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?

Of course you are losing weight through diet and exercise. How do you think it works?

You still need a calorie deficit like with any diet, and when you want to maintain you still need to eat healthy and within a specific amount of calories. You don't just eat what you want and the WLIs get rid of fat magically. It suppresses your appetite and makes you feel fuller so is a huge help, there is no denying it is easier but you still have to eat a lot less and should exercise of course. Maintenance is always hard however you lose weight.

I have not been overweight for most of my life but 6 years ago I sustained an injury that massively changed my exercise routine and I struggled to adapt my eating to compensate for not doing 4 high intensity exercise sessions a week as I had always eaten that way to ensure my performance was maximised. Plus adding lockdown and peri menopause to that just meant I slowly crept up in weight over those years.

I am short/small build and to lose weight I need less than 1000 calories and just couldnt sustain this alone (for a number of reasons). I'd lose up to a stone then put it back on, repeat. WLI have really helped and I am at a healthy BMI (just) now and feeling great. I am eating cleanly and am more active, my injury is also improving due to the weight loss. I have a reverse diet plan for once I reach goal and am confident with my maintenence plan. Whether that needs to include a small dose of WLI then I will have to see but I think I can maintain alone as my eating/drinking habits have changed so significantly.

I was not referring to any particular parent I have been on the receiving end of tricky parents , Male and Female !

How many people living in poverty starts WLI?

Exactly.
But people like to judge and have opinions about the weight of others. How does this affect anyone else apart from the person losing the weight?
Just butt out FFS

Agree.WLI involves a lot of commitment which I think some posters don’t understand.

I am currently overweight and planning to lose it the ‘old fashioned way’. I do feel quite annoyed that if I’m successful people will assume I’ve just used the injections as that’s the most common way people lose weight these days.

I don’t think they’re necessarily a bad thing, although like everything there are risks but they are helping people who otherwise have struggled to lose weight. But I do think it’s slightly unfair that people who lose weight on their own through diet and exercise will lose recognition of the effort.

Also, about half the people I know who’ve used the injections to lose weight look worse afterwards. A lot of people aren’t changing their lifestyles at all so don’t look healthier afterwards and because it’s coming off so quickly their faces look very sunken and wrinkled. That might be a distinguishing factor in whether someone has used WLIs or changed their lifestyle.

How do you retrain your habits when you are taking a powerful appetite suppressant? I am genuinely interested in this. If your appetite is suppressed by the drug, allowing you to eat healthily, how do you know that the changes you are making will stick when the drug is no longer used and the appetite returns? Those who say they will stay on a low dose for life are probably being the most realistic.

One is an older lady and she looks very thin. Two are under what I’d call middle aged, they look amazing. The other is 50, looking emaciated. My face definitely shows the extreme rapid weightloss, I could do with Botox around the mouth, but losing what I have so quickly, it’s normal.

In the past I have lost weight the 'old fashioned' but purely concentrating on number of calories rather than nutrition, hence it always going back on! It really does take commitment to make a lifestyle change, however I will be the first to admit having no food noise makes it so much easier. I actually dont mind feeling hungry, I actually quite like it but the food noise is super stressful.

@Applesonthelawn why does your BIL owe you a discussion on his personal medical decisions? It’s not your business and it doesn’t matter at all to you. Just because you can see the weight loss doesn’t mean you are owed any information about it.

I’ve lost weight without WLI and I honestly don’t give a shit if people ‘recognise my efforts’ or not. Why would I care? I lost weight for me, no one else. It annoys me when people ask if I’ve used WLI, I say no and they don’t believe me, but that’s because I object to being called a liar. Apart from that, their opinion on my weight loss and how I’ve done it is meaningless to me.

Its no different to any other diet plan though surely. People do SW and WW all the time, get to goal then pile it all back on as soon as they stop. You need to commit to the lifestyle change and keep on top of things. It isnt easy whatever way you do it. You retrain your habits by buying and consuming healthy foods, high protein and low carbs. Finding healthy snacks for when you are peckish, eating foods that fill you up rather than empty calories. Its hard to keep it off whatever way you do it, and let's face it, if you have lost 8 stone or something you havent done it in a couple of months, it would be 1 year+ of significant changes.

They have side affects … my friend has had tummy issues but won’t come off them as she feels better than she has in 10 years .. and it will help the NHS as obesity is the cause of many a health issue as we know

I don’t really care at the end of the day, I’ll know the truth and that’s it. I just find it slightly annoying that people will assume I didn’t have the willpower to do it on my own, thinking I’d still be fat if I didn’t had an injection to help.

I don't think any jf us can say what will happen with any degree of certainty. Some people will undoubtedly make a Herculean effort and keep it off. Some will struggle. Like with anyone who loses weight via whatever method.

I think people who are actively trying 'train' themselves into better habits are doing right by themselves and attempting to give themselves the best shot, which i admire. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford this medication on an ongoing basis so I dont have those worries in the same way.

When I lost 5 stone 10 years ago, I couldn't keep it off. Same when I lost 4 stone 5 years ago. I have no reason to believe it'll be any different this time now that I've lost 7 stone, so why put myself through that?

Well probably wait and see if you manage to lose the weight before getting annoyed about a problem that doesn’t exist yet.

Thank you for the first honest reply. I've also had three babies, including a terrible emergency C-section so I really do understand body hang ups. What I've always wondered was whether or not the accelerated weight loss meant that the loose skin was worse or more likely than doing it slowly/naturally. Weight loss that's done slowly (and yes after three babies I had to lose weight) needs some alongside weight training. With my first two children I didn't go to the gym as like many, I had no time. I noticed sagging in my arms and at that point I was only in my 30s. The only thing that helped was to build muscle in the areas where I'd lost the weight. That took time and I'd say in terms of my arms, they're still not the best.

I think those plans are part of the problem tbh. I am probably going to be flamed for this but I don't think those diets actually work. I would love for someone to do a study into how those groups may have contributed to the obesity epidemic over the last few years.

Not rtft but what I've already read has riled me, why do people think that Mounjaro etc.dont require willpower? They absolutely do, I say this as someone who is still morbidly obese and has lost just over 5 stone in a year using MJ. I've also spent a fucking fortune lining SW and WW pockets since I was 16. 16! All the shitty recipes books, the "HiFi bars" yadda yadda..... mounjaro has proved the best vfm out of the lot because I simply dont think about food/syns/points etc. Doesnt mean it's easy, if i wanted to I could still sink a 2K cal meal of unhealthy shit 3 times a day, MJ has literally changed my world for the better and I know in myself how much willpower and work it's taken so fair play to anyone on their own journey. IMO it doesnt matter how you've done it well done all.

I’ll be losing the weight one way or the other. If I can’t lose it through diet and exercise then I’ll be consulting a doctor rather than using injections that I’ve seen adverse side effects from in multiple people.

I've lost 3 stone using mounjaro as an aid. I haven't lost weight quickly, it's taken me a year. I've gone up doses slowly and am still not at the top level.
I look good, still need to drop about 1 stone to get to top of healthy bmi but that will do. I have zero desire to be a skinny but do want to be healthy.
I work out at the gym usually 4 or 5 times a week lifting weights. My legs have better definition than I've ever had.
Ive a tiny bit of loose skin on my inner thighs but you'd never notice even in a bikini.
My problem is eating enough protein as if I'm not hungry I'll just not eat.
Mounjaro has been amazing for me. It has helped me get to grips with my binge eating and has given me the headspace to lose weight consistently instead of this awful binge then starvation mode i was in.
No one has commented on if im using WLI...what has helped is changing jobs mid way. My new colleagues only know me as I am now with 3 stone off so they dont comment!!!

16:8 or 5:2?

I have learned how many calories I need to maintain my current weight (a lot less than when I started!). I have learned what a suitable portion size looks like for me. I have bought smaller plates to serve my food on. I buy much less in the shops. I have stopped having crisps, biscuits etc in the cupboard (except for dh's treat cupboard which I never open). I have a repertoire of healthy meals to cook for both simple and extravagent ocassions. I doubt I will ever eat pasta again. My sweet tooth has gone.

As others have said, WLIs suppressed my appetite enough that I could be consistant over 15 - 18 months so the habits are really strong. Ditto with exercise, I have a bunch of friends there now which helps me to go when my resolve is weak.

Most people go back down the doses as they are approaching maintenance (although some just stop) until they reach a lower dose where the balance of appetite suppression matches their maintenance needs. Some people go right down through all the doses then stop becoming more confident every step of the way. On the lower doses the appetite suppression is pretty low.

Personally I am now doing one month on and one month off (agreed with my prescriber). The month off so I can feel what my 'normal' appetite is and to find out whether the habits are sticking, and the option of a month on so I can have a little bit of 'help' if there are corrections to be made to my habits e.g. having a G&T every evening rather than rarely.

It really depends, I know many people they have worked for, in fact my friend lost 11stone at slimming world, definitely no injections. She had a good incentive as needed to lose weight for a medical condition. She has kept it off for some time now.

WW seems to work for lots of people as it just makes people aware of portion sizes. That said, most of the people who it has worked for are not people who have been obese all their lives, more people who have put on weight in a short time (injury or pregnancy) so I think it is easier to maintain then. Like with WLI you should eat healthily, not eat unlimited muller lights or just fill up on other 'free foods' regardless of nutrition and this is where people go wrong IMO. Both diets actually promote healthy eating but people interpret them as they please and its not sustainable.

I’m fully aware that I’m likely to put some weight back on when I get to goal. I’m hoping that I can behave like my slimmer friends and pull myself up after a little weight gain and get it off again. I just felt like the six or seven stones I had to lose initially was so daunting I stuck my head in the sand and continued comfort eating. Whereas one stone to lose wouldn’t be. And I’ve gone down the route of “balanced plate” and just eating real, healthy foods rather than counting calories, syns or points as I have a million times in the past.