You've reached your goal weight - come chat about maintenance, not regaining, going cold turkey or titrating down

[MargoLivebetter]

Would people who've hit their target weight be interested in a general thread on how they are getting on? You might be titrating your WLI down, you might be going cold turkey, you might be on a maintenance programme or you might have gone back on.

I used MJ for 5 months and I've hit my goal and I'm muddling through with my own version of "maintenance". I'm doing a 1.25 dose weekly to use up what I've got left and cut down gradually, so I don't lose all the benefits of MJ immediately. I was a complete lightweight and did the whole 5 months on just 2.5, as I had savage suppression and loss of appetite. So, I'm just halving my dosage.

I'd be interested to hear how others are getting on, given it all feels a bit new and the long-term aspects of weight maintenance are not yet much talked about.

@Forevafatty I am maintaining without - but I weigh daily and watch what I eat (to an extent - I am not calorie counting, just a general awareness). I don't ever intend to get near a BMI where I would qualify!

Thanks @PissedOffNeighbour22 . The constant vigilance is very boring tbh! However, being a porker was a lot worse both for my health and how I looked, so vigilant I shall be.

Welcome @Forevafatty try not to worry too much (I know, easier said than done). I think there are a good few suppliers now who will keep on supplying as long as you have a BMI over 23, so you have lots of time to consider options and think about how you want to do this. I would go back on WLI in a heartbeat, but I'm really hoping that I won't have to. My goal was to try and change my eating habits and mindset and my whole approach to food. It is all a bit of an experiment, but so far it is working enough not to be regaining.

I'll be honest, I am struggling. The food noise is back and the chocolate cravings are back (and Easter is looming).
I'm carrying on without for a while but may get tempted to some sort of maintenance programme down the line.

@beguilingeyes it is good to know that the option of maintenance is available, should you need it.

I think the food consumption thing is a really tough nut to crack - it must be otherwise we wouldn't have found ourselves needing WLI in the first place. Not convinced I've cracked it for good either. Thankfully, I don't like milk chocolate, so Easter doesn't present too many hurdles for me. I really struggle with stress, anger, anxiety and negative emotions driving me to eat, particularly when I'm tired and have less resolve! Definitely a work in progress.

@beguilingeyes have you weighed yourself? I am going to keep up weighing every day and not just when I expect a positive result. I do have 3 Oushk codes for maintenance doses should I need them though.
Early days for me, I’m sure I still have some mounjaro in my system.

I've put on about three pounds. I've been off Wegovy for a couple of months. I don't want to put on any more so I'm being very careful.

@beguilingeyes oh that sounds good - you can easily nip 3lbs in the bud. Over a couple of months too, shows you must have generally good habits, that’s not much at all! Well done. But still nice to know we can dip back into the jabs if we need a bit of help.

Im so glad you made this thread! I stopped Wegovy a month ago after slowly tapering down the dose. For a couple of weeks, it was good, I didnt gain weight, I think as some of semaglutide is still within the system. But this week my word!!! I have gained 3 kg even when Ive increased my exercise and eat less and less. I cant possibly not eat. I think because the main reason for my weight gain in the first place was hormonal (Im perimenopausal). I want to get into the medication back! Do you know any supplier that will supply when you are not overweight but to maintain?

Welcome @SnugWriter . I don't know about Wegovy for maintenance, sorry. I know that there are quite a few posters with Oushk for maintenance with Mounjaro. Maybe Oushk also do Wegovy? Might be worth a look.

Thank you Margo, I will have a look

@SnugWriterOushk do Wegovy as well as Mountjaro- I have been with them since September and as of yesterday started maintenance after a call with Hira - I can’t recommend them highly enough.

thank you @spinningisthebest

I've hit target a couple of weeks ago and I'm cautiously maintaining. Last week I still took 5mg (the dose I ended up on whilst losing weight). This week I used 2.5mg. I've not noticed a big difference in suppression but I'm shattered today, I could really use a nap.

I've lost 3stone 6.8lb and my bmi is now 24.4. I'm 54, menopausal and have an under active thyroid

Well done for reaching target. Mj can stay in your system for up to 30 days so you've probably got a fair bit left. You may feel differently in a few weeks?

That's helpful to know thanks 😊

Hi all.
I have gone from 78kg to 50kg. My BMI is 19...I've been lowering the mj dose for a month now. I was on 12.5 now on 10. My weight has been the same since February.
Thinking this week to go down to 7.5....the food noise is already creeping in 🤐
Hoping to read for tips along the way 😊

Yes, I'm at goal now. I've got my dress fitting coming up in around a month so I need to be pretty stable. I dont think I'll change my dress, I'd be even more stressed than I already am! Your dress sounds lovely! Can you get it altered?

Two weeks in to maintenance and my weight is basically the same. I'm still only on 1600 cals though so I was expecting a loss. Therefore, I'm going to do another week on 1600 as I know my body doesn't respond quickly. It usually plateaus a bit before a drop so I know I need to watch it.
However, saying that, something weird happened on the gym scales. So I really need to just see what's going on. My weight stayed the same but my body fat took a huge nose dive from 28.5% to 24.4% (2.5kg) in the 2 week period. My bmr went up as did my muscle mass went up 2.6kg. I'm not convinced that's completely accurate. Time will tell! Would be lovely if it was true! 🤞

Is anyone else looking at their loose skin and feeling a little sad? I'm currently feeling like a fat girl in a skinny body as the skin has got much looser with the final stone loss. It could be much worse than it is, but it is getting to me at the minute as I was hoping for better. I've got loose skin under my chin, my boobs are a bit baggy and skin feels crepey. My tummy is the worst area, but I knew this as I had a c/s when I was 17 and had the overhang ever since, with the pouch. My arm pits have loose skin, which looks okay until I put my bra on, then it all hangs over the top edges. My arms aren't too bad, but they do have some. My back, thighs and bum also have it too. When I lay down it looks like my body is melting, and it's the worst bit for me. That and bending over. Basically, the only time I feel okay is if I'm stood up with my arms lifted up! There's no way I could ever afford surgery to fix it all, so I do need to learn to live with it.

Welcome @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow congratulations on your loss. Are you going to carry on on 2.5 for a bit? How long were you on MJ overall?

@ThisMustBeMyDream I'm a gimmer (mid 50s) so already a bit crepey. I wanted to lose slowly to try and prevent general sagginess but you can't really avoid it, so I definitely feel more crepey. However, I hit goal weight in early January and I've definitely noticed that the crepe is slowly shrinking and I feel less "loose" if that makes sense. I think it takes a while for the skin to shrink and tighten. I guess there will be a limit to how much that will happen, but I'm guessing you might well be younger than me, in which case it might happen quicker and more so. I think eating plenty of protein is really important to help with this, so I'm trying hard to keep up my protein intake.

@MargoLivebetter I've been on MJ for 18 weeks. I'm going to continue on 2.5 if that feels ok and see how I get on. There was a marked impact on my thyroid when I started so nervous about stopping all together

Sounds like a good plan @HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow . Let us know how it goes.

I've just been reading through this thread - thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! I'm not sure whether to attempt stopping MJ cold turkey. I've been in the green BMI zone since December and lost 4st 10 in total. Bmi is currently 23.3.

I've come down from 10mg to 7.5 and have been stretching the doses out a bit (10 daysish between) to sort of taper down. I'm not sure my provider will approve my next pen...

Does anyone else wake up with an almost painful sensation of hunger in the mornings even after eating well the day before? It's new for me since tapering down and it's really uncomfortable, I try to ignore it and it does pass after a while but it's really giving the fear about stopping altogether!

Hi @BemusedBrenda I am too early off the jabs to tell, but amazed to feel hunger again! Haven’t felt this for ages ( been on since August)
I am on the tapering plan with Oushk but will weigh myself next week before deciding whether to order another. I guess hunger is a normal sensation. It was nice not to have to think about it before! Good luck and keep us updated x

I drink a big glass of water when I wake up then a cup of tea, that helps my rumbling tum feeling. Plus if dinner is more protein the night before I’m fine.

my restart on 2.5mg last month is going ok and I’m finding it easy to maintain at this level and so far zavamed have been happy to prescribe. I’m at bmi 24.5. No idea how long I can stay on it I’ll be at the year mark in June.

I'm another lb down! That's almost 5lbs lighter than when I stopped MJ!

Thanks @Sadteacher and @NewYear0Me I have been having a cup of tea first thing and waiting for the feeling to subside a bit before eating breakfast. I totally expected to feel hungry again, but I'm sure it never used to be an intense as this?! Unless I've blocked it from my memory 😅I will also have been on it a year come the end of June and was hoping to be able to come off completely by then.

I'm also with Zava so glad to know they are supporting maintenance even under bmi 25!