To be fed up with the barrage of weight loss drug content I am exposed to

[pinkpeonytuesday]

I am on Instagram and Facebook and am constantly bombarded with weight loss drug content. I followed a great influencer who I never thought was overweight and now have seen her post she can fit into a size 8 in Zara and her life is infinitely better, I read post after post that these drugs not only made people lose weight - they cured heart disease, IBS etc etc! I see it everywhere, women are just turning into clones of each other - Botox, fillers, the same beige legging combo and now super skinny. How has this drug been allowed to be advertised so widely without any consideration to the damage this is doing to women and young girl’s mental health? Surely people are only being cured of these conditions because they’re not eating all the unhealthy stuff (which can only be a good thing) but this lifetime living in a state of malnutrition (the post I read the other day had user after user saying how they felt dizzy when they stood up) is not healthy! Even if you do exercise - you won’t be getting nutrients. Or is it all sunbeams and moonbeams and should I think about going on it to lose the last stone I want (the fact I am a size 12 and wouldn’t be allowed to go on it because my BMI is normal yet a friend used it to loose weight and now will stay on it until to maintain her size 6-8 frame seems wild. Yet I would love to be a size 8 and I wouldn’t be allowed it) the whole thing seems a joke to me. Am I unreasonable? Is it the unicorn of drugs? And if it’s that safe why can’t I go on it?

@PaddingtonEmui see Juniper adverts all the time or is that something else?

Unfortunately the MHRA don’t seem very interested in upholding the law on this or much else.

You sound similair to me @pinkpeonytuesday. I am also hounded with WLI adverts after reading a couple of articles and also following content that was about healthy eating but now includes a WLI element. It’s hard to escape it when it can come up in conversation with friends too.

I learned about being prescribed off-label (all above board) from providers like Voy and Med Express for people who aren’t obese but still overweight (me!) so with a BMI of 26 (plus a couple of extra health conditions) I was approved for Wegovy. I started last week. I only want to lose a stone and a half and hope this will be a good tool to help me. That’s all I see it as. an experiment. If it doesn’t work for me, then no bother, but if it’s available, I am eligible and have been approved legitimately then why not?

@pinkpeonytuesday "putting in the wrong details" is getting harder to do. Pharmacies will fail their GPhC inspections if they don't demonstrate that they have independently checked the information given online. So, checks will involve things like a video consult, recording a live video with strict conditions, checking NHS Summary Care records, notifying your GP, and so on.

"BUT the problem for me is they continue to lose it until they are skeletal. And then won’t get off it as they are scared to put on weight!" - has your friend continued to lose weight to the point of being skeletal, as in underweight by BMI? Or do you mean in general?

I will not be stopping taking Mounjaro any time soon, and you can be absolutely certain that after losing 11 stone I am not going to be putting it back on again. So I will continue to take the medication I am on to prevent that, which doesn't seem like it's a problem, either for me or for people who aren't taking this medication and don't need to take it.

If anyone is curious about starting with a BMI under 27, there is a non-judgy and supportive thread here.

Talking about weight and weight loss injections can be triggering and there is a stigma around people at lower weights having access to the drugs, so it’s not for everyone. But if you are overweight- but not necessarily obese, then there are still options available to you. Losing weight when you are older or dealing with insulin resistance or effects of other medications does stall weight loss. It’s ok to be peeved! You are not alone!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5509897-bmi-under-27-off-labelless-to-lose?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

The OPs BMI is "normal" though, presumably < 25, so the only legitimate option for her would be one of the private clinics that charge an arm and a leg for "microdosing" less than the treatment initiation doses of the GLP1s, if they were happy to take her on.

oh....so you do want them, and can't get them, hence the pretend outrage.

Stop looking that kind of media and following z list 'celebs'.

Not sure about Facebook but on Instagram you can go in settings and play about with the algorithm, and exclude anything about wli for example

@tnorfotkcabif you read what I said I don’t need to lose weight, probably feel I do because the bomabrment of adverts etc etc! I’m human - I’m not bitter but I do think it’s a bit insane. Would LOVE a drug to make the weight drop off - who wouldn’t haha!

Genuinely sounds like time to step away from social media. I’m incredibly careful about what social content I consume because I was starting to get a bit down from all the negativity/doom mongering that I was seeing.
Now all my social media suggestions and fb ads are gardening and/or dog related which is much better! I’m seriously thinking about buying a shed I don’t need though which proves I’m still very influenced!

YANBU.

I get advertised them constantly via Voy, Juniper, etc., and also influencers online. I don't follow weight loss influencers or topics, but I do follow fitness, body recomp, and bodybuilding influencers, and also WIEIAD as X content.

I usually look for WIEIAD for body recomp or WIEIAD as a bodybuilder, but that does mean I inevitably get pushed content like WIEIAD as a fat person, WIEIAD on a weight loss journey, WIEIAD on Mounjaro, etc., which I will admit I do watch because I find it both fascinating and horrifying in equal measure.

I also follow a lot of people who talk about recovery from ED, so I find it even more horrifying that I am pushed WLI content by the algorithms. It's irresponsible and dangerous.

Do you get a lot of content from the US? They are MUCH more widely available there, ie to people who are a healthy starting weight (albeit I believe they cost a lot more) They are certainly used for 'aesthetics' compared to the more health focused use here.
I follow fitness & sports on social media and I find it frustrating that this can lead to this type of content, despite the fitness I'm interested in being sport specific rather than about dieting or bodybuilding. And as much as I want to be happy with my body, I grew up in the nineties so it's hard not to be drawn back to 'skinnier is better'. I think the only option is to try and limit social media use.

With respect OP, the media is not constantly telling you that you are not good enough, your own brain is telling you that. And the more you engage with size 8 influencers and read the articles, the more the algorithm will serve you that content. Even by posting on here, the algorithm is getting ready to send you more related stuff.

You've just said you probably don’t even need to lose weight but you also want to take drugs which are prescribed for people with clinical obesity. Your mindset has likely been skewed by the content you’re clicking on.

The cure? Clear the cookies on your device, repeatedly decline similar content and within a few days you’ll find that your newsfeed clears up nicely and starts serving you something far more healthy. It sounds like you’re in a doom scrolling loop and the only person who can set you free - is you.

I don't have Instagram or Tiktok and I only go on Facebook infrequently for local news, for the very reason I know how potentially my self esteem and mental health is negatively affected by these platforms.

The only exposure I have to stuff about weight loss injections and drugs is what is on MN - and i certainly don't go on the forums specifically about weight loss- and the news stories about them. The news stories i have read make me think weight loss drugs are going to follow the same pattern as vaping : hailed as a new " cure" , embraced by the NHS as an easy fix, and then increasingly seen as a problem in it's own right with growing concern about adverse affects.

I think there is something far wrong if you are letting other people's use of these drugs affect your self esteem. You should be proud of yourself that you are managing your weight by will power and traditional dietary adjustments. And I think you should examine your use of social media that is having a detrimental affect on you.

Because EVERY drug carries the potential of unwanted side effects.

Therefore its safety has to be evaluated like all drugs- upon the balance of the benefits outweighing potential harm. In my case - BMI was 38 and 9 st to lose , my potential for heart disease, stroke and diabetes was not an ‘if’ but when. Therefore its safety. compared to very real possibility of early death was a risk worth taking. So I did. I achieved my goal and have never had a side effect, so maintain my health on a low dose.

A stone to lose doesn’t put you at the same risk. Therefore it’s not at present considered to be a a sensible risk to take.

Its the same with fillers and botox.
For them that I've seen take it and had it, all seem to be having some sort of health issues, and some its made them look older.

Its not for me, but if it works for others good for them.

@Alwaysthesameoldstory

"The news stories i have read make me think weight loss drugs are going to follow the same pattern as vaping : hailed as a new " cure" , embraced by the NHS as an easy fix, and then increasingly seen as a problem in it's own right with growing concern about adverse affects."

I'm not sure this is a fair summary of the NHS attitude to vaping over time. There was evidence that vaping was safer than smoking, and that was the advice given at the time, that switching was preferable if you couldn't manage to give up smoking altogether. Then the advice, after further evidence, was clarified to be if you smoke, swapping to vaping is safer, if you don't smoke, don't start to vape. Which seems appropriate to me. I don't think the NHS ever thought that vaping was a cure or harmless, or without adverse effects.

Furthemore, vaping is not a fully tested, research, controlled prescription medication and never has been or will be. WLI are fully tested and researched, have gone through the usual process to judge that the benefits outweigh any risks for people who are obese or overweight with weight related health issues. As WLI are POM that have been approved by the MHRA in the UK, there is already a robust system for reporting any adverse effects that aren't already known. In addition, extensive further research is ongoing for GLP1s for a variety of other health conditions and ongoing for obesity weight loss. I think they are very different things!

I’m on them and a size 8 and my social media feed doesn’t show them at all.

I get the jealousy and resentment though when you can’t access. I find some of your words hyperbole. I doubt your friends are skeletal and I’m sure you know most people eat properly just in a defecit on them,

it wouldn’t be a good idea for you, simply as the less you weigh the less you can eat, and when you come off you need to maintain, you could stay on, I am, but I doubt that’s your goal.

but honestly jealoosy isn’t a good look.

You're not a passenger in your own life OP.

You are responsible for your own social media usage, no-one else.

If you're being bombarded by this sort of thing, it's either time to clear your devices and re-set your algorithms, or just stop using SM.

No point in acting as though you're being forced into looking at all that stuff.

Perhaps stop following 'influencers'?

If you think that's bad, mine is bombarding me with stress incontinence underwear ads!

If you're allowing adverts for a product you don't want affect your self-worth then you have a bigger problem than the adverts. I get ads for 'orthopaedic slippers for seniors' and clearly fake patches that reduce you from a size 22 to a size 8 in just 6 weeks. None of this affects my self worth and why would it? I have no use for either so I just roll my eyes and move on.
Stop letting stuff affect you. It's such a waste of time.

Not had a WLI bashing thread for a while...oh wait

You know you don't need to lose weight. You know you can't access these medications as you don't meet the criteria to do so. And you are upset that they are advertised to people who do need to lose weight and do meet the criteria and that you see the adverts. Right.

@MacchiatoMavisyes I probably do! I’ll look to spend many on a psychiatrist. Thanks for you wisdom 😁