Piling the weight back on when stopping MJ

[Richtea67]

Hi all....I'm so disappointed. I lost 3 and a half stone, have been off injections for a month and regained nearly 7lbs 😩. I was a slow loser (1-2lb per week) and focused on changing habits and reducing portion size rather than diets/calorie counting (this has led to binging previously). I have kept up with a lot of the habits (smoothie for breakfast, cutting out alcohol and healthy high protein snacks). But portion sizes have definitely gone up as I'm hungrier! And I've been more tempted by the biscuits at work and the kids treats! Any advice?? I'm considering re starting if I put too much weight on, but financially this would be a struggle, which is part of the reason I came off them. My starting weight was 14.5 stones, weight when stopping injections 11 stones and at present nearly half a stone back on!! Help!

Loads of people on here saying as soon as they feel any hunger at all they go up a dose - and they can only eat tiny amounts

im maintaining very well off it but I stayed at the second lowest dose, and then dropped to the lowest dose for months to get used to it. I now need 1600 cals a day to maintain at my new weight which is very achievable. I track five or so days a week on my fitness pal and weigh daily.

How many people on this board saying that compared to the number of people taking Mounjaro overall?
Those people are outliers. And a lot of them cease to have such strong appetite suppression over time.

What's that got to do with this discussion?

I lost 2.5 stone and have put back on nearly all of that. Needless to say I’m going back on it.

Yes, and that's a problem with peoples understanding of the drug. They can also only do that 6 times or so until they reach the maximum dose.

It’s about calorie deficit and what it does to the body. It’s absolutely pertinent.

What does it have to do with Mounjaro?

sorry, I just don't fancy going to search the internet and reading studies without knowing why you're raising it in the context of this discussion. Could you summarise if you want to use it as part of your argument?

It’s a great money maker for sure for the big pharmaceutical companies. Until the patent comes off then they will rake it in. People fear hunger like it’s a dangerous feeling that will harm them instead of being normal prior to a meal. Preying on the vulnerable.

You could go on with a supportive GP and probably an in person pharmacy (like your village pharmacy). Someone had treatment for an eating disorder and has been allowed on with a LOT of support.

Some of us need this long term for metabolic issues and that's ok. It's like blood pressure medication. Sometimes you just really need something long term.

Why the need to be so negative?
Most people aren’t using mounjaro to create huge calories deficits but you know that really.

No weightloss jab experience (cant afford it). I am doing quite well at calorie deficit and things that help me are

*walking - min 10000 steps. Gives me more calories. Listen to a podcast and i enjoy it now.
*lots of water
*low calorie treats for when I can't resist for me a diet coke, an ice pole or a werther's original.
*dont let a bad meal or snack become a bad day or weekend.

It is really hard to keep it up every day I can do 5 out of 7 easily. Real challenge at the weekend when routine changes. But if I can at least maintain weight those days then still see results.

Could you join Slimming World to help keep you on track? I think it promotes a lower carb, healthy diet, that should help you avoid piling any more back on. A lot cheaper than MJ.

Slimming world is not low carb it's low fat high carb - the worst option for satiety and long term effectiveness

I took the same approach as you @Blackcordoroys and I’m maintaining ok now, but it is early days.

It was a 1950s study into the effects of semi-starvation during World War II (also known as the Minnesota Starvation Project). A group of 36 healthy men were put on a 1,600 calorie diet for six months under controlled conditions, followed by a period of rehabilitation called 're-feeding'. In that second phase they binged, reported constant food noise, some got anorexic. All reported developing bad body image. That was on 1,600 calories, which was 50% of their usual calorie intake before the experiment.

I brought it up because people often think 1,600 calories is a lot. On MJ they are probably eating a lot less. So the Ancel Keys study is pertinent because it shows what happens when calories are restricted for a long time.

Anyhow, I get the defensiveness. Dissent isn't allowed when it comes to these injections.

You are seriously advocating that I ignore my GP's advice and ignore my ED?

What I want to understand more, if you can help please, is this: when you lose the weight and have a healthy BMI, why aren't you then in the same position as a slim person who has always had a healthy BMI?

I can see why people would think that once they solved the problem of the excess weight, they would then be 'normal' and able to maintain the same as a perpetually slim person.

I understand that we're not the same and will always be more prone to regain weight, but why exactly is that? Is it due to continuing with former unhealthy habits, set point theory, our increased number of fat cells, or something else?

No I'm saying you treat your ED and get a supportive GP. I said "with a LOT of support".

The majority of people will be the same.

Can I ask how you came off them?
Were you on a high dose and then just stopped or did you gradually reduce it over time?

I guess it’s too new for any real evidence but I definitely think studies on how people can maintain their weight loss after coming off the injections will really help.

They’ve sold these injections like they’re magic but have no interest in helping people come off them or stay off them because that’s not in their financial interest.

Regarding calorie deficits of huge amounts, I never cut my calories significantly. I lost almost 80 lbs and reduced my bmi from 36 to 22 by eating 1400 - 1600 calories a day.

Some people are like labradors. Some people are like whippets. If a labrador uses WLI to get down to a whippet weight, they are still a labrador inside.

I've just had a look at that on Wikipedia. 1560 calories a day in the 'starvation' phase? I'd gain eating that 😆

I changed to Orlistat , bought online, no side effects of you keep meals below 15 g of fat .

I tried that a few years ago - no matter what I ate, I had orange gunk permanently leaking from my bum.

I think WLI users are going to have a LOT to contribute to our understanding of weight loss maintenance over the coming years.

I suspect that many people will want to stay on a small dose long term. That is my plan. Long term = 2 or so years from achieving goal weight. That gives time for the fat cells to actually disappear, not just shrink, and to mentally and emotionally adapt to being in a smaller body.

I believe the body can heal from metabolic disorder but losing weight is only a part of the equation. It's the one we tend to focus on and it's important but losing weight in and of itself does not heal metabolic disorder.

The goal is to heal. When we start thinking in those terms, using WLI as medicine to support healing, then we are going to see lots of long term weight loss maintenance.

Some people may have to or choose to be on some form of this WLI medication forever. Hopefully many of us will be able to come off it at some point. It is likely possible to heal metabolic disorder without WLI but much, much, much harder.

Maybe we need to rebrand these drugs and stop focusing so much on the weight loss part. Weight loss is only one piece of the story.