Maintenance

[Whatoflife]

Hello all
I’ve been pouring over threads the last few days and I’m ready to start…. I think!
Can anyone advice what maintenance looks like please? I’ve had a good search but I can’t find answers.
I assume you hope to have created healthier eating habits but do you need a long term maintenance dose? Im thinking of £££s
Thanks

I think it is going to depend on your circumstances and reasons you're overweight in the first place.

I don't know about maintenance because I'm not there yet!

I know that some of the providers that do subscriptions have started to offer continuing maintenance plans, where you pay a smaller amount each month to stay as a customer and access support but not getting pens. If you need to restart then they can start to offer you pens again. I'm not sure how those models will work.

I'm going to be using the injections for at least 9 months to a year in total due to the amount of weight I have still to lose. So, by then I'm looking at having made permanent lifestyle changes that will support maintenance.

https://www.oushkpharmacy.com/maintenance

Thanks all.
Like many of us here I’ve lost and gained the weight so many times, unfortunately I don’t have faith in myself particularly to make long term changes, much as I’d like to think I do.
I guess it’s relatively new so we don’t have many people at the ‘guinea pig’ phase of maintenance yet.

There's a thread for February to April starters and some on there have, or are about to, reach their goal.
Have a read to see how they're dealing with it.

MedExpress offer maintenance but at the moment it's only for up to two years that they say you can remain on Mounjaro, so all those who insist they are going to stay on it for life may need to reevaluate and work on a Plan B.

I don't want to pump myself full of drugs longer than I need to so I'll be coming off and maintaining through diet, exercise and willpower! I've been making lifestyle changes alongside Mounjaro which I think is so important.

@SnacklessWonder there is no 2 year limit for taking mounjaro. That was something some of the pharmacies came up with a while ago based on guidelines for Wegovy/Ozempic. All new data says it is safe as long as needed.

@IReallyNeedThisToWork I didn't say there was a two year limit - I said that's how long MedExpress state on their website:

For us to continue prescribing Mounjaro® to you, you'll need to have lost around 5% of your initial body weight. You are likely to be able to continue using it for up to two yearswith clinical guidance.

Pressed post too soon - and I guess it's up to the prescribers what they offer. Probably different if you're prescribed it for diabetes v purely weight loss.

I’ve spent a total of £1219.00 since I started MJ in May and have lost a total of 3 and a half stone. When I added the total cost up, it initially felt pretty huge, but the way in which my physical and mental health has improved is well worth every single penny.

I’m now only 8 pounds away from my goal weight and maintenance with 2 unused pens left in the fridge.

Oushk pharmacy, as a PP has said, currently offer the best choice of maintenance plans. I’m still undecided what to do.

My diet has been completely overhauled since May - no processed foods, no added sugar, healthy fats and lots of protein, fruit and vegetables. I’ve still had treats along the way and the occasional alcoholic drink so I’ve never felt deprived.

Good luck 😉

Surely once you have got to your goal weight your stomach has shrunk, you will be more active and you will remain feeling full on a smaller diet without a maintenance dose

For someone who's supposedly taking Mounjaro, you're sounding quite like the anti-Mounjaro crew with the "pump myself full of drugs" unnecessary bit. Or are you anti-MJ users but still need the "drug"? Are we "drug users" - like someone on another thread called us? Are you since you're taking it?

If people think they need to stay on it for life because their issue isn't about not knowing healthy lifestyle and diet but something not working right biologically, they can "insist" on using it as they will just like any other drug we're 'pumping into our body'.

Thanks all, I’ll do a bit more research and hopefully my willpower will be stronger when I’m in a happier place

I've reached my goal weight (only went up to 7.5) and have now gone back down to 2.5. I've been on it for a month and have lost another couple of lbs. I plan to stay on 2.5 for the next 6 months and hope I'll be able to fly solo after that.

Which pharmacy are you with, to be prescribed pens for a prolonged period after reaching goal? (I'm with Asda and understand they'll stop prescribing long before I get to mine).

@flobbynomore I have to confess I have stockpiled for fear of being cut off. So I still have 4 pens in my fridge and will use them until they run out. I got my last one last week and don't think I'll be prescribed anymore.

Unfortunately the opposite seems to be true. Although your smaller body actually needs fewer calories, as you lose weight your levels of ghrelin (the “hunger hormone”) increase, meaning you feel hungrier. This is the body trying to get back to its previous higher weight, and it’s part of why people eventually plateau and regain the weight they’ve lost.

I finished my last 2.5 wegovy pen about 5 weeks ago after hitting my goal weight and I'm using a final pen to reduce the dose every 8 days to withdraw and so the drug in my system doesn't just drop off suddenly. There are 75 clicks for a regular 1 week dose so I did 70 clicks 8 days after, 60 the next, then 50 then 40 etc etc. I'm hoping it gets my body used to a much lower does of wegovy and it seems to be working so far as I've maintained and my hunger hasn't come back yet.

See also leptin.

Leptin is what makes you feel full/satiated. A 10% of drop in body weight reduces leptin by over 50%. It's unclear how long for (whether it's month or years) but it's a significant time, if not semi-permanently.

Meaning, someone who has lost weight is at least 50% less able to feel satiated than someone who has not.

Leptin and ghrelin are the killers to anyone who has lost weight. They really will fight you to out it back on again by making you hungrier and less able to feel full.

Stop being so over-sensitive and defensive. I am using MJ and yes, I do feel like I am pumping myself full of drugs...because err I am! Literally every week. Dress it up how you like.

Call me what you like. You can feel how you like about yourself but others aren't doing the same as you, so your obviously patronising post about people insisting on staying on it for life and the PA bit about pumping yourself full of drugs wasn't as subtle you wanted it to be. Pump away.

I wasn't trying to be subtle!

Just been reading this which seemed to show staying on it for maintenance was beneficial

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2812936

I was also pleased to read about the benefits in terms of e.g. cholesterol levels and blood pressure etc. I just hope I can continue to afford it.

@Orangesandlemons77 a really interesting read. Kind of makes me sway towards staying on a lower dose of MJ once I reach my goal weight.