I’ve finished Mounjaro - weekly update to report on what happens when you finish!

[NearingendofMJ]

I started taking MJ at the beginning of April. I’ve been a slow loser, and have lost 2 stone in the time I’ve been on MJ.

My starting weight was 84kg and I am now 71.5, I am 5’7.

I took my last injection last Sunday, so just over a week ago and it was around 6mg (counting clicks on a 12.5mg pen)

I have definitely noticed hunger today. However I am able to deal with that at the moment by reminding myself I had lunch an hour ago etc so I do not need to eat.

I think everyone on these meds worries what may happen when you stop. It’s like any diet, if there isn’t a lifestyle change, you will regain all the weight.

I thought I’d start a thread for some real life experience of what will happen - I’m aware I’ll still have MJ in my system for the next couple of weeks, but will be a good experiment to see if the hunger becomes unbearable or manageable with my new found knowledge of better food groups to eat!

Having been on MJ for 6 months I’m fairly sure I am able to make better choices now - famous last words 😂

Wow you’ve done so well, congratulations!

So to answer your questions

• I was never intending on staying on MJ long term as I do not take any regular medication and didn’t want to start. This would have been the case even if I hadn’t had side effects. The side effects for me were lethargy, stomach pain and general unwell feeling. I stayed on MJ longer than I thought but in fact that seems to have broken the eating patterns I had before I started.
• I wouldn’t say I have got the food noise back. Prior to MJ, if I knew there were crisps in the kitchen, or any form of snacky food, I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it until I had eaten all of them. I had very little willpower and thought about food constantly. This seems to have changed in that I can enjoy a snack without wanting to eat absolutely all of it (think multiple bags of crisps rather than just one)

I now think about food as a weekly thing (as in I had a dessert one evening so won’t have one again this week) so therefore don’t feel deprived but still get to enjoy something in moderation.

Id say give it a try, you can always go back on it if but tell yourself you can do it because you can I’m sure!

I'm enjoying reading your updates @NearingendofMJ

I'm very close to my goal weight so will be injecting less tomorrow (titrating down from 10mgs to 7.5mgs ). My plan is to carry on titrating down each week until I stop.

My current side effects are still the coldness and fatigue. My strategy is to:

Carry on eating my simple high protein diet
Contunue to weigh daily and ensure that any tiny increases are dealt with quickly (cutting back/intermittent fasting)
Carry on with my exercise

Thanks @NearingendofMJ for the update. Really helpful to have a space for sharing experiences.

I am titrating down, going from 5mg now to 2.5mg. My highest dosage was 10mg and I was on MJ for around 6 months. Slow and steady weight loss and still have around 1 stone to lose.

I haven't been as conscientious as I could have been these last couple of weeks in terms of food and exercise but still lost 0.5lb a week.

My plan is to have regular healthy meals, avoid heavily processed foods, have lots of protein and drink lots of water. Keep on with lots of walking.

This all sounds so positive! I think the daily weighing is one of the most important things so you can get a grip on things quickly if you see a consistent increase in the daily weight.

Personally, I’ve felt so much more alert and less tired once I stopped the meds, I’ve at least doubled my weekly step count in the last 3 weeks because I feel more able to do it

Thetrs nothing about MJ that will make you put on weight when you stop, over and above any diet you are coming off. That was always the trigger for me ‘coming off a diet’ but this time for me it’s a lifestyle change and I won’t go back to my old ways. I’ll definitely enjoy Xmas and expect a weight gain but that’s part of the plan and I’ll lose it again after Xmas. I’m restarting swimming this week too so that will definitely help too

That’s lovely op. It is fantastic to see such positivity and you are so right it’s s lifestyle change. Of course we are here if you have difficult days too.

@NearingendofMJ
That sentence on your post
" There's nothing about Mj, that will make you put weight on when you stop ,above any other diet "
had quite a profound effect on me.
So instead of thinking I've lost it quickly , I'll probably put it back on , at the age of 66 ,( and having been on many diets over the years) I'm hoping to see the end of this weight loss journey as my new , normal bodyweight.

@Pinkbendyman I am also nearing my goal weight and I'm worried about the food noise coming back. Also not thinking about food as much has made my head feel clearer given me more space and I have taken up new hobbies. I genuinely can't see how I can come off mounjaro

I had a lot of food noise before starting MJ, if there was something in the house I’d be obsessing over eating it, all waking hours of the day. Thinking back, it was because I had no incentive not to - the mountain seemed too steep to climb to lose a meaningful amount of weight so what was the point in not eating more?

Im nearly 4 weeks post MJ and although the hunger is back, I’m somehow able to deal with the food noise better in that I can see the results of the weight loss so I don’t want to put it all back on again. I can make better choices now I think.

In the time I’ve been off, my weight has fluctuated 2 pounds heavier/lighter, and usually after a weekend where I’ve drank or eaten a lot. Whereas before I’d have just seen that on the scales and thought ‘what’s the point’ and carry on eating, i reset on a Monday and carry on with the better eating habits because I can see the results and know It’s what I want.

My fear of coming off was all based around me feeling it was impossible to maintain weight loss and I’d fail (some of these forums don’t help with that belief) but actually seeing that I’ve managed it for a few weeks now has spurred me on.

Id say give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised 🙂

@NearingendofMJ it's really good to read about how it's been for you. I'm 2.6kg off my GW now (65kg) so I'm getting to the point of thinking about how I stop. I'm actually fed up with the nausea now and looking forward to titrating down. I notice my energy is better on day 6/7 when it starts wearing off a bit and I can actually eat a bit more.

It's brilliant you've made so many changes and are dealing with the food noise differently. That's exactly what I'd hoped to do too. I no longer like the feeling of being over full either, I am hoping my time on MJ will have helped me to know better when I'm hungry and when I'm full and need to stop eating.

I know I've got the fear about whether I can maintain it without "help" - but it really helps to see others who can.

@NearingendofMJ for what it's worth I think you're doing exactly the right things to maintain your weight loss.
I lost a substantial amount of weight a few years ago and have kept it off, despite people warning me I'd end up putting it all back on.

All the things you've mentioned are basically the same tactics I've used to maintain.

That’s really interesting, do you mind me asking if your weight fluctuates at all?

I weigh daily so often see a spike in weight of up to 2 lbs (like this week but had a heavy weekend last weekend) but then I am able to lose it again

Its about not getting complacent for me I think

@CrazyGoatLady @MayorOfHuyton @NearingendofMJ you are all inspiring!
💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

I always stay within 2 or 3lb of my target weight. I allow myself a bit of flexibility on holiday or over Christmas but then I'm strict about getting back to goal.
Losing 5 lb might be difficult but it's not anything like having to lose 5 stone so that's what I try to keep in mind.

I never want to go back to being obese so even though I really love food I would rather deny myself something than put the weight back on.

@NearingendofMJ how are you now OP?

Week 4 (nearly) update

Last weekend I had a bit of a heavy one, drinking and eating quite a bit. It’s also my TOTM and my constipation is back 🫤

According to the calculator, at 25 days I’d have approximately 0.19 mg of MJ left in my system - not even 1/10 of a 2.5mg dose.

My weight last week was 71.25, and it went up to 72.05 at the start of the week, and today is 71.8.

Im not stressing about the 1lb gain as this would frequently happen on MJ too.

In terms of binging, I haven’t felt like I wanted to do that at all, when I want to eat something I’ll ask myself am I actually hungry or just bored, and this will prevent the mindless snacking. I’ve felt able to eat a meal until I’m satisfied but not uncomfortably full.

For the next week I’ll concentrate on exercise and actually start the swimming I’ve been meaning to!
In myself, i feel great. It’s been lovely not to feel the lethargy and general illness of MJ and feel like I’m managing this myself.

Im hoping to have lost another 4lbs by Xmas

Sorry forgot to include the Renpho readings for comparison

Super! This was shared elsewhere.
We should ideally eat at 4 and stop at 6.

That’s the one! Eating slower seems to help me remember that too

I'm dropping my mj each week. I am down to a 5mg dose today and I have no more left so will not take any more. I've hit my goal weight and my bmi today is 21.9

Congratulations, that’s brilliant. Good luck with your maintenance journey. I’m almost there but dreading it. If I had willpower I wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place!

@Coldandunderablanket was you prescriber happy to prescribe at that BMI?

Congratulations! Do keep us updated on this thread on your progress.

Willpower seems somehow different than before, although I’m hungry I can see the results of the weight I’ve lost so don’t want to go back there so it’s a little easier not to eat everything in sight!

I relax things at the weekend, as I have done this weekend, so back to the healthier eating tomorrow and hoping for at least a maintain at the end of next week

@20bloodypounds I started of with a bmi of 31 so this is the end of my journey. I ordered from med express and they seem to get you to buy a syringe sooner than you need it so my bmi was above 25 when I ordered my last syringe (plus I've been using the 5th dose) .

@NearingendofMJ I know what you mean. The smaller titrating does seem to be wearing off more quickly so Im experiencing hunger at the end of the week. I've been using the hunger/satiety scale (which is a revelation to me, I used to eat to 8/9/10). I stopped at 6/7 at the weekend and I found this sensible and quite easy.

I'm carrying on eating my high protein low carb unprocessed diet and have lost another 3lbs whilst titrating.

This may sound strange and I don't know why, but I feel absolutely confident I will maintain, I'm incredibly focused to ensure that I'll be applying my eating pattern/habits that I've learned whilst I've been on MJ. I would probably say that I am a little bit obsessed with maintenance....

My plan going forward:
Maintain the exercise plan. I cycle 5 miles to work and back (10 miles a day) I love it and it would feel strange not to do it now.
Carry on weighing daily and allow myself a window to be within (9st2-9st8). Correct any small increases immediately.
High protein low carb unprocessed meals. Happy to leave food on my plate (ie I will eat the curry and just pick at the rice)
I love the satiety/hunger scale and will carry on using its principles.

So I only took two doses so am a fortnight clear of MJ now. I’ve not weighed myself as I dropped weight very quickly on MJ (ten pounds with the two doses) and I didn’t expect to sustain that as it can’t have all been fat. I’d say I’ve got my appetite back but I do think it’s broken my binge habits (for now). My DH even got me a huge bar of my fave chocolate over the weekend but I’d already had a sweet desert and just didn’t fancy it. He came back from work and saw the unopened bar in the cupboard and commented that I hadn’t touched it! Normally I’d not have been able to resist. I think maybe it’s helped with the cycle of bingeing.

I’ve been listening to “Why we eat too much” by Dr Andrew Jenkinson and trying stage one of that. I have to admit stage 2 - eating grass fed meat and only line caught salmon etc sounded really overwhelming, but I’ll stick to the first stage - basically cutting out sugar. I’d like to reach a stage where im not reliant on calorie counting. I’ve realised that’s how my DH manages basically following the same strategy - no sugar and natural foods and cutting out vegetable oils.

@SunQueen24 that book sounds interesting, might have to get it next on audible.

@Coldandunderablanket well done on further loss while titrating down.

@NearingendofMJ it sounds like the weight loss has made it worth resisting the treats, which is interesting. Back when I was really struggling to drop even a couple of pounds, it never seemed worth denying myself!

I had my maintenance consultation today with Oushk and will be starting to reduce my dose from next month, the plan is to drop to 3mg with my current pen for 2 weeks (by counting clicks) and then do 2.5 for a month, then 2.5 every other week for 2 months, then stop, so I'll have a 3 month period of titrating down. I've quite frankly been sick as a dog on the 5mg jags and I'm not sure if my body will want to drop much more weight and part of me is wondering whether that's even a good idea, if I might actually start to compromise my fitness and strength by dropping further. I've been a strength athlete for a long time on and off, so have always been on the heavier side even when slimmer and I'm now a size 10-12 despite weighing in around 67-68kg. I quite fancy competing again but will be competing two weight categories below where I used to now!