Injections and alcohol

[idrinkandiknowthings]

Probably evident from my user name, but I'm a big wine drinker!!

Since I had my DD 18 years ago my willpower has simply evaporated and I rarely calorie count. My issues are:

Wine
Dairy
Carbs
Lack of exercise
Sedentary job

I've tried every diet under the sun and they work until I get fed-up. I'm getting steadily more and more obese. I daren't weigh myself but I know I'm in excess of 16st and only 5'2". It's affecting my life now. Trouble is.....I really don't want to ditch the wine!

Sorry, but what’s your question?

If you want to lose weight, Mounjaro is very effective. It may or may not impact your interest in wine. Nobody can predict how you will respond.

Mounjaro hasn't stopped me enjoying wine, but I drink far less on it. Weight loss has been great so far, BMI has dropped from 38 to 28.5 since July.

I was happily drinking a bottle of wine over 2-3 nights and telling myself that was fine. Since starting Mounjaro in August I reckon I've drunk alcohol on 5 occasions? I just don't fancy it now, it's the most bizarre change! It turned off food noise and wine noise for me!

When you say you don't want to ditch the wine, how much are you drinking weekly? Mounjaro would be likely to reduce your interest in drinking, but you could in all likelihood still have a glass or two a week if that's what you wanted to do.

I've been on MJ for six months now. Also a big wine drinker (I want to keep it long-term but moderation in terms of quantity and frequency) and it is an issue at times, and definitely a source of weight gain.

There have been times when I haven't wanted to touch it at all. Most of the time I still drink it though, and at the moment it doesn't affect how much I drink at all (as far as I am aware) but I do need to go up a [sub] dose. I should've gone up two weeks ago but I stayed where I was as I had a few xmas dos to go to (and I wanted to drink/not risk side effects). They are over now so I will be going up today.

You'll need to tweak your dose to get you were you want to be in terms of suppression. I go up sub doses slowly as I can quickly swing from under suppressed to over suppressed (with symptoms I don't want to put up with) with in just 0.5 mg.

Just start. Maybe after Christmas if drinking is important to you over the holidays.

What's your question? How much wine do you currently drink?

MJ removes the desire to drink for many (it did for me) but you should be aware of the increased risks of pancreatitis if you continue to drink heavily on GLP1 medication.

It hasn’t stopped wine cravings for me, I would say the opposite! Have had a horrible last couple of weeks coupled with Christmas parties and have definitely overindulged!!

I was similar to you and haven't had a drink since my first injection six months ago. It was like flicking off a switch. I never think about alcohol unless I mention the injections to someone. It's been a bigger benefit than losing weight, tbh, though that's a Christmas miracle, too! 3.5 stone down.

How do you feel after over indulging? It's not just that I haven't wanted to over indulge in food, I wouldn't be able to as I feel so full all the time. Hasn't it had any impact on you?

I feel fine, no change for me. I tend not to eat very much if I drink as it suppresses my appetite anyway. One change I have noticed in general is that I’m very hungry in the morning and usually I could go until lunch or later without eating. I am less hungry in the evenings now though, but maybe that’s the wine too!

Have you started a semi-glutide OP? It’s not clear.

My experience early days: it will suppress your appetite. But I still enjoy my food - and wine.

re. Wine. I drink every day nearly, not much, 1 to 2 small glasses - , but it’s a definite habit. I still drink on Mounjara so far - 2 weeks in. Perhaps a bit less.

BUT equally I could see how you could use the semiglutide to cut down on wine IF you chose to do so. Would make it a bit easier i thinks.

Re. Exercise - carving out some time to do some exercise - that has also become more of a priority for me. Mounjara or semiglutids in general, the way I see it, are just a case of a part albeit an important part of helping you “get your ducks in a row”. It gives you an added boost to achieve this. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

I can't edit but my post reads wrong. I meant to say I WAS a big wine drinker and that was the source of a lot of my weight gain. I want to still enjoy drinking sometimes but not in the kind of way I did. I don't want to do a lot of things in the way I did...

Just gone up to 5 mg (it has taken me 5 months to make the transition from 2.5 mg to 5 mg - didn't see that coming!) after five weeks on 4.6 mg. I shall be very wary about drinking now so I will prob have one glass max if I drink this weekend until I'm ok symptom-wise. Ideally I won't more than one glass on this dose but no symptoms...we'll see.

I am also 5' 2" and I went up to 14 stone at one point. That was enough for me. I couldn't stand it any longer. I was like a rotund little barrel and I could barely bend to do my own shoes up. I was huffing and puffing up the stairs. My knees and hips were killing me. I was drinking too much too, out of boredom and habit, particularly during covid, which is when my weight really started to pile on. My face got all bloated from the booze as well. Horrible.

I've been on Wegovy for 11 months now and the most amazing thing is how it's changed my appetite for alcohol. It's virtually disappeared. If we go out for lunch/dinner I'll have ONE glass of wine and very, very rarely do I want a second. Sometimes I don't even finish the one drink I've got.

As for drinking at home, I don't even bother buying wine for home any more. I open it and it goes off before I can finish it. I have the occasional G&T but get halfway through and wonder why I bothered. I am a smidge off having lost 3 stone since I started the jabs. I managed to lose 1.5 stone by myself but kept losing and gaining the same half stone and not getting anywhere, hence I started the Wegovy at 13 stone and I am just over 10 now.

Wine was a big factor in my 4 stone weight gain. But as much as it was the wine itself, it was also the next-day foggy head that had me reaching for salty, carb-heavy foods. I’m 15 months sober now, and giving up alcohol has been the best thing I’ve ever done for both my physical and mental health.

That said, I only lost about a stone from quitting - the rest has been thanks to Mounjaro. My BMI has gone from 30 to 22, which is something I honestly never thought I’d see again. I’ve made a promise to myself to never abuse my body like that again, and I can’t tell you how much better I feel now.

I’m not here to preach, but I'd really reccomend taking a step back and evaluating your relationship with alcohol. I know it's not easy, but it really will help with your weight loss goals.