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.

Have you not heard the stories from people taking these drugs long term or seen the evidence on their faces?

How do you know slim people struggle as much as obese people when it comes to eating?

Let’s say 2 people take an exam. Both say it was really hard. Harder than anything they have done.

Person 1 - got 2 hours. Studied, prepared and still found it hard. Almost impossible.

Person 2 - got 2.5 hours. Studied, prepared and still found it hard. Some parts they found almost impossible. Even with extra time because the have dyslexia.

Do you think both those peoples ‘hard’ is the same? Do think person 1 is just morally better because they found it almost impossible AND did it with less time?

Do you think person 2 is failing? They found parts impossible, even when given extra time?

Or do you think that person 2 has additional challenges? And so adjustments have been made to help level the playing field? Do you think it’s a moral issue?

Do you think that yes it was very hard for person 1, but what they experience as ‘hard’ isn’t the same compared to persons 2 hard?

Or do you think person 2 just doesn’t try hard enough and it must have been equally hard for both and if only person 2 tried harder they could do it in 2 hours?

I’m not sure this is true- most people I know are a healthy weight and just eat normal food. It’s not some awful struggle at all or an “internal battle” and I feel for you if that’s what it feels like to you.

But even if it’s true for you, that doesn’t make it a moral failing for someone else to make different choices 🤷‍♀️

Have you read the side effects of a paracetamol tablet?

So do you have studies?

And what people’s faces? Are you talking about celebrities who have (usually) had a lot of surgery? And are (again usually) extremely thin?

@WhiteLily1 I've already said upthread that I stick to a low carb diet as best I can. I know plenty about high fibre, low GI foods and volume eating. If it's as easy as you say "just reduce your portions for a few weeks til you get used to it" then why is 40% of the UK overweight/obese?

"Ozempic face" is made up by the media. Anyone who loses weight via any means will lose volume in their face.

How many people do you think have had limbs amputated or died from obesity since these drugs were invented? Millions. How many have died from these drugs? Er, maybe like literally one possibly. I'll take those odds!

Are you a scientist? What is your basis for claiming the drugs will destroy her insides? Or is it just your opinion?

All of the evidence so far points pretty much in the opposite direction.

'Headline' where??

I think some slim people work hard at it. Some of them are very upset that weight loss drugs have been invented when they have struggled for decades.

Some slim people don't have to work at it at all. They are just not as "food-oriented" as some of the rest of us. Or they are naturally very active or prefer lower cal foods. These people probably don't give weight loss jabs a lot of headspace and certainly aren't angry that some people who need them can have them.

@AGirlInACountrySong she means she believes "you shouldn't take weight loss drugs. Learn about healthy eating and exercise". Just ignore.

I've just started Mounjaro and decided that it's not a secret, I'll tell anyone who comments on my weight loss and I don't care what anyone thinks. I have PCOS and am prepared to stay on it long term if necessary, due to how difficult it is to lose weight with it. People take antidepressants long term to manage their minds, I'm going to use this to manage my body.

As usual on these threads the ‘eat less move more’ brigade are about.
I am like the OP and have tried everything over the years to lose weight and have lost bits of weight but put it back on and more, never have I lost enough to change size. If you read the latest science obesity actually changes the way your body processes food and it’s near on impossible to lose weight once you get truly obese. If you’ve never been obese you would never get it in a million years how it feels to be trying so hard to lose and failing again and again. I paid for a weight loss injection and have now lost 2 stone with no effort, I have changed into a person with a normal relationship with food. Still a way to go but I will continue with the medication.

I did think with Keir Starmer’s announcement that the NHS needs reform and more needs to be done on the prevention front, that there will come a time when these drugs will be prescribed on the NHS to prevent the cost to the NHS that obesity related issues bring.

Totally disagree that most people know the difference between a frozen pizza & a piece of salmon. A whole lot of people really haven’t got a clue! Hence the obesity epidemic.

You are a well informed person. You have chosen to get medical help for weight control. Seems like a good decision.

I wouldn't bother arguing with them, I have ADHD and have constant need to move and eat. No NT person could ever understand this continuous motor brain never switches off, can't sleep, constant fidgeting, constant need to eat. Weight loss drugs are the only thing that have helped me.

"15 stone to 9 stone is nothing life changing, it's just a vanity loss." @sunseaandsoundingoff

FORTY PERCENT of bodyweight is "nothing life changing"? Get a hold of yourself!

Exactly this. I've just had a dinner of salmon and broccoli. Before, I would have been driving to the McDonald's drive thru, I'm a dopamine seeker and food is my kryptonite.

It's quieted the noise, so I no longer feel the pull to fried food. Now I can just cook something that I know I will like and is also healthy.

Oh, and I only ate half the amount that I would have as well, and I'd have also had a whole packet of rice with it

I wonder if there's a drug that increases metabolism. I'm confident mine changed too due to medication.

I eat healthily and mainly cook from scratch but I'm a greedy sod and can trough more than I should. As a result I was heading into porker territory, I'm short too. I found the Nutracheck app and have lost 1.9 stone just by weighing my food to sensible portions. I'm down to 9 stone but I want to lose just a couple more pounds so I won't go over that. I'll still use the app to maintain 9 stone.

There is a hell of a lot of evidence to the contrary.

We are not all the same. Weight gain is a hormonal imbalance in many people (not all). There are so many factors at play. It’s not a simple case of ‘calories in, calories out’ and it’s very naive of you to suggest it is.

OP this is so heartening to hear, as I've just been reading my instructions for my first injection, and you sound exactly like I currently am...same age/weight etc. I am worried about long term side effects, but I think the health related risks of not losing weight are greater. Maintenance is a worry as I can't afford, nor want to stay on the meds long term. I just hope it gives me the jump start to implementing some lifestyle changes

Have you not heard the stories of people who have been taking GLP-1s for twenty years and have completely destroyed their insides?

No. because it hasn’t happened.

The horror stories you hear are almost all people misusing the drug or buying cheap from someone not legally able to prescribe it.

I'd love to see what a year in a controlled environment would do for obese people. Just healthy eating, controlled portions, and exercise in line with physical ability, add in a group doing the same but with health education. Another group with the same but psychological therapy. With follow-ups at 3 months, 6 months, a year, 2 years and so on up to 10 years. Bloods, BP, heart rate, respiration rate, weight, BMI etc all done at each point. That would be a great study to do and read about. I know some have been done and people gained weight once off the programme but I think that wasn't for very long. Does anyone know of anything similar where the research is available to read?

As a naturally slim person I say good for you OP! It’s been really interesting hearing from people on these drugs - I heard the phrase ‘food noise’ from another thread and realise that’s just what I’ve never had - pure luck of the draw. If losing weight naturally was so easy there would be no fat people so the fact we now have a drug to help can only be a good thing. It always seemed so unfair that some people had to work so hard at something that other people never even gave a second thought to.

Waves to DollParts on Tattle who is On My Side! :-D

I read those threads every day! In your lingo, I used to be size Tui All Inclusive and am currently size French. Soon I will be size Japanese!

What do you mean by "a controlled environment", @LegoTherapy ? Essentially secure accommodation for a year? Not sure you'd get many volunteers for that.