explain Mounjaro to me

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HIya

I have lost 5 stone through calorie defecit and my BMR means my defecit now brings my daily calories down to 1200 to lose weight
(I know the Maths is right)

I've been plateaued for a year (I'd like to lose 2 more stone) but it just won't shift (I'm 50)
I watched a weight coach talking about how low calorie will stop working as the body will adapt, but I was wondering how does Mounjaro work then?
Doesn't that just make you not want to eat as much , therefore low cal?
If I tried it for this last bit would it work?

If it helps anyone for holidays etc, I had been on holiday for the last two weeks on a cruise, and on coming back yesterday, restarted mounjaro again at the same dose. I decided not to take the injections as taking them through on a plane seemed complicated. I still had the feeling fullness for at least a week and a half, it was only the second half of the holiday I started eating more desserts, but I have lost two pounds because I was more active and walking around a lot.

My MJ week goes a bit like this. Day after jab I'm super suppressed and might only eat once that day but healthily eg protein and salad. Days 2 and 3 still very suppressed..probably eat twice a day, no snacks and smaller amounts. Days 4 and 5 I'm less suppressed and will eat more. Days 6 and 7...more hungry and have to be mindful of what I'm eating. Day 7 might be rather munchy.

I don't stress if I eat very little one or 2 days, you're not going to die! I've not lost weight very quickly but it's staying off

How is this healthy though? Where are the essential nutrients you need for health, bone density, muscle mass?

For those who have no appetite, can you still manage a mocha/latte? I go out for coffee with friends. My Consultant has offered me the injections.

Lots of posters have said that this isn’t how the drug should work. You should still be hungry, but less able to eat big portions. Those using the drug sensibly will be eating smaller, healthy meals, within a sensible calorie deficit. And doing some form of strength training.

I don't drink coffee but I managed a hot chocolate when I was out with friends the other day no problem!

I haven’t really had any bad side effects. I have stayed on the 2.5mg dose for 8 months the so far. It has improved my focus, my ability, my inflammation, my blood pressure, reversed pre diabetes and I no longer seem to have sleep apnoea although the jury is out on whether or not that’s reversible/cured atm.

the only bad thing is that after a bout of being quite unwell with diarrhoea, not related to MJ - the whole family was ill, it took my stomach a good couple of weeks to feel properly ok again. I figure as MJ relates gastric emptying and slows everything down it needed a good time to recover from a proper clear out!!

I have an appetite so this probably isn’t helpful, but neither is chasing appetite suppression imo, anyhow I go for latte (sometimes iced) nearly every day. When I first started MJ I struggled to drink it for about 3 days then was back to normal.

I have an appetite but weirdly went completely off coffee when I started the injections. I always drank it black so it's nothing to do with finding milk too filling or dairy disagreeing with me or anything like that. I just don't like it anymore! So I guess I would order a cup of tea. I also now find hot chocolate too sweet.

I still enjoy food but just eat less of it. Before, if we went out to dinner, I'd usually have a starter and a main course. Now I skip the starter, or sometimes have a starter followed by another starter. I've never liked desserts so that's not an issue.

I eat with DH every evening. We've just had a delicious chicken and pesto dish with green veg. DH had new potatoes with his, I didn't.

I’ve lost 5.5 stone and enjoy food more than ever now, as it doesn’t come wrapped with guilt and worry about whether a portion will be big enough or feeling of disgust at myself for overeating . It gave me the headspace to change my diet and approach to food without constant hunger sabotaging it. I’ve never eaten so healthily or been so active. My step count has gone from about 5k a day to 11-12k, I do strength training, yoga, I have a Peloton bike. I have cut out the majority of UPFs, I eat high protein with lots of vegetables but still enjoy a hot chocolate and bit of cake at a cafe. I feel fantastic, frankly! I never would have had the motivation to continue for the long haul without MJ, it gave me the ability to make changes to my life and stick to them now I’m off it.

I was worried about this but it hasn’t turned out to be the case. I really enjoy cooking and eating. That’s still the case, I just don’t need to eat the amount I did before.

Not read whole thread and I'm not a candidate for it but how do you get your nutritional needs, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats if you're only eating 300 calories a day? Do you take supplements?

If you are only eating 300 calories the dose is way too high.

I'm the person that said most days I'm on around 300, not consciously or with intent, just so busy and because my appetite has evaporated I forget to eat. Yes I take a multivitamin but obviously at some point once I reach my goal I'll come off it and hopefully my appetite will come back.

I'm on the lowest dose and plan to remain on it as it works so well, 2.5. I'm considered a super responder apparently.

There’s the physical aspect to it (more even blood sugars, feeling fuller more quickly) but there’s something else that I would have categorised as psychological before. And now I don’t know.

It’s about making the choices to have healthier food, less of it. We’re told we have control, but as a fat overeater it didn’t feel like that. And with MJ, it does. I cannot tell you how freeing that is, both from my own self-loathing and the derision of people who think it’s all willpower. (They’re simply wrong.)

Some people don't get any appetite reduction at all until they go to higher doses though so anyone who's on 2.5 who's worried their appetite is still the same, you might find different once you go higher.

It's tough to eat when you don't fancy anything, my diet was pretty bad before and I craved and ate a lot of junk. Now it's hard to describe but it's just... I can try a couple of crisps and it just doesn't taste or feel the same so I put it down. I'm focusing on trying to eat healthy food when I can but with zero appetite it's surprisingly hard to eat decent sized portions. I'm staying very hydrated though.

If you read the thread you will see that no one else is advocating eating so little. That poster is describing something incredibly dangerous and not typical of most Mounjaro users. The drug is not supposed to enable disordered and dangerous eating patterns and attempting to survive on 300 calories a day will put anyone who tries it in hospital.

I'm on it too, on 2.5 dose. I still get hunger cues but I think they are more genuine instead of the boredom eating cues. So I'm eating when I actually need.

I'm eating around 1200 to 1300 calories a day and lost 9 pounds in 5 weeks, which I'm happy with. I dont want to lose it too quick.

It's the eradication of food noise that is the amazing part for me. I was forever thinking of food, planning my next meal, scheming when I could get to my favourite restaurant next, I'd pop into the shops for something and come out having spent five times what I'd planned with loads of extra stuff. Late night binges, overeating portions, too make takeouts. Spending an absolute fortune on eating out.

I had no idea how powerful that food noise was until mounjaro. Being free of it feels like an anchor I've managed to get rid of.

You should seriously consider coming off it if you are not managing to eat properly. That’s so dangerous.

But what about the damage you’re doing to your body only eating 300 calories a day?

The reason other diets don’t work as well is because often people can only maintain the diet/lower calorie limit for a short amount of time.

With injections you are less hungry but you also crave less sweet things and it removes the food noise.
You eat because your body needs it, rather than out of boredom or habit.

Which is amazing and why it works so well for so maybe people BUT it’s also why so many people put the weight back on after stopping the injections compared to other diets.

If you are able to lose 5stone without the injections, then I’d be very reluctant to use the injections for the last 2stone, in case it undoes all of your hard work.
If you do go on it then I’d stay on the lowest dose.

It is very normal to plateau which is probably where the starvation mode comes in.
Even people who have surgery will plateau.
You just need to keep going and you’ll soon push through the plateau.

It may be worth increasing your protein/weight training etc. Trying different things rather than reducing your calories too much if you’re already in a deficit.

I'm planning to in a month or so, when I'll have reached my goal. I'm looking forward to it tbh.

I'm not 'advocating' for my experience to anybody btw, and at no point have I done that. I'm simply sharing my experience of how it works as requested by the OP.

It's very short term so I'm not too concerned. Been on it a couple of months with approx one month to go. Taking multivitamins and drinking a lot of water. Though I am trying to up my calorie intake. I was doing a lot of damage to my body through overeating junk and ballooning in weight so it's swings and roundabouts I guess.