to feel uneasy about what this means long term rather than surprised by the weight regain itself?

Of course they are allowed, they just might not like some of the responses

OP "feels uneasy" (see actual title of this thread). And says "If stopping leads not just to regain but to a fairly rapid rebound, it feels less like a temporary aid and more like something that is very hard to step away from once started. That sits oddly with how casually they are sometimes discussed."

That sounds like being concerned and critical to me.

People are not allowed to ask questions about or ponder the implications of WLI on MN, that is clear.

Not much of an 'emotional response' I didnt use WLI to lose weight and I dont use them.

Like many others on the thread Im observing this with a raise and cynical eyebrow

There'll be another thread of the same ilk along tomorrow anyway.

I don’t think you’re wrong at all, it’s why I’ve been on the fence about taking them or not.

Many moons ago I took weight loss medication (although now I see it wasn’t necessary but unfortunately I have an almond mom who was happy to get it) and as soon as I couldn’t afford it anymore (private doctor, expensive prescription) I felt hunger like I never felt before in my life. I could have eaten the world.

Weird the way the greater weight loss on WLIs didn't make it into so many headlines, eh?

There is nothing in the OP’s posts to suggest that they are being at all critical or even concerned, so your emotional response is entirely related to your own projection.

It's the reality of managing a chronic condition.

Thank you silence

i just wonder how it compares to other organised diets…but i do take your point re wli losing more weight….mine has been slow (about 1.5 stone) but i did want it to be slow

@RufustheFactuaIReindeer it’s in the BBC article in the OP, which reports on the meta study that was done. It’s based on what happened in the various trials when people stopped taking GLP1 medication. They all stopped immediately from whatever dose they were on to nothing or to a placebo.

People who lost weight via GLP1s put 0.8kg a month back on, on average, compared to 0.1kg on average for those just dieting alone. Of course those who just dieted did not lose very much weight to begin with, whereas those on GLP1s lost a lot more.

I would be interested In evidence that shows that people on WLI gain at 4x the rate of slimming world, keto etc…not from you OP, i know you don’t know

i also dont understand how rapid weight gain is possible if people keep to the diet and exercise they are using to lose the weight

I’ve stopped taking MJ for just short of a year and kept the weight off, (give or take a few pound around my period but that happened before I lost weight).

You have to completely change your habits but it’s no different to any other diet. I’d be lying if I said it was easy but I’m in my forties now and have had to retrain my brain completely but it can be done. I think the biggest problem is there’s no support as such when taking any WLI, you just buy them online and crack on by yourself so unless you have the right mindset I can understand how people put the weight back on.

You lost three stone in three months?!

Meh. Here’s another article that might be of interest

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/many-patients-may-keep-off-lost-pounds-after-stopping-glp-1-us-data-suggests-2026-01-22/

i would rather have lost the 11st that I have and risk the possibility of regain than remain obese and repeatedly fail to lose the weight the “correct” way, as had been the case for me in the past.

I don’t care at all to be completely honest about these apparent concerns, from people who aren’t involved, about long term use of GLP1s. I don’t believe the concern is genuinely motivated or well informed, and I don’t think that people who express these apparent concerns have any real interest in the health of people like me who were/are obese.

I lost 3st but regained 2st quite quickly

Good to know. I can't admit in real life that I would be trying to get them to curb my appetite despite only being 9st10 and 5'6. Food noise has been the bane of my life so if I can afford to get them, I will.

i'm stopping after three months

Did you regain? Or did you find you actually were used to the small portions?

The late lamented Terry Pratchett & the unlamented Neil Gaimen wrote a parody of this is in Good Omens - the horseman of the apocalypse Famine is a businessman who creates CHOW - ready meals designed to make you lose weight due to them having 'the nutritional content of a Sony walkman'.

He follows this with a range called MEALS: 'MEALS was CHOW with added sugar and fat. The theory was that if you ate enough MEALS you would a) get very fat, and b) die of malnutrition.'

The food industry sells us fat then the weight loss industry sells us slim.

If society really wants to tackle obesity we need a calorie tax on the food industry. Tax Just Eat and the like and subsidise fruit and veg. It's not hard to make a healthy ready meal, and if those were substantially cheaper than a high calorie version people will buy the cheap healthy option.

This

trouble is that now i am using wli i have got to just under my top bmi and i am happy with that, but cos of the jabs I am sleeping better and not getting any pain in my hip

thats not the weight loss…its just the jab so those benefits might be what keeps me on the jabs long term

In the case of obesity, it's descended because humans didn't evolve to always have access to enough food. We get obese easily because for most of our history that would've been helpful, as starvation was a constant threat. Every human society that has become rich enough to feed everyone has ended up with an obesity problem. Even Japan's rate is going up, albeit they held out longer than most.

People have this idea that we 'should' be able to come up with policies that tackle obesity, but there's no reason to suppose that. I think some of it is because there were a few decades in the 20th century when we had enough food and weren't fat, but the smoking rates were massive then, and there was less heating. We might theoretically be able to go back to some of the mid 20th century lifestyle factors, like more walking, but we are not going to replicate either the smoking or the lack of heating. So I'm wary of assuming we can bring back those low obesity rates.

Why would you ask someone you don't know about psychoses? I have no clue about those. I'm not sure what you want from me unless some kind of "gotcha" moment, which says more about you than me.

For my part, I'm not demonizing WLIs but I think all long term meds have their contraindications, side effects, and yes their very real uses. That doesn't mean every Tom, Dick and Harry should take them, does it? Or that they are somehow above review or people thinking through starting something as to whether they actually need it?

And yes, it is a craze, at least in my area. Without medical oversight. What could possibly go wrong.