People who think weight loss injections are cheating

[AuntieDote]

I've seen this viewpoint over multiple threads recently, and I'm just really curious to understand it a bit more because it makes no sense to me whatsoever.

What do you think people using the injections are cheating at?

As in - what's the competition and who are they gaining an unfair advantage over? What do you think the rules of being allowed to lose weight are/ should be?

Is it more important to you that overweight people/ those struggling with obesity lose the weight, become healthier, reduce the burden on the NHS, stop taking up more than their allocated amount of space in the world, or just stop doing whatever it is that upsets people so much about the existence of fat people -- or is it more important that they struggle and suffer whilst doing so?

Or would you secretly prefer them to remain fat so you can feel superior?

Is it that you feel you've worked really hard to either lose weight, keep it off or never put it on in the first place, so nobody else should be allowed to achieve this without the same amount of struggle?

What do you think the weight loss injections actually do, and do you not recognise that those on them are also doing all the usual things people who are trying to lose weight e.g. modify their eating, exercise etc? Does it not count that they're doing these things because it's made easier in some ways by the drug?

What types of weight loss support or tools are not 'cheating'? e.g. I used hypnosis once and it worked for a bit, to the point that I felt pretty much the same way I do with the injections i.e. reduction in food noise and compulsion to snack etc. It didn't last anything like as long, but it worked for a time - was that cheating?

Would it still be cheating if they weren't as effective as they are?

FWIW, I really couldn't care less if people think I'm cheating - who cares? Who does it impact only me and my bank balance? If someone said here, press this button and you'll be a healthy BMI overnight and stay there forever I'd press it with both hands and not give a shit about how anyone felt about it.

But it's just the logic of it that baffles me - I've never seen it as a competition and have never felt like getting to or being a healthy weight only counts if it's done in a certain way - I suppose I'm not much interested in what size anyone else is or what they do to get that way, so I can't imagine for a second ever thinking another person was 'cheating' - only ever being happy for them if they're happy and hopefully healthy too.

Yeah, I'm just intrigued really. It's so alien to how I view things, and I've not come across anyone IRL who thinks it's cheating (some of the other concerns mentioned here maybe, but nothing about cheating).

I suppose it doesn't matter - people will think what they think and nobody is going to be convinced the other way by this thread, but it was needling me and I couldn't help myself!

idk that I see it as cheating, because that implies there is some sort of competition

educate me.

Can we all just inject ourselves and not need to eat much?

Am I entitled to use them even though im not obese? or is that taking away resources from those who 'need' them for weight loss.
If there was a medical shortage of the injections and diabetic people were struggling to get their life saving medication, would you stop using them for a period of time?
and then what would happen to you? like genuinely?
are you able to deal with being hungry? if so then what was stopping you losing/not gaining weight in the first place?

I feel that to use an injection to stop hunger shows a lack of self control. that its putting energy into weightloss in an somewhat lazy way.

Im sure injecting yourself is hard to some extent, a mental barrier that you overcome. so just apply that to your eating/lifestyle/exercise?

thinner people dont just not feel hunger. they dont all deny themselves of things they like and avoid indulgence. for many people its a balance.

Apparently not to two of the posters, one who feels we are all gluttons as well as on the junk food and the other , a virtual paragon of slenderness, feels we simply all eat junk.

what was it one said, people respect those who make hard choices. Sure. They also respect people taking control of their health.

whag they don’t respect is ignorance.

I don't see it as 'cheating'.

I am no longer taking it, but when you stop, the appetite comes back with a vengeance so it requires huge discipline to maintain the weight loss achieved. Hopefully users spend the time whilst on it to try and adopt a more healthy relationship with food in preparation for stopping.
I personally also found the hair loss very distressing. Whilst the drug helped me to shift some weight relatively quickly, and it certainly does what it claims to do, I didn't have masses to lose in the first place and I am happier now be eating a sensible and balanced diet more mindfully without it. It was an eye-opener and as with everything, there are pros and cons, but it's definitely not cheating.

I do not think it is 'cheating' as such. However do have reservations about these jabs and possible abuse of them.

I predict in 5 or 10 years there will be all kinds of long term related issues come out of the woodwork following excessive jab use.

@AliceTinkersAliceBand in the overwhelming majority of cases, people are paying for weight loss injections privately. Hardly anyone gets them prescribed on the NHS solely for weight loss. Some get it for diabetes with a side issue of losing some weight.

@Scottishskifun the NHS won't be doing cosmetic surgery to remove loose skin, it won't be considered cost effective and so people will be paying for that surgery themselves.

People using WLI also aren't stealing them from diabetics. There is no shortage of Mounjaro from the manufacturer.

Silly comment about depression.

Our society is set up for poor relationships with food, and I think there's a lot of separation of visible obesity from the every day struggles that I suspect a majority of women have.

I don't know anyone my age female who doesn't think about food an unhealthy amount of time. Only a couple have slipped into food addiction though which is what I guess obesity is.

It's definitely cheating your body but it's not cheating other people because it's not a competition.

How is it cheating your body?

I know why I have weight issues... A combination of emotional abuse (a lot directly around food, weight and body image) throughout childhood, yoyo dieting in an attempt to deal with the repercussions of the emotional abuse, and more recently some complex Endocrinology problems and early menopause, that took years of symptoms being dismissed before it was diagnosed.

Short of a time machine I can't changed what has gone before.

I'm intelligent and well informed with good insight into my upbringing and how it effects me now but that doesn't mean that I can just 'fix' myself or be fixed. Abuse doesn't work like that. It's mostly about living with it, being aware of how it affects you and mitigating as best as one can.

The issues putting me off WLI is the cost and the possibility of nausea and vomiting (I had a HG pregnancy).

Just a question out of curiosity. It's not affecting me.

To be eligible for the drug, via NHS or paid privately, you have to meet a certain BMI that makes you overweight or is it obese? BMI in itself is pointless as we know you can have a higher BMI and lower fat index, but let's ignore that.

So one meets the criteria and gets the drug. It works amazingly and their BMI falls under the high normal. Do they then become ineligible as they don't meet the criteria any longer and they have got used to eating a healthy diet.

If still eligible, why aren't those with the same BMI not entitled in the first place?

Working on it love, with the injections. Was that not clear? Do you usually struggle so much with reading comprehension - shame there's no jab for that.

On mounjaro, but not others, you can stay on for life.

the reason non obese people can’t take it, is the risk of the drugs is not necessary for them . Those who have been obese risk gaining again, as such, the tiny risk of the drug, is way lower than the risk of obesity.

🤣 You have absolutely no idea if what you experience is comparable at all, you have absolutely no idea what others have gone through, no idea what's behind the behaviour. No understanding, no attempt at empathy just a shit tonne of judgement for people who have failed to be as good as you. People really can be horribly sanctimonious and judgemental and they wrap it up in this sort of bullshit.

I don't know anything about food addiction, it sounds like a stupid term to me. I do know about disordered eating and that the path to obesity involves picking 'the hard option' many times and that being obese isn’t in itself 'the easy option' either.

I absolutely agree that the society we live in creates a terrible relationship with food and bodies and that many women suffer as a result of that. It's odd to me that you can acknowledge that but then decide that obese people just didn't suffer enough. Some people need more help in one or another aspect of their lives, that's what I meant about depression. Some people maintain their mental health in the face of many challenges, other people don't and require medication sometimes. Some people maintain their physical health, other people need medical intervention. Obesity is an intersection of the two, in my experience and understanding.

I think something that bugs people is for the vast majority the jabs make it much easier to get to a healthy BMI & to goal. Those borderline obese feel excluded & bitter.

Having used these injections to lose weight, the great thing is I don't care what others think of my new body. It's fairly similar to the old body, just a bit smaller.

Who cares if they think it's the easy way out? It's not, anyone on them knows that and I found they made me tired and I'm glad to be off them.

I don't think there's much logic in how people feel about fat, even their own bodies, so I wouldn't go looking for it.

I don't think its cheating. It's your body to do whatever you want with.

I do however think there's little consideration given to the medium/long term maintenance. I've had several friends use injections and lose weight, then stop using the injections once happy with their weight. All of them have then gone on to gain the weight back because they returned to normal eating. A couple then started the injections again and are on their 4th cycles of them now.

So I think more education is needed, and access to longer term tools.

Theresglitteronthefloor that makes sense to me. I do understand how obesity and depression are similar in that way and your point about interventions makes sense.

I'm not actually anti the drugs. Just trying to verbalise why people judge obese people.

People also judge people for taking anti depressants though. Not directly but the idea they can magically fix you without having to do a shit ton of other stuff and that it makes doing that other stuff manageable.

I struggle with alcohol addiction myself so I'm hardly putting myself on a pedestal. I envy people who can have a glass or two and then stop. That's why I think food addiction must be similar. The inability to say no to the constant food noise.

No one has come up with the longer term tools to maintain weight loss. Almost everyone who loses a significant amount of weight - however they do it - will regain. The injections so far are showing better maintenance results than other weight loss interventions, but ultimately no one has figured out the answer to this problem. It might be that staying on the drugs in some form is the answer for some people, even if that means doing it for life.

@VarneytheVamp @EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness @ThatCoralShark @ThisMustBeMyDream

The op asked a question I replied with my view (isn’t that what she wanted?) without being rude or sarcastic to her. Pity you couldn’t do the same.
Aren’t people worried about what has caused an explosion in obesity which appears to have increased from 1% of women in the 60’s to 21% now. Is it something in the water, chemicals/additives in food etc?
Should we be trying to ascertain the causes rather than treat the symptoms, a bit like banning smoking indoors?

I don’t think it’s cheating but it is EASIER than doing it by yourself.

Honestly @AuntieDote (waves) prob all your reasons

I possibly get the anger /annoyance /frustration if all got on the nhs - but 99% are paying out of it from their own bank accounts

the reason non obese people can’t take it, is the risk of the drugs is not necessary for them . Those who have been obese risk gaining again, as such, the tiny risk of the drug, is way lower than the risk of obesity
So it is based on a lot of assumptions. That the person who meets the criteria at a point of time is assumed to never be able to control their weight without the drug.

That those who just about manages to remain under is the criteria is not affected by the danger of extra weight if not as high as meeting the criteria, even if they have high cholesterol and high fat index.

Maybe that's why there is some resentment. It 'rewards' those with a no or limited effort level and penalise those who put the effort in but struggle badly to just about manage to stay under the limit.

The former get to be slim and healthy the easy way, the latter get to fight temptation for the rest of their lives and will likely end up less healthy.

I wonder how many of the latter will take a 'stuff it, I'll let myself be obese and get on the drug. Its not a competition but it does seem to reward those who try the least to be healthy. I guess that's where the resentment comes from.