I’ve lost 100 pounds with weight loss injections (Mounjaro). AMA

[stopthatrightnow]

After years of trying every diet out there, I finally found something that worked for me: Mounjaro weight loss injections.

Since last July, I’ve lost 100 pounds.

Starting weight: 20st 12lbs (292lbs / 132.4kg, UK size 26-28) BMI 41.3
Current weight: 13st 10lbs (192lbs / 87.1kg, UK size 16-18). BMI 27.5
Target BMI: 24

I know I’m not at target yet, but it 100 pounds is a nice round number so I thought I’d do something to “celebrate” and also share my experience. I know weight loss injections can be a hot topic, and I’m happy to share my experience—so feel free to ask me anything!

I won’t be responding to abusive messages. This has been the best thing I’ve ever tried, and I stand by my choice.

Let’s keep it respectful, but if you’re genuinely curious, drop your questions below! 👇

What I mean is do you not feel you are missing out on the sense of achievement that comes from doing it all by yourself, without medication? To me, it sounds weird being congratulated for simply injecting yourself as I don’t see what’s so hard about that? Sort of undermines the achievement of people who lose weight the traditional (difficult!) way.

I see people talking about it requiring discipline but what does that actually mean? Is it time consuming or something? Or is the discipline the fact that you carry on with the injections even if you have side effects? I’m asking because I don’t know and can’t get my head round it - not trying to be mean!

(To be honest sounds like this doesn’t fully apply to you anyway as you are also using the traditional way)

I am plus size not on jabs and it makes me so depressed that people treat plus size women badly compared to thin ones. I wish I could afford the jabs.

That is phenomenal @stopthatrightnow - congratulations!

I'm also on Mounjaro and just wanted to placemark as I'm keen to learn about your experience

@Discoswirl no I do not feel like I am missing out on a sense of achievement having done it the harder way…. as the harder way has never worked for me, despite hundreds attempts at it. I am not just injecting myself alone and then the pounds magically melt away! I also have to work hard at exercise and not overeating, and to sustain this day after day for months in a row. I haven’t had any form of takeaway food, cake, biscuits, or sweets in ten months, which is a huge change from before. I’m working hard to stay motivated and dedicated. But the Mounjaro makes it easier by switching off the cravings and compulsions to overeat, and by letting me recognise the hormones (for the first time in decades) that tell me when I am full.

If a smoker gives up smoking and then says they used nicotine patches to do so, does that mean you should congratulate them less than if they done it “the hard way”? Of course not - that would be incredibly rude and narrow minded. Or, If someone told you they’d been addicted to heroin for twenty years but they’d used methadone to finally get off it, would you scorn them for having “cheated”? No, of course you wouldn’t, as it would be incredibly narrow minded to scorn them for using a medicine to help them reverse a more damaging habit. The same applies to Weight Loss Injections and Obesity…so why would you say that someone who has lost 100 pounds with the help of it is to be scorned for “cheating”?

Discipline is required when on MJ because:

1. You still need to make conscious choices about what and how much you eat, and staying active
2. you still need to consume fewer calories than you burn to lose weight.

Like any tool, it's most effective when used correctly and in conjunction with your own efforts and discipline. Just like antidepressants are best used with some therapy alongside….they're not cheating you out of being depressed.

@doodlydooo thank you. Feel free to ask me questions

Firstly, congratulations op. I do not feel like you've cheated at all, not sure why people do really, all a bit protestant - suffering mentality to me.

No questions - just well done

@Discoswirl May I ask whether you are a healthy weight/BMI or overweight/obese? If a healthy weight, have you previously been overweight and lost a significant amount of weight? (I appreciate it isn’t your AMA, just trying to understand your perspective here).

@stopthatrightnow thank you so much for posting! After deciding this is the route I needed to go in Nov have finally taken the plunge and ordered my first Mounjaro!

I Would just be in a healthy weight range when I hit 100lb loss so you’ve really inspired me! I’m on the cusp of having fought my weight for 30 years and am desperate for something to work!!

can I ask a silly q? It may become more obvious when I have the injection but how do you “count the clicks” to adjust the dose ? I would also like to titrate the doses according to need rather than pharmacy driven but no idea how to do this in reality!

Thanks

well done - I am far earlier in the process than OP but it's great for helping me steadily lose weight. started at 23st 10lb and am just over 22st now in a few weeks - still got a long long way to go.

After many years on many different diets and much depression and upset - something is finally working. It is easier than without in injections but it still takes work to achieve the weightloss. There is the initial first week loss that any new diet gives you - but after that, the consistent shedding of a couple of pounds a week has been positive and encouraging me to do more.

Going upstairs, walking to the station and all the things that had started to be too much of a challenge are getting easier - I can start to exercise more too. I haven't been able to as it kills my joints.

Side effects: constipation, an aversion to to greasy carbs, a craving for orange juice, a less is more attitude to alcohol, dreams, feeling the cold, tiredness in the first day after an injection.

@coxesorangepippin - thank you

@Seahorsesplendour - counting clicks. I’ve done this a lot. When you get your pen you’ll notice it clicks 60 times to get to “1”. That’s a full dose. So 30 clicks would be a half dose of that pen. So if you have 2.5mg pen, 30 clicks would be 1.25mg. I definitely recommend it when you want to go above 2.5 mg…try the halfway house of 3.75mg rather than doubling up to 5mg.

Calculation is always: Desired strength divided by pen strength multipled by 60.
eg I want 3.75mg from a 5mg pen.
So, 3.75 divided by 5 multiplied by 60 is 45 clicks.

I would love to know how much it has cost you in total overall, or how much you think you will have spent by the time you're at your goal weight? I'm seriously obese I've got about 8 stone to lose but also on a low income. I'm trying to work out how to afford it. I'm tempted to take out a loan if the total amount isn't too much, but I'm worried by people saying they plan to be on it for life.

What do you think caused you to weigh so much in the first place? Were you overweight as a child?

Also, if I can ask one more question, I don't really understand what people mean by food chatter I don't think I have that but I am very emotionally attached to food, for me food is love and happiness and I get really depressed every time I try dieting. Just reading your food diary made me feel sad. Does Mounjaro help with that?

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that!

That makes perfect sense and will really help once I’m ready to increase!!

Taking yet another med is what has made me hesitate so knowing I can try & manage on lowest effective dose has really helped!!

Hopefully can get rid of some of the other meds along the way!!

thanks for putting this out there I am excited to start now & hope I can collect mine tomorrow!! 😆

You still have to put the work in. The injection just takes the mental torture out of the situation.

Why wouldn't you want it to be easier? What madness is this that you feel overweight people should punish themselves to get better? Do you feel the same about about other people with medical conditions?

Food chatter is where you've got a cake in the house and it's saying "eat me, eat me, eat me"

For some of us it's shuts that voice down. It's amazing.

If it helps, I use nutracheck to redistribute my weekly calorie goal to allow for heavier calorie days now and then.

To lose weight your food intake has to stop being driven by emotions. Food is not love. It's just food.

I have 1200 kcal 3 days a week and 1800 for the other 4.
Thats tonnes with a suppressed appetite and I struggle to eat all 1800 on those days. But it means I can have some "pricier" treats in terms of calories, so I don't feel at all deprived.

Yesterday for example:

• Two weetabix with semi Skimmed milk and a large banana
• Demi-baguette with onion and chive flavoured double Gloucester (bloody lovely cheese but gives me indigestion 😂), handful of strawberries
• Cappucino with whole milk and 2 brown sugars
• Jacket potato with cheese, tuna and sweetcorn mayo. Plus a small salad.
• Strawberry Greek yoghurt for supper

1800 kcal on the nose.

I'm losing an average of 2lb/1kg a week

Never had any vomiting or dirrohea or any other side effects. I do think a lot of side effects that people dread are caused by patients either lying to get the drug or getting it from a hairdresser (so probably not real Mounjaro), or from going up the doses too quickly.

I’m not sure how much I agree with this comment tbh. I took Mounjaro for the first time on Friday, I didn’t lie to get it (I have a BMI of 40) and I bought from a reputable company. I have had the worst watery diarrhoea I’ve ever experienced in my life, feel absolutely dreadful and can’t eat anything. Not sure I’ll be taking week 2.

Well done OP! It sounds like you've put a lot of work in yourself to eat healthily and exercise etc (probably why you haven't got an issue with loose skin), and the jabs have just been a kickstarter, which sounds like how they are ideally meant for.

Do you tell people that you're using them? e.g. if they ask how you've lost weight.

I appreciate on one hand it's nobody's business, but I do understand the people who get annoyed when others pretend that they've lost weight without any help, as it makes them wonder why their dieting isn't working/working so effectively when others appear to be losing weight so easily.

As well as the 'eat me, eat me' thing that another poster mentioned - it has taken away my obsession with dieting/food.

Whenever I have been on a diet before it has dominated my thoughts - it becomes most of what I think about. How many syns is this? what is the calorie/fat content of that? How many calories have I had today? When is my next scheduled snack etc

With MJ I suddenly remember it's lunchtime and I will get some lunch, but my appetite isn't huge and I actually tend to prefer fresher healthier food. I'm not waiting till I can next eat or getting obsessive about calories

I still love a nice meal - can appreciate good food - made a banging roast chicken yesterday - just didn't feel the need to put as much on my plate as I would have before.

In a restaurant I am not making sure that I am getting good value/filling food and am choosing options I may not have chosen before the injections - lighter fish meals etc. I still appreciate the taste and enjoy good food just have a smaller appetite.

So yes, I think it would help with that - I struggled the same and found dieting depressing and come from a place where I loved food

@latetothefisting no. I am firmly in the it’s nobody else’s business. I wouldn’t tell loads of people that I’d started taking another medication either. With the serious nasty judgement surrounding these drugs I don’t want people gossiping nastily.

@ConflictofInterest i have managed to save £1000 more than I would usually because the cost of the drug is less than I was spending on takeaways and the multiple extra trips to the supermarket each week to buy extra treat foods. If you have takeaways, and get lots of crisps / chocolate etc in addition to your normal weekly shop, it’s worth working out whether or not it costs you more than £35 per week as that is approx the cost of the drug per week

@ section9 - what caused me to be overweight in the first place? As with so many people, that’s a complex mix of multiple reasons. I could write an essay!

@Phat2fin - I said “a lot of people” in my post. Not everyone. The drastic side effects tend to happen more often I think in those who have not taken it in a safe licensed way, and they hit the headlines. (Again, not all). It sounds like you are one of the unlucky ones. Perhaps stop and then start again on a half dose, counting clicks, although I understand that you might never want to touch it again!

@IamSallyBowles I agree with your summary of how MJ helps stop the obsessive thought processes of a standard diet. It’s extremely helpful. I would be interested in long term studies to see if it helps prevent the development of eating disorders which can be started or exacerbated by that obsessive thought process.