All my historically fat friends have gone thin this year

[donttellscotty]

Okay maybe not ALL of them, but a few friends/acquaintances who have been very big for years and years, tried everything but could never shift the slightest bit of weight, have all had dramatic transformations and shed many stones over the past year. It’s just becoming expected now whenever I see another formerly large acquaintance or relative pop up on my feed with a super slim selfie.

I (rightly or wrongly) suspect it’s got to be WLIs or similar? Although all are adamant it’s a strict diet only. Just to add there is NOTHING wrong with jabs at all, and I’m aware it’s absolutely none of my business, and I sound mean but I wouldn’t actually discuss this in RL. It just got me thinking that being overweight might be obsolete in a few years?

Anyone else noticing this trend with people they know?

It kind of matters to me that people don’t assume that I am using weight loss jabs. I am not sure why it matters to me but it really does. It is somehow important to me that I don’t have to be dependent on medication for weight loss.

You're coming across as rather a prat

I had my gallbladder removed as emergency surgery a few years ago due to severe pancreatitis and infected gallbladder which was actually rotting inside me by the time they took it out. NHS prescribed me Mounjaro and in over a year I’ve had no symptoms and all my tests come out better every single time for HbA1C, cholesterol, kidney and liver function.

😂😂😂

Retreating from the bun fight but wanted to share an anecdote...

I had a pre-Christmas meet up with former colleagues, 5 of them. 3 are on WLIs and have lost varying amounts of weight. The other two have also lost smaller, but not insignficant amounts of weight sice I saw them last Christmas.

Our office used to have a really bad food culture - cakes for everyone's birthday (and for any other excuse we coud invent); Wednesday lunch pizzas delivered to mark being half-way through the week; Friday night drinks after work, often followed by a Chinese; sweets, chocolates, biscuits always available to go with a coffee or a tea.

With the 3 being on WLI's starting within a few weeks of each other, the buying and sharing of 'treats' reduced as their appetites diminished and apparently now it is a really rare ocassion. The 3 people on the WLIs were sharing ideas for their healthy lunches, and swapping menu plans. Two of them got seriously into weight lifting to avoid muscle loss. Gradually over the past year it has impacted on the whole office, it seems in a positive way.

The two people not on WLIs said it felt very strange at the beginning, one hated how she felt guilty when she did buy cakes. But over time the whole office culture has changed. When we met this year there was a long discussion about how to eat enough protein, and enough fibre, and 30 plant based substanaces per week, and whether it wsa possible to do it without resorting to UPF protein shakes / bars. Incredible really.

Would you really ask if they'd used patches? Or would you just be pleased they'd given up? People are far more judgemental over others using medication to lose weight than they are about using nicotine patches. I think a lot of it is jealousy.

You could just... not assume.

This. My DH has been put back on his original type 2 drugs. After four months on Mounjaro it’s getting progressively more difficult to obtain because of price increases due to its popularity as a weight loss drug. This is first hand experience. It wasn’t developed for weight loss, it was designed to control blood glucose in type 2 diabetes and in many cases reverses it, vastly improving the lives of those affected. The fact that some posters think it’s OK to deny it for genuine medical reasons so that it can be accessed privately for weight loss is breathtaking.

I think ageing gives you a baggy everything.

As a life long yo-you dieter, I'd keep it quiet too. There are those that say are cheating and then when you come off the injections and the weight starts to go back on, its because you cheated!

Does it really matter how it happens if its safe, what is the big fascination?

Had I been born in the cave man era, I would have been the prime mate, able to hold my weight in times of little food and help keep my partner/Family warm on a night, sadly my DNA has not adapted quickly enough for modern fashions.

People come in shapes, sizes and colour and I like that.

I'm finding this trend for people with illuminous, super perfect teeth, trout pouts, caterpillar eyebrows and eyelashes and willowy figures a bit boring. The idea of being selected mainly on my appearance would be devastating and when I look at my former school mates, I find its the larger ones that have maintained happy relationships.

My best mate has a gap in her teeth and she is a real stunner, she has an hour glass size 18/20 figure and she always had to beat the guys off. She was confident and embraced her individuality and didn't believe societies hype that she was not the "ideal" woman.

I on the other hand felt challenged by societies expectation and spent years yo-yo dieting which in all probability, significantly damaged my health. I always felt "less-than"!

Would I have used injections when I was younger, ABSOLUTELY and I would not have divulged that to anyone but my nearest and dearest because people are very judgemental and I have enough insecurities as it is so be able to defend myself.

Totally! Takeaways are so expensive, we are a family of 5 adults and they are £50-60 each time, so stopping them or cutting back on treats/alcohol just for me saves loads of money. I could easily spend £100+ on a night out drinking (SE city, very expensive) so it basically pays for the jabs.

because of price increases due to its popularity as a weight loss drug.

That's not why Mounjaro etc went up in price.

Luckily for me WLI hasn’t caused problems. Had gallbladder whipped out over a decade ago.

recent blood tests showed reduced cholesterol levels and BP now firmly in the green zone. Last year I was on the verge of having to take medication but not now.

Type 2 diabetes is generally associated with lifestyle and being overweight. Surely these "selfish" users are just trying to stop themselves getting to this point saving the NHS and society a lot of money. What's so selfish about that?

It’s a fact that much obesity and overweight is caused by poverty and lack of an affordable balanced and healthy diet. High fat, highly processed foods are cheaper and for some they are the difference between eating and not.

In my view I've reduced my risk of being dead from a stroke which runs in my family on the female side. So you know, we can all make our own assessment.

I personally could do with losing a few stone, although the jabs wouldn't be my preferred choice as I know exactly what I should be doing to lose weight, been there before will do it again.

If I were using the WLI I wouldn't mind if people asked me about it and I'd tell them truth.

I love that, a positive effect on people around the WLIers as well

It is licensed for obesity. It is literally being prescribed for what it is licensed for, just like for people with diabetes.

Don't bother. We have tried, repeatedly, to explain this. It isn't going in.

The great thing is that GLP1 generics will soon be available so this will bring the cost right down, making them accessible to millions more people.

The risk of type 2 diabetes increases with age and that’s not linked to lifestyle. It’s also more prevalent in those with disabilities whose mobility is compromised, as in my DH’s case - and some conditions make you more prone to type 2. My SiL is mid sixties, eats to live rather than lives to eat and has always been between 7-8 stone and highly active. She’s now been diagnosed as pre diabetic and working her socks off to bring her glucose levels down. It’s not all about stuffing your face and being a couch potato, and if the priority of these users is not to get to this point, and to save the NHS money, why do they need WLI - surely the motivation is enough.

I developed anorexia this year and colleagues kept asking me if I was on Ozempic 😐That really helped...

It isn’t going in because it’s not fact. I’m not denying that WLI are licensed for weight loss but they were developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, not weight loss. Weight loss is a side effect that the pharmaceutical companies are cashing in on. The primary target was those with type 2 diabetes to regulate blood sugar. To obtain these drugs simply for weight loss purposes on the NHS, just being overweight in itself is not a qualification. You have to have a BMI of 40+ and at least four specific weight-related conditions like Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, abnormal cholesterol and sleep apnoea and you have to agree to undergo change of lifestyle support.

People really should not ask, just comment on how well the slimmer is looking or similar compliment. The recipient can tell them about using WLI if they choose to, or just gracefully accept the compliment. Personally I have observed a few acquaintances who have been very overweight for years and who have recently lost a significant amount of weight. I just assume it is due to WLI, but I wouldn't ask. The reason I make that assumption is that I know just how hard it is to lose much weight from my own efforts, despite being overweight I don't meet the criteria for WLI.