All these people taking weight loss appetite suppressant drugs?!!

[OnHerSolidFoundations]

Is it me or is this a bit sinister?

@ObsidianTree but you've just said yourself that diet and exercise works! How do you think someone reliant on the drug is ever going to be able to come off it if they don't have the willpower to stick to a diet? I guess maybe it will become a lifetime thing which isn't necessarily a bad thing but will it remain as effective, will there be side effects? I guess it will become apparent soon.

I know someone who was on one of these drugs and had to stop taking it because they were getting really sick. Whilst on it they plummeted from about 18 stone to 12 stone. They didn't change their lifestyle at all. Now they are no longer taking it they are heavier than they were before.

The only sustainable way to lose weight is to do it properly by eating healthily and exercising. It's a lifestyle change. You cannot just magic away your problems with a little pill.

You know someone that's been on a GLP analogue drug for long enough to lose 6 stone and gain more than 6 stone back? That's interesting, as ozempic for weight loss has only been widely used in the UK for about 18 months and there was a total shortage for 6 of those. Wegovy has only been available on private prescription for 6 months. Arguably what you describe is actually impossible in that timeframe.

People regain weight after every type of diet, not all people but a lot do, myself included, does that mean I should just accept my fate and give up trying?

I'm going to do everything in my power to maintain my 53lbs Wegovy loss, I'm doomed to fail if I get into the mindset of the negative posters who say it'll all come back on again when I stop.

I mentioned my alcoholic brother earlier, he was on and off the wagon for 25 years and at one point was in hospital with blood coming from both ends because of it, we all supported him though every time he tried to give up the drink, we didn't tell him to ditch his dreams of sobriety each because he was bound to start drinking again.
He's now 5 years sober and I'm determined to do as well with my food addiction as he has with his drinking addiction.

I don't think you realise how quickly people lose weight with these drugs. It's not a natural weight loss. It's extremely unhealthy. Dangerously unhealthy tbh.

Separately, Ozempic has been available for a long time (pre-COVID). Just because lazy drug use became popular recently doesn't mean people haven't been using it for years.

People regain weight after every type of diet, not all people but a lot do, myself included, does that mean I should just accept my fate and give up trying?

Pretty much, yes. IWL has been proven over and over again to be unsustainable for the vast majority of people. Some people believe up to 95% but I’m not sure that’s correct and I have seen information to suggest it’s more like 80%. However, around 66% of those that do regain, put on more.

Yo-yo dieting, which is what most people end up doing, is highly stressful on the body and causes issues that a lot of people assume is just because of the obesity. It would be better for people to remain fat than yoyo over decades.

If the billionaire Oprah, with all her world class personal chefs, therapists, trainers and god knows what else, cannot overcome the complex disease/condition of obesity, what does that say? She took or is taking mounjaro I believe. These drugs are not a fad or quick fix... You cannot compare them to taking speed in the 70s or the other drugs that make you shit yourself orange oil inside out. Look at the data and the credible articles about it. Also, the drugs have been around since 2005 for diabetes. They aren't new. They're just newly approved for obesity treatment.

If I could lose weight without injecting myself, I would. I've tried for years. I cannot do it, without developing an eating disorder. And I'm afraid of developing an eating disorder again, so that's probably part of why I'm fat. (That and the pcos and peri menopause. And the growing up in real poverty with no idea if I'd eat a meal that day sometimes. Obesity is complex)

I once heard the phrase “Thin tokens” used to describe the goal for what society thinks you achieve with a slim body. You will be happier, more beautiful, more men will find you attractive, you will be more popular. So women restrict their diets and exercise trying to gain these thin tokens to access all the things promised.
but then the body positive movement came along and suddenly there were so many fat women who were happy, fashionable, great jobs and relationships. Suddenly the thin currency wasn’t as strong anymore. No longer as special.

so it’s interesting but not surprising to see so many comments also slating weight loss aid injections as “lazy” and how these women just didn’t work AS HARD as you did

Which goes to show it’s never about concern for people’s health.

Anything that helps you lose weight is a good thing.
Its good for the individual, their families, the NHS and society so I’m all for it.

But many of these things are unsustainable and don’t get to the route of the problem, meaning these companies prey on those who need to lose weight.

Most people who have a BMI of over 40, haven’t got there simply because they’ve got a larger appetite.

An appetite suppressant may help someone to lose weight but there’s nothing in place to help them once they’ve lost weight.

When you stop taking this your appetite is going to be much bigger and your going ti end up putting twice as much of the weight back on.

Most people aren’t overweight because they have a big appetite, it’s because of psychological issues and emotional eating.

Its very easy to fill up on low calorie foods and not be hungry and in theory lose/maintain a healthy weight but when you have an eating disorder it’s not about being genuinely hungry.

Something needs to be done to get to the route of these issues, instead of just throwing pills and injections at it which doesn’t get to the route of the problem.

That isn't true. My average loss is less than 2lbs per week, it's the same for most people on the threads over on weight loss chat. Many people lose nothing for the first few months until the dosage increases.

Diet and exercise is for once working ....while on mounjaro!

It's a lot harder to keep dieting and exercising religiously when no weight is coming off. Which is what a lot of overweight/obese people experience before trying Mounjaro and the like.

When coming off the drug most of us on mounjaro are hoping we will be able to continue to diet and exercise and keep the weight off. Which will hopefully feel a lot easier when most /all the excess weight is shifted.

I agree it's sinister if you look at the bigger picture. Food companies with teams of scientists working on how to make ultra processed food as addictive as possible, the properties of which are making us fat and ill. Then along comes a drug company with a solution. Both companies profiting hugely.

It's ridiculous

Also I am confused where I have said diet and exercising works?! I said it works for about 2 weeks then stops working. If you are over 200lbs losing a few lb isn't going to make a difference. Most of the time it's just water weight that's lost.

Yup

I’d also like to throw in to the debate the fact that for me, and I believe for many of us, these drugs are not an alternative to “normal” dieting. We’ve exhausted that. They’re an alternative to bariatric surgery. Because that’s my only other option at this point.

I would actually, genuinely, be interested to hear whether some of the people criticising the use of these medications criticise bariatric surgery in the same way.

Whether they’re misused by people who just want to lose a few pounds is really not an argument against them - is there any medication out there which is not misused?

Alcoholism can be cured by not drinking
Heroin addiction can be cured by not taking it
Anorexia can be cured by eating
Depression can be cured by being happy
Nicotine addiction can be cured by stopping smoking
Domestic abuse can be cured by leaving
And so many more...........

all chronic illnesses/syndromes/diseases/behaviour can be "cured" so easily can't they?

Sometimes they can't. There are complex reason why people sometimes struggle and they sometimes need a bit of help to break the cycle.

But lets just poke the fat person again........

Genuinely baffling that someone thought they had cured obesity with veg and exercise.

on the flip side... its extremely difficult to get this medication on the NHS. Yes some diabetics are offered it... but its not that easy to get hold of either.

its also now widely been sold without prescription at the wrong doses to the wrong people and these are the ones who are having the problems.. there are cheap alternatives which pretty much like the drug market could be cut with anything.

I think the same way about bariatric surgery. But to be clear, I don’t blame the indivual. I am fat myself and have fleetingly considered it.

I blame society and the narrative that obesity is the cause of all of our problems. Fat people are deemed lazy, greedy, responsible for the downfall of the NHS etc etc. No wonder people would resort to having their perfectly healthy stomach mutilated or amputated to conform.

I know 4 people who have had bariatric surgery for weight loss and all 4 of them have regained all, if not more, so even that’s not a guarantee. Not to mention that 2 of them suffer significant issues.

Many people won’t (or don’t want to) believe but I literally dieted myself fat. I honestly wish I’d never started all those years ago and I would bet more mortgage I’d still be a normal weight.

Apparently it was written by someone who themselves needs to lose weight, and who is dishing out the advice that those of us taking it should just learn to move more and eat less, yet isn't able to sustainably do that themselves ....

yes.. this subject has triggered me a little. I have not always been obese.. childhood trauma and later in life surgery, osteorthritus and needing a new hip along with MS made me immobile for about 2 hours and i gained about 3 stone because i was dependant on my husband cooking for me, depression kicked in so they gave me anti-depressants, and well know the side effect of those, so anti-depressants, very strong pain killers and joint issues saw me weigh my heaviest.

i wasn't elifiable for any NHS treatment apart from pills that basically make you leak poop! no thanks.

so i paid for my weightloss injections.. as soon as the first stone came off, i then joined a gym... when the second stone came off... i was able to reduce the pain killers and i was able to kick the anti-depressants. i'll be honest i didnt make healty eating decisions i was just able to eat less and need to eat less.

i stopped taking the injections for a month, and the sugar cravings are horrific and the weight is creeping back.

so i have subscribed again this time with a conscious effort to work on my actualy diet and healthy eating.

if its a long term thing, and i can afford it, i will continue to use it..

when i was my heaviest, i was told to exercise and when i asked for help all i got were those nasty pills.

someone addicted to drugs can get methodone.. very few querstions asked

someone addicted to alcohol can get antabuse, a drug designed to help with the urges to drink... again few questions asked

a smoker can get nicotine patches...

but a fat lass who just wants some help to lose weight.... its my fault, get on with it!!

ive not read the whole thread to be honest, yes this has triggered me! im going to assume that the OP has been given this treatment free on the NHS, doesnt work, lives on benefits and the drug hasn't worked for them!

Shocking.

I can believe this to be the case re diabetes and profit.