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??!!!

you’re most likely going to balloon as soon as you stop taking it.

not true, you will likely gain 5 to 10% of your end weight , but most people I know have not gained much more than that, in fact most have continued to lose.

No way!! 12 stone that's incredible, no need to feel envious of people paying for weightloss!! You did it the hard way 😍

Only if you continue to diet, which most ppl cannot do without the drug.

Once you’ve reached your ideal bmi, does either the nhs or private prescribers continue prescribing for as long as the individual wants, even if they are no longer obese? For loads of us it’s not the losing it’s the maintaining and in my case often failing

I think I’d prefer to know I’m eating nutritious foods and putting goodness into my body than be injecting myself with something that no one knows the long term side effects of. It’s wrong how things have flipped in the last year and now there is this divide.

Yes, long term maintenance plans are available with private pharmacies. The NHS barely prescribe for weight loss an it’s all very new so it’s a wait and see what they choose to do in the long term.

And you need to have a high bmi.

100% agree on this. And that’s why these “weight loss injections” are only prescribed by specialists on the NHS in patients with type two diabetes who are on insane amounts of insulin and still have poor blood sugar control.

Couldn’t agree more!

My body needs exercise and nutritious food in order to be strong and healthy.

I am not envious of those taking drugs to suppress their appetite and lose muscle tone.

This whole thread sounds like a marketing campaign on behalf of the drug companies.

@WorriedAboutArthur how long term do you need to know about before taking a medication? These medications have been around for years, gone through multiple rigorous clinical trials and have been approved for use in the normal way by the MHRA.

if you think it’s wrong that there’s a divide based on who can access these medications privately then presumably you have an issue with all private medical treatment? Is that all wrong as well?

I really hope the nhs doesn’t fund people with ideal bmi to get these injections forever! How expensive that would be?!

@Lemonlimonade you do know that you can eat nutritious food and exercise while taking them? It’s not one or the other! I’ve eaten better and done a huge amount more exercise whilst I’ve been taking Mounjaro. I’m fitter and healthier than I’ve been for decades. That’s my personal experience, it’s not a marketing campaign. It’s just how it’s been for me.

@Lemonlimonade oh don’t worry, hardly anyone gets WLI on the NHS. Their starting criteria are such that very few currently qualify and all will have at least 4 serious weight related health conditions. So if they lose weight, they are likely to reduce their overall cost burden on the NHS over time due to improvements in those health conditions. Even if they are allowed to continue taking this medication longer than you’d allow them to.

Yes I agree with that!!! So many reasons not to do this drug and try and live a healthy lifestyle instead but mumsnet is obsessed with promoting the drug!

And totally unfair. I want the NHS to fund microneedling!!!

This really depends on whether one is obese or not. For someone who isn't, who doesn't need WLIs to stay at a lower BMI, of course it's better not to incur the expense and to take the lower risk option open to you. Whereas for someone who is obese or very overweight, statistically they are not going to lose the weight and keep it off through attempting diet and healthy lifestyle. Which is why it's totally understandable that OP feels jealous.

Probably cheaper than treatment and benefit payments for obesity related conditions...

I'm guessing prescription doses would be cheaper than open heart surgery, organ transplants, hip operations, back ops, physio therapy, cancer treatment, osteoarthritis etc etc

@MyLimeGuide don’t you think that people have spent their lives trying to “live a healthy lifestyle” and failing? I’ve been obese all my life pretty much, and I’ve been up and down with my weight constantly. Always an overall upwards path though and recently been morbidly obese as a result. I’m not an idiot, I know why I get fatter and how to lose weight. I’m not feckless and lacking willpower, I work in a well paid professional job, I run my household and have lovely children. This is the one thing that I’ve struggled with all my life. And now, there’s a way for me to actually sort it out, which is working.

The fact that I will post about my experience is nothing to do with Mumsnet wanting to promote things. It’s my own experience. I will post on discussion about this as it’s directly relevant to my life.

Id say they are a last resort. You absolutely can do this by yourself.
Use my fitness pal to log what you eat,
weigh all your food, cut out caffiene, limit gluten and aim for less sugar.
try to get to the gym a few times a week.

weight loss is discipline, and even if you get the jabs, once you come off you need to be disciplined and change your mindset completely with your habits.

no one knows the risks for these jabs longterm, they are designed for diabetics.

But why would any of those be needed for people.of a normal weight?

I agree to an extent although I’m not jealous about the affordability, it’s more the fact I had to put in real hard graft and find mega willpower to lose weight before these jabs existed. Now people can cheat and actually cheat as well, not go on a shit crash diet then gain it all back within weeks.

I lost 7 stone in a year about a decade ago through sheer grit and determination. What I will say though is I have a toned body, minimal loose skin and I don’t look like a skeleton. Many WLI users look very gaunt and unhealthy because they don’t go to the gym alongside it.

less expensive that treating all the obesity related conditions they will inevitably end up with.

Prevention.

You should work through why you feel so bitter. It’s a really ugly trait.

No true. Once you learn how to eat smaller portions, your stomach will start shrinking.
My sister lost all her weight years ago, from SW and never regained the appetite.
I am a food phobic and rarely get hungry. I eat because it is time to eat, if anything is getting me down my appetite disappears.
I’ve to watch my weight so it doesn’t drop. I can’t physically over eat. I think it is a neurological disorder or hormones so I assume that people who suffer from obesity or just a different side of the same coin.