Should I start weigh loss injections?

[Stickystickystick]

I am so unhappy with my weight. My BMI is 30. The weight has crept up since having children. I spent over 30 years with a normal BMI and hate being like this. I am perimenopausal and don't think this is helping. I am active and have tried fasting, reducing calories, slimming world (which personally I don't think promotes good or healthy eating habits). I can't get the weight off. I mostly cook from scratch but eat too much. My joints hurt. I feel ugly. People often assume I'm pregnant as the weight sits on my tummy. I'm thinking about weight loss jabs. Will people judge me? Are they worth it?

I've been on it since end of March, and I'm now over a stone down. I've made some changes to what I've been eating, but I still let myself have the odd KFC or Mcdonalds once or twice a week - even then those times I don't eat anything else and eat a lot less than I did. Been losing about two pounds a week consistently which is good as its steady weightloss that means I don't get loose skin.

And there it is.

I started a year ago, the most miserable I have ever been in my life after a lovely holiday to Turkey and I only took one photo of myself. I am 5ft and hadn't weighed in years. I have endo and I am menopausal. I was drinking gallons of full fat coke to stay awake!

I had to weigh to start the medication and discovered my BMI was 38 and I was almost 15st.

One year later and I am now 9st 3lbs. I have maintained for the last 2 months and I am happy sticking at this weight.
I have come to the conclusion that I want to stay on the meds for the forseeable to maintain this weight.

It is honestly the best decision I have ever made and Its weird to not feel self conscious.

I had not worn shorts or vest tops for 22 years and I am now happy to get my arms and legs out.

I am in a lot less pain than I was, and my blood pressure is now normal.

The only negatives are the cost, a slight chooky neck and a little bit of hair loss. I had thick hair to begin but its been a little worrying to lose hair. This could have been the menopause also.

I cannot say enough how much of a miracle Mounjaro has been for me, I was prescribed by NHS for diabetes back in September, it’s allowed me to stop taking insulin and metformin, my HbA1C levels are now in the non-diabetic range and I’ve lost 5 stone so I’m now in the healthy BMI range.

i do want to say one thing though, because frankly it scares me when I read some of the absolutely terrible diet advice on these threads.

The goal of taking Mounjaro is to get healthier, you will not do that by starving yourself and doing loads and loads of exercise. That is the way to end up passing out, having your hair fall out and feeling ill.

I think it’s important to understand how it works so that you can help it along and get the most out of it

Here’s a summary from the internet:
“How Mounjaro Works
Mounjaro is a dual agonist, meaning it activates two important hormone receptors:

1. GLP-1 receptor (glucagon-like peptide-1)
2. GIP receptor (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide)

These hormones help regulate blood sugar and appetite after eating.

1. GLP-1 Effects:
Increases insulin secretion (only when blood sugar is elevated)
Reduces glucagon secretion (which helps prevent high blood sugar)
Slows gastric emptying (helps you feel fuller longer)
Reduces appetite, promoting weight loss

2. GIP Effects:
Also enhances insulin secretion
May help counteract some of the gastrointestinal side effects of GLP-1 drugs
Plays a role in fat metabolism and insulin sensitivity

By mimicking both GLP-1 and GIP, Mounjaro helps:

1. Lower blood sugar levels
2. Reduce appetite
3. Promote weight loss
4. Improve insulin sensitivity”

To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit so first thing you need to do is work out how many calories you should be eating. Use an online calculator to figure out your TDEE, then deduct about 500 from that number to give your calorie goal. That should result is approx 1-2 lbs loss a week, but you’ll have weeks where you lose more, less, nothing or even gain. It’s not consistently linear, it’s affected by sleep, exercise, hormones and loads of other things.

You can help the Mounjaro along by changing your diet to increase protein, fat and fibre which increases satiety and helps to prevent muscle loss. You should be mindful of carbs and try to ensure that you are choosing complex carbs and eating them with a protein or fat. This helps to reduce blood sugar spikes which can make you feel hungrier.

Do ittttt

I've only been on Mounjaro a week and oh my gosh. I can't believe it. No side effects, just zero appetite. I know I should be eating more but I keep forgetting, I'm having around 200-500 cals per day and not feeling hungry at all. Wouldn't recommend that of course but it's insane to see what life is like without food noise. 7lb down in seven days.

Started Mounjaro in Nov,.. neatly 5 stone down. Yep, I’ve had side effects, but it’s life changing weight loss.

Yes 100%. Absolute game changer. I’ve lost 4.5 stones and I’m a size 10 for the first time since having the kids.

She probably wouldn't have been able ro achieve the 800 calories without the jabs to suppress her hunger though.

Perhaps not, but 800 cals is a vlcd, and potentially damaging to health when maintained beyond a 10-12 week period. Anyway, the thread isnt about this poster, forget I said anything!

My weight was really causing me issues, I’d tried everything and nothing was working, in March I decided to bite the bullet and try Mounjaro, it’s been amazing, I’ve now lost almost 40 pounds since then and feel so much better, I’m only on thr 5mg and that works for me, I’ve only told a couple of people because I know others will be all judgy about it, I’d say try it - do what I did and commit to 3 months then make a decision, it’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done and for the first time in years I’m looking at booking a holiday abroad because I can fit in the airline seat without an extender!

But the jabs are what enabled the poster to start on the low calorie journey presumably

do it.
I’ve got my bmi down to 23 staying on the starter “non therapeutic”
dose. No side effects.

You sound a lot like me. Some people using them have struggled with the lifelong chronic disease of obesity and some of us did have a normal BMI for most of our lives but something (in my case also perimenopause coinciding with a change from an active to a sedentary job) tipped the balance, I too tried for a few years to fix things myself, like I used to when I put on a bit of weight, but kept failing and before I knew it BMI was over 30 and officially obese.

You sound like - great candidate for it working well as you can combine with healthy eating and exercise including strength training. It’s almost impossible to explain the difference in appetite and satiety until you experience it.

If you qualify and can afford it I cannot recommend it highly enough. I researched seriously for over 6 months before taking the plunge (after a friend confided she was using it). There are really supportive threads for starters each month over on the WLI section.

Im doing it. Same BMI or maybe 31. I'm struggling to eat, zero appetite. So it's made it really quite easy to be honest. I have to try to eat more, especially protein. I lost a stone in the first month on the lowest dose and am working on building and maintaining healthy habits to keep the weight off. Do it, life is too short not to be happy. I haven't told anyone other than my husband.

Another vote to go for it. Your future self will thank you. You're the only one who can help her!

People have said at 800 cals I would have lost weight anyway without the jab. The injection suppresses hunger and removes all food noise. I was able to really focus and be disciplined with my calories without the hunger and noise getting in the way. I am now a month on without the jab. I have been able to completely change my mindset around food. The noise and hunger hasn’t returned. It worked for me and I am very pleased with the results

Will people judge me?

it should be a medical decision, nothing to do with what people think!
They are not a miracle cure, you need to look at health implication -with or without - people's judgement have nothing to do with it.

Yes you are right of course. What I can tell you is I am not healthy like this and I have tried to get down to a healthy bmi and failed. I would always do this with some sort of medical guidance

You will be seriously damaging your health on such low calories. Your body will consume its own muscle tissue and wreck your metabolism for the long term. Honestly, I've been on Mounjaro for a year now and have never gone below around 1400 calories a day at the very least - though I don't track calories. I use it to support me to eat a healthy, nourishing diet that fuels my body to weightlift and do Pilates and walk. I've lost nearly five stone and feel great. Please don't continue so dangerously as this, it's frightening to read and is absolutely not what the medication is for. No one should be starving themselves.

I started yesterday on mounjaro. I lost 3 stone on slimming world, then plateaued. A friend who’s on the jabs and lost 3 stone in 3 months, has been trying to sell me on it. I wasn’t convinced. The thing that got me to change my mind was how much someone else paid for a vanity procedure (eyes) and it not working. I then thought, I don’t dye my hair, get my nails done, I’ve wasted at least £300 at slimming world after the initial 3 stone loss plateauing and making no progress whilst listening to sanctimonious drivel from a SW consultant who was “back on plan” after gaining 2 stone in a year. I’m perimenopausal so what’s to loose but weight(about 4 stone!). So here I am, 1 day in! That £300+ I wasted at slimming world, could have been put towards this! I found Dr Emma Anders on YouTube and found her take interesting, also loads of YouTube videos showing you how to retrieve the golden dose, making it slightly more cost effective! I haven’t told anyone yet. We shall see if it works for me or whether as I suspect, I can bypass my feeling full trigger!

I started two days ago. I’m nearly 44 and once I turned 40 it feels like my weight has just sky rocketed despite my diet not really changing.
A friend in work has lost 4st in a few months and another 2.5 stone after just 7 weeks.
Inwas worried about side effects but figured I wouldn’t know until I tried.

2 days in and I’m 2lb down. I don’t think I’ve had any side effects. I’m very tired and have a headache but not sure if that’s down to MJ or not.

I don’t plan on telling anyone I’m on the injections, it’s none of their business.

I would go for it. Mounjaro will make you feel less hungry and filled up quickly. You don't have to tell anyone. I don't tell anyone I'm on antidepressants 🤷‍♀️

I would bounce your question back at you OP,
and say why would you not do it?

Side effects - minor side effects can be managed by reducing your dose etc, serious side effects are rare and I would assume that the clever science people had to prove the risks of the drug to be less than the risks of being obese for the drug to be approved. There are potentially serious side effects to your heart, blood pressure, joints, cancer risk of being overweight and having raised blood sugars.

Costs: You haven't mentioned costs as a huge barrier so I can assume you can find the money. What better to invest in than your health and happiness? I don't usually spend much on myself as the kids needs are our priority but I have a child that needs me to be here as long as possible as he will be unlikely to ever live independently. I also need and want to be able to continue doing my job which is fairly physical for the long term. Being obese and gaining an extra half a stone with each passing year is likely to shorten my life, reduce my quality of life and reduce my ability to keep doing physical night shifts/caring for my son for decades to come.

Other people and their views: really who gives a toss? If I am healthier and happier, living longer for my kids and able to earn for longer my family why on earth would I care what other people think.

Would you allow other people to pressure you with their views on whether you took blood pressure meds, the pill or HRT? Everyone is entitled to their opinion but it's your choice.

Views are not a problem I've faced to be honest as a handful of people at work are also taking them with more interested.

One person said they would never take them as "it's new and we don't know the long term effects" and that's fine. No one is being forced to take these drugs that don't want to. I mentioned that the drug has been used for years and did ask if she was prescribed a blood pressure med would she be concerned if it was a new drug. Didn't seem so.

You decide what's right for you and good luck whatever you decide.