To be really jealous of people who can afford weight loss injections?

[Charliede1182]

It seems like everyone and their dog is taking them, I personally know several people who are on them with significant and effortless weight loss, and I feel like there is becoming more and more of a disparity between those who can afford to buy themselves a smaller appetite and those who can't.

It's not just a social or cosmetic issue, it's about health equity.

In my case I don't want to lose weight for vanity or to cater to patriarchal beauty standards, I am comfortable and confident in my appearance and keen to model body positivity to my daughter.

However I am on the combined pill (for important medical reasons not contraception) and my weight is starting to threaten my ongoing access to this.

I am very fit, walk 5-8 miles a day, some of it with a weighted vest, gym 2-3 x weekly, resistance training, cook almost everything from scratch and although I am no angel I would say my diet is about 90% healthy.

I just don't feel full with small portions, it is an apparent mismatch between appetite and metabolism which is why I would love these injections to make me less hungry.

Even if I had the willpower to just eat less, being hungry all the time isn't a good quality of life and my attitude has always been I would rather enjoy myself and be a bit heavier than society thinks I should, than be thin and miserable.

Whilst I could probably get the money together for a couple of months of treatment, this is not how these drugs work, as people's appetite just comes roaring back if they stop, and then they can end up in a worse position having lost lean mass as well, so I would only go down this road if I could afford it longer term.

Just wondering if anyone else has Ozempic envy right now??!!!

People often put weight back on after loosing regardless of the diet. I am living proof of that. I could loose 10lb but would then gradually put back 12 - and repeat.

What I couldn't do without WLI is stick to a diet long term. When you are obsese (in my case I needed loose 6 stone to get to a BMI of 24 - my goal), 10lb is really neither here nor there.

I am on MJ. It isn't quite the quick fix people say either - I have been taking it for 14 months. I have lost over 4 stone.

Once I stop (and I will taper off before stopping), I intend to continue to track calories, exercise and if the weight does start to creep back on I will address it as needed before it gets out of control again.

People who are not obese will likely be able to get the weight off without WLI if they choose, but for people who are obese they are life saving/life changing.

Food noise is not nonsense. If you don't have it lucky you. I hadn't realised what it was until I started reading about MJ. It can be distracting and consuming and is fucking horrible to live with. If you can stick to diet and exercise without help lucky you. Some of us have struggled for years and been unsuccessful. Does that mean we should just continue to be fat?

OP while I sympathise and understand how hard it can be to loose weight especially as we get older, the jabs aren't really aimed at people who only need to loose a few pounds. For someone who is obese, the benefits in most cases will outweigh the risks.

As for cost, I have forfeited other spending to pay for the jabs. I decided my health was more important. I appeciate not everyone has anything to cut back but I have a friend who goes on holiday multiple times a year and who says they are too expensive. She could take one holiday less and it would likely cover the cost.

TBF OP is obese and would have to lose about 7% of her body weight not to be. 32 BMI comfortably exceeds the private prescription criteria, it's not just about a few pounds. For us shorties, a couple of stone is a lot in relative terms! So somebody in that position is NBU to want the benefit of WLIs.

Agree with the rest of the post though.

I didn't say any of that but happy to enlighten you! We could do drive thru lung transplants too

Sorry if I misunderstand @MyLimeGuide - that’s what I got from your post but happy to be corrected. What did you mean, if not that alcoholic should not be given life saving liver transplants?

Liver transplants vs MJ is a stupid comparison sorry. Its right that someone has to be dry for 6 months before they are eligible because a human liver is a valuable resource that someone has had to die for the recipient to get. Its NOTHING like drugs that can be bought at the expense of the patient. And I am an alcoholic (in recovery for 2 years) from a family of alcoholics. One of whom did receive a transplant.
However I would be all for MJ being trialled as a treatment for alcoholism. I would potentially even volunteer.

Can I ask about food noise? I used to eat quite compulsively when I was young. Then as I got happier and healthier I was able to regulate my appetite better. I remember, when I was about 28, mentioning chocolate in front of my brother whom I hadn’t spent much time with and he said, ‘Oh do you still do that? Still eat chocolate?’ (He meant’binge chocolate’, but was too polite to say so. ) That was a little external prod that helped me along the path I was already on to a better adjusted approach to food. But at one point I used to spend money I didn’t have to eat loads of chocolate and cheese, and I have even stolen food to eat secretly. Thankfully I did grow out of it.

But I still like my grub! So tonight, for example, I’ve eaten a good meal- homemade boeuf bourgignon and mash. I bought some vanilla ice cream for pudding and I have had two scoops. I love ice cream and could easily eat more of it. I’m idly turning over the idea, but I know I’m full and there’s enough left for DS to have his share later if he wants it. So I’ll leave it. I’m not not thinking about it though. Is that food noise? It’s not that hard to set aside- I can watch the thought come and go. I don’t feel compelled to act on it.

For me (and I’m not saying this is the case for everyone) “food noise” equates to: thinking about food from the minute I got up until I went to bed. Whether I was in a famine or feast phase (and my weight has yo-yoed from 9 to 14 stone for years) I’d be constantly thinking about what I was going to eat that day, obsessively writing down lists/calories of what I planned to eat/has eaten, going for a while eating say 1200 calories but then having a day where I’d just binge all day and then feel sick and disgusted with myself. Always thinking about how many calories were in things, getting up in the night to eat bc I couldn’t sleep for thinking about food, going through phases of just eating whatever I wanted ie. going out for a 3 course meal and then going home and eating crisps/chocolates, not being able to stop at one cake but sometimes eating a whole
packet of donuts for example. Constantly feeling upset that I could t just lose weight and then keep it off like normal people. Always knowing that even if I’d got down to a healthy weight in time for summer, I’d start putting it back on eventually and this would accelerate in winter as I could only ever keep up the calorie deficit for a few months or so.

Obsessively reading weight loss forums/ slimming world magazines to see stories of people who’d lost weight and what they eat. If I was in a dieting phase, not wanting to eat out bc I knew 100% I wouldn’t be able to stop at a main course for example.

It’s relentless and exhausting and tbh I didn’t even realise that I had it until I started taking MJ and it all just went away. It was only when I came on the WLI boards that I learnt it was a thing. Most people to look at me would probably be surprised I was so obsessive about food bc I was never obese, I’m quite tall and always looked just a bit chubby even at 14 stone.

Im so much happier now - which is the biggest benefit for me even more so than the weight loss. I don’t have to think about food anymore other than making sure I’m eating sufficiently and as nutritionally well as possible.

It’s insane to think that il never have to go back to being like I was before.

Apart from obsessively reading weight loss forums, my food noise is the same as @Dollyfloss The only way I have any chance of reasonable control is to forward plan, eat a good protein rich diet, and try my best to stick to it. I cannot leave food on a plate (unless it’s not nice). Not to have food on my mind constantly is the biggest WLI envy I have. Especially at the moment as I’m in danger of an upward weight trajectory right now, this being comfort eating. I also love cooking and baking which helps in some ways, but again food thoughts from that too.

My food noise before wli was tortuous. I genuinely hated how much it dominated my thoughts...i was in a constant battle with myself. The mental freedom is actually better than the weight loss itself

I agree that it should be more available on the NHS. My DH has been on it for a while for type 2 diabetes and he’s also quite overweight. He has lost quite a lot since starting on it and feels much better for it.

I understand that it would cost the NHS a lot but in the long run if people are healthier and slimmer then surely it would cost less in the long run.

I get this post. My food noise is just always there. Plus, im an emotional eater. I know why I feel as I do and it won't change. So those added together is why im overweight. The thought of dealing with this with WLI is very very appealing. But I can't afford them long term and I worry what would happen once the food noise comes back.
I understand people saying they'll be on them forever, but I simply can't afford that.
And I dont want to start them, loose weight, get things under control then stop them when im thinner and feeling wonderful. And put on weight again. I have no confidence I could maintain without the WLI.

They wouldn’t in some cases, but they might be anyway. . Obesity is a problem, but these things and other things happen with people of normal weight. Fat jabs aren’t a cure all. 🤷‍♀️

Yes, surely nobody really thinks that cancer is restricted to people of 25+ BMI?!

@Fitsthenewfatmy convenience and take away food was quite a bit previously also the quantity I used to eat…… I now eat a snack and 2 meals a day as I intermittent fast till 11 am. So a typical day is a banana and protein shake. Lunch chicken breast with pesto mozzarella and tomatoes and broccoli. Tea omelette with mushrooms/ham.cheese. Prob costs about £4 per day/£30 a week.

I really appreciate all the replies, some really interesting information coming across here.

It hadn't even occurred to me that WLI don't work in all cases. I wonder what proportion that is?

Also the concept of food noise - whilst I only heard the term recently I can certainly relate to the experience.

For me I think the constant rumination about food, which has been worst at times in my life when I was closer to normal weight and really restricting my intake so constantly hungry, is tied up with the battle between satiety and weight.

If I could eat my fill without gaining weight I would just be able to eat a meal then move on, satisfied, and not think about food until the next meal. It is knowing I can only have a small plate and still having a rumbling tummy when that's gone, that's what fuels the internal dialogue "maybe I can just have a bit more, shame to waste it, what if I just have a banana, it's only fruit..." etc

What do you eat @Charliede1182. To cook a meal and still have a rumble im Your tum isn’t good

I eat a pretty healthy diet eg porridge, sandwich and salad, fruit, stir fry with lots of veggies, stews, home made soup, I eat a lot of fish, chicken, yoghurt fruit whole grains etc so I'm not eating processed food and hardly ever eat cake, biscuits, desserts etc. I do like cheese, and I don't drink alcohol at all.

It's just that small portions don't fill me up, but eating heartily without restricting is for me incompatible with achieving an acceptable weight.

If I had either a smaller appetite or a better metabolism I would be in equilibrium, which is why I am tempted by WLI.

I am going to try psyllium husks though which I have heard called the poor man's Ozempic. I also heard about a product called Plenity which fills you up with no calories, but it seems to have been discontinued if it ever was available in the UK.

It’s 15 percent op. In the trials. However anecdotally reading these forums, if your weight issues are due to psychological issues rather than physiological then they don’t work so well, as you can push through and keep eating. Ie you know when you’re feeling full and keep eating anyway?but if it is due to physiological issues, ie insulin resistance, metabolic issues etc then they work very well indeed,

weight is very complex, and it seems these drugs have shown it is a physiological issue for many people. But for some it really is a mental health one, and in that instance, they don’t work so well.

I dont agree @Charlenedickens. Do you have evidence saying that?

It’s ok to disagree, and I used the term anecdotally. You can google the meaning of the word if required.

Have a look at Slimpod, focused on the psychological aspects of overeating. I’m 23lb down (15 months in), no dieting required, just building healthy habits that are working for the long term. It’s not quick but it’s about the long term for me, not losing a stone in the next 4 weeks.

OP, apologies if this is obvious to you and comes across as condescending/patronising. I wasn’t aware of the emphasis that dieticians place on the role of protein in satiety and muscle mass development /retention until I had a 12 week program with a PT last year. The meal plan for weight loss while increasing muscle was all about protein. I thought I ate enough already, but it was actually pretty hard to hit my target daily. It meant 3 egg omelettes for breakfast, adding a big dollop of Greek yogurt to your porridge, snacking on hi protein cottage cheese- like, 200gram pots at a time - , tinned tuna, salmon, chicken breasts, turkey mince in 300gram portions. Just however much protein you think of as a standard portion and double it. It’s not a particularly cheap diet but eggs, cottage cheese and tinned fish are reasonably cheap and easy to prep.

Veg and salads are all free on the meal plan, provided you’re not adding oil/butter/sauces of course. So you can have a massive plate of protein with mounds of vegetables and be eating for a long time and not feel hungry for 3 to four hours.

It isn’t straightforward, there’s no magic bullet, consistency is hard, and the brain wants to keep the weight on! But if you haven’t tried the high protein route, and your health depends on you keeping your weight a bit lower, it might be worth a shot while you wait for WLI to get cheaper, if that’s the barrier.

Incidentally, whether on WLIs or not, losing weight or not- everyone needs to do resistance training and build more muscle. I ve watched my parents weaken and lose mobility and independence along with their muscle mass: it’s not an easy way to spend your last 10 -20 years.

I didn't think you had any evidence, this was just your own opinion, with nothing to back it up.
So meaningless, really.

This is what anecdotally means, it is my opinion from reading lots of threads, is English not your first language? It is very odd responses and I can only assume you don’t know what anecdotally meant.

Ok fair play. I get buying better quality food but surely the coffee and cake are treats that if you struggling financially to pay for the jabs you could easily forgo. Or just drink coffee and cakes from home. I'm just imagining that with sacrifices it could be affordable? Maybe not.