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??!!!

Because research into medicines is really expensive, patents only last for a limited time, and the money has to be earned not just for the costs of developing and producing MJ, but also for all the other drugs they tried that didn’t make it to market.

Generally patents only last for 20 years and MJ is already about 10 years in to that, so some time in the 2030s non branded versions will be available for a lot less.

If you are severely overweight, it is really worth having your blood sugar levels checked. If they are high, they won’t start you on MJ, but most likely metformin and/or dapagafloxin. For many people, those will control blood sugar and for some people they also help with weight loss.

But if they cannot control your sugars with those drugs, then it is likely that you will be eligible for MJ on an NHS prescription. This is what I have. It has enabled me to come off a ton of other meds, to lose 3.5 stone so far, and I can be on it, for free, for as long as it is effectively controlling the diabetes. I can’t choose to increase the dose just to lose more weight, but I am still losing slowly, which is fine by me.

Not sure either way…. You do you! All I want to add is that these injections were not initially created for cosmetic purposes and I wonder what the effects may be 10-15 years down the line?

If you want to lose weight… eat more healthily!

Reducing weight from being obese is not cosmetic. Are you really unaware of the health risks of obesity?

The effects 10-15 years down the line appear to be reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and many other diseases. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/20/weight-loss-jabs-linked-to-reduced-risk-of-42-conditions-including-dementia

I’m not sure it’s healthy to stop your gym membership & exercising and rely on WLI to lose weight & muscle mass?!

It’s a shame the nhs won’t have a scheme for people to be able to get the jabs at a reduced cost. say if over 40 bmi, it’s fully funded….then the ranges go down with the patient paying a higher portion respectively?
obviously there’d need to be controls so that people don’t abuse the service by yo-yo usage. maybe when people are at a more healthy weight and ready to come off of the jabs then the nhs could step up diet control and support.
surely the long term benefits to individuals and the cost savings of seriously reducing weight health issues would be the way to go.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!

Information I should have added - I am 158cm, 80kg BMI of 32.

I have no health problems due to my weight and a fantastic hba1c plus vo2 max within the top 10% for age and sex.

My Fitbit says I burn around 2500kcal daily, not sure how accurate that is.

I eat a generally healthy diet and don't drink alcohol at all. I just don't feel full with small portions and can't enjoy life hungry.

I have really strong ethical views on girls and women being constantly made to feel their bodies aren't good enough and that they should be striving for thinness and other unrealistic beauty standards that the pursuit of causes physical, mental and financial harm, so for me it is absolutely not a cosmetic issue.

The issue is that if I were to lose access to my combined pill which I am on continuously for medical reasons, holy hell would break loose and I would be very unwell and debilitated, with no quality of life and there's no universe in which I want to go untreated or try lesser options which haven't worked, until I reach menopause age.

My BMI means my prescription is under constant threat because I am weighed every time.

I don't think anyone looking at me would call me obese, overweight yes but at least some of it has to be muscle.

There is a massive hill where I live which I walk briskly up every day, and even in my weighted vest I often pass much thinner people huffing and puffing or who've had to stop for a rest, winded half way up.

When I was younger I did manage to maintain a lower weight but it was hard, I was constantly hungry and thinking about when I could next eat, I probably wasn't healthier as I was eating a lot of "diet" and "low fat" foods full of processed rubbish thinking I was doing the right thing, and it did dictate my social life and certainly wasn't mentally healthy.

I go to the council gym off peak, and exercise is really important to me for my physical and mental health so I wouldn't give up the gym. I have never found exercise helpful for weight loss, but I do it to make my body stronger, not smaller.

I will definitely look into increasing protein and foods that increase glp-1 naturally, I had assumed the hormones controlling hunger and satiety were just a genetic lottery but if there is some way to move the needle without injections that would be great.

I would definitely go on the injections if I could afford it longer term but not in the knowledge that it wouldn't be a sustainable expense for me and being so vulnerable to the price getting hiked or the online places selling it being banned due to people abusing it and lying about their weight etc.

Thanks for the update OP, a lot of what you say resonates with me too. I’m also going to look up those foods. Re protein, I try to have as much as possible for breakfast. But I’m like you, always thinking when can I next eat, and rarely fully satisfied. I’m stuck at bmi 35 after having lost 25 kg, to be honest I’m likely going to accept not being able to lose what I want if I am to maintain as the smaller you are the lower your calorie allowance.

It sounds like she isn’t going through the proper channels to get it in that case - however you may be grossly overestimating how much weight she’s lost. My friend did this to me and kept on saying I’m “skin and bone” when in reality I’m 5”8” and 10 stone and a healthy bmi. She just wasn’t used to seeing me that thin since we were younger!

A reputable online pharmacy (such as mine - Oushk) will require video calls every few months for a chat and to record your height and weight visually. They won’t prescribe if your bmi drops too low (below 18 I think).

Unfortunately some people will abuse medication, whether it’s WLI or sleeping pills or whatever.

Yep, Ive lost a lot of weight and people refer to me as skinny and tiny. Ive got a BMI of 26, just tipping into the overweight category!!!

It’s weird isn’t it - along with faux concerns of being worried when they didn’t give a shit when I was overweight and huffing and puffing to get upstairs!

I did have to say to one friend recently who expressed “concern” - “I eat three healthy meals a day, and you subsist on oven chips, fishffingers and fizzy pop” (she has a terrible diet and always has done - but is thin) “and you should really give those up!” I added - pointing to the fag in her hand. Yes, she was lecturing me about “looking after myself” whilst smoking a Benson & Hedges! 😂

She is a good friend though and we can have a laugh together.

We have a very strange mentality surrounding health/weight loss in this country. And I do think a lot of it is jealousy, disguised as concern.

Fuck me I never thought of eating more healthily.

Thanks for the heads up.

As an aside, do you really think the biggest issue with obesity is cosmetic? Surely not?

That reminds me of something an older relative said to me when I said I wished there was something that reduced your appetite and made food taste less nice, she replied there used to be, it was called smoking!

Obviously that wouldn't help me keep my combined oral contraceptive pill prescription either but it is quite noticeable in old photos everyone is slim and they all had a cigarette in their hand!

I’m genuinely happy that she’s lost the weight and I’m slim myself so I’m not jealous in the slightest. Just wondered if at some point the companies say ok that’s enough now, as she really does seem to be withering away.

Oh absolutely! There are regular posts on here from people talking about how slim people used to be a few decades back, with no mention of how nearly half the population was on an appetite suppressant drug back then.

I thought you eat bugger all on it. So you needing large portions and the associated cost plus random cravings we all get when out and about for coffees or cakes would disappear? You'd be eating less than half what you did probably so that saves lots of money.

Or you could quit the gym and just go running, outdoor gym or exercise videos at home?

I think you could make it work. If it means a lot to you you make a few sacrifices.

It doesn’t prove I’m clueless - weight gain is basic thermodynamics: if you consume more energy than you burn then you’ll gain weight. I’m not skinny because I hold the key to some magical knowledge (which is sort of the opposite to your point, granted) or by accident; I’m slim because I watch what I eat and my weight carefully. I think lots of people fall into the trap of thinking cooking from scratch is a cure-all, but calories are calories, and you’re still unhealthy if you’re overweight whether it’s because of chips or eating a skip full of carrots every day. You can run marathons constantly but if you eat more than you burn, you’ll still gain weight. That’s why people say you can’t outrun a bad diet. Honestly, if you’re only eating a few snacks a day and a bowl of shreddies, you’re either terrible at maths or lying to yourself.

It’s not that hard. I’m not saying some people don’t find it difficult, but honestly if you’re vastly overweight then it’s far more likely to be your calorie intake being too high than you having broken the laws of physics.

I agree with you. I lost a significant amount of weight last year on MJ but couldn’t afford to keep it up. I’ve still got more weight to lose but I am really struggling without it. I’m a single parent, sleep deprived and super busy, so it’s hard for me to find the time and headspace to make the right food choices. MJ made it possible for me to eat what I would normally eat but in smaller portions. I’ve also gained a bit of weight back over the last month or so. Usually I am fine maintaining but I really struggle losing.

perhaps this is a crazy conspiracy i've dreamt up, but i feel there may be a bit of mounjaro/etc in the water system now, what with so many taking it up. i say this because about a year ago, around the time when they really took off, i felt my own appetite suddenly suppressed to less than it was before.

That is a conspiracy theory. Otherwise we would all be on antidepressants and skunk by proxy as well.

They don't fund it nor are GP appointments free, maybe the NHS should charge a go fee for those who can afford it.
Only lower earners or non working people have a medical card and can access free GP the jab is provided at a discount to low earner €109 once bmi is over 27.
It's the difference in those who can afford it paying 60 per visit, those with medical cards do take up a lot more visits because it's free, I'd imagine if it was free to everyone like the NHS people would book appointments for non vital issues and no one would be helped.

Fitness and weight loss are largely different things. Unless you’re doing an extreme amount of exercise, that will have a fairly minimal effect on weight loss without calorie reduction (though exercise is important for other reasons, like maintaining cardiovascular health and bone density).

I’ve got a a friend who has lost about 6 stone on the jabs. Genuinely life changing for him. He earns minimum wage but cut back on other things to afford them. As a PP has said, it’s about £30 a week. He also bought less food while on the jabs and losing weight as his appetite reduced a lot, so some of the cost was offset.

In your position I might think about cancelling the gym subscription and using running and a set of adjustable dumbbells at home instead. With that and the reduction in grocery shopping, the net cost of jabs might be quite low compared to current outgoings.

I KNOW for a fact that my typical calorie consumption is around 900 calories a day. I know that I walk roughly 10km a day, much more a weekend and in the summer months I tend to walk 100-150km a week. My meals are very basic - meat, potatoes and veg on the whole.

Doctors have told me that my inability to lose weight (I used to be able to lose it easily) is most likely hormonal or due to medication.

I am not a one off abnormality. Nor a breaker of the rules of physics. Nor am I delusional about calorie consumption etc as I’ve meticulously tracked every single piece of food or drink that passes my lips to try to work out why I wasn’t losing weight. There are lots of people like me who just hold any weight gained and cannot lose it. I see people that are very slim build eating much more than me and I just don’t understand why or how they remain slim. If we could unlock that mystery, I’d imagine it will be a lot easier for people to become a healthy weight. The fact a genetic report, that has no information about my current weight, told me I was genetically pre-disposed to being overweight tells me that it’s much more than just basic calories to consider. Throw into the mix getting older so reducing hormones, health conditions so medications that can cause weight gain, chronic pain conditions that make exercise difficult, etc and you can start to see how much harder it really can be for people!

You cannot be serious?

Despite me having a fatty liver, I have never been offered a WLI, so it's academic anyway. My hepatologist just says the main thing is to avoid UPFs. It would have to be Ozempic for me anyway as I have gallstones, so Mounjaro is contraindicated.

The people I know who have used WLIs have all regained the weight once they stopped using them. Whichever method you use to lose weight, it still means you have to be mindful of what, and how much, you eat moving forward. It's just finding what works for you. I know people who gave done well using Slimming World, but I couldn't get on with that at all!