The medication has been utterly life-changing. I was (and I've got a crazy frame where I have always weighed heavier than I looked - dunno the mechanics of it) nearly 25 stone, size 28, but beginning to hit the point where my mobility was suffering from it. I could go to the gym every day - and I have had periods where I would do that, and lift heavy weights, do cardio - I was physically strong at that point - but I still had constant, constant hunger, constant food cravings and no mental off switch at all - however hard I pushed my willpower.
I'd hit that point where my weight was making it harder for me (mentally and physically - because hurling abuse at fatties trying to get active is of course absolutely hilarious to a section of society) to move and I knew I was in the spiral point where the only way was larger and larger.
So in November I started on Mounjaro. Financially it's been a killer - and the side effects haven't been fun at points - I seem to have learnt how to live with them as I've gone on. I've not used them as a tool to drastically under-eat (I've seen the morons on social media existing on 800 cals a day and flogging their referral codes), but they have turned off the constant food craving noise, turned off the constant hunger and, most importantly of all - they've given me a mental off switch where food is concerned. I can have a few grapes and not have a yawning abyss in my brain until they've all gone, I can have a small piece of cheese and not be haunted by the rest of it in the fridge - I can have a normal attitude to food. They've also changed the food I'm drawn to as well - I don't absolutely yearn for chocolate anymore, and I'd quite like some chicken pieces to snack on rather than crisps - that kind of change has happened quite spontaneously on the meds. I eat normal, small portions of the same meals my family do - so usually chicken or fish and veg type meals - but that's it, I eat the meals and I'm satisfied by them and able to stop when full.
I've lost a crazy amount of weight - 5 1/2 stone - but at a rate of 1-2lb a week, with periodic plateaus where my body's obviously readjusted itself and got on with it - and it's been sustainable. I'm now just below 19 stone, in a size 20 clothes - I still have a long way to go, and yes, I've probably recently started showing the "ozempic face" - which you are realistically just going to get when you drop any significant amount of weight in later life. Absolutely minimal loose skin so far though - under no illusion that won't be coming at some point.
And I FEEL so much better - I'm able to walk to the shop now rather than needing the car, I've lost about 50% of the pelvic pain I've been plagued with since having the kids (I was that poor bugger whose pelvic girdle problems never cleared up - largely because of a mishandled childbirth) - I'm still in pain with the misaligned pelvis, but it's manageable. Although physically I didn't have any of the usual issues associated with massive obesity (believe me - my GP has desperately looked over the years) - I felt like I was starting to be on the tipping point for pre diabetes which has corrected itself (I had bloods done the other week which only showed my usual Vit D deficiency - everything else was normal but I appear to be part-vampire and I'm always down on D).
It's not about aesthetics for me - although being able to buy clothes in the supermarket was probably my one big goal (I hate Yours clothing - sorry guys)... my face now looks a bit shit compared to a stone or so ago - it was just regaining mobility and feeling better that mattered to me.
And yep, I may well end up needing a regular low dose lifelong - if that's the case, I'll live with that. I'm hoping I won't - but the odds are never in your favour if you've previously been very obese, your body will always be fighting to take you back to that. It's made it clear to me how much my brain needed the GLP1 medication to be able to to process food normally - I was always fighting against that imbalance until now.
And the price increase - is going to be fucking painful.