I don't understand weight loss injections. I have questions

[nevertuesday]

Google tells me that people loose 10% of their body weight over a year. so if you started at 100kg, you would be 90kg after a whole year!! that is not good weight loss at all. definitely not worth, what it costs

but people loose significantly more than that, don't they?? certainly people on social media have definitely lost more than 10% and in a shorter space of time

2nd question from a place of considering trying it because I have mobility issues and it would really be beneficial to not be over weight. but, I don't particularly eat loads and loads. I have a sweet tooth and I emotionally eat, I'm not eating because I am hungry. so am I correct in thinking that it probably wouldn't help me much?

The risk of being obese is higher. It is meant to be a drug you continue to take. With the drug people will put the weight back on as your body will produce the excess hunger hormones until to reach your previous highest weight.

I've lost almost a third of my bodyweight, BMI has gone from 54.3 to 39.0 since May.

I haven't logged calories or stopped eating chocolate or anything, but I have half a bar of Lindt at the side of me that was opened last week and was a present at Christmas. The compulsion to eat everything at every minute of the day just switched off as if by magic. I got a little worried at the rate of loss and deliberately ate more for december/january to stall loss for a while (although still lost 5lbs in that time).

I can't remember ever not feeling hungry. I could eat a huge meal and then go straight out for coffee and cake. When I went to restaurants I chose the biggest/most filling dishes - now I choose the things that I like and don't always finish - something else that had never happened.

The bodi-trax thing at the gym shows that I have not lost a disproportionate of muscle mass, and I only go (very gently) weekly for re-hab following an injury. Listen more to the people that are doing it, rather than those explaining why they won't/don't need to. I could follow any diet really well now, but at the moment don't need to, it truly is a life-changer.

@nevertuesday so if you started at 100kg, you would be 90kg after a whole year!! that is not good weight loss at all. definitely not worth, what it costs

question: how much weight did you lose last year @nevertuesday ? Did you manage to lose 10kg ?

WLM will significantly increase your chances of losing weight, THAT is what you’re paying for.

I started at 101 kg in mid July.
i weigh about 74kg now.

if you read the many many articles about the medical benefits of WLM, you’ll see that it has amazing benefits to treat obsessive behaviours and addictions to an extent.

for example one of the unexpected effects I have encountered is that I don’t bite my nails. I now get manicures and my nails have never been better!

WLM is worth it.

Many people won’t stop and will remain on a maintenance dose forever.

my online provider has an app and a coach and I get regular advice on diet and exercise.

there’s a risk with every diet that bad habits may return.

that’s not a reason not to try though is it?

it’s not a ‘yo-yo diet’. It’s slow weight loss over a long period of time which can only be achieved with a complete change of diet and regular exercise

nhs is doing feck all for most people. Waiting lists for weight loss clinics are 2-3 years.

This suggests that there is no change in eating habits gained from the WLM, no self education or investment in your maintenance

not likely.

Not impossible of course, the Facebook groups for some of the programs have members still scarfing down takeaways and whatnot and wondering why nothing is working

you can’t just jab and expect it all to happen by magic, you have to make real fundamental changes to what and how you eat.

I've lost over 15% of my starting weight in just under 3 months on Mounjaro. I'm on the third dose up, but asked to move down again, burps have been strong this month! 😬 I am putting a lot of effort in too, lots of planned exercise, walking, water and completely overhauled what I'm eating.

Photos are from 3 Jan and 20 Mar.

Google tells me that people loose 10% of their body weight over a year.

Is this overall?
People do typically put a lot of the weight back on and so this may be the average, which is still better than when they started.

It reduces your cravings.
You will of course still want nice treats but it is easier to eat sensibly.

People with lots of weight to lose or those who overeat a lot, will definitely lose much more faster than someone who doesn’t.

You may find that you lose it slower than many of the posters on here if you aren’t morbidly obese or don’t massively overeat but that would be like with any diet.

What are your finances like?
What other things have you tried?

@mindutopia But for everyone ordering them online, will you just eat the way your body is used to again once you can’t afford them anymore?

why would you think people can’t afford them anymore? Not everyone is in the same boat. It’s about priorities and health benefits of investing in your own health.

over time, even the more expensive providers are looking at ways of making the medication more affordable. Competition will increase choice too.

Slow and steady is better for weight loss. A massive crash is harder to keep off and you cannot maintain it. You also have to start off on low doses when you start to minimise side effects. Whether you think it’s worth a slow weight loss over time that is more likely to stay off is your call.

Obese people don’t eat when they’re hungry. That’s the issue.

I’ve lost 18% of my body weight in 9 weeks. Gone from a BMI of 30 to BMI of 24. Size 16 to a comfortable size 10.
Haven’t gone above the minimum dose and no side effects.
I couldn’t be happier. Absolutely life changing

You get put onto a maintenance dose.

It’s designed for long term use. Someone who is a little bit overweight doesn’t need it. Someone who was obese does. If they come off it they gain the weight again.

It’s like saying why do people carry on taking blood pressure medication. Because they need it.

I'm taking a maintenance dose to maintain my current and will do for the foreseeable future. I have never had any unpleasant side effects from this medication, all the side effects have been positive e.g. weightloss, reduction in food noise, cravings, inflammation meaning I can exercise and make healthy food choices. Why would I want to come off anytime soon? Some people need medications for life for all sorts of conditions and this is no different.

I have gone from obesity at 15.5 stones in June last year to 10 stones 11 today. A healthy BMI for my height of 5.6.
What mounjaro has mainly given me is hope that I'm not trapped in obesity and freedom from the self loathing and shame caused by societal messages that fat equals lazy, failure, bad mother. The sort of messages you see on threads here on Mumsnet. Mainly the mounjaro bashing ones.
I am under no illusion that I could regain some or all of the weight if I stop the injections. But I've no intention of stopping. Once I get to my target of 9.5 stones, nicely in the middle of a healthy BMI, I will reduce down the doses.
My auntie is on 5mls for her diabetes. Her condition is for life. So is mine of obesity and food addiction.

In reality it doesn’t cost anything if you stop spending money on food you don’t need (aka known as sugary or carby crap). I concentrate on eating fish protein and vitamins from fruit and veg and I struggle to spend more than £15 a week on food for myself. Nearly gone off alcohol too, I’ve started buying those tiny cans of sparkly wine on occasion because it’s pointless buying bottles when you have 1 glass then it goes flat. I’ve stayed on the 5mg dose and lost 17kg in 6 months which is 15% of my original weight.

@thankyounextplease

They inhibit your pleasure receptors so if you have depression and anxiety it could make it worse.

Potentially, but it’s not known as common side effect.

Some people have had to have surgery due to growths springing up around their organs.

erm, source for this please? What kind of growths ‘spring up’ around organs. I googled this and got nothing back.

You lose muscle mass, so you have to eat really, really well when you do eat.

With all and any weight loss that’s a risk but Mounjaro has actually been shown to target fat over muscle, so losing weight this way over others is more protective of muscle mass

Organ damage is a very real possibility.

it’s a very very slight possibility. Look up the potential side effects of ibuprofen, they’re worse.

Some people also find it affects their life - they're very sick for at least a day or two after every injection and have to take time off work and can't get out of bed.

well I guess then you’d just not take it again. Easy! I’ve never known anyone have that reaction to be fair!!

For some people it's worth it, I think if you're "can't get out of bed" obese it's a miracle and worth it. Otherwise I'm waiting to see more about what the long term effects are.

there’s over 20 years of medical research data on GLP-1 drugs. How much more do you want???!!!

The fact it's only recommended over a certain size makes me think the side effects are only worth the risk if your life would otherwise be shortened or made very difficult by your weight, because otherwise they would be suggesting it to everyone.

its recommended for obese people because it treats obesity. Why would you take it if you were a normal weight - then you’d become underweight. What a bizarre take

it certainly does sound like you’re got your info from ‘hanging around social media groups.’ Try some official info!

2000 kcal (often used as an estimate of woman's energy use per day) is about 220g of fat, so if you were able to eat literally nothing and were able to just burn fat, you could potentially lose 80kg in a year. That's obviously not possible, but it maybe gives an idea of the numbers involved.

Hahahaha really? 🫢😳

Yes you're meant to wear clothes.

It does help with emotional eating, in my experience. The food noise just disappears, and your body also processes food more slowly. So you are full much easier and quicker. The hunger and food thoughts just aren’t there.

I have lost just over 10% of my body weight in 6 months. I’m also more able, because of the lack of food noise, to make sensible choices about what I’m eating (as I’m not feeling “starving” hungry). I’ve also started to better educate myself around nutrients and supplements.

If you are unhealthy and unhappy, you have nothing to loose by giving it a go. You may find the NHS will support you with it if your BMI is as high as mine was. NHS paid for 3 months for me, and because it is working so well I now pay privately for monjaro (and would recommend Juniper although expensive for their support and/or swapping to My Family Chemist once you know what you are doing). Good luck OP.

I lost 6st in 18m, from just under 17st (38.9% of my body weight). Have reduced to lowest dose as am weaning off, but still losing weight and below my target now at just a few pounds above 10st. It works a little like depression drugs work in resetting a mechanism that is not working and eventually you can come off them, though most people remain on antidepressants for life.

I genuinely thought the process would mean regaining at least a little weight as I weaned off/stopped, but I am genuinely struggling to maintain as I am now more active and eating very healthily, (3x a day, with the occasional hotel chocolate treat and 10 units of alcohol a week), so it does seem to help establish some sort of hormonal/endocrinological imbalance longer term. Of course I was a slow loser, so have had nearly 2 years to address eating habits and lifestyle changes, so perhaps they’ve just embedded very deeply. 🤷🏻‍♀️

ETA just to add I was definitely an emotional eater and it not only helped with the food noise but with my mood generally. I thought that was in response to the weight loss success, but maybe not.

I've lost 14% in 5 months just with mounjaro and a calorie deficit and I started on 13 stones so didn't have a huge amount to lose. I lose 1lb a week but its almost 2 stones now. Bmi went from 32.4 to 27.7

Whilst you're ok it, it definitely does help because you physically don't want to overeat and can't. I'm nearing the end of my journey having lost 5 stone in a year, and am fearful of what will happen when I stop and don't have it to suppress my appetite anymore.

I started at the beginning of September and I’ve lost 4 stone which is over 30% of my bodyweight.
For me it’s a game changer. I’m pretty much at target so now the fun part starts…. Keeping it off!

Try not to be fearful - it has truly not been an issue for me. Take each day as it comes and know that you can stay on it on a low dose (2.5mg for eg) to manage food noise. My provider said they would prescribe me a 5mg pen to eek out over 2months to reduce the costs if needed and they are happy to let me go without for a few months to see how I get on and then re prescribe the maintenance dose if needed. Am personally okay (given all the recent talk about protection from Alzheimer's etc that it seems to offer) to have to go down that route if needed be, but am still stunned by the fact that as I’ve titrated down I’ve really not struggled at all and am definitely not regaining (or even managing to maintain) weight.

I've lost more than 20% of my body weight in 5 months!

I'm an emotional eater. I eat when I'm stressed or upset. I definitely binge then feel guilt and shame. But since I started Mounjaro, 5 months ago, this just hasn't happened. I also get full more quickly so have smaller portions. I feel and look so much healthier!