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.

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" :-)

Oh you've let yourself down now OP with this silliness. I don't think anyone's going to take another word you say on the subject seriously now.

If you're happy to take this drug forever, I don't even know why you thought to tell the internet?

Good luck, I hope it all works out well for you.

This in spades

Hah! I read the title of your post and was going to answer: "you should keep your sanctimonious, ignorant opinion on another person's weight issues to yourself".
Is weight the last frontier when it comes to people being purely abusive under the cloack of kindness and concern? I think so.

Haha I get the comment about 'fat friend'

It's a joke! Made me laugh

But remember mumsnet has NO sense of humour....it's all pearl twirling and sticks up backsides for majority of po faced posters!

@Beth216 In real life people are supportive or at least profess to be. I've not kept my use of weight loss drugs a secret from friends/family etc. I'm happy to share my experience. It's mostly online that I see the criticism. But doubtless some people in my real life harbour those thoughts. So I thought I'd post here. My mother, for example, is very religious and equates being fat as a huge moral failing.

@DysonSphere I will buy them privately forever I guess. The price will drop eventually. But even if it doesn't, it's a small price to pay. I do think the NHS will have to prescribe eventually to a wider group purely to save money in the long run. There was a bariatric surgeon who once said "if you think gastric bypasses are expensive, just look at the cost of NOT doing them"

Recommend looking up choice-supportive bias, because this is what you're showcasing.

15 stone to 9 stone is nothing life changing, it's just a vanity loss. I'd rather skip the side effect risks - it's far too new to realise the long term results, especially at scale. They thought plenty of things were okay, like mesh. And cancer is already linked to this one.

Do you think everyone should be refused statins the minute they reduce someone’s cholesterol to a healthy level? Or be taken off blood pressure meds if they work? Or antidepressants once a person can get out of bed and stops wanting to kill themselves?

I have a question though for anyone who has an answer: For those of us who gained weight due to disability/medication and not eating/lifestyle, what does this Mounjaro do? The appetite suppression thing isn't needed when you don't eat much anyway. Will it help you lose weight still?

And Covid jabs!! Did YOU accept those??

Yep. And always so patronising as well as faux concern. I could write a fucking book about healthy eating at this point! I'm an intelligent successful professional woman in my 40s. Do you really think I don't know how to prepare a healthy meal? Or that being fat is unhealthy?

Fine. But I was putting on a stone a year. So my health was only going to go in one direction. And actually 15 stone at 5ft 2 in my 40s was really...Not Good...!

Respectfully bollocks!

you’d have to do an awful lot of exercise to
outrun a poor diet. Weight loss takes place in the kitchen, not the gym.

im a long distance runner, running a mile burns 100 calories (approximately). Running 35 miles a week will burn a roughly the equivalent of a pound of fat. 35 miles a week is not a low mileage (it’s not the highest but it’s certainly not minimal)

the only way you can use exercise for weight loss is by exercising for a good couple of hours everyday … eg training for an Ironman requires about 16 hours a week training. That is a huge time commitment for almost all of us.

Exercise is brilliant for lots of reasons but it won’t make you lose weight unless you’re doing the work in the kitchen.

Hey @sunseaandsoundingoff life changing to the op!!! I mean, she hasn't said if her 6 stone loss has got her to goal yet or if she has a way to go....so yes, to her it's life changing.

Yes and people who are depressed should just snap out of it and try to see things more positively.

Can I ask which provider you are using @GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays?

I took Ozempic and then Wegovy for over two years. Lost three stone. Stalled quite a bit. Reduced my dose to see how I’d go on my own and struggled. Gained around half a stone. So went back on Wegovy up to highest dose. Lost the weight I’d regained but no more. So I’ve stopped again to see what happens.

And I will say I’ve always said to people on Ozempic threads that if you continue to eat the way you did before the medication you will gain it all back if you stop.

BUT. I cannot believe how strong the compulsion to eat is now I am not on the medication. I’m eating so much more. I’m craving carbs. I’m really struggling. I know what I need to eat. Protein, fibre etc. But the food noise is back in a big way.

I did read something yesterday about a link with overeating and ADHD and while I have never been diagnosed I do think I have some ADD traits. The article I read linked the overeating in people with ADD/ADHD to seeking the dopamine hit which is satisfied by food. Which makes a bit of sense to me.

The medication seemed to really shut that off. It wasn’t just about appetite suppression. It was so much more.

As you say @GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays it makes it possible to choose the healthier option and not continue to crave the unhealthy stuff.

So I’m having to face going back on the medication. Probably Mounjaro this time. And facing the fact I may need to be on it forever or at least long term until more research is carried out etc.

I do think that these initial medications are purely the start of a huge change in the long term treatment of obesity and the understanding of the whys behind it. And it won’t be the same for every obese person. Hopefully in time there will be simple blood tests/checks to identify exactly what is causing issues for different people. In the same way as we have blood tests for cholesterol, diabetes etc now. And people will be able to be prescribed the medication that will help their particular situation.

But of course some people will say I should just eat less and move more.

@sunseaandsoundingoff also it IS pretty life changing losing that 6 stone. I'm going on a 5 mile charity walk this weekend which I would never have been able to do a year ago.

@GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays what do you think made you obese in the first place? Did you have any control over whatever it was? You seem to be saying you have no choice but to overeat unless on these drugs.

@GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays I asked which provider you use as I will need one that understands the potential need to be on it long term.

No need for planned BORING exercise....

Not if at a goal or near goal weight you can just 'do life' effectively like everyone else

Go on walks with friends
Walk the dogs
Cycle with the kids
Long trips to the park
Days out exploring
Trips to the beach and maybe a swim
Days out trawling round shops

All normal life ( burning as you would in a dirty scruffy gym) but not eady to do when obese

Honestly OP, the best thing to do is just ignore it. It's none of anyone's business how you lose weight or what medications you choose to be on. If anyone gets upset about it, then that's their problem. If they want you to do your due penance for having the audacity to be overweight, then that's their own issue.

There's a lot of misinformation about this stuff. I was incredibly against them until I actually went away and did some proper research, not just Daily Mail headlines and hysterical social media posts, and now I've recently started on Mounjaro. It's been fascinating to me to experience life without really thinking about food much or feeling constantly hungry, and I wonder if that's how a lot of naturally slender people live as a matter of course. My diet has been so much better too, as I don't feel any pressure to follow cravings or eat big portions of stuff.

Anyway, there will always be people who think everything should be done the hard way, but I think these medications are probably going to be one of the most impactful things discovered this decade and beyond, especially with the benefits of them that go beyond just weight loss

You SHOULD? How about other people butt out of what works for someone who has struggled with their weight all their life? Do you realise that your advice tends to fail in about 90% of cases? People inevitably regain the weight. If there’s medication that can help what is the problem with staying on it?

It’s like saying that antibiotics is “cheating” and you should let your body heal itself. Or that you shouldn’t take pain killers. Nobody’s going to give you a medal for doing it the natural way, may as well get some help if you need it. If you can afford the medication then I don’t see the issue.

@Peridot1 Boots.

@LegoTherapy I was a slightly chubby baby. Just always enjoyed food. Very low tolerance for being hungry. Over the years, the weight just creeps up (although interspersed with periods of losing a few stone then yoyoing back)

@sunseaandsoundingoff losing 6 stone from 15st at 5ft 2in has taken @GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays from a BMI of roughly 38.5, which is class 2 obesity down to healthy weight range. That's not a vanity thing, that's most definitely a health thing!

For me.....MENOPAUSE

None of us have control over that happening

Of course it is! You should be proud of yourself, however you've achieved it.

If I put on six stone, I'd find everything more difficult. That's nearly double my weight! I actually can't even imagine weighing that much. Walking up a hill carrying an extra six stone with me would do me in.

I don't have any problems with people doing whatever they need to be healthy. Your health is really important for having a good quality of life.