Should I start mounjaro?

[Allgoesback]

I've struggled with my weight for about 15 years (I'm 35). I used to have issues with binge eating and my weight skyrocketed.

Highest BMI was 37, I managed to get down to 29 with keto over about 4 years, then down 27 due to taste issues following covid in 2021. However by 2022 I was back up to a BMI of 30 despite continually thinking about food and trying and planning and dropping calories really quite low. I no longer binge though I do eat emotionally nowadays it'd be a chocolate bar rather than a binge. I joined the gym at the end of 2022 and started weight lifting 4 times a week, tracking my macros and lifted calories to 1600. Also aiming for 8000 - 10,000 steps per day. I kept the gym routine for about a year and continued to slowly gain fat somehow. I then have tried intuitive eating and still some gym time, which has had some positive effects in terms of being more aware of hunger and fullness. But when doing this I also stopped weighing myself which was a mistake. I have gained 30lbs over 6-8 months and am now only 1.5 stone off my highest ever weight with a BMI of 34.

I just don't know what to do. This has dominated my life. I am intelligent, capable, good at my job - basically I have my life in order except my fucking weight and it makes me miserable. But I'm scared of using a drug. Mounjaro especially is meant to be better but also is less studied long term as it's not semaglutide. Everyone says the weight will go back on when you stop and I'm scared to become a lifelong patient. Equally it clearly comes back anyway! It would also be a bit of an affordability struggle.

I have read so much about nutrition and the body and have a good understanding of things. I don't drink, almost all food is cooked from scratch and yet here I am still overweight and gaining.

My idea is to try to use the minimum and combine with good protein levels and good food and weight lifting so it's more of a tool then the whole reason for the loss? But I have no idea if that's naive or what. Just don't know what to do. Has anyone regretted it? Or is it generally only positive?

You'll get a variety of answers, some will have tried it and stopped because they had side effects that impacted them too much. Some will have been on it for months and have consistent weight loss. Some will be on it for months but only losing very slowly.

I've been using Mounjaro for over 10 weeks now. I have lost weight consistently during that period and had one instance of gastric side effects which was after about 5 or 6 weeks, when I had been on the second level of dose for a week or so. I didn't go up to the next level of dose that was suggested immediately as a result of the side effects and it settled down. I haven't had any noteworthy side effects since then.

I have felt freed from the negative self-talk around food, and feel like I can maintain this level of weight loss for the long term, which I need to as I am still BMI over 40 - I had a very high starting weight. I will be on Mounjaro for at least a year in order to get to a healthy weight, it's a long-term thing for me. I am extremely conscious of the risk of regaining when I eventually stop using it. I will be focused on addressing that when I get nearer to my goal. I hope that long-term habits will have formed, and become normal. I will not be complacent and will look to ensure that exercise and fitness are my priority. If I ever end up back at an obese BMI then I will use Mounjaro again if necessary and not leave it until my BMI is greater than 35, or 40 or even higher. I don't intend to take it permanently - when at my goal weight I want to be able to maintain that without needing the additional help of Mounjaro. That might be as hard work as losing the weight in the first place, but at least I will be at a healthy weight and not at risk of all the obesity-related issues that were starting to come my way when I was at my highest weight.

Honestly…YES!
I am 33, been yo-yo’ing up and down with my weight for the better part of the last 15 years. I hit my “rock bottom” in May with a BMI of 37.2. I decided to give Mounjaro a go and started end of May, and I’m currently almost 4 stone lighter and have a BMI of 29.4. I still have a bit to go but my God, for the first time in forever it seems doable!
I am still only on 5 mg, and have not had any side effects.
Genuinely, the best thing I’ve done for myself.