Is there any point if I can only afford a few months

[Bringon2025]

I have about 5 stone to lose - pretty daunting. I have started trying to make some changes whilst I consider injections with the idea that I would need to change habits long term.

Realistically I could only afford a few months medication so would need to treat injections as a boost whilst I start exercising and changing diet.

Would there be any point in this? I’ve tried reading and can’t decide.

Can you clarify what a few is, is it two months or more? Folks tend to define it differently. It is best to be exact.

3 months, maybe 4.

It certainly gives you good perspective on exactly how much you realistically need to eat (or not in my case!) to consistently loose weight and resets your brain to not fancy snacks etc., but whether you’d be able to keep that reset when not taking the medication is unclear. You’d be surprised also how much money you save on food being on the medication, just eating quite simply with no snacks in the house and not really fancying takeaways etc very often., this might justify the cost, although with willpower many people achieve this without weight loss medication.

There are good threads on here for saving money on the medication with discounts / referrals, and also obtaining the bonus dose too.

good luck whatever you decide. In 3-4 months I’d expect you’d loose quite a bit of weight and that would be a motivation in itself to continue - I’m 6 months in and lost 2.5 stone with another 1 to go, loving the new clothes and compliments although have chosen to only tell DH that I’m taking the medication. Others loose much quicker than what I have but I’m happy on a low dose, slow and steady and trying to reset habits long term.

You may find if you start you can afford longer than you thought because you save money on other things like your groceries, eating out takeaways or convenience foods.

You will save money, I no longer have too many takeaways, or buy coffees/lunch out, snacks or treats. Also have saved a lot on alcohol which I also rarely have now.
I lost 2 stone in my first 3 months so I suppose you could make a good dent but I think you need to consider more longer term. I've been on it 9 months now and have lost 4.5 stone with half a stone to go (Christmas scuppered me a bit), but I'm not thinking of stopping it any time soon.

You will offset a chunk of the cost because you will be buying less food- no takeaways, no snacks, less alcohol etc. You are essentially investing in your health so my advice is get on it and assess finances as you go along. Good luck OP!

@Bringon2025 You can achieve a good deal in 3 to 4 months on MJ, if all goes well and the medicine works for you.

If it is something that you are certain you want to take and it is the money holding you back, it could be worth trying to see how you do. It might however be disheartening if you aren't able to maintain the results once you stop abruptly.

Also, most people extract a 5th "bonus" dose from each pen, so this brings the overall cost down a little. (There are lots of threads on how you either break the pen mechanism or use an insulin syringe to extract.)

If you can afford 4 pens, you could get 5 months of medication with the "bonus". I responded immediately to the medication and lost just over 4 stone in that time, with 2 more to go.

I loved exercise many years ago but feel very self conscious. I was thinking if I could boost weight loss over a few months I might get back into exercising - which in the past helps me want to eat more healthily.

Mostly I am questioning spending money on myself that would otherwise be an Easter trip with DC. Health wise the benefits of weight loss would be huge though.

i am a terrible procrastinator!

Your health benefits are more valuable than an Easter trip. For me, it's a no brainer.

Very true

Well here's one time not to procrastinate ... as it'll soon be Easter and you've neither lost weight nor booked the trip, and spent the money on random stuff. And I say that as the world's greatest procrastinator! So pick one and go for it :-)

It could be worth doing a few months IF you would genuinely use that time to change eating / calorie habits. Speaking from experience again, it's easy to lose weight on Mounjaro at (I'd guess) your weight without putting much effort in - I've done it and the first couple of months I genuinely didn't eat much. Except I didn't put much thought into the best use of my calories (e.g. protein). I have now, but if I'd stopped without having genuinely made changes I could sustain long-term, then a few weeks and the MJ is out of my system, back to old eating habits and I'd have put the weight back (and more, probably). In which case, spend your money on the holiday.

Definitely try the MJ
I responded very quickly and only made it to the 5 mg pens ..and use 3.75 mg most weeks. So never needed to buy the more expensive doses.
Definitely saw huge drop in food costs, most because I now don't buy alcohol, don't get a takeaway , and eat much smaller portions.
You need to Budget about 130 pounds per month for the injections.
If you say down and honestly calculated what you spend now on alcohol, takeaway, "treats" like stopping for coffee and having a cake...you may find you'd have enough money for the injections just from this .
However if you already budget very strictly and you don't think they'll be many changes to your shopping etc...then try to think that this year is for investing in you and your health.
Your dc would rather have a healthy parent who is with them a lifetime rather than a trip one Easter.
Imagine by Easter being 3-4 stone lighter...think how that will feel, think of things you can do with dc, go to the park or say trips to beach, play football or ride bikes... imagine them having a fit healthy active mum, not an overweight out of breath one who sits on the side watching.
Don't have another year watching from the side.

Lots of really good points. Thank you.
I have placed an order…I think I was close to deciding before starting the thread but couldn’t quite do it!

Some great positive points here. Just a stone loss for me means I'm less breathless and move easier. My food shopping bill has halved and I don't buy takeaways either. You will regain the cost easily. Make sure you drink lots of water too, it helps detox and keep your GI system moving, I just use filtered tap water. You won't regret it!

I've lost three stone in three months, it will get you well on your way.

If you are healthier it will benefit your family. It's not selfish, your children will have a healthier, happier more active mum.

3 stone in 3 months is amazing @lunar1. I actually find it difficult to imagine being 3 stone lighter.

I felt the same when I started. I'm on a low income and don't have much spare cash, but the way I have lost weight, not had food noise, feel so much healthier means that I would sell anything I could to make sure that I can keep going on it.

So far, I’ve lost 2st 6lbs with 3 pens (using the bonus dose) so you could make a good dent on the weight loss just on a few injections and it’s given me a real boost. I’ve been exercising 5 days a week since I’ve started and I have so much energy. The few months May just be what you need to kick start your journey and get the boost you need.

From what I've heard from a few friends I'd say give it a go. You'll lose weight and might trigger a new lifestyle. I think you could regret not trying and as others have said you might save enough to add another month or two.

I would definitely give it a go op. I lost 2 stones in 3 months on it.

Don’t let the thought of exercise put you off, exercise can be a 2 mile daily outside walk, not hot pants at the gym x

I have lost 2st 10 in 4 months. So I would say go for it.

I lost 3 stone in 4 months on MJ.

Best thing, health wise, that I’ve ever done for myself!

As other PP have said, you also save money because you’re not eating as much, having takeaways, etc.

Another vote for ‘go for it’!