Why are you taking a weight loss drug?

[ObsidianTree]

After reading the thread on weight loss chat about why people were not taking a weight loss drug, I thought I would create a post to ask why you decided to start on a weight loss drug.

So, why did you decide to take a weight loss drug?

I'll post my reason as a reply (with some back story!)

Because my weight loss efforts were getting me nowhere, I suspect due to insulin issues.

For me, if I just go as far back as my last weight loss attempt from dieting in lockdown, I decided to do keto and tried really hard. I cut out every bad carb, no pasta, rice, potatoes. No sweets, chocolate, cake, crisp. No sugar. I managed to stick to this religiously for 5 months and lost about 4 stone in that time. Then Christmas happened and I gave in to temptation and after that it was a downward spiral of trying and trying to get back into keto but always failing. Then by January 2024 I was back to the weight I started keto back in 2020 at 17st 6lbs.

I had heard of ozempic but never really paid attention. I dismissed it as something that would definitely cost a fortune and it would feel like cheating and I was a failure if I went down the weight loss drug method of weight loss.

In jan I started keto again and did manage to lose a stone in a few weeks. But then once again found it too hard and stopped. Spent the next few weeks attempting to restart over and over again and finally came across the Wegovy thread. I had seen it before but ignored it as it wasn't something I was going to do, but curiosity got the better of me and I had a read. A few hours later I had ordered Wegovy and decided to start my journey! Switched to mounjaro a few weeks later and haven't looked back.

My reasons for starting on a weight loss injection was that it looked like it actually worked. It didn't feel like another one of those diets that promises great weight loss but ends in failure. I looked at the cost and thought it's not as unaffordable as I once thought it was. Also with some discount codes, cheaper suppliers and a 5th dose in each pen, it's ended up being more affordable than I expected. I no longer cared if it felt like cheating. I was already at a disadvantage as I have an underactive thyroid so weight gain is super easy for me and weight loss is near impossible if I don't completely cut out carbs. So why couldn't I try something that actually balanced out my disadvantage!

sorry it's so long!

I was very slim growing up. Then I met my now-husband, went to uni/started work and gradually got fatter and fatter. I've got it together in my life apart from my weight. I've tried umpteen diets over the years and lost and gained a stone at the max. I know that low-carb/IF works really well but for some reason I just can't seem to stick with anything after a few weeks. It's like I have a self-destruct button - I lose some weight in January, think it's not as fast or as much as it should be, and then I'm off it again.

I started Mounjaro on the 4th May because I'm an older Mum and I worry about the future for my kids. I did think my weightloss (lack of) was a mental kind of issue. Since taking Mounjaro it's been weirdly revelatory. Like others have said, the food noise has gone - I went to a conference, picked up a packet of biscuits out of habit, and they're now still in my bag.
I haven't had any side-effects apart from the odd bit of heartburn, I haven't lost any of the joy in my life, I think it's the best thing I've done.

As for people who warn about unknown long-term side effects, I don't know what my long-term is now, but before this I knew that it was mostly likely diabetes, or cancer, or a stroke etc.

As for putting any weight back on, I think it's easier to keep a few pounds off rather than trying to get a few stone off. I'm going to be extremely vigilant - this is a reset for me.

Agreed. I feel insulin resistance is another reason why I can't lose easily.

I've been overweight my entire life, my mum has passed issues regarding the moral value of food on to me and now my kids are more mobile and wating to run about I need to be able to keep up with them.

I take mounjaro and find its helping to take my mind off food instead of always thinking of my next meal or snack.

If I had depression I'd accept medication, so why not drugs to help we lose weight. I've spent so many years beating myself up over my choices, there's nothing wrong with accepting help with your problems

@ViolaPlains re long term side effects, these type of meds have been around a long time, maybe 20 years ish for diabetes and only recently for weight loss. So I feel like if there was some long term effects we would know about them by now. So hopefully we have nothing to worry about.

I agree re keeping weight off. This will be an issue for me. But it is the same issue that anyone that loses weight have to deal with. So something I need to work on also!

Because I'm type 2.
Got it after everything didn't work.

I have been overweight for years and have possible insulin resistance linked to PCOS.

I had a set of baseline blood tests about 12 months ago and I could see issues that might have been linked to weight (nothing major but trends in the wrong direction).

The big thing was that my Leptin levels were really high which suggested that my body was no longer responding well to Leptin which is an off switch for eating. I tried modifying my diet but I was constantly fighting against hunger.

I am an emotional eater so I found the combination of hunger and removing the coping mechanism of eating was unsustainable.

Being on MJ has reduced my hunger which allows me to recognise and start to deal with my emotional eating.

I'm hypothyroid too @ObsidianTree - it all goes hand in hand, doesn't it?

I am using mounjaro and I started because I just couldn't get going with any plan to lose weight because I was straight up addicted to cola and chocolate. I was drinking at least a litre of cola a day and having intense cravings for sweet high carb foods. Overall my actual meals were very healthy and all cooked from scratch but I overate daily on fizzy drinks and chocolate bars.

Since using mounjaro all that stopped dead. I am on a low dose and am happy there as my real issue was the overeating on junky snacks and drinks not my main meals.

I am trying now to work out what was going on, was it emotional? I am not sure I am not feeling like that and I didn't feel like that before it was more like a craving for a drug for me. I suspect I am insulin resistant, I know my fasting blood glucose was usually high prior to starting mounjaro and losing weight, it is now in a healthy range.

I think I may have become insulin resistant due to a crash diet years ago resulting in lose of muscle mass as well as over indulging in sweet treats in the past because it was how I was brought up, or at some point in the past it was to self soothe and then became an addiction of sorts and how my body naturally sought energy. A chronic iron deficiency didn't help either. Everything read as a sugar craving for me, now I know when I am thirsty for example as opposed to just craving a coke.

I now know I need to eat enough protein and drastically reduce the amount of sweets and refined carbs I eat as well as strength train and move more.

I plan to stay on the glp-1 for the next few months at least to get a proper chance to imbed newer habits. I am still having to do all the hard work of exercise, steps, tracking my food and improving my lifestyle and relationship with food but I believe that the glp-1 medication is treating the insulin resistance that was a serious barrier to my getting anywhere on a weight loss journey for years now.

I want this to be the last time I do this. I have overhauled everything, started with exercising, when I had that as a part of my daily routine, I have added in eating, which for me was the hardest part. I am learning how to eat in moderation, which years of abuse, eating disorders, WW, SW, Dr etc had totally fucked up.

I am doing this with the help of an app which prompts me. I get weekly progress reports. I can see where I can make adjustments, which I will do gradually. MJ gives me headspace and removes cravings.

For the first time, I feel hopeful I can do it and that the changes I am making are sticking. I am on hols and am eating pretty much what I would eat at home, with the exception of the odd cocktail.

I had Saxenda before and lost on that, but wasn't ready to make the other changes. I am now. Yes they are expensive, but I view it as investing in myself, so how do you cost that?

@unsync what app are you using?

I do think the notion that people using these medications are somehow taking the easy way out or aren't having to still work hard at it is way off the mark. I still am exercising, tracking my food and macros, changing my habits, working on my relationship with food and so on. I've know how to do all this for years but I could never get past my irresistible urges to drink cola or eat sweets, it was very much like an addiction, like I'd not be able to focus on anything till I had my fix.

Now the medication is helping me with my "addiction" I can do all the things i need to do to lose weight healthily. I know some people take these medications crank up the dose as much as they can and eat as little as possible to lose as fast as they can and that might not be ideal although to be honest it doesn't look easy either.

I do think that in time this medication will help[ me to reshape my relationship with food and to finally form the healthy lifestyle I always wanted. I am worried about coming off but I also believe that if I use the time on it wisely I can minimise any rebound effect.

Also it is quite possible to lose weight in an unhealthy way without these medications and rebound and regain when you stop. There is a definite moralistic tone to those who judge people using these meds which is why the only people who know I am using them is my husband and my GP.

Because i have tried everything... every diet known to man, every fad, every meal replacement, every smootie..

I like food! i enjoy food and theres an unresolved relationship with food from my childhood. I've asked for help with these issues, but apparently my MH issues are too complex for the NHS services because i am classed as high functioning, i work, i earn a wage therefore i am scrubbed off the list.

Top this with the fact i require 2 surgeries, a prolapse and a new hip and have been told i cannot have either until i have a BMI of under 30.. but again no help to get me there.

I'm not obese enough to be referred to weight loss specialists so i am stuck.. I haven't been able to exercise due to my mobility issues (I've also had 2 surgeries on my back).

So desperate measures! I can't afford full on gastric sleeve surgery, but a recent pay rise gave me enough money to enable me to buy these injections.

Today.. I hit the 3 stone lost mark. my BMI is now 31.1, my target to lose is another 9lb and i'm there! I can do some exercise again and i have been put on one waiting list for one of the surgeries based on the 'efforts' i have made to get the weight off.

I have told no one, not my family (husband knows obvs) but my kids, friends and work mates, none of them know, because i feel such a failure having to resort to such measures.. but its working!

I think I would if it seemed like the only way that I could lose weight!

Can I just ask if anyone's first port of call was their gp? Or if their gp suggested it? I ask because I've had blood pressure medication and thyroid replacement medication prescribed for years but that was the doctor telling me to take it iyswim.

I did ask my Dr when I first decided I wanted to take it, but there was talk of referral to weight loss management program, so just just went private to speed things up!

However, with all the recent news of drs being able to prescribe for weight loss, hopefully soon it might be something that drs can willingly prescribe without having to jump through many hoops first. Too late for me now as I'm down 3st since Jan and just entered overweight BMI

Yes for sure 😊

No - I've found my GP useless enough for thyroid stuff so wouldn't bother.

Sadly in this country the help for being overweight isn't great. It is understandable due to the priorities the NHS needs to make but I went to the GP with my weight and eating issues in the past and was told to come back when I had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a heart issue and then they would refer me for help.

My weight and eating issues were setting me on that path for sure but I was powerless in the face of my addiction to certain foods. It is a tragedy that people have to become sick before they get help and when the changes are much harder and damage is already done. My Mum and younger sister are already type two diabetic, have high cholesterol and blood pressure and I am just lucky I was able to access this drug before I ended up in that same place. As I see it if I am successful I will be saving the NHS £1000's in future care by a personal investment at the moment in these medications.

Thanks for your replies @ObsidianTree and @PrimalLass

So much for preventative healthcare

In February this year I was obese with PCOS

3.5 months later, I’m no longer obese as I’ve lost 34lb thanks to Mounjaro

My main motivation is to reduce my risk of cancer and diabetes. I know I can’t eliminate this risk, but so many people close to me have cancer I felt I had to do something positive.

My second motivation is to live healthier for longer and reduce my burden on the NHS and society. Obesity and related conditions is bankrupting the UK. I wish the government would develop a new obesity strategy with weight loss medication central to it. It’s obvious the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Thirdly I was sick of wearing black trousers and unflattering baggy floaty tops. I felt so frumpy and invisible. It’s lovely to be taking pride in my appearance again.

@tobee To be fair I think the NHS is in firefighting mode and they just don't have the capacity to do large scale preventative medicine, I am sure GP's know all this but they need to follow nice guidelines. I think I read somewhere that the cost of treating obesity related health issues in the UK was £6.5 billion a year but the initial cost of doing preventative medicine in a year at least initially say putting millions on glp-1 medications would be far higher and that the NHS just can't afford to or have the capacity to do both at the moment even if over a span of 25 year or more it would save money.

@oomown very good point and I know you’re right… but the government must look at the system as a whole- this is not just an NHS problem

Obesity and related conditions (inc poor mental health) have a massive impact on the economy through sick days, lost productivity, unemployment, benefits etc. It’s not just a health issue and the government needs to look at the prospects for our long term prosperity

I’m in my early 40s and if I had continued to be obese (getting bigger) imagine how much of a burden I would be to society in 20+ years. Living with co-morbidities which millions of my peers also suffer from. My children will have to bear that burden- pay for their care through taxes. We have a declining birth rate and it’s just not feasible for society to carry this many sick people for decades. We need to do something radical now to reverse this scary future scenario