Mounjaro offending close "friends"

[Hope78]

I have bitten the bullet and started using Mounjaro. I pay for it privately through a reputable private clinic , and in a nutshell its been incredible.

Long story as short as poss.... I'm a well built 5ft7 woman who has been anything from 10st to 13.7st over years , ideal weight 11st happy and feel good, have gone into perimenopause , started HRT and basically CANNOT shift stubborn 2st. I told my GP my plans and he agreed as BMI verging on obese (13st4) .....decision was 6 months in making with a LOT of research before starting it ....anyway ....

I have lost my first half stone ( in 10 days ) and with close friends at the weekend told them i was on the injection and how great i feel ( not just food noise but ADHD symptoms better too ) my friends were so happy for me bar one who could not hide her disgust. This person has a stunning figure, always been a petite size 8, always attracted a lot of male attention, and has been known to be quite fattest over the years to anyone chubby. She basically said it was cheating, said i would be fatter long term and i know that behind my back is slagging me off ..
I've always been confident despite my different weights but i did get a lot of compliments especially from other husbands of how well i looked , and it seemed to REALLY annoy her she has stopped messaging me as much and has declined Xmas invites for drinks at mine.
Its got me thinking that this injection is a real shift long term for men and women , but psychologically its maybe pissing off people that don't struggle????
Another friend was shocked i even told people but im not that sort of person , I'm an open book and chatty and don't see the point ? maybe i should have just kept my mouth shut ? AIBU to feel shocked and disappointed by this ?

Hang on, you lost 7lb in 10 days.
That's like a calorie deficit of 2,500ish a day.
We know these injection allow for some amazing results but really?

so, in the first 7 days of a weightloss programme you reduce carb intake and start to use glucogen stores in lieu. In order to use carbs and glycogen the body stores water, as glycolosis can only occur in the presence of H20. As a result, on any (low carb) diet, we all lose 3-7lbs in the first 3-5 days what is purely the weight of glycogen and stored water. It is why, if you pig out after a diet, you gain half a stone the same day… it is all about glycogen and water.

It’s science, init?

@CautiousLurker01 does it become easier to do this post jabs, a hard reset if you like? Thanks.

I voted YABU, simply because you should have known this "friend" was a nut. Expect a certain percentage of people to be a bit weird.

No that’s to lose 7lbs of fat. When you just start it’s often just water weight.

not sure I understand the question - but essentially post diet, as you titrate down on meds and/or (assuming you are on an unmedicated diet) your glycogen and onboard water levels re calibrate and you lose/gain the same weight. In essence, whenever you go on a ‘crash diet’ (as another PP has detailed above) you can fast/diet/keto and lose the same 5lbs or so - but it is always glycogen and water, not fat. It’s the weight you lose after that initial loss that is meaningful fat loss, and shows in your clothing, Hip/waist measurements. But yes, every time you restart a diet after a period of normal eating, you can lose the ‘same’ 5lbs… but you risk putting them all back on on the day that you start to eat normally/binge at a wedding/party that you’ve dieted for. Not sure if that makes sense?

@CautiousLurker01 So, if I understand correctly, post jab regime your ‘baseline’ is reset. You’ve lost ‘real’ fat & reached an equilibrium your body will largely ‘want’ you to retain? You’re therefore less likely to become obese again (?) As stats I’ve read support. You’ll eat only until satiated & that’s now at a bespoke & ‘sensible’ setting?

Thanks @CautiousLurker01
I'd just assumed OPs 6 months research would have involved a fairly reasonable diet and had believed that starting doses were generally not that efficient.

I lost my water weight and all my friend's husbands started lusting after me , would make an awful thread title.

I think that they (weight loss injections) are a fantastic discovery.

what is interesting is that the thread is full of comments about how being slim is not an achievement and it’s not important, and enjoy the treats etc.

Yet everyone appears to want to be slim.

All the research I’ve seen doesn’t look at ‘set point’ theory (which is what I think you are getting at?) and the impact of semagluptide/tirzepatide. However in various studies it has been indicated that those using injectable medications achieve greater weight loss and keep it off longer, so that the mechanism of metabolism does seem to be positively impacted.

My understanding is that provided you maintain the lifestyle adopted during any diet (both medically assisted or traditional) the metabolic benefits gained during the weight-loss phase can be maintained in the maintenance phase. However, the screenshot below seems to support the idea that something significant is also happening in response to these medications that facilitates adherence to the diet over a longer period together with long term maintenance of the weight loss. Whether this is behavioural (as other PPs have mentioned, most of us use the meds/diet for 12-18m which means the dietary/lifestyle changes are more embedded and habitual) or as a result of some as yet unquantified effect of the drugs themselves I am not honestly sure.

ETA not sure why the colourful photo has got attached to this post…

I can only speak for myself, but since I started MJ in August I have gained 3.1% muscle mass and lost 3.3% fat mass. I'm peri-menopausal. I have increased protein, since October I have run three times a week and for the last month I have added weights into the routine. I'm not sure how all that compares to people who don't change activity levels while on the jabs, or how that would compare to losing weight 'traditionally' alongside trying to increase muscle.

Have you had any side effects?

Sorry to hear that OP. I'm 8 weeks into Mounjaro, still on the lowest dose, and my friends have been so supportive, thank goodness,

I'm 56.
Started with a BMI of 39, now have a BMI of 35.

I am an intelligent, 'successful' woman who was first put on diet pills when I was 10, and have spent my entire life gaining or occasionally losing weight through one mad diet or another.

Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) is a game changer for me - it's made me normal and I feel that I'VE been cheated all my life by being made to feel less than (by society) by not being able to do what others could do naturally/easily/more successfully.

Critics would have you believe Mounjaro is something like a fat-melting jab 🙈

It's not. It's primarily an insulin regulator which FIXES the way insulin processes glucose in your body. It also regulates the GLP-1 receptors ghrelin and leptin which work with your brain to say 'we do or don't need fuel now'.

Many, many chronically overweight people have dysfunctional metabolisms.

As a result of fixing these things, your appetite is suppressed, you're less bothered by food, and body processes glucose efficiently and correctly,

I may well have to stay on a dose for life - that's fine by me,

I love the response 'cheating who?' to 'its cheating'.

I hadn't thought of that, but it's simple and brilliant! Who could you possibly be cheating, except someone who thought they were winning a competitor!

@FloordrobeIsGoingToGetME well done on your progress so far. Am the same age (in jan) and took 15m to lose 6st. Am also totally fine with being on a maintenance dose for the foreseeable future. PCOS, hypothyroid, menopause etc mean my metabolism is buggered and the efforts I took during my 20/30s to maintain (vv low cal diets, 2hrs a day on the gym) were just not sustainable when work commitments and then family came along. This drug has freed me from the tyrany of that and, yes, the misery. Am not going to apologise for chosing to be happy in my own skin (emphasis on happy) at last.

Hang in there - there will be plateaus as you progress, but hold firm, reassess diet (it’s amazing how an extra cappuccino or the odd treat can creep in due to complacency). You will never look back.

Nothing except for some occasional fatigue and constipation (it seems to slow everything down). I have to make sure I get enough fibre and drink enough. I suspect the fatigue is because I'm doing a lot more physically on fewer calories. Other than that, no side effects at all.

@CautiousLurker01 thank you 🙏🏻 and wow, you've done amazingly well.

Congratulations - it's life changing for me already so I can only imagine how you feel 💕💕

What do you mean 'is diabetic cheating'

???

She's no friend. Just ignore her and carry on with the rest of your group!

I'm happy for you that it's working. Makes me laugh how people say 'it's cheating'. If anything it's making your metabolism work closer to the way hers works naturally - as someone else said, like wearing glasses.

I can't try it, but I'd love something that kicked my metabolism into action!!

I thought it was very clear, cheating by taking drugs to alleviate or cure their medical issue?

Years ago I went on the Lighter Life diet. Lost around 7 stone, 18 stone down to 11 stone, in around 6 months.

This was applauded, mainly I think, because the diet was seen to be hard - total meal replacement.

But as diets go, it didn't ultimately work for me. All I learned in those 6 months was to fear hunger. Feeling hungry after a 'healthy shake' and knowing it would be hours until the next one.

Now I'm 21 stone,t2 diabetic, with probably 11 stone to lose to get to a healthy weight.

So far MJ is working for me (only 3 weeks in). I don't fear feeling hungry as most of the time it goes away after I have a drink. If I still feel hungry after having a drink then I know I need to have something to eat. Even then I am feeling much less drawn to carbs such as bread or porridge for breakfast.

It’s liberating in that you can eat whatever u fancy & know you’ll have the willpower to stop, freeing.

How does maintenance dose work? I assume it's a lower dose. Does it work by just slightly curbing your appetite?

Good luck with the rest of your journey. The carbs thing is true for me too. I realised through taking MJ that carbs were my downfall. I was never a particular consumer of sweet things or crisps - but I did love all things carbohydrate. They didn’t love me!
Now I eat far less carbs, and focus more on protein and veg. Now that’s a change for life, because now I understand better what works for me and what doesn’t. This is what the naysayers don’t understand about the drug.

My understanding of maintenance dose is to get to the lowest dose you can whilst feeling comfortable at your new calorie requirements for your lower weight. (TDEE calculator helps figure this out)

For me, I'm currently eating the amount of calories I need to maintain at my goal weight, but at my current weight it's obviously putting me into a deficit. I'm hoping when I get to goal it won't feel like an event as such, just normal eating. And then I'll slowly titrate down the doses as I keep a close eye on my intake and weight. I have no intention of suddenly stopping, I plan to take just as long to titrate down as I've taken going up.