Risking a flaming but jealous of those on weight loss injections

[Notmyfinesthours]

I’ve specifically not put this in the weight loss section as I’d rather hear from those who aren’t dieting or thinking about it. Might help me find perspective better.

I am not overweight. I never have been.
I have however had what feels like a lifetime of making sure this is the case.

I suspect many women feel like me. Brought up to fear being fat or greedy or ‘let myself go’ as if it were the worst sin.

Ive skirted close to or actually been in the midst of orthorexia for most of my adult life. Always saying no to pudding, finding the latest food that will fill me up but not have too many calories and fixating on it before I find the next one. Exercising most days, fitting it in by missing lie ins or nights in front of the fire.

Fretting in pregnancy, menopause and any ill health leading to immobility that it might trigger weight gain.

you get the picture? Self flagellation is big driven by an instilled fear of being fat given to many in my generation (I’m 58) (and yes I know I should address this first- I am trying but the media doesn’t help)

Several of my friends and family are big eaters, always seem to have the toastie and cake when we are out and by their own admissions do little exercise. They have often jokingly talked about being slimmer but say they like food too much and ‘have no willpower’ and can’t be bothered to deny themselves for the sake of a few dress sizes.

I know it’s more complex than that but they basically enjoy life in the way it should be enjoyed to my mind and accept they will be a bit larger bodied. I’ve actually always really admired this as an attitude or at least been a bit jealous of it.

But with the new weight loss injections several of them have dropped weight significantly and are so slim and delighted.

I just feel so cheated. Like I’ve been so careful for so long and they haven’t but they get to be slim just with an injection.

I know it’s more complicated, I know it costs them money, might have risks etc but it’s clear so many celebs are doing the same and it feels like it’s not going to be more commonplace.

Why is this making me feel cheated and am I just an awful person?

I’m chubby but not chubby enough for weight loss drugs (bmi 27 ish) so I feel like I have neither self control nor an easy fix so will be the last fatty in the room 😒

Don’t be jealous, I’m on a lot of various skincare forums and in the past year or so all I see are women posting photos and asking about saggy necks, faces and rapid aging and pretty much without fail they have all recently lost a lot of weight on a GLP-1 medication.

I am not knocking these meds I think they are amazing but obviously it’s better not to have gained so much weight in the first place and there is a price to pay for heavily restricting your diet and losing weight rapidly. For many it will be worth it of course but it is there none the less.

Plenty of people are lying about their weight to get the weight loss injections - apparently some places don't carry out any checks at all so it's easy to get it if you want to....

Failing that, come and join me in the chubby corner 😅

I don't think I've ever heard someone on injections say "OMG, this is how anorexic people feel!". Have you genuinely heard anyone say that, or are you (deliberately or otherwise) misinterpreting what they're saying?

You say it makes it easier. I say it makes it possible. For all the reasons you mentioned. All of that makes it mentally impossible for some people. Not physically. Mentally. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Being physically able to do something is not the same as being mentally able to do something. You need both of those things on board to be able to lose weight. You yourself physically can lose weight with diet and exercise, but mentally you haven't been able to until now. And that's great and good luck! But not everyone has been able to find that mental ability. These are the people who are really benefitting from these injections. Finally, they feel mentally strong enough to tackle this issue.

For these people, the injections are not making it easier - they're making it possible.

Oh @Notmyfinesthours I'm not sure if I'm jealous but friends using ozemempic is not doing wonders for my mental health.

I'm not over weight but have thought about my weight and food everyday for as long as I can remember.

The growth in ozempic use is tipping me back into old 00's era teenage intrusive thoughts. I am very tempted to get some prescribed (by lying obviously) but I'm also wary of the possible side effects you're not overweight?

My DH has clocked my mentionitis as more and more friends start on it. Hes asked me not to do it. The urge to get my hands on it is getting more intense.

I have managed to keep my head on straight about my weight for many years now (most of the time) but I think this is going to be what tips me back into weight obsessing again.

I’ve certainly read people on those threads talk about skinny/ slim people in highly disparaging terms….if those obese people calling other “skinny bitches “ and the like don’t want others presuming what’s behind their obesity ,then they should show the same courtesy to people of slim or normal weight. Nobody can guess what’s behind people’s facades.

It’s interesting how attitudes are shifting on use of weight loss drugs rapidly. Someone said same as OP & was roasted alive, now we’re mostly having a sensible discussion.

You're going to have to be honest with yourself that you've backhandedly encouraged the poster to lie to get it. Otherwise there shouldn't have been any reason to mention people being dishonest to get it when the poster mentioned they don't qualify. Your post was suggesting it without suggesting it. It's the sort of thing you don't repeat as information to someone who doesn't seem to know it unless you're saying "hey there's this avenue I've read about, it's not legal but do what you will with this info".

So much for not liking dishonesty.

I’m not sure how that’s relevant to my post? I wasn’t asking if people were being disparaging about skinny people. I was specifically addressing an anorexic person who was misinterpreting innocent remarks in order to take offence.

@Notmyfinesthours I really related to your OP, at least the part about keeping deliberately slim all my life (I'm 55) and denying myself food that, if I could eat anything and still keep a slightly underweight figure, I certainly would.

I don't feel jealous of friends on injections though, because I have seen the struggles they've had for many years trying to lose weight. Quite a few of these friends are also recovering alcoholics who switched their addiction from drink to food. It's very common. I used to feel vaguely jealous of people who were "normal" drinkers, so can understand how you (maybe) feel. Now, though, I just get the way I am and wouldn't want one drink anyway.

Ok, maybe that's not the best analogy. I think some of the responses on here have been harsh and you didn't come across as smug or superior in the least.

Oh give over you big daftie 😅

There's nothing backhanded about that comment of mine at all. It was very direct. I was telling that PP how people get it when they're only slightly overweight. Plenty of people are getting it by not being truthful about their weight - they're very upfront about it in their posts. If someone wants to get it, there are no checks - and I've said previously that I think that's problematic. If that PP wants to get it, she doesn't need to tell the truth about her weight. It's not dishonest to tell her that and I have absolutely no idea why you'd claim that it is.

If the drug can now be apparently prescribed safely as a maintenance drug for life when someone is at their target weight, then it must be fine for those who are only slightly overweight to use.....?

Also, I'm not encouraging a single person to get it. I've been extremely clear that I'm not comfortable with the safety, which is why I haven't signed up for it. You'd have to be picking and choosing what posts of mine to read if you think that I'm cheerleading for anyone to take it. What I am cheerleading for is people to make their own decisions and not to feel as if they have to hide the reasons why.

Just because you don't agree with me on one thing, it's a bit unfair to go picking through my comments trying to find something to have a go at me over. By all means disagree with me about my views on the subject we're discussing - but I've not been dishonest in the slightest here. That's a ridiculous accusation.

If all that contortion helps you feel honest. 🤣

that person was not misinterpreting innocent remarks, she was pointing out that people on those boards make presumptions about the mental state / thought process of skinny people as if only obese people suffer from food noise or cravings…that is something that people of all shapes and sizes experience.

Plus I have no idea what you're claiming I did. You really seem good at projecting judging from your posts. I never felt the need to respond because it's not going to be useful until I saw your slyly suggesting someone lies to get the meds. My post was the first time i replied to you or even posted on this thread but like I said, if all that contortion helps you feel honest.😁

Yep, relate to all of this.

I'd love to know more about what contributes to some people experiencing more "food noise" than others. As a psych I know experiential factors can contribute to EDs - food scarcity in childhood, for example, or having an "almond mom" (or dad), childhood sexual abuse, bullying, adverse childhood experiences can increase the likelihood of developing disordered eating. But taking those things out of the equation, IME some people are just more motivated by food than others, more susceptible to "food noise" and get more reward from eating. It is that exact process that the jags seem to target - the motivation to eat and the reward you get from it.

I'm from a long line of women on both sides of the family who struggled with weight, so I would wager there is a genetic component to that experience.

I'm sorry you can't understand simple facts.

Oh, wait, sorry - let me add the emoji " 🤣 "

Ok honest person. Keep throwing the insults cause you were caught out. You do realise you started with the emoji, not me. You're such a "big daftie" too😅

Thanks for acknowledging my honesty. Appreciated.

As they say, those who claim...aren't always what they claim.

I'm from a long line of women on both sides of the family who struggled with weight, so I would wager there is a genetic component to that experience.

It is very rare for identical twins to differ in weight. Even if overweight and even when older and so several decades removed from their original family unit. That, to me, screams genetics determining weight.

I'll have to take your word for that.

I don't see the point in pretending to be something that I'm not. But you do you.

She didn't say that, she said 'skinny people'. The assumption is that skinny people don't have an internal battle surrounding food and that's just not true, especially for someone with anorexia.

I’ve struggled with binge eating all my life. My whole family are morbidly obese. My brother has had a gastric bypass and is still obese. I’ve battled every day to merely be overweight. This is the first time in my life I’ve felt properly in control of things. I don’t even think that I’m eating that differently than I used to I’m just not having the intermittent binges. I don’t know what the reason is for binge eating issues but I had a lot of trauma as a kid and my comfort was always food. My dad was abusive and violent, I was bullied relentlessly at school as I also had a visible difference and I used to go hide out at my nans. Nan always gave me money for chocolate and sweets and would cook lots of fried foods and bake cakes. I’m not going to say I wish she hadn’t done that. Maybe that was what I needed at the time idk but at 40 it feels good to not be in the clutches of food all the time. I’m wearing size 8 clothing and not worrying what everyone thinks of me all the time. I wouldn’t say I feel beautiful but I feel free. I hope I can take it long term and I continue to feel this good

It’s something I am very interested in as well.

A couple of years ago my GP asked about my family history with weight. Mum had eating issues. She was skinny her whole life until she hit about 58. But because she was obsessed with eating as little as possible. She also had BPD. She always bragged about how little weight she put on in pregnancy. On the opposite end, if she had a melt down at home she would go out and buy us chocolate, get a takeaway etc as an apology and to try and soothe me and my sibling.

My doctor believed there was a clear link between her behaviour around food after a meltdown and my weight issues. But also talked about there being a possible link between women eating very little in pregnancy and later weight issues in the child they carried. Some studies suggest that could be the case.

I was slim most of my life. But something awful happened. I put weight on trying to soothe myself with food. It made my PCOS worse so I became more lethargic and made my cravings worse. The lack of exercise sent my adhd out of control. I was so big even walking for 10-15 mins would exhaust me.

That Doctor suggested mounjaro as a way for me to get back in control to get back to a place where I can exercise which helps my ADHD, then the weight loss should help bring my PCOS under control. Then, hopefully, come off MJ. I need it to break the cycle of exhaustion, cravings, eating food to self soothe, self hatred and the back to exhaustion on a constant merry go round.

I assume food noise is connected to my adhd. I didn’t have it when I exercised a lot and had my food under control. But who knows?

Mum died a few years ago and it’s not surprising more weight in since then.

I am 1.5 stone down and have loads more energy and exercising more and my brain feels clear. I would love to have an exact answer as to why it occurred and why I couldn’t get it back under control alone despite putting more effort than I ever had done before.