If you are on weight loss injections, what do you make of this article?

[IwishIwasacaterpillar]

If you have come off them, have you gained weight very quickly?

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/07/weight-loss-jabs-regain-two-years-health-study

That’s how I’ve lost weight. The injections have made it possible for me to stick to a dramatic change in my diet: prior to this cravings would take over. But ultimately it is the diet that’s done it.

Are there big studies that a) define 'traditional diet and exercise and b) compare a group of people who have lost weight this 'traditional' way with people who have taken GLP-1s without in any way modifying their diet and exercise? Because it's very easy to talk in woolly, generalising terms about weight loss and that applies to media reporting as well as people voicing their opinion. But what data we do have, what big weight loss studies that are actually credible and backed up, tell us the same thing: no matter what method you use to lose weight, almost everyone regains it plus a bit more. There is no established 'traditional' method with proven long-term success in the real world. Obesity is multifactorial and actually very complex, and there isn't a straightforward solution that has been shown to work over three years, five years, much a lifetime. GLP-1s are the most promising breakthrough we've ever had, a genuine game-changer so far. I'm very hopeful about them because they are truly different and because nothing else actually works, I'm sorry to say - not for the majority and not in the long term.

Seriously - how do you think people lose weight on WLI?
Sure, a small number are just starving themselves to lose as many numbers as quickly as possible. They are the ones who are wilfully ignorant about their bodies and will never learn healthy habits. Most people are increasing exercise (made a lot easier to do by fat loss) and changing their diets. The fact that it's extremely difficult to maintain this after coming off the medication doesn't mean they didn't make the changes in the first place!

So many people keen to knock wli.

Some with entrenched views on excess weight as a moral failure meaning fat people must repent and suffer to lose weight.

Some think of excess weight as stupidity and fat people need to learn what healthy eating means.

Some who have never been seriously over weight and mistakenly believe their own patterns of hunger must be universal.

Some parts of the traditional diet industry who see their profits disappearing.

Some who are anti “big pharma” conspiracy theorists.

Some who think we are all the same as the idiots buying from dodgy sellers on fb etc, and/or those who really don’t need wli and are wanting their “beach body” and copying moronic celebrities and so called influencers.

Everybody losing weight in whatever manner can put weight back on.

This was what the research evidence said all along, so shouldn't surprise anyone.

Because to do that, the problems with a food industry that profits off selling people shite would need to be addressed, and they won't. I admire the work of Chris van Tulleken and others who have highlighted the dangers of UPF, but the approach is no different to the usual willpower based one you see with every other diet - don't eat UPFs. The solutions are still individual and not societal.

You're bang on, don't get me wrong. I started regaining lost weight as I posted upthread after I started being less careful with my diet, and allowed more convenience foods to slip in where I'd strictly avoided them while actively in treatment for Type 2 and losing weight. I know these foods are kryptonite for my blood sugar levels and will go back to avoiding them. But I don't think everyone understands this. I see people at work who are on jags just eating tiny portions of UPF rubbish, and I want to shake them. But they believe in "eat less, move more" and it works to lose, so they don't see a problem.

This post nails it.

Isn’t this the case with ANY weight loss method? Surely if you don’t change your lifestyle it’s obvious things will return to how they were. It’s not exactly rocket science.

Hi I have a question about the injections. It seems like most people gradually increase their dose during the process. Is there a maximum dose that people can access, and can your body just get used to it. Would this happen to those on it for life? I understand that people may need it for maintenance but could there be long term effects of high doses

Should add that research evidence tends to be more optimistic about a medication than real world data, so would not expect the situation to look better taking real world long term data into account .

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c050ljnrv2qo

I'm not sure there's been sufficient time for that statement to be truly tested has it? All I know is, on the support threads on here, all anyone is talking about is the changes they are making and sustaining. No-one is posting about eating tiny tiny amounts of calories or saying they're lazing about and have no.intentions to do otherwise. I think the cost of the jabs is certainly a motivating factor to work with them to see losses, not necessarily fast, and sustain it. It certainly is for me.

Exactly this sadly.
There is much profit in selling junk and jabs. They are making a killing (literally)
People have to take matters into their own hands, it is extremely hard when we are literally surrounded with junk food everywhere we turn and it does come down to discipline but if you can stick to the 80/20 rule, this is what we do with the kids, have a treat on weekends, it's a good place to start.

It's always been a good idea to lose weight through diet and exercise - in an ideal world, but many people couldn't do that for one reason or another - that hasn't changed.

The drug costs pence to manufacture. Swapping to pill form will not significantly reduce the price. When it comes out of its exclusive period and eliilley dont have the monopoly, that's when we will see a price drop

There is an oral version of wegovy already licensed for diabetes and an oral version of mounjaro in the pipeline. So I'm pretty sure non of us will be "jabbing in our 80s".

Personally i quite like the logistical ease of having one evening a week over taking meds every day, injections don't fill me with any kind of horror or distress.

'Wegovy' tablets are the same price per day as the injection currently, but they are the only tablet licensed so they can name their price, once there are other oral versions on the market and competition, prices will come down.

Yes there is a maximum dose, I suppose the body gets 'used to' the dose but that doesn't mean it stops working. Of course there could be long term effects of taking it whether the dose is high or low, most people who maintain are trying to move to the lowest effective dose to do that.

People on WLIs are still losing weight though diet and exercise!
There is nothing else that will make you drop lbs.
The jabs just stop you being starving the whole time. That’s all.

Its an easy calculation eat too many calories and dont burn enough off equals weight gain, injections dont change this basic equation just interupts it.

Yes I am a bit worried. Hopefully things will settle down as I've just gone up to 1mg. I still don't think cooking will be something I enjoyed as much as before though!

I don’t think it’s about changing life habits - yes you need to do that but as a lifetime dieter I think it’s purely about food noise - when yoive been dieting a lot the food noise is off the scale. I’ve been either putting on weight or dieting for 30+ years- there’s no happy medium. I don’t not put weight on without huge food noise. I’d love to take the jabs to stop the food noise but I’m not eligible. Low carb doesn’t help me - I still have food noise. So I can entirely understand that people put back on after finishing the jabs.

Maybe it does need to be a lifetime thing (which I’d like to take to at BMI 25) and will be better when it can be made cheaper. Must be huge profits being made out of the ridiculous prices

I think it's naïve thinking to assume the cost will come down significantly when the patents expire and tablets come on the market. It's very clear that WLI are nothing short of miraculous in having such a positive impact on other medical conditions besides obesity – lots of people talk about coming of blood pressure meds etc. The more people need less meds in general, the more that's going to hit Big Pharma's profit margins. So keeping the price inflated of the one drug responsible for that, so not everyone can access it and make themselves well, seems far more likely.

I hope not, obviously, but Big Pharma is all about $$$$$.

People should view these injections as no more than brushing teeth. Stop brushing and you’ll get cavities, stop injecting and you’ll gain weight.

Just another maintenance tool

See that’s why I’ve not tried them. I rarely feel hungry anyway, so I’m thinking it won’t make a difference to me.

I am on MJ since 5 months now and totally overhauled my diet. My reason for the weight gain are 100% mental, I am a stress eater and the last 8 years were brutal, especially the last 4.

So I know what I need to do, I am in a better position mentally already with one stress factor reduced. While I am sure I will be on MJ for quite a long time, I think a maintaining dose will hopefully sort me out when I reach the goal.

You need to sort out your life and diet when on the drugs or you will regain but that is the same for all weight loss programms. I was on WeightWatchers 20 years ago, lost over 20kg because I realised what was wrong with my diet.
I regained because of new factors.

The drugs give me now the mental capacity to be able to analyse my problems and triggers. With normal diet programms you are still constantly preoccupied with calorie counting, you are hungry and envious of the food available all around you. With MJ I can't be bothered to eat chocolate, I don't crave it so my thoughts are better used to sort out my life.