Regretting 5mg

[itwasnevermine]

Hi all,

I started Mounjaro in August. I'm on week 3 of 5mg and I'm struggling to eat 1000 calories a day. I'm aware this isn't healthy but it just doesn't happen for me. I have to have a "bad" treat to top up my calories for the day otherwise I'd happily sit at 750.

I don't want to under eat, lose weight fast and then be stuck with more unhealthy habits. I just feel sick all the time and all food sounds bland and disgusting to me.

I decided not to move up to 7.5, so my second 5mg pen is sat in the fridge waiting for me to be ready. But I just don't know what to do. I'm a fast responder - losing nearly 10% of my starting body weight in 8 weeks. But I'm just not sure where to go from here.

It's a double edged sword because on the one hand I've never stuck to a weight loss programme like this and never lost this amount of weight before. On the other hand the complete disinterest in food is starting to get me down a bit, I have a family BBQ this weekend and I'm anxious because I'm eating a lot less than usual and don't want to stick out to the family, because my dad has helpfully told them all I'm losing weight! It's tough

Not strictly in the rules, but some (including myself) count clicks when a dose is too much. So for example, if you take 45 clicks from the 5mg pen to give 3.75mg.

Prescribers have said if you can't eat, lower your dose. So I suggest you do a form of that anyway.

How was 2.5mg for you? Was it working well when you decided to go up to 5mg? Maybe you weren't ready to go up to 5mg and would be better off on 2.5mg still? If money isn't too tight, you could buy another 2.5mg pen and use that instead of the 2nd 5mg pen as your next pen? Or take 1/2 dose form the 5mg pen. Although this is tricky as they are only meant to be used for 30 days so you'd have to throw a lot of it away.

2.5mg worked well in the beginning but by the end of the 4 weeks I definitely needed to move up, I wasn't really feeling the effects.

I've seen the counting clicks but don't want to waste the medicine 😩

I had to dial down the clicks as well, because I just felt absolutely miserable on the next dose up. It’s worth it to waste it and feel good again while still losing weight.

Some people go over the 30 days. But prescribers don't advise it.

I'm sure your body will get used to the 5mg eventually. It's just that time in between.

For your next dose you could go with 3.75mg as you only have a dose or two left from your current 5mg pen so might make the 30 days.

Have you invested in any protein shakes? Maybe add this into your diet? They give you some protein and extra calories. They have clear versions too so you don't have to feel like your drinking heavy shakes.

I want to pick up on your comment about not wanting to waste the medicine. You are NOT a bin. It is better to bin it than use it if you don’t need it or it doesn’t work for you.

Even with a clear whey and a cupcake yesterday I was only on 1001, nothing is appealing to me at the moment 🥲

This is important as it carries through to food.

Yes waste isn't ideal, but neither is placing excess (to what is suited to you) into your body just to prevent that.

Yeah this is very true it just feels like a huge financial loss to not use all of it

Op, it sounds like you are miserable trying to take 5mg. I think it's a better idea to take less and be able to eat than suffering on a too high dose. if you are still taking 4/5 smaller doses out the pen, then that's still 4/5 weeks of medication. Try not to worry about the loss of meds. When your on 5mg, you really aren't losing much of a dose by chucking it.

Also if you're using the 5th dose / bonus dose, you're saving anyway.

I have been managing my weigh loss since last year through careful calorie counting due to a wake up call from developing painful gallstones. I have not gone anywhere near weight loss injections as I needed to learn how to do it myself and all my excuses just led me to where I was- 17 and a half stone and in pain, awaiting surgery with a BMI of 45. I've dropped to 11 stone 5lbs since then by sticking to 1200 calories a day. It's not been easy but it has been doable and the pain has all but gone. I'm also in a far healthier position for surgery. My point is perhaps this experience you're having is your own wake up call to start taking care of yourself properly and learn to eat healthily without the faddy injections. You are capable of doing this without them and you're going to feel so bloody proud of yourself a few months from now if you start being firmer with yourself.

You've done an amazing job, but for me it was never that easy. I started at nearly 21 stone and these injections have been a game changer for me, but the 5mg is just hitting hard right now. They're medications that have been studied for years and they're not a "fad", I'm proud of myself for the weight loss I've had and the weight loss I will continue to have

Yeah that's true! I'll ride out this week bf I can't do anything now and then next week make a choice about 3.75 v 5

I'd just dial down the dosage and forget about the 'wasting medicine' thing because it's a sunk cost fallacy as whatever you do it's already paid for anyway. The difference in cost between 2.5 and 5 is very slight anyway. Just count the clicks to give yourself a lesser dose. Some people settle on 3.75 for example.

This is the injectable weight loss board. All of us here are on these 'faddy injections'.

That's great that you have managed to lose all that weight by calorie counting. However, a lot of us are taking them because cutting calories to 1200 just doesn't work for us. Not everyone is able to lose weight the way you have as people have medical issues that prevent them from losing the conventional ways. I assure you, that most of us have tried to cut calories to 1200 etc and still not lost weight, before we found injections. Just because it has worked for you, doesn't mean that it works for everyone.

Could you try splitting the dose? So 2.5mg, then 2.5mg midweek?

You'd be taking less at a time, but there'd be much less drop off, and the overall amount in your body is still higher. There's a very thorough chart on here somewhere that shows how all the different doses work.

Better a bit of wasted money than wasted health. You are doing AMAZINGLY well and should be proud of yourself. It really fucks me off when other people bleat on about diet and exercise, as though you are less for taking the injections. You are not, and your achievement is equally great. I say this as someone not eligible for the injections but would grab with both hands if I were. Be kind to yourself, and if that means wasting some money and some of the meds then so be it.

@ObsidianTree I didn't notice which board it's on as it just showed on my home page so thanks for letting me know. I think my confusion is when people insist cutting their calories down just doesn't work and yet say the injections work- when in reality the injections just force you to cut your calories down by reducing the appetite. So surely that itself is evidence that in fact cutting the calories does work when we are given no other option? Genuinely curious not intending that as a slight in any way. And of course everyone deserves to be proud of their body at any size and nobody is lesser/more of a person than anyone else. I just find it conflicting that people insist calorie counting absolutely does not work for them and yet it works perfectly when the injection pushes them to do exactly that.

This is what I do. It has helped immensely to stay on track and focus on living my life as normal as possible without obsessing about eating or not eating, side effects, appetite suppression, etc. Now I just get on with things, eat small balanced meals on schedule and do other things with no unnecessary mind chatter.

Hi @lemonadeck. Cutting calories makes me miserable. I am hungry all the time, I am irritable, I cannot concentrate. My diets fail because my mental health tumbles and inevitably I end up eating the 'wrong' kind of food because my brain is screaming at me to eat. The medication takes a lot of that away. I still get hungry, but I'm satisfied with a smaller portion. I have a much-reduced urge to snack. I can resist an offered chocolate biscuit and not fixate on them. I now have the mindset where I can make healthy choices and enjoy them. It feels like having a slim person's brain, where I can cut calories and food does not take up 95% of my thoughts.

So that is why simply 'cutting calories' doesn't work for me, but the medication does. Mounjaro is simply a tool I'm using to lose weight successfully. (Genuinely hope this helps explain where some of us are coming from.)

Thanks everyone for your input, may try splitting the dose this week and seeing how it goes

@HippoPortlyMouse that's really helpful, thank you! Yes that makes sense and it's great that it's helping you. Well done and good luck on your journey

How many calories would you like to eat per day? I only lose weight under 1000 consistently.

Supposedly my TDEE is 2500 - would never eat that much because I'd just gain!!

Aiming for 1400-1500. That's where I was on 2.5 and lost 18lbs in the first four weeks, though I appreciate that was mainly water weight.

Now sitting under 1000 I can feel a lot of physical things - lightheaded, headache, tiredness. It's a difficult line to tread