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.

Thank you for answering. What do you think makes you different from people who do eat healthily, maintain a healthy weight and engage in regular physical activity?

Do you think you might be neurodivergent and self-medicate with food to get the dopamine you need?

15 stone to 9 stone IS life changing. I’ve been 13 stone and cannot imagine the struggle to move at 15 stone, the heartburn, how much higher my bp would be, how much greater the risk of diabetes. Losing 6 stone is a lot of weight.

I'm with you OP. I've tried everything. It doesn't work. I need something to take the edge off.

As soon as I can afford mounjaro I'll be going on it. Hopefully in the next month or so.

Everyone can do some form of exercise.... unless your in a coma now?

If you don't exercise then lower your food intake... not sure why everyone throws excuses around. If you are fat- own it.

Thanks @GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays. Interesting that they will continue to prescribe. That is who I was getting Wegovy from. So it should be straightforward for me to start on Mounjaro with them. (Also didn’t want to go down the whole codes route!)

Nothing life changing? I would say it is. She’s lost 40% of her body weight! That’s massive and incredibly life changing. She will have gone from being morbidly obese to being of normal healthy weight.

@ThisHangryPinkBalonz

Nobody NEEDS structured exercise

Everyday 'life' is exercise....burns calories as it should. Losing a bit of weight means you can do more of living

Oh come on @ThisHangryPinkBalonz . People who are severely overweight or obese cannot exercise enough to lose weight. Losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise apparently. And most of us who are that overweight do “own it”. We don’t have a choice.

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

But why should she (or me, I take Mounjaro too)? If we can access a medicine that makes it easier to lose weight then why on Earth shouldn't we? Why does weight loss have to involve suffering and struggling? There is no inherent virtue in struggling to lose weight.

You sound like one of those zealots who believe that pain relief in child birth is cheating or not doing it properly.

I have been on Mounjaro for one month and have lost 10lbs pretty painlessly. I am eating more healthily than I have in years because I'm more indifferent to food. So I'm happy to choose the healthier meals and my sugar cravings have all but disappeared.

It is a fantastic weight loss tool and I'm incredibly grateful that I can use it.

Lol, who thinks a six stone weight loss isn't life changing? I've just lost two stone and am delighted I can go running again.

@GapTshirtsAreShitQualityTheseDays glad it's working for you!

I don't have any experience of weight loss drugs, but (and I am pretty overweight) I cannot understand why people get so annoyed about other people taking - there is an obseity epidemic and, although there are varying estimates, it is costing the UK a lot of money, it's a real societal problem and people should be supporting researching and advances in this areas and not berating individuals for 'not doing it the hard way'!

Estimate of 6.5 billion per year:

https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/07/government-plans-to-tackle-obesity-in-england/

Estimate of 19 billion to NHS and 15 billion to society:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/04/cost-of-people-being-overweight-in-uk-now-98bn-study-finds

Another from 2020 of 3 per cent of GDP:

https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-07/The-costs-of-obesity-final-IFS-report.pdf

These threads are pure projection. If you don't want anyone to know your medical care just don't tell them? It's ok. Why do you need to justify yourself to the Internet?

Maybe I’m weird but I LIKE exercise. I do have ADHD (diagnosed) and I’m like a fucking spaniel. I love running, I bloody adore swimming and I’m even starting to enjoy the gym.

it’s not boring, it’s life affirming, it makes me strong, more powerful and without it my mental health would be on the floor.

you can absolutely be a fat runner, particularly in you do long distance.

I'd love to have the answer to that! I mean I guess our ancestors survived because having a big appetite and a drive to find food was beneficial. Maybe my genes are just...too good at that stuff!

In some ways I don't think it matters what the problem is, we have a (partial) solution, just take it.

Don't be so nasty.
I was left for dead.. my ex got jailed for attempted murder.
At least three of the medications l take have weight gain side effects .
Yes I suppose I'm exercising now.. with my finger typing.
I can't even exercise my bladder or bowels.
I have no vagina either so won't be using sex as an exercise.
As l said l CAN'T.

Absolutely. Well said

er WHAT???? If my weight changed between these two weights, my life would be completely changed

I’ve noticed the same sort of snippiness on here about weightless drugs as I see about Botox.

I’ve been on Mounjaro since the end of June. I’ve lost 2.5 stone and feel fabulous. I wasn’t hugely overweight but it has been creeping up over the last few years.

For properly obese people, these drugs are life-changing. More and more, there is evidence about the other health benefits they provide - the latest being that they slow down the ageing process.

I have a friend who’s really dangerously overweight. She’s about to start on Mounjaro and I’m so excited for her. Her next and only option was a gastric bypass and this will, I don’t doubt, enable her to avoid this surgery and the associated risks.

Do people realise there Binge eating disorder is a chronic illness.. just like anorexia?

What? 15stone to 9 stone not life changing? What a ridiculous comment. Depending on one's height that could take you from severely obese to well within recommended BMI. It would for me at 5ft 4ins, for example. OP, that is wonderful news! I hope you continue to remain slim and healthy. Well done 😁

@LoveSandbanks yeah I know thanks....I've run plenty of times, mainly half marathons and a couple of full marathons

But I still find it boring at times!

I love the adrenaline buzz but appreciate many find exercise dull and boring

@ThisHangryPinkBalonz I think a lot of people don't understand that if you aren't very active then your tdee is lower than if you are active. Heavier people have a higher tdee because it takes more energy to run a 15 stone body than a 9 stone body to use OPs weights.

I fooled myself for ages that it was peri-menopause or maybe my thyroid or that I must just be heavier than ideal because of something outside of my control. I started logging everything on my fitness pal and I weighed out portions. I was astounded at how much I was actually eating. I gave myself a kick up the ass and lost over 2 stone by changing my diet to healthier choices like porridge, Greek yogurt and fruit, homemade soups and bread, homemade pizza, halloumi and beetroot wraps but still eating the odd McDonald's and Starbucks and crisps, chocolate and general junk. I've kicked most ultra processed food out of my diet in the last 3 months and it's helping me maintain my weight at 55kg. I'm 5ft 2.5in and that gives me a bmi of 20 and change. It was hard in the beginning but it's easy now. My mindset changed with my body. I AM perimenopausal and have been for about 6 years. I'm 48. I'm in no doubt that for some women hormone changes influence things more but we are all in control of what we choose to eat. My now-disabled mum eats less because her tdee is now lower because she can't be as active. Her weight increased by around half a stone over a couple of years which is negligable. We need to eat to our activity levels and own our choices and not make excuses because we are not fooling anyone, only ourselves.

I currently have 20 "likes" on my OP.

Thank you to everyone who has posted supportively, I actually can't keep up with the thread!

I hope that in posting I'm helping change people's minds about these drugs! Whether you are someone considering using them or you are reading Daily Mail headlines and judging those who do. (Hence why I didn't post in weightloss - I wanted a wider audience)

@Moier that's horrific, so sorry that has all happened to you.

I couldn't agree more.
I have lost 12lbs in 4 weeks. 1200 cals a day, 10000 steps.
I finally can see some hope. I never discuss it with anyone else