Mounjaro - I need help/advice please

[Mounjaroooooh]

Hi all, I'm looking for some help/advice as I'm feeling a little despondent today. I started Mounjaro at the beginning of July, didn't really have much suppression the first couple of weeks but managed to lose 12 lbs in conjunction with healthy eating. The last 2 weeks I've lost 2 and then 1 and if I'm totally honest, I'm really disappointed with that as I'm calorie counting and under cals every day. I know some people say you should eat more cals but that seems a bit of a contradiction when taking MJ as it obviously makes you want to eat less. My official WI day is Sunday but I had a sneaky look at the scales yesterday and I'm 2 lbs up and I just don't understand why. I weighed myself before bed and I was 13'12 so I presumed I'd be less in the morning, but I was still 13'12 yesterday morning after a poo and wee too. Weighed again this morning after being under cals again and I'm still 13'12 and very disappointed (was 13'10 last week).

Not really sure what to do, I take my first 5mg this Sunday and I seriously can't under eat any more than I'm doing now (averaging between 850-1000 cals per day). I'm disappointed as I expected to be losing more than 1-2 pounds per week, can anyone help/advise/suggest what to do going forward?

You have lost 12lb without any of the suppression effect kicking in yet? That's pretty impressive.

2.5 isn't a therapeutic dose its just to get you up to the effective ones which I believe start at 7.5.

Also don't forget that with every dose the amount of drug in your system will be slowly rising on average.

Lots of people feel no effects early on and have to wait for 7.5 or 10mg. I had very strong suppression that lasted for the first two days after each jab before it faded away by day 3. It's only now in my 3rd month that I'm starting to get consistent suppression all week.

Have you suddenly started exercising after a long period of not exercising?

You've lost 12lbs in 4 weeks. Think about it for a minute. You've lost 12 POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS!

That's a fantastic weight loss!

Weight loss is not linear and there a many reasons you may not have lost as much as you hoped, the current temperature being one of them😁

Do not get disheartened just keep on doing what you are doing and let the medication work its magic. 1-2 pounds is expected and sensible weight loss. Have a look at the head on here for those calling themselves 'slow losers' and you'll see you in good company.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far and just keep on keeping on 🙂

No, I've always done quite a bit of walking which I've increased but I don't do any other exercise due to health reasons

I think I'm disappointed as I have always had big first losses when starting a healthy eating plan, and I just thought that eating even less and taking MJ that I'd have decent losses consistently. I know the loss over the month is brilliant but to gain 2 lbs when having nowhere near your daily calorie allowance is demoralising, whether on MJ or not.

I'll keep on keeping on, hopefully things will start to move again soon

And I've actually lost 15 lbs in 4 weeks - 8, 4, 2 and 1

Don't forget that mounjaro doesn't actually make you lose any more weight, it just helps you stick to the diet. It makes it easier to avoid eating more then you intend to, it controls cravings and helps you feel full faster.

It isn't chemical liposuction that remove fat in your sleep. It's still the diet. Just you and the diet but without the usual distraction of hunger and cravings.

I have similar initial weightloss a stone in 4 weeks. And this is usually achievable for me without mj. The difficulty is in the weeks and months that follow. When things slow down and you lose motivation. Mj makes binging harder, so if you fall off the wagon, damage is limited, I have also found that rather then stalling or losing 0.5lb a week. It's more like 2-3lb per week. With a week stall in between sometimes. So certainly better then previous.

I also think that having a stall for a week or two following a big loss of 15lb is completely normal. I call them 'adjustment weeks' you've just lost a big chunk of your body mass and your body needs to process that.

What is your TDEE?

Same here- 2.5mg in fourth week 12lbs- last two weeks 2 lbs only. I am disappointed. However, I am not yet putting any lbs back on- just staying the same for days on end.
i took every stitch of clothing off today to see 12.12 on the scales. I think you can’t really assess MJ until 3 months in.

I have no idea what a TDEE is and apologies if this comes across as rude, it's not meant to, but I'm basing it on my weight on the scales and that alone. I don't have any interest in the technical ins and outs, I'm eating at a deficit as I don't have much appetite and I'm just wanting the scales to reflect that. My worry is that even if my 5mg kicks in a bit more next week, I'll still be eating a similar amount of cals/food and I'll just get stuck at this weight!

Hi, I'm hoping you're right. I start 5mg on Sunday and I've already got my 7.5mg in the fridge ready to go after - I just hope things start moving as it's a lot of money to waste if it's not making a difference

Hopefully we get that 'whooosh' that a few people have mentioned, at some point soon something has got to change - you can't keep eating in a deficit and not lose weight...can you? Who knows now!

Sorry! It’s your total daily energy expenditure, or the amount of calories you burn in a day, based on factors such as your weight and activity level. Generally speaking, the heavier and the more active you are, the more calories you burn. There are loads of calculators online to figure yours out.

As a very general rule, it takes a deficit of around 3500 calories to lose 1lb. Over a week that means you can expect to lose about 1lb if you are eating 500 calories a day less than your TDEE, or 2lbs if you’re eating 1000 cals less per day. So for example if your TDEE is around 1800 and you eat 800-1000 per day then you’d expect your weekly loss to be around 2lbs or a little under. On the other hand if your TDEE is 2300 then you’d expect to lose more.

I think it’s also important to remember that the number on the scales can fluctuate a lot and doesn’t necessarily show how much we’ve lost. Water retention can make a huge difference - women can “gain” half a stone just before their period, but it’s not real gain. The hot weather can cause water retention too, as well as eating something salty, or carb-heavy, or drinking alcohol, or doing a lot of exercise when you’re not used to it. I weigh myself first thing every morning and often go up and down a few pounds over the course of the week.

I think weight loss is actually a lot more complicated, but these numbers should give you a general guide of what to expect. As long as you’re in a calorie deficit you will definitely lose weight.