods is hard if you have a lot of weight to lose. Thr jabs mean you can sustain the weight loss longer, going to the gym alongside means you wont lose muscle mass (as well as being good for you of course).

Depends on why you're overweight. If you can't lose weight through diet and excercise because you remain unable to prevent the compulsion to consume more calories than you burn, and are obese, then the jabs may be suitable.
If you're simply impatient and looking for a short cut then you'd be better advised to look at how many calories you're consuming/burning and either reduce calories or up excercise. As avoiding the expense and any side effects of meds is preferable.
To add, the end goal should be health not aesthetics. Because while looking thinner quick seems important now, what really matters is long term quality of life. No meds are risk free (healthy eating and excercise is) so really should only be taken where health benefit overrides risk. At 2 stone OW and with slow steady natural loss, it probably wouldn't.

Do both if it's an option. If not, stick with the gym.

I've been doing both. Jab for about 10 months, gym for 7. First 2 weeks on the jab, I did drop a lot (about a stone but I had about 6 to loose), but since then it's been a fairly steady 3 or 4 pounds a month even with the jab. For me, the jab makes it easier to stay in a calorie deficit but it's the gym that has changed my body shape and makes me feel good.

Try to find somewhere that you can get a body scan that breaks down your weight into fat, lean, water etc. I find this really helpful and motivating. You will be losing loads of fat but gaining muscle so the scales don't show it.

The jabs reduce your appetite so you eat less calories. Eating too few calories / food without enough protein and not doing exercise will eventually result in you being in poor physical condition (losing muscle mass, hair dropping out etc.). If you were super morbidly obese then this thinner version of you will be way healthier than you were when obese. If you are borderline then eating healthier and going to the gym and losing weight slowly will be the sustained change you need to build an healthier you for the long term.

You can do both, I’ve lost 5.5 stones in the jabs, which now means I am physically able to do a lot more, more walking, more exercise etc .. double whammy