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.

I want to drop and off but def noticing ankle /hip pain

It's so interesting to see how different maintenance is for everyone. I started tapering down the MJ doses towards the beginning of the year and have been off MJ totally for a few weeks now. I did a 10mg, a 7.5, a 5, a 2.5 and then stopped altogether. I've found it surprisingly OK, my weight has been very stable throughout. I go up and down by about 3lbs (still weighing daily) roughly around bmi 23.3. I don't calorie count but I do try to be mindful of e.g. eating much less the week after a weekend of eating out.

I definitely get hungrier and can eat more than when on MJ but I don't feel in danger of immediately piling the weight back on - so far so good. I think coming off very gradually worked well for me as there was no big shock of appetite rushing back all at once.

That's good news @BemusedBrenda . There are decent proportion of positive maintenance experiences on here, which is reassuring. I was so anxious coming to the end of my MJ medication because of all the doom-mongering! Bloody media, trying to frighten us!

I got down to 10st 8lb on MJ, went back up to 11st 4lb over 3 months that includes Christmas and a cruise. Now back down to 10st 12, which I haven't weighed since April 2018 other than a brief blip in November last year at the tail end of MJ.

So I think 11 stone ish feels like a fairly settled weight for me. If I can carry on slowly losing weight that's great, as I am still technically a little overweight, but I'm quite happy with where I am.

I tapered off over a month or two I think - I only got up to 4.5mg max and then tapered down every week to like 1mg and then stopped.

Overall I have lost just under 2 stone since I started MJ and just over 3 stone since I started losing weight.

I guess technically I fall into the "95% of people put weight back on after they stop" but I don't view a 4lb net gain after 9 months of being off MJ, Vs a 42lb net loss compared to before I started trying to lose weight, as any sort of issue tbh. The key thing will be keeping things stable and making sure it sticks after 2/3/4 years.

Thank you. So far so good.

I still want to lose a bit of weight and have been doing so. I admit I'm a bit scared what it will feel like when Mj is completely out of my system but will cross that bridge in September.

Hi all, I've been reading along and wonder if anyone has been in my situation and could offer advice.

I lost weight well on saxenda. Going from a bmi of 29 ish to 24 ish. I definitely helped me change my lifestyle in terms of exercise and building muscle, which i am continuing with - i still go to the gym 4-5 times a week and have a good amount of muscle tone.

I had to stop saxenda prematurely in June 2023 because of supply issues, I don't know if anyone here was injecting back then but it became almost impossible to buy any dose of any medication from any supplier. So I basically was forced to go cold turkey. I however did continue with my newfound healthy lifestyle and lost more weight gradually without WLI, ending up at a bmi of 21.6.

I then maintained my weightloss well with my changed diet and exercise. Over the past 6 months, though, i have found my weight is gradually creeping up. im now at a bmi of 23.6, so obviously still a healthy weight and wouldn't qualify for WLI, but im concerned about this upwards trend in my weight despite me still exercising the same. The food side is the issue, although I think peri/menopause may be contributing too. I'm still calorie counting with a focus on protein and fibre, but those extra picky bits between meals keep finding me 😩 Clothes are getting tight, which is so disheartening.

I've seen that in the US, you can go on maintenence doses even if you're not overweight. Or even just take it adhoc for periods over Christmas or holidays if you think you'll have food noise. I feel like that's what i need. Maybe 3 months on a low maintenance dose to cut out that food noise again and re-establish healthy eating habits. But that doesn't seem to be an option in the UK.

Has anyone got advice? I really, really would be very depressed to gain back more weight. I thought i had this all figured out, so it's really depressing to feel like im sliding back into feeling out of control with my weight.

@MidlifeSpinalCrisis first off I think you need to give yourself a massive pat on the back for essentially keeping nearly all the weight off for so long. That is an amazing achievement.

Second, what is driving the eating of picky bits? We all have different drivers for what makes us eat food we don't need. Have you just slipped into bad habits or is it something else triggering the increase in picky bits.

Can you evidence your Saxenda purchases from 2023 and before? I think that there are suppliers, like Oushk, who if they can see that you have previously taken WLI will consider you for a maintenance programme. I'm not 100% sure of this, but others who are using suppliers for maintenance may be able to give you more details.

@MargoLivebetter they wrote to my GP each time I had a pen prescribed, which is on my patient app, so I could show that as proof. I will contact oush and see if that would qualify me - thanks for the suggestion.

I would say I was happily ticking along, and was able to have odd days of out-of-routine eating (like short breaks, Christmas or out for dinner etc) and always revert back to my new healthy/normal routine easily the next day. However, I then went on a long holiday of 25 days, where i wasn't stuffing my face, but definitely had wine each day, dessert etc. And since then, I've really struggled to get back in to that consistent healthy lifestyle. I can be really disciplined but the food noise is back, and I always seem to give in to the snacks 😔

@MidlifeSpinalCrisis no advise on if there’s a provider that will take you on now but I just wanted to say well done on going on for 2 years and still weigh less than when you stopped Saxenda. Hopefully, you’ll be able to overcome this blip pretty well too soon.

Are you having enough carbs? Carbs are fuel and you need fuel for energy. Try running a car without petrol..

The other thing you could have going on is hormones (leptin and ghrelin) have kicked in to make you want to eat more. It's something called the setpoint theory and basically means your body knows its lost weight and its trying to recover that. It can take up to 2 years apparently for our set points to reset.

What this means for me is knowing just because I'm hungry doesn't mean I have to our should eat. It's something I find really difficult but I'm working hard on it.

Good morning ladies,
I am so happy to find this thread. I started MJ on the 7th of April at 13 stone 6lb. BMI of 31, my goal was always 11 stone. I’m now 11 stone 1lb and have 3 weeks left of my 5mg pen. Should I order 2.5 for my next one for maintenance? And how long for? I was thinking 2 months of 2.5 and then try 1.5 micro dosing? I’m tracking everything I eat and staying around 1200 mostly, my TDEE is 1580 to maintain but I want wine at weekend and the odd meal out so I plan to go lower mid week. Do you think this sounds ok?

Morning @Curvyandstrongblondie and welcome. Sounds like you have made great progress, congratulations.

There are lots of different approaches over here in the maintenance corner. Your plan sounds as good as any. Try it and see how you go. Why did you end up with a BMI of 31? For me it has been really important to understand why I was eating too many calories, so that I could address that long-term. I think I will always be a work in progress, but so far so good.

@MargoLivebetter my portions were far too big and too carb heavy. I’m veggie and always have been, I don’t eat takeaways or anything generally unhealthy but once I started weighing the food I was eating I was shocked that what I thought was a normal portion was double. When your TDEE is less than 1600 and you want to eat out some weekends and have some wine, it’s so easy to go over and gain slowly, so I plan to keep to 1000-1200 during the week but allow more at weekends. I also need to track everything and I’m using MFP and weighing all my food. I also NEVER weighed myself and I genuinely thought I was maybe 12 stone at most and all my size 12’s fit me perfectly so I had no idea!
Now I need to weigh every week and keep tracking, it’s the only way. My worry is mj makes it so much easier to eat less and I worry I won’t be able to control it once I’m off computer but I suppose that’s the worry with everyone.

Ok, well that is a fairly straightforward reason, so at least you know. Portion control was one of my issues too - although not the only one.

Part of the reason I overate at meal times was because I wasn't eating enough protein and so I felt constantly hungry. My carb heavy diet meant that I'd only feel full for as long as the food was filling my stomach and then I'd start to feel hungry again. Eating enough protein has made the most immense difference for me.

However, we all different. I would say take your time. There is no rush and there is no "right way". See how you go and try not to worry too much. There is some depressing messaging out there from the media and people who seem to want those who have taken WLI to just pile the pounds back on again. As you will see from this thread there are plenty of people who are maintaining just fine.

Good morning!

@MargoLivebetter great point you make about how did we get here. Mine was horrendous binge eating, so much mindless eating. All linked to my emotions. I've done a lot of work over the years, prior to mj to try and put things in place but nothing worked. I managed to keep it under control through my 20s and 30s with strict dieting and loads of exercise, I ran 5 miles a day but injuries through my 40s meant exercise was a struggle and the binging got worse. I think some of mine might be an ADHD dopamine seeking behaviour so I am exploring a diagnosis to see if medication would help here.

I got to my goal weight at the end of May and was maintaining on 2.5 but then felt bad behaviours creeping in so I upped to 3.75 for the last couple of doses, I'm currently away and happy with my movement and eating but suspect I've put on weight so will probably stick to 3.75 and then try and get back to 2.5 in a few weeks. I have autoimmune thyroid disorder (hashimotos) and I feel so great on mj, I've since seen some research about Metformin reducing the immune response so I'm not against staying on mj forever, obviously I want to be ok the lowest amount that works and I want to keep costs down. I worry that I will be switched off (I'm with SheMed on their £99 deal but when it ends it goes up above many others supplying 2.5 or 5 so I'd like to switch but they may not take me, BMI is 22).

I'm still figuring out what maintenance food looks like, my TDEE is similar to yours @Curvyandstrongblondie and I also want to have treats at the weekend but my losing food is not good long term - lunch was a protein yoghurt and cereal bars, so I need to do something with lunch. Happy to skip breakfast, dinner is "normal" and I need to keep it to a single pudding (I found the 2.5mg had me reaching for multiple sweets snacks, even though it kept that at bay on the way up - I also think there is a placebo effect at the beginning, you know it's supposed to suppress appetite, plus you've spent a lot of money so you're able to stick to lower cals)

I’m back from holiday and feeling good. Almost 2 kilos up but 0.5 gone already and my weight goes up and down by a couple of kilos some weeks anyway. I took that period delay medication while away which makes me bloated (& angry), so I am hoping as soon as I get my period, I will be back to pre holiday weight.

More importantly, I enjoyed myself and indulged in food and drink without going mad or feeling out of control and managed to get straight back to my gym class last night and for a jog this morning despite not getting home until 3am yesterday and going straight back to work.

@tinyemmy we are all so unique and often have enmeshed, complicated reasons for ending up obese.

WLI gave me the space to apply more of the understanding I had from therapy over the years to my emotional eating and then the coming off allowed me to observe my physical response to food as well. Such a win-win for me.

I've spent most of my adult life trying to understand why all diets ultimately failed and were impossible to stick to. The WLI gave me the chance to uncover so much. It is just coming up to a year ago when I first took the plunge and plucked up the courage to do that first MJ injection and I feel so profoundly grateful that I did.

Welcome back from your holidays @ShaunaSadeki . So glad to hear that you had a great time and the food and eating was all manageable too. 😀

Has anyone come off for a period and managed to get re-prescribed if you began to gain? I’m worried about coming off and not being able to get it again unless my bmi goes right back to >30

Ousch do a maintenance plan

Yes several pharmacies do it, I'm with oushk and they do a flexible plan where you pay £15 a month to stay on books and restart it whenever you want. I've heard others do it for free but don't know which. Look on www.monj.co.uk as there is a maintenance section.

Simple Online Pharmacy let you try coming off, you can go back on again no problem, as long as it’s within three months.

How’s everyone doing? I’ve lost the holiday bloat and at a new low (by 0.1kilo 🤣), but that was mainly due to tipsily eating 4 slices of garlic bread when I came home the other night and the gastro distress that followed. Follow me for top wellness tips 🙄

“Top wellness tips” 😂😂

I am officially maintaining now - I was aiming for another 6lbs but I think my body has had enough so I’m eating a bit more and reducing MJ. I have been on 10mg for months, down to 8mg so far and doing it very gradually. Currently 156lbs and the goal is to try and stay in the 150s and see what happens at the lower doses…
I have been losing slowly on around 1000kcal (averaging 1.5lbs per week) so I’m aiming for 1200 now. I really don’t fancy a big bounce and then panicking about putting it all back on 😬

Well done @gimmemounjaro, it is so important to listen to your body. Good luck with the reducing plan

@ShaunaSadeki , well done on losing the holiday bloat and @gimmemounjaro , well done on listening to your body and the tapering down plans, glad it’s all going well.
I’m doing really well too. Next week Wednesday will make it 6 months that I’ve been off the Jabs and it’s going well. Weighed myself today and I’m 8.5lbs less than my last weigh on the jab, no surprises. I’m going on holiday tomorrow for 2 weeks, honestly, I plan to have a good time and enjoy everything but will still be mindful. I weigh less than my original goal weight so it’s like I have a leeway which is a nice place to be mentally but won’t over do it and I’ll use the hotel gym as well so I’m not out of routine completely. I can’t wait to wear the slim clothes and enjoy having my pictures taken this time around too.