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.

Again being healthy is not a competitive sport. Your analogy to running a race has no validity whatsoever.

It doesn’t matter if someone is 1-2 stone overweight or 10 stone overweight - everyone deserves to be healthy and feel good about themselves however they get there.

Your idea that only people who are worthy (have self control and willpower to eat less!) are deserving of being healthy is misplaced and irrelevant.

There are strict criteria for qualifying for these drugs , including through private providers. The reason for this is that your health has to be at significant risk in order to make the risks of the drugs less than the risks of obesity related health problems. Nothing to do with who deserves the drug or should be expected to have “willpower”.

Great post.

Who do you think the competition is with, GettingMy2025ActTogether?

It's nothing like your analogy. The only person in this race is the individual themselves. Who are they competing with? a less healthy version of themselves?

EVERYONE deserves their health returned. Individuals and society at large benefit greatly from this. You are VERY strange to wish ongoing ill health on others.

Quite disturbing, frankly.

That’s really sad. What led you to this place, where you see weight loss as a competition. And eve state you don’t wish to be educated, even though you rush in and make comments.

do you know what happened in your life where you see losing weight as a competition and prefer to be ignorant and give your opinion based on that?

Nice bit of selective reading there.

I said numerous times that I fully support the WL jabs for those whose health is affected by their weight. I don’t support those fudging the system to get them, of which there are many. If I had gone to a private clinic and said my previous weight was affecting me and I had PCOS, I would’ve been given them, when I don’t need them. This is not right. There are also many women on here who have said their friends have managed to get their hands on them when they aren’t even overweight.

So, I popped over to the WL injections forum to have a look, since clearly I know nothing and the first 2 posts are women asking for suppliers that don’t need a photo or GP, another asking where they can get injections as they’ve been rejected for having no gallbladder, and another asking if they should call an ambulance due to the side effects. So, tell me these aren’t being abused and there’s now going to be an unregulated black market for this? So, if someone needs educating about WLI I think we’d better start with those trying to take them rather than people who won’t take them.

But yes, crack on with the line that I think it’s a competition. Or, I’m someone concerned that they aren’t the miracle drug people are in a frenzy about and feel they should only be for people like our friend who is 30, his eating and drinking is out of control, he can hardly walk due to his weight and we have serious concerns about his health. I’d love him to get the WL injections. I’ll drive him to the clinic.

Finally, being concerned about the widespread use of these injections doesn’t make me a sociopath ThatCoral.

Whatever are you on about, your post doesn’t even make sense,

what private clinic is going to give you the drugs when you do not meet the criteria?

however it’s lovely you’ve hit the bingo card of another concerned poster for the well being of others, that’s just lovely of you. Very altruistic.

But yes, crack on with the line that I think it’s a competition

This is what you wrote:
it is like saying I just ran a marathon, I trained for 6 months, and ran 60k a week. I finished it and I’m really proud. Then someone comes along and says they started off with you, then got a lift, and got out at the end 50 m before the finish line, and got the same medal and congratulations as you… Yes, they are cheats.

I think there’s a common misconception that people who don’t quite meet the prescription criteria “don’t need” the medication. That’s not the issue at all. Someone who is overweight may well need to lose weight to improve health and wellbeing , and they may well fail to do so without the help of medication. That is not the issue. The issue- as I previously stated - is that those prescribing the drugs need to be convinced that the risks of weight related health problems outweigh the risks of the medication. Obviously wherever that line is drawn it will always be somewhat arbitrary because everyone is different, but they choose to have some fixed criteria for the sake of oversight / transparency/ protecting their own necks. Some people may choose to try to get around that criteria- it may well be that they do need the support of the drugs to loose weight and they are desperate to do so for their own health and wellbeing and they are prepared to take the risks of potential side effects for that chance. You may think that’s reckless/ foolish, but there’s absolutely no place for your moral judgement about “cheating” in their weight loss , or being “lazy”, etc.

it may well be that in the future there is more evidence to say these drugs are very safe, or a safer version is invented, in which case there would be no reason why anyone who might benefit from them (in terms of achieving / maintaining a healthy weight) shouldn’t take them if they wished to,

@GettingMy2025ActTogether I don't get know why the people who obtain weight-loss drugs illegally are being mentioned alongside people who are prescribed them legally. We don't do that with any other drug. "I support people who genuinely need medication, but I don't support people who fake symptoms to get medication." Why does that even need to be said? Especially when talking to people who take medication legitimately.

I can't imagine saying to someone with ADHD or arthritis "I'm sure you do need your meds, but I do not support people who don't need them getting them." What has that got to do with anything?

I didn't sign up for a marathon, so how well anyone else is training is of no interest to me. Enjoy your medal, though.

Yes I don’t get it either. I’ve never heard anyone be given a drug or see someone given a drug and ask about 5o years of evidence it’s fine, go on and on about concern for them, or to express concern that someone else might be able to get it from a rogue supplier illegally, or to mess with their doses, take the drug when it’s expired etc,

I honestly can’t understand what goes through some people’s heads.

And this. So true!

Quite a few people do exaggerate or fake their symptoms to get certain drugs, Valium being one that is often prescribed and then sold on before recent clamp downs, also ADHD meds especially in the States, as they are amphetamines and so can be used by people who either don't have ADHD or aren't using them sensibly, people get these all the time.

This is not something unique to weight loss drugs, unfortunately.

That's the point. People abuse all sorts of drugs. But people who genuinely need any of those other drugs don't usually have to deal with people preaching at them about people getting them illegally. If you shook me I would rattle from all the meds I am on yet not one person after hearing I'm on beta-blockers has ever felt the need to say that people who don't need beta-blockers shouldn't be able to get them. But for some reason people feel the need to go on about people obtaining WLI illegally when talking about people getting WLI for obesity.

Does it really matter though if some people think it's cheating? They can think what they like, their opinions really don't matter do they?

I can't say that I don't care that people think I'm cheating, because I haven't told anyone I'm using MJ because I don't want to deal with people's negativity. I have been judged all my life for being fat, the looks, the comments, the rudeness....I just don't want to be judged for this as well.

you have hit the nail on the head! I am sure there are many people that feel this way. I too have not told a soul, and didn’t know why until I read your comment and it resonates very much with me.

We can do this 💪

But why is it better for people to do things " the hard way" and " put in the Graft"

Does it make them a better person? Superior in some way? Please explain

Yes I can’t work this out either. It seems suddenly super important to folks though.

85 percent of people who put in the hard graft gain it all back and more. Where as on the injections regain is very limited when you come off, and evidenced.

why would anyone feel you need to do the hard graft, they don’t hand out prizes for struggling and being miserable. You’d have to be off your rocker to think that it was better to do the hard graft.

get the drugs, get the weight off. Stay a healthy weight, stay healthy. Enjoy your life.

I've found it quite hard work being on the weight-loss drugs, I used Wegovy and didn't feel great on it, I had to adjust all my eating patterns around not having things too high in fat, eating more protein, more veg, constipation, feeling sick a lot, plus I was pleased to start exercising more but that was more effort.

The weight didn't just fall off me for some reason, I also plateaued a couple of time and didn't lose a thing.

It wasn't so easy I'd like to stay on them for life, but I would use them again if I became significantly overweight.

It was easier than my attempts at dieting though as they were awful and completely unsuccessful, I lost the same 2 pounds about four times, so sadly the hard way wasn't any way at all.

Sad to say, most of it goes back on however you lose for 90% of people. Injections and surgery too. Hence the research interest in maintenance doses - it is a chronic condition.

Factually that’s not true, it’s now evidenced on the drugs you regain an average of 14 percent of your body when you come off, which is 1.4 stone on a ten stone woman. On other methods, it is 100-120 percent of what was lost, so if you lose 4 stone, you regain 4-5 stone back.

Read the rest of the findings.

www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/patients-eli-lillys-drug-regain-weight-after-stopping-treatment-jama-study-2023-12-11/

I have, what point are you making, and a short Reuters article is not the rest of the findings,

Patients discontinuing the use of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy risk regaining their original body weight in about five years, a Novo Nordisk official said in March.

We need to be honest with ourselves. Using these drugs will not be 'once and done' for most of us. Hence the research interest in maintenance regimes.

Yes I will stay on it forever, albeit on a low maintenance dose. I suspect many will.