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

Exactly.

A period of time at a healthy weight is much better for your health than being consistently obese.

This hasn't been my experience at all - I have 2 children with serious health issues, and so life is very stressful.

I used WLI simply because I have absolutely no capacity to give a diet headspace. But since being on them I am easily able to make healthy choices, and now the stress is taken away I can fit in exercise in, knowing it will make a difference. It has made me feel weightloss is finally possible.

The most amazing thing for me is that it's taken away all the guilt associated with food - I eat chocolate (and can finally moderate!) and don't feel like I've sabotaged myself, and I hope this is what I carry forward.

Sorry quoted wrong post

Great post @Eyeshadow.

I’ve been off it since Sept when the prices went up…I’m 8lbs heavier not the worst but it’s annoying and I expected it to happen. Now Christmas is out the way (put on about 4lbs over Christmas) then I should be able to get it back off. However I can easily see how people put it back on. My mindset hasn’t fully changed and my sweet tooth is through the roof so I know it’s not a magic cure

I guess the concern is the same as any unsupervised use of quite powerful medication, it can actually be dangerous without proper monitoring and the research does overwhelmingly seem to be reaching the conclusion that , with no additional support, the weight gain once stopping is rapid

Are you still taking the drugs?
How long are you down the line?

I didnt say they didnt improve your weight problems. I didnt say they werent going to improve situations. BUT if you are still taking the drugs after losing the weight or you are only in a year or so of losing the weight then my point stands. Come back in 5 years time off the drugs and tell me if you are still at 25 BMI.

why do you assume people taking WLI aren't able to see the bigger picture here that you see? do you assume fat = stupid? why assume people aren't addressing the bigger issues and looking at what they can do long term ie. figuring out why we overeat and how we might eat normally?

I'm not going to listen to you because you attack everyone on every thread on this subject who doesn't agree that WLI are the most marvellous invention since the wheel.

The research is that weight gain is likely once you stop, full stop. There isn't any evidence that there exists a form of support that will prevent formerly obese people from regaining weight, whether they did it through WLI then stopped or used traditional methods.

I understand why people find the idea of support comforting, but it does lead them to make a lot of assumptions.

Yep, gained it all back after stopping (although I did have cancer - which annoyed me as I thought I’d lose loads of weight 😂)

I previously lost 5st on sw which was a long hard graft including a marriage breakdown.

I saw the jabs when they first came out and used them to lose 3st quite quickly but I now know the best way for me is healthy eating and exercise.

For me, it was figuring out why I overeat.

I was deprived of food as a child and basically had to steal food from shops or eat out of bins.

So psychologically, my natural instinct to eat to survive was in overdrive and so I would overeat.

Of course that led to feelings of guilt and greed and becoming overweight - so I unconsciously associated food with guilt and shame but at the same time the need to overeat.

So I spent years yo-yo dieting - restricting myself and then binging, feeling guilty about the binge and restricted myself again - which I’m sure many overweight people can relate with.

Overeating is the most difficult things to overcome because we need food to survive.
When you give up Smoking, drugs, alcohol etc you give them up completely but you can’t do that with food and so it becomes more of a psychological issue than a physical one.

I have said it before but I think these injections should be free on the NHS for many people but should also come with therapy and a dietician etc else people are just throwing their money away and are risk of ending up twice the size.

I just wondered where the evidence was for much of it.

@EyeshadowYes, people often regain weight after stopping Mounjaro - that’s in the data. But the idea they usually end up heavier than they started just isn’t true. In trials, people who stopped regained around half to two-thirds of what they lost, and most were still below baseline a year later.

The rebound isn’t because appetite comes back “100x worse”, it’s because the drug’s hormonal effects stop and the body defends its previous weight. That’s biology, not lack of insight or psychology suddenly taking over.

People also aren’t typically gaining weight while still on the injections - continued use leads to maintenance or further loss on average. Plateaus are expected.

Agree obesity is complex and these drugs aren’t magic. Disagree that everyone should plan to come off. For many, obesity is a chronic condition and long-term treatment is entirely reasonable - just like BP or asthma meds.

Amazing drugs, real limits - but the evidence is more nuanced than you’re suggesting.

Don’t tell lies. I haven’t “attacked” anyone, ever.

@Tessasanderson I have been on Mounjaro for 18 months. I will be on it for a while longer before I get to my initial target weight. Then I will continue to take the medication as I work through managing maintenance and what my long term approach will be. I might continue taking a lower dose, or I might gradually move off it. Whatever works for me.

I will most certainly come back and tell you my BMI in 5 years. It might not be 25, but it certainly won't be 35, 40 or 50 ever again.

I'm not sure why you think you can speak with such authority on this, or how you can decide that injections are not a lifelong option. There are new GLP1s in development; we've had semaglutide and then tirzepatide, there is another coming down the line and of course pharmaceutical companies are pouring in resources to keep pushing the limits of what these drugs can do - so you really can't say with any confidence that people will reach a ceiling on them.

Obesity is a physical problem in the body; psychological intervention may or may not help but I can assure you that there is no magic bullet in 'figuring out why you overeat' any more than depressed people can just 'figure out why they're sad' and be cured. Yes, therapy and non-pharmaceutical interventions can absolutely help with weight management like they can with mental health problems too, but it's not an all-encompassing cure-all for all sufferers. Medication, sometimes lifelong, plays an extremely important role.

Completely agree! I’m massively struggling with the food noise again. I’ve lost 5.5st and have overhauled my entire wardrobe and lifestyle (gym etc) . But I feel a massive failure as I can’t shake the urge to eat massive portions again! It’s incredibly hard to manage without being on a maintenance dose!

So you are still taking the drugs to maintain or improve your weight loss.

Respectfully, how can you even comment on what your weight will be in the future. The only guarantee to maintain the weight is to keep taking the drugs which you hint at yourself.

Thats not saying you are doing anything wrong but surely the need to use the drugs to achieve weight loss means that to maintain or reduce weight gain in the future means you are going to need to continue taking these expensive drugs.

I’ve not been on WLI but I have at times in my life lost weight by other means (lost 3.5 stone with slimming world a few years ago). And put a fair chunk of it back on after I got to target and eased up. So really it’s no different to other weight loss methods. I don’t think because you might put it back on means you shouldn’t bother to try. That’s like saying lots of people relapse with smoking or drinking so really they shouldn’t bother trying to stop. For some people it will stick, for others they might need it long term, and some others may be on and off it but it trying to improve your health will always be better than doing nothing.

You won’t go into the reasons because you don’t have any.

I have done a lot of research into obesity and these injections. I also have a related degree and so understand the science behind it.

Why is stating the facts patronising or stupid?

Why is it people like you cannot cope with hearing anything negative about WLI’s?
Do you think if you bury your head in the sand it will make it not true?

I struggled my entire life with weight issues and I will always give other women advice on what I know or what worked for me because there is so much misinformation out there.

You are not helping other people by refusing to acknowledge the negatives.

So, in your opinion, what are the negatives vs positives of WLIs?

What counts as “unsupervised” use? Given that you cannot legitimately obtain WLI unless from a pharmacist or GP who do perform some checks for each prescription - is that not enough supervision? If not, what do posters imagine would be acceptable level of supervision?

I acknowledge that people buying so-called WLI from TikTok etc is a problem, and that’s what I would call “unsupervised” use, but curious about what other people mean when they use that term.

I'm not lying. I could cut and paste but I'm not petty.