Mounjaro, 10st or more to lose.

[BookishBabe]

Hello fellow mounjaro users or people thinking about starting. I have seen there is a thread for people needing to lose 5 stone plus, but even there I felt a little bit big.
I need to lose 12 stone, and even then my BMI would be 33.
Alot of people seem to be starting mounjaro with a starting BMI of 33, so I think it sometimes feels better to be among people who have the same amount to lose, 12 stone feels so daunting and scary. It's going to be a long battle.

This is my final chance before weight loss surgery, which I really don't want to do or risk.
I am 32 years old and have 2 young sons (7 and 5), one is disabled and the other is struggling and is on a reduced timetable at school. They need me to be around for a very long time and at the moment I feel like I am failing them.

I started calorie counting/a calorie controlled diet last Monday (2nd December). I was thinking about putting it off because of Christmas, but I can always come up with an excuse, so I decided to just go for it.

I weighed in at 27st and 7lbs.
At 5 ft 8 that gave me a BMI of 58.5!!!

I had some blood tests in March which showed I was prediabetic, I have done precisely nothing since then to do anything about it and have buried my head in the sand!

My mounjaro was delivered Tuesday afternoon and I took my first jab on Wednesday morning. I think its working slightly now, but I didn't feel any different for the first 3 days, but I'm either used to eating less (unlikely in 7 days) or the mounjaro has started to take effect.

So, one week in, calorie controlled diet every day, trying to get lots of protein, drinking loads, a few days of mounjaro in my system.

Weigh day time,

drum roll

26st and 11lbs!!!! 🥳

10lbs gone. I am very happy with that. I used to be able to lose 15lbs in a week when I was younger, but I was much more active back then and thanks to being so overweight I do struggle with activity.

BMI is now 57! So I've lost 1.5 on my BMI. Fingers crossed I can keep this going, I just need the number to keep going down! I'm really hoping I can be in a healthier and happier place with myself.

So, long post over.

Does anyone with 10st or more to lose want to join me here?

I know its daunting but I think if anyone feels like me, this is probably our last hope before surgery and our health is probably starting to decline or already has due to the weight we have on our bodies.

This is the GPhC website where you can search for a pharmacy and see their most recent inspection report:

https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers/pharmacy

@SilenceInside thanks so much for the links x

That did make me laugh, I keep visualising you with skeletal feet and a barrel body now, if anything you could change careers and become an extra for horror movies? Always a silver lining somewhere 😀. I’m sure you are beautiful!

@SilenceInside, 7 stones! Wow, that’s amazing, and 32% of your starting weight lost. How do you feel mentally? I often wonder how I will feel, yes I feel physically better, but will I always be a fat person in a slimmer body?

@Kay2000 a new stone bracket is always such a boost, that’s brilliant news! I always struggled with the not moving up a dose as you have to make that decision 2 or 3 weeks into your current dose and how are you going to know how you are feeling on week four, I had two months on 7.5 and totally regretted it, after the 1st 7.5mg dose on the 2nd month I was extracting a 10mg (well 9mg) as the old thoughts were creeping in, but I’m on my 2nd 10mg pen now with a 12.5 in the fridge ready. Again everyone is different, but I’m planning on at least a year on the 15mg pen. I swapped providers for my 1st 10mg pen to IQ doctor as they were significantly cheaper than med express.

@StressedEric congratulations on a 4 stone loss, 3 holidays scuppering your plans would have been totally worth it ☺️

I love revisiting this thread it’s so inspiring and such a friendly place. Week 7 overall for me, week 3 on 5mg and another 3 pound loss whoop!

Had contact this week from the tier 4 bariatric service this week, I’m still at the start of the process and I’m expecting at least a 12 month wait not sure what I’m going to do - do I stay on the mounjaro or do I have the surgery?

I prefer not to have surgery, but I’m still a bit worried about the Mounjaro. What if the weight loss injection stops working and I’ve dropped out of the queue for surgery?

Can you stay in the queue while you're on the WLI @Lobsterteapot? If they carry on working for you then you could be in a very different place weight wise in 12 months.

@Lobsterteapot I can vouch that it does work.
I have been on MJ since May 2024 and am now down 102 pounds. I have been a yo yo dieter for 30 plus years. Definitely worth seeing where you are in 12 months. I still have a few stone to go and expect to be on it for life. Good luck

Thank you @PinkArt and @Everdecreasingcircle for the reassurance. I’ve lost weight so many times and it’s all gone back on again, it’s made me skeptical of anything working long term 🙁

Defo going to stay in the queue, hoping that it is another 12 months at least to give me a good go at it

@Lobsterteapot even bariatric surgery is no guarantee of long term success - I have a friend who had a gastric bypass some years ago and lost 10 stones. Over the past decade the weight has slowly crept back and on top of that she’s ill, deficient of practically everything and has to have vitamin injections. Personally I’d avoid surgery like the plague, especially now we have alternative drugs.

Yes I thought bariatric surgery was going to be in my future and was scared how permanent it is and the need for viamins/not to drink with your food.

I'm really struggling with nausea and exhaustion this weekend quite badly but am thinking I need this as I don't want surgery. I can see how if you only had a stone or two to lose and I felt like this I'd so stop.

I'm feeling so hopeful reading everyone's experiences though.

DD2 was my inspiration for committing to mounjaro. She has now been on it about six months and has lost more than 6 stones in weight.

It isn't a 'cure all' but it does help to remove the big barrier which prevents a lot of people getting help for other problems. The 'have you thought about losing weight?' question.

Well done all on great losses. I’m inspired by your loss & determination.
We've all got to keep on keeping on.
I’m loving the M&S squid it’s cooked & is spicy you eat it cold perfect for protein supper. I stuck at 2.5 but will go up with 3rd pen. I’ve lost nearly 10kg in 6 weeks so pleased & I agree Hope is a good work. I find I’m not dreading the summer. My whole family & extended family are slim & all love a bikini on holiday so I’m looking forward to joining them on that front & not hiding behind sarongs etc

How old is your DD2?
She’s done so well. It was my Mum who suggested I try MJ. In a kind way. She’s seen me try & fail so many times & offered to pay for first month. I didn’t want her to pay for it as somehow paying myself makes me feel more accountable. Also when I consider the ££ spent at SW over the years if this actually works then it’s deffo worth it!!

DD2 is 25. She is also T2 diabetic with some other autoimmune complications.

Mounjaro does seem to be especially effective for people with T2 diabetes. Talking with my diabetes nurse, she said that all her Mounjaro patients were getting some benefits. Not all were losing weight but all were reporting easing of diabetes symptoms.

Can anyone who buys theirs through Asda tell me how I go about going up a dose? I am half way through my second 2.5mg pen and quite honestly it's doing nothing for me ! They sent me a code today to get 10% off my next pen which would be useful but the code runs out in seven days. I just sent a message asking if the next pen can be 5mg but they seem to be being obstructive and saying give it another two weeks ? Do I have to have been on the 2.5mg for two months to go up? I just want to get a little bit of money off the next syringe if i can as it's expensive enough especially when it doesn't currently seem to be doing much !

Ignore this I have sorted now thanks.

They’ve never sent me a code to get money off the next one … wondering how I can get them to 😂

These are my results for pounds down each month since starting on 2nd November. I really need to begin to retrain my brain otherwise I’ll regain all this and more like every other thing I’ve tried. I have about another 4 and a half stone to go to get to 13 and a half which I think I’ll be comfortable at. Has anyone found something that is helping them with developing a better relationship with food?

Month
November - 31.4
December - 11.9
January - 14.4
February (so far) - 12.6

This will be my third time of ordering with the same pharmacy. It's only 10% off but I guess every little helps !

@OliviaFlaversham no answer to that but amazing losses 😊. I have such a good relationship with food - on Mounjaro. I have no idea how to do it without either. As pre MJ I knew so much theory but couldn't put it into practice. Now I can. I am a bit worried I might need it long term.

Although I'm also interested in the set point theory where it says our body is fighting us to get back to a high weight. I have wondered if we do MJ for long enough we reset it. Noone seems to know though.

@FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden that is interesting-I’ve not heard about set point theory but I really hope it can be reset. I am definitely now conscious I need to do something about the psychological aspect of why I can’t regulate food intake effectively.

@OliviaFlaversham I cant answer that either, i’m just hoping that my mindset changes after being on this for so long. That I no longer go for double portions, although, thinking out loud, I don’t think portion sizes will be my main problem, it’ll be the constant thinking about what’s in the cupboards/fridge and the wanting to graze constantly.
I’m hoping that the pill they are developing will be in production and it’ll be something that we can stay on for life (and will be a lot cheaper). I don’t have an end goal at the moment, but whatever that end goal is I’ll need to aim for at least half a stone under that so I have some wiggle room.
I know I can maintain by having 2 fast days (500 calories) a week, I just cant lose doing it because of the over eating on the non fast days. Brilliant losses by the way!

The set point theory is interesting as well, I haven't really read loads about it but will do at some point. I do honestly think that those of us with so much more to lose, and losing at a sensible rate, will cope better as we will have been on this wonder drug so much longer. I know that if I stopped now after losing almost three stone I would easily return to my old habits 🙁.

@OliviaFlaversham I think if our relationship with food can be so greatly transformed by MJ, it’s a chemical/hormonal thing going on. There’s no other explanation how I’ve gone from, as @Iwouldratherbesinging says, constantly eating, grazing, obsessing over food in the cupboard, not being able to stop eating even if I’m full, etc etc, to what I’m like now with the only difference being a low dose of MJ. I remember at WW years ago, the leader suggested chopping the mint chocolate bar up into pieces and having one piece a day. I laughed out loud, I wasn’t able to buy the product as when I did I ate all 5 bars in a day. She had no understanding of the issues. Now I think I could actually do that - I’ve been having one square of chocolate a day and am satisfied with that and never think of going back to eat the lot. That has to be something in my body turned off by MJ. So I’m hoping there will be a maintenance solution for us. However even if not, if I lose 11 stone as I’m hoping to, there’s no way I’ll regain that all overnight and I’m hoping my body will have readjusted somewhat as also, assume I’ll be so much more active when I’m half my starting weight which will make it easier to control.

Well into week 6 here

sw 305 10/1
cw 290 18/1

i have felt a bit like i have been stuck at the same few pounds going up and down in the last two weeks, i am using a second 2.5 pen and actually I probably should have gone up, but I ordered to early.

but trying hard and finally seeing movement on the scale this week !

a stone gone , bmi down 3 points - now at 48

pre Covid my weight was 285 so that’s my next mini goal , then the one after is to get to into the 19’s stone wize !

5mg pen ordered, hopefully should be arriving soon . From a lesser known pharmacy, but it was on the pre approved jab website thing so fingers crossed all is smooth. They needed a lot of id and pictures

side note I am feeling a little more active/ able to move around, and have helped a lot with decorating this weekend!

Well done @Grumpyoldthing I did order a 5mg pen and have had two weeks on 3.75mg but did my first 5mg last night. Don’t feel any more side effects than on 2.5, just currently freezing cold. I felt more hungry over the past week, and have been eating a bit more, so decided I needed to go up to the 5mg. I’m swapping from Asda too, for a cheaper pharmacy, who did you decide to go with?