Bmi of 27

[iheartcatz]

Hi. I have a bmi of 27. Ideally I have at least 2 stone to lose. I was thinking of starting weight loss jabs after seeing 2 friends lose weight. I've just seen that the minimum bmi is 30 though. Friend 1 no way has a bmi of over 25! I don't have any medical issues. Is there no way to sign up for this unless I do it back street style like my friend must be (I won't be doing that).

You will need a BMI of 30 or 27+ a weight related illness like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol.

No, there is no way. Of course you can lie and obtain fraudulently and not let your doctor know but it’s incredibly foolish.

Why not just go on a normal diet , injectables are not the only way to lose weight .

Just my experience but I ended up in a and E. I had a bmi of 30.
The side effects are pretty awful for some people.
Try Jane plan or similar. Cheaper and nothing to do just fresh fruit and veg.

WLI are serious prescription only medication, with for some unpleasant side effects and risks to treat obesity. Their benefits outweigh the very real health risks from obesity. They are not prescribed for cosmetic weight loss.

Why are you even considering them if you do not have obesity?

You don't need weight loss jabs to lose 2 stone . They're not something to be taken lightly. 2 stone will only take a few months to lose even without any support.

OP it is kind of peculiar as you can have a BMI of 30, go on the med to get to say a BMI of 24 and they'll keep prescribing you until you get there. So obviously you are quite quickly no longer at a bmi of 30 but you are still ok to be on the med.

so you could have a bmi of 25 and still be prescribed because you WERE bmi 30 when you started . Yet if you have a bmi of 29 they won't prescribe you 🫤

Ok. Thanks- all very clear. I've been overweight nearly my whole life so clearly not easy for me to lose weight otherwise I'd have done it by now. I'm 52! Just seemed like a much needed solution but I'll carry on being overweight i guess.

@iheartcatz why not try low carb , there is a 4 week boot camp on here in January . I’m late 50s , steroid dependent and have lost about 2 stone since mid Sept doing low carb , gone from a BMI of 29.2 to 25.5 . Join in , it might work .

It’s not remotely peculiar. In fact it is very sensible. They allow formally obese patients to stay on the injections, and for mounjaro its life, due to the risk of regain and the very serious health implications of that, which outweigh the risks of the drugs.

the risks to minorly overweight people,like the op. Of the drugs themselves , outweigh the risks of her weight, so she can’t be prescribed. It is about risk management for the best outcome for the health of the patient.

ifs not some vanity thing. The op is neither obese or has a health condition.so should not be taking very serious prescription only medication for her weight.

Overweight with no health issues is healthy. If you wish to lose weight for other reasons, ie cosmetic, then it is dieting, because this is less risky for you, you do not need prescription medication, and if your friend is illegally taking it, then she’s a fool.

It's not an either/or though is it. There are other choices besides injections or staying overweight.

I do find these arguments somewhat arbitrary. There’s no real difference between having a BMI of 29.9 and one of 30 that would mean the first shouldn’t entitle you to weight loss injections whilst the second automatically opens you up to them.

I started Mounjaro in July. My BMI was 28. I have a history of back issues (various surgeries) that - whilst not weight related - allowed me to get Mounjaro prescribed with no questions asked. I also have raised cholesterol; again, this is largely genetic but seems to facilitate the injections. Other conditions I think included depression, high blood pressure and some others.

Anyhow, I’ve lost nearly three stone. I’m staying on Mounjaro on a maintenance dose for as long as I can. I had minimal side effects.

@iheartcatz I’d do your research and if you can find a provider who will prescribe then crack on.

Cmon. Now, no one is saying someone with a bmi of 29,9 is different to someone of a bmi of 30, jeez a large glass of water and you’d tip into 30. The op is 27. Mildly overweight.

but they need to draw the line somewhere. And the truth is once you hit 30 you start to have signficant health risks. But yes, of course 29.9 isn’t that different.

I get it, OP. I am also 27 bmi after regaining 2 stone this last year from the 25 bmi I’d maintained for 2 years. I feel exhausted and disheartened starting again. I know I’ll have to cut carbs and joylessly track for the next 6 months. I might benefit from a coach again. It never becomes easy, or a habit, and the minute I drop the vigilance the weight will come back. I am grateful that I always catch it at 27 BMI but wish it was easy. The reports of these drugs make it sound easy.

I don't know why people think they're easy. They're expensive and have significant side effects and risks. They're just safer than long term obesity. They aren't magically going to allow you to eat the same and lose weight. You have to put exactly the same work in. They just reduce the food noise. It's still a long and very dull road!

In terms of prescribing rules, they have to draw the line somewhere and it's very clear why they choose obesity or significantly overweight with a related condition. If people lie to get them they are as irresponsible as people who lie to get any other medication. It's not complicated

it sounds easy because of media like this:

I tried Ozempic microdosing, the secret way the rich lose weight

https://www.thetimes.com/article/a6e0f8c4-a407-4fc7-a781-d6966cba9a3a?shareToken=80860e71eb9dff39ae372caec8a60f86

I know it’s behind a payroll. Being overweight but never obese comes with a good deal of food noise too.

I know I am lucky not to have been obese and ‘just’ perpetually gaining and losing 20 pounds. But not being overweight takes up about 25% of my mental space. The minute I take my eye off and use that 25% for something else, the weight comes back. I am not looking for the drugs- but I can see why they appeal.

It's not easy for any of us to lose weight. Not having lost weight by 53 is far from unusual and proves nothing. Saying "I'll just stay fat then" is very silly.

Permanent weight loss requires belief that you can do it, a realistic target, a realistic timescale, and the sheer perseverance to plod on once it gets slower and harder after the giddy initial stage where weight loss can be steady and consistent. It is do-able though not easy. If you want to, you certainly can get to a healthy BMI without drugs.

@Queenofthejabs
But someone with a BMI of 30 after say they've had a child or just gained a bit over the past 12 months due to inactivity and not thinking too much about their intake is not more at risk of anything than a person with a I of 28/29 for their entire life
^
It's too broad a brushstroke.
^

No idea why half my message is in italics. It's not intentional

How would you propose that this is monitored? People already moan that they should be harder to get prescribed. Prescriptions are based on meeting criteria based on professional standards, not mumsnet preferences.

People who resent others on them want it harder to get hold of. People who want them and aren’t eligible argue they should be able to get them at another bmi level.

none of it is common sense. All of it is emotive. And none of it will change the prescribing criteria.

Again, my experience, but losing three stone has been totally easy on Mounjaro. It has not been hard work. For the first month I could barely manage 500 calories a day and the weight fell off. It’s very easy not to eat crap when I can barely force myself to eat a bowl of yoghurt or soup.

Having done Slimming World and Atkins in the past, Mounjaro is infinitely easier. There’s no real willpower involved (or there wasn’t for me).

I want to stay on a maintenance dose for life if I can. I know how to lose weight and stay healthy but if it were that easy I wouldn’t have yo-yo dieted for the last 15 years.

You ve expressed the reasons for meeting criteria very strangely.
Whatever your reason for hypercholesterolemia, it is obviously a risk factor, alongside your weight, for having a heart attack, stroke etc.
So it's not 'something that happened to facilitate your prescription. It's literally the reason why you were eligible.

Because if you stayed that weight, alongside the hypercholesterolemia, you were at risk of a stroke etc

This is not something to muck about with or to attempt to obtain fraudulently.

@Searchingforthelight I didn’t mention my cholesterol when I got the prescription as I only had the blood test a few months later. I mentioned my back issues - which are not weight related - and sent a photo and got the prescription.

Whether Mounjaro does anything to lower the cholesterol remains to be seen. I need to schedule a repeat test. However it does, I believe, reduce the risk of heart disease and dementia and presumably will do so for those who are overweight as well as those who are obese. So quite why someone with a BMI of 27/28 shouldn’t try and take advantage of any such health benefits, I don’t know.

There seems to be a lot of gate keeping and strange emotions involved in discussing weight loss injections. Whether it’s people accusing those taking them of ‘cheating’, or people who are using them trying to stop others from doing so. Anyhow, if private doctors are happy to micro-dose people who want to shift a few pounds, I’m not going to judge someone with a BMI of 27 from wanting an easier way to lose weight.