What are everyone's plans once they reach target?

[DappledOliveGroves]

I'm a few pounds off my target weight. I've been on the injections since July and lost around 14 kilos since then.

I'm currently still on a 5mg pen, but find it's getting less effective at the end of the week, and food noise and hunger is coming back strongly.

I spoke to my provider, Voy, about maintenance plans and was told that once your BMI drops to 22.5, their policy is to ensure that you wean off the pens, by dropping to a lower dose every month, and then to nothing. I asked whether, if the weight starts going back on, you can go back onto a pen, or if you have to have a BMI of over 30 (or over 27 with associated conditions) to start again. They confirmed the latter.

I have a consultation appointment with Oushk tomorrow, as I know they offer long-term maintenance options, but whether they'll prescribe now that my BMI is under 23, I don't know.

I have no confidence that, as soon as I have no Mounjaro in my system, that I'll do much different eating or exercise-wise than before. I've lost weight because I have no food noise and no hunger. Once I have food noise again, I can't see how my mindset will be any different to a few months ago, when I ate crap and sugar and alcohol to get the sugar boost I craved. If I had no will-power then, why will I have it now?

Is anyone who is approaching their goal weight, confident in making good food decisions once the mediation has stopped? If not, what are your plans?

I have a big busy job too and easy to grab food was my downfall.

Since being on MJ one of the changes I've made is buying a cheap slow cooker. I put the ingredients for a casserole or chilli or whatever in it in the morning and put it on the slow setting.

By evening I have a big enough batch of food for that days dinner and 3 more for the fridge that just need reheating for 4 minutes.

I have no problem with repetitive meals so will just eat the same thing for four days but if it was a problem then 2 could go in the freezer and do a different slow cooker meal for day 3 and 4 then 2 more in the freezer, then different meal for days 7 and 8 and 2 more in the freezer. Within about a week you have 3 options of meals to choose from in the freezer and if you build up a routine you could have a really good variety of homemade ready meals within a couple of weeks.

Long term issues here too, @885reasons. If proven safe in the long term for weight maintenance I'd be interested. Guess the balance of risk is not yet understood - I see Lilly call out the need for further clinical trials.

The other thing I think about with this after reading Michael Moseley make this point in the fast 800 book, is even if I do end up putting some/all of the weight back on, being at a lower weight for the time I am still has health benefits, less wear on my joints etc. The stats on keeping weight off long term aren't great for any method except maybe surgery which comes with its own risks. And I'll obviously try to keep the weight off and hope I'm in the minority who does. But if it's a toss up between not losing and gradually edging upwards year by year as I was doing, or losing all this weight for a period of time, I know what I'd choose.

I know this isn’t the point of the thread, but just curious re the frozen veg. I’m considering starting on Mounjaro, and meal planning will be a big part of it being effective.

I currently do a chilli/soup or whatever in the slow cooker and use frozen veg as I just don’t have the energy after a 10 hour day to prepare fresh veg along with all the other things I need to do in the evening.

I either have the slow cooker meal for two days or freeze the rest.

Do you consider a mix of frozen veg along with fresh veg or salad for other meals to be ok?

I use loads of frozen veg. I have a small under counter freezer with nearly 2 drawers dedicated. Brilliant for making soups and quick meals. I always throw extra veg in everything and means you can have good variety without having loads of different types of vegetables in fresh at one time.

Nothing wrong with frozen veg. I think fresh, steamed veg tastes nicer when it's part of a meal e.g. chicken, broccoli, rice; but in soups/stews/slow cooker, you probably couldn't tell the difference.

This is where I am too. If my BMI goes up to 27, I'll be eligible again, so any yo-yoing would hopefully be between smaller gains.

I am going much deeper on the psychological aspects this time, and really trying to bring behaviour that has been only semi-conscious, out into full consciousness, in the hope I can then modify deeply entrenched responses.

Am battling a number of things, including unmedicated ADHD, which like others, MJ seems to really help. Wonder if it will end up be licensed for other uses...

Hopefully more research on maintenance will be available in time, along with solutions.
As others have said, few of us are unaware of what we need to do to maintain a healthy weight. Most of us will have lost weight many times and regained. None of us want to do this again.
For me, I think it comes down to the complicated interplay of genetic, physiological, emotional and environmental factors that led to obesity in the first place and mj's effects on these.
Clearly those of us with a genetic makeup to put on and hold on to weight will always have this. But I do wonder whether some of the metabolic disfunction that mj helps to correct may, after a period of time, be improved even after stopping the jabs. I'm thinking here about production/response to insulin, ghrelin and leptin which may have been affected by yoyo dieting, poor food quality etc. I'm hoping that improved diet may lead to a better gut biome and, therefore, better endocrinal health. Also, if there is anything in set point theory, our bodies may not fight so hard to regain the lost weight if we have maintained for a year or so with the help of mj.
Lastly, because losing this way has proved more sustainable for the long haul than many other diets, habits will have had time to become ingrained.
So I think there are reasons to be hopeful that weight loss (or a substantial part of it) could be maintained providing we have used the time to eat healthily and, ideally, exercise.

I think for me accountability is also a big part of it.
I've spent a lot of money on this and if I gain weight afterwards, I'll feel as though I've wasted all that cash. My husband earns more than me, and in the same way as I spend our money wisely for food and all other family things, I feel as though I should hold myself accountable to the way I have spent this money, and that's a good incentive for me.

I hope you are right, @Fromthesidelines. I guess the longer term effects on insulin production and metabolic functioning in non-diabetic recipients is one of the big unknowns for now.

I have diagnosed anxiety and depression, I have a very busy and active mind. Constantly ruminating. I have felt some clarity since starting MJ too. Like the buzzing of my mind has stopped.