You shouldn't take weight loss drugs. Learn about healthy eating, eat less and exercise more.

[GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays]

This is like telling an insomniac "don't take tablets, just get more sleep"

I'm 41.
I have tried.

I KNOW all about healthy eating. Probably more than most slim people.
I don't have an emotional/binge eating disorder, I just have a bigger appetite than most people. I can only control it so long via willpower or low-carb diets. The drive to eat is the most powerful instinct known to man (except maybe breathing)

It's the weight loss medication that takes the edge of said appetite and ALLOWS me the space to make sensible decisions on food.

I've gone from 15 stone to 9 stone (I'm short). If these drugs had been invented 20 years ago, my life would have been much better.

And no, I didn't steal the drugs off a diabetic. I got private prescriptions for Wegovy and then Mounjaro which are only marketed for weightloss.

And yes I am quite prepared to take the drug forever if necessary.

And no, I don't care about the "potential unknown long term side effects" because they can hardly be worse than what I was facing with obesity.

And although exercise is beneficial for many reasons, it is a fairly trivial factor in weightloss.

It's the weight loss medication that takes the edge of said appetite and ALLOWS me the space to make sensible decisions on food.

How has it changed the type of food that you eat?

How will you get a prescription for it when you are at a low BMI/goal weight?

Good thread. Pleased to hear your success @GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays

Easily. My provider is following the medical trial data and advice which says to keep patients on it indefinitely. Maybe just lower the dose until their weight stabilises at a healthy and sustainable point.

I'm not sure anyone can say that about most slim people?

I think living in the digital age, means just about everyone knows about healthy eating, if they want to know.

It enables me to eat less food but higher quality.

So: Greek yoghurt, berries, veg, meat/fish/poultry, nuts, cheese, some chocolate.

I tend to stay away from most carbs as they make me bloated and fuck with my blood sugar.

I do not think your prescription should continue once you reach the category Overweight.

At that point you should take your chances with the rest of us.

And you told us you know about healthy eating and sure you can’t do portion control. You did NOT tell us about exercising and you clearly do NOT know much about exercising.

The aim is not to be thin. The aim is to be healthy.

Being healthy is the goal.

Exercising is absolute critically important for a healthy body and mind. You can be as belligerent as you like, but staying in denial of this fact is what is going to cause the damage.

Once your weight is down to a manageable level you should be expected to maintain your health through diet and exercise, you may still be “fat” and struggle, but you don’t have a clinical need for the drugs any more.

You do not need a perfect bmi to be moderately healthy. If you are not obese you should be able to walk, run, do Pilates, yoga, swim, cycle, do aerobics or dance, do weights etc.

Even a small amount of physical activity makes a difference. The more the better.

Good for you, op. You don’t need to justify yourself to anyone.

A certain sort of person sees being overweight as a moral failing, so thinks weight loss only counts if it involves some sort of penance (eg hunger). It’s absolute nonsense though.

Not everyone is the same @Holidays4Ever

We all have different aims and goals....as opposed to says, there's no 'should'

@Holidays4Ever Do you realise you are attaching moral values to losing weight by diet and exercise alone? Why is it intrinsically better to do this, do you think?

Phrases like At that point you should take your chances with the rest of us are very strange. The OP isn't trying to use your life raft. She's trying to maintain a healthy weight so that she can lead a happy and healthy life. Why does that impact on you or anyone else?

@WhateverMate agree. I think there's very few people who really don't know the difference between say having a frozen pizza or a piece of salmon for dinner.
It's not a lack of knowledge about healthy eating for most people, it's more about time/money/cravings. These drugs can solve the last one.

And funnily enough, I spend LESS time and money on food now (so although the drug costs £200/m, I'm not actually out of pocket that much, especially when you consider I was spending £££ buying bigger clothes/make up to make myself feel better etc). Salmon might not be cheap but it's cheaper than a takeaway.

I do agree the Western world is set up to be very obese-genic (we are surrounded by food literally designed to be addictive) but we aren't going to put the genie back in the bottle. So if it's a choice between obesity and weight loss drugs, I choose the latter!

And no, I don't care about the "potential unknown long term side effects" because they can hardly be worse than what I was facing with obesity.

Long-term side effects seen in Mounjaro's studies include serious digestive problems and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). In studies, these side effects were not common. But if they occur, these side effects could last a long time and need long-term treatment.

There are potential long-term effects of Wegovy.They include pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, gallbladder problems, increased heart rate, diabetic retinopathy, mental health issues, and potentially thyroid cancer. Just to hammer it home, in each case, these complications are rare.

I think I'd be bothered about these potential effects just as much as obesity.

Mounjaro is not just marketed for weight loss.. it's also for type 2 diabetes.
I'm taking it to help with both / my diabetic nurse is monitoring me.. l do pay for it.
It's a life changer l agree.
I was always slim until l became severely disabled.

b WhateverMate,
I've had the gallbladder and pancreatitis problems you list above - not because of Wegovy or Mounjaro, but because I did exactly what everyone recommends. I dieted very carefully, I started working with a personal trainer, and I lost weight quickly - so quickly it gave me gallstones, which gave me obstructive pancreatitis, and then sepsis. Oh and I was pregnant at the time. I almost died.

Those will be side-effects for some people if their weight loss happens too fast. But it a side effect of the weight loss, not the drug.

@Holidays4Ever
Some of us cannot exercise.
I'm severely disabled.
Get off your high horse.
I was very slim size 10/12.. 5ft7
Until l got thrown under a bus.
In a coma.
Couldn't exercise.

1. If I come off the drug, my appetite will roar back and I will put the weight back on. Yoyo dieting is EXTREMELY dangerous for health.

2. I absolutely DO have a clinical need to stay on the drug. I am a recovering obese person. Your version equates to telling an alcoholic that's recovered that they can go back on the booze now that their liver has healed.

3. "You should be expected to maintain your health through diet and exercise".
   
   "At that point you should take your chances with the rest of us"
   And who is doing the "expecting" here? The diet police? Why do things the hard way? Do you take your clothes down to the river to beat them with a rock? Or do you put them in the washing machine? You clearly think I am "cheating" by taking this drug. You, I presume, are a naturally slim person who has never had to struggle and you are upset that the playing field has been levelled. There are plenty of slim people now who are upset at no longer being able to be smug and sneer at fat people.

I never said I don't exercise. I literally said it's beneficial for lots of reasons. I just said it's by no means a major factor when it comes to weight loss.

Exactly this. Those people can go fuck themselves.
It sounds like it's been a great help to you OP and that's all that matters

These side-effects are largely theoretical and very rare. Read the back of a pack of aspirin and it will have similar.

Whereas the chances of poor health, decreased quality of life and shortened lifespan with OBESITY is pretty much 100%

@Holidays4Ever
l will stay on a dose of mounjaro for ever.
I've tried 3 different types of medication for diabetes.
This is the only one that works for me .
I think you need to educate yourself...rather than using Dr Google.

People went CRAZY when low-carb diets got a renewed interest in the late 90s.

And behold, they are now basically standard.

We will see the same with these drugs.

Reminds me of people who were scared of microwaves/mobile phones when they first came out!

This "faux concern" about long-term side effects! More concern that I will look more gorgeous than them, more like, having previously been the "fat friend" :-)

I'm a slim person and i think it's great OP. You are healthier and that's better for you and everyone else as well (the state the NHS is in!). You seem really, defensive about it though, are you getting a hard time from people over it?

Are you prepared to buy privately forever?
Or are you expecting it on the NHS?

Do you not know (or read) its private prescription ?

I'm with you OP.
Except l am Type 2 and take mounjaro for both .
I've been on it 8 weeks and lost 2 stone.
I'm sleeping better.
My mood is happier.
My diabetic markers have gone down.
And next year I'll be paying for a new hip.. because my weight will be perfect for the operation.
Every year new medication comes out.
To help all kinds of illnesses and diseases..
It's called progression.
So l agree .. if it helps we have free choice to take it.
If a pill / injection came out to rid people of all cancers/ MND/ Dementia etc.. surely people would want it
Take no notice of the negativity OP.
Our bodies our choice..
Good luck to you.

At that point you should take your chances with the rest of us.

This says a lot about how people feel towards those who use weightloss drugs. They feel they aren't 'taking their chances with the rest of us', so they're cheating and making others feel jealous for struggling losing weight the hard 'natural' way.

It's not a race or a competition. Whatever works for you.