Not being able to answer 2 questions is stopping me from starting monjouro. Can you answer them?

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I’m 5 stone overweight and have been maintaining this weight for about 10 years, not steadily gaining, just stuck at this weight. I originally gained it after taking a very high dose of antidepressants during postnatal depression, and it’s stayed ever since.

I’m thinking about starting Mounjaro. If I lose the 5 stone and then stop the injections, I expect my weight might go up a bit as I go back to a more ‘normal’ way of eating. But since my weight has been stable for a decade, doesn’t it make sense that my body would eventually find a new set point and stabilise again, just at a lower weight?

Secondly, I currently don’t have much in the way of food noise. I don’t think about food a lot or crave it. Does stopping monjouro trigger food noise if it’s not something you particularly suffered from in the first place? I guess I’m asking if it it ‘ignite’ food noise and will I then be in a worse place then I am now?

Most people put weight back on because they haven’t changed their eating habits. Ie instead of eating healthy they’ll continue to eat pizza for example but will only eat a small amount. Any weight loss journey if you began to start eating more calories you will put on weight. It’s about changing what you eat long term.

if you have no food noise then the injection will not effect that, no it won’t certainly start it.

Since there was a single event that causes your weight gain you do actually stand a chance of not regaining - that’s the thing that differentiates those who regain ( most people ) and those who don’t

but if you go back to eating as you do now you will gradually gain back up to your current weight - you are eating enough to be stable at this heavier weight than you want to be stable at - so once you come off you will need to discover the calories needed to support you at your new weight which will likely be a few hundred less than they are now

in your case it’s well worth it and you could achive your old balance

At a population level, the research is showing that those who stop taking the medication will regain the weight. You, of course, are an individual and if you make sustained changes you might be able to keep the weight off. I suppose you won't know until you try but choosing a maintenance friendly pharmacy who will allow you to restart the meds if you put on weight once off, is a good back up idea.

Your second question- this is again probably quite individual some people report that coming off MJ means their food noise increases (more than pre MJ) some people report less.

Sadly I disagree that you won’t develop food noise. I have never been a massive eater (no snacking or emotional eating, often only ate 1 or 2 meals a day) and the food noise thing didn’t resonate.

I lost weight with MJ and stopped it and, while I didn’t pile weight back on again, I experienced an intense unfillable hunger I hadn’t ever had before. I could eat a full meal and still be hungry. I wasn’t too bad at resisting actually eating a lot but it was a physically unpleasant sensation.

I went back on MJ at the 2.5mg and it went away. I don’t feel like the low dose is doing anything other than keeping that feeling down. My appetite isn’t suppressed at all but as I eat OK anyway that doesn’t matter.

I'm in the same position and currently taking Mounjaro to reduce my weight. I basically put on 2 stone while caring for my teen who had an eating disorder, and I was told to eat with them eight times a day and not worry about my own weight. 😐Then my weight stuck for five years.

Logically I feel that I ate pretty well and never increased my weight. But I don't know if my body will have a 'memory' for the higher weight and want to try and get back to it. I guess I'll find out!!

Being my 'normal' size again is lovely though. I feel more like ME.

Hi OP,
If you have maintained your weight for 10 years you are eating an amount of calories/have an activity level that keeps your weight stable on average (let's say 2300 cals and moderately active for example). If you lose 5 stone and want to keep it off your body will only need a lower amount of maintenance calories (let's say 1800). If you went back to eating the 2300 average the weight would start going back on.

Re experiencing increased food noise after Mounjaro - I think "dieting" causes this. I believe it would be the calorie deficit/weight loss rather than the medication and if you choose to do lots of other forms of calorie restricted dieting to lose weight you would also be likely to experience this.

I remember reading about a science study during WW2 which men volunteered to take part in who were unable to fight. The men followed a calorie restricted diet and after following the diet were obsessed with food in a way that they had not been previously. I've looked it up I think it is this
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

I'm taking Mounjaro now but in my early 20s I lost a couple of stone and kept it off for my 20s and 30s and I think anecdotally increased hunger/food noise settles down as you maintain your new weight.

I also believe that while exercise doesn't help you lose weight it is very helpful in keeping it off.

If possible I would plan to stay on Mounjaro for some time after hitting your goal weight so your appetite/food noise is suppressed while your body adjusts out of the calorie deficit and then titrate down slowly to see how you feel. Hopefully the meds will get cheaper over time so maintenance doses are more affordable.

About 10 years ago I lost a sudden amount of weight through a serious illness. When I got out of intensive care, I felt a powerful hunger that drove me to eat in a way I had not experienced before. I was eating sweets all the time - bags of sweets like Haribo - just sugar. I was obsessed. I dreamt about eating; I would get up in the night. This carried on until I was basically my pre-illness weight + 5kg. Then it settled down and I felt normally hungry again.

I am braced for something similar to happen when I stop Mounjaro, so my strategy is to get down to a previous stable weight and then try to stay there using a very low maintenance dose for at least six months and maybe a year. I don't know if this will work. My hope is that by then it will be much easier to buy pills that can be taken prophylactically against obesity.

Thank you so much for this. Thats such a clear response and I now have ‘clicked’ that I’m maintaining my weight BECAUSE I’m eating enough to maintain it. Thank you for pointing that out. And if this current amount of calories is a habit I revert back to once I’ve lost the weight, it will just come back.

That’s reassuring to hear that the food noise is more linked to dieting (or perhaps a feeling of deprivation) than the medication itself altering brain chemistry in some permanent way.

A previous poster mentioned a maintenance friendly prescriber. Once you have selected a pharmacy, do you have to stick with that one? Can you start with any one you like (ie a good deal) and then switch to a pharmacy with a good maintenance programme when you’ve decided you’re ready?

Sorry you were so poorly, but absolutely fascinating your body made you eat until you reached your previous weight, and almost added more on as a ‘just in case’. The human body is incredible really.

I used to exercise a lot pre postnatal depression. But I now find exercise so painful in my joints that I can’t really progress my fitness. I’m hoping one I’m lighter I’ll find exercise less painful and start to enjoy it again and escape this catch 22!

I've found it easier to go up hill, even after just 10kg loss (I'm on my second pen). I hope that after the next 10kg I will really feel the difference there. It's a lot to carry around with you.

Hi OP
I’m a bit like you in that I’ve been 4 stone overweight for 10 years. I moved up and down 3 or 4lbs in that time but knew how to ‘rig the system’ that is my body - eat well during the week and eat what I fancied at weekends. The result is that I stayed consistently fat but was never able to shift the pounds. I’m a newbie to MJ but it’s helping me to maintain consistency in my eating well and not just throw it all down the pan as soon as Friday-Sunday arrives.

I am hoping that firstly I’ll finally lose that 4 stone and when it’s over will have learned new habits and feel the need to graze all weekend. Only time will tell! But I think the fact that we know how to manage our weight albeit at an unhealthy weight might mean the ability/know how is already there. That’s my hope there!

In my short few days with MJ, I’m finding a real love for veggies. Like tonight instead of viewing my dinner of roasted salmon, cous cous and veg to be a ‘diet meal’, I’m genuinely enjoying all the flavours.

I haven't changed providers but reading the forum some people change quite regularly.

These drugs being used widely for weightless is so new I think things could change so much over the next year either way. In a years time they could be more freely available and cheaper or a lot harder to get hold of. I think you may need to accept that to a certain extent you would be taking a chance if you decide to try Mounjaro and try to go with the flow as the landscape and advice changes.

Secondly, I currently don’t have much in the way of food noise. I don’t think about food a lot or crave it. Does stopping monjouro trigger food noise if it’s not something you particularly suffered from in the first place? I guess I’m asking if it it ‘ignite’ food noise and will I then be in a worse place then I am now?

If you don't mind my asking, what do you think has led to being 5 stone overweight if it's not food noise? Is it that you eat large meals to feel satiated? Or is it that you snack frequently but don't experience it as food noise? Or is it something else?

For what it's worth, I am losing weight well with Mounjaro and became obese due to wanting to snack frequently and never feeling full after meals and binge eating. Mounjaro is helping with my satiety a lot. I have been yo-yo dieting for over 20 years but I could only go so long before losing control. Mounjaro has been great for me, but you really need to understand what you are eating and why any previous attempts to diet have failed if you want to work out if Mounjaro is a good option for you.

I agree with others that the weight will come back on quickly if you stop and go back to eating the same types and quantity of food. You can switch fairly easily. I started with Morrisons but have recently switched to Oushk as I am now less than 10 pounds overweight and Oushk are maintenance friendly.

It’s been life changing for me. I switch suppliers to get better deals but I’ve been with MedExpress for 6 months and like them. Good luck if you decide to go for it and use a code. Don’t pay full price xl

So I gained weight because I was on a high dose of antidepressants with post natal depression. Previous to that I’d never been overweight. I came out of post natal depression and straight into perimenopause and stopped exercising. I have a very demanding job which I’ve struggled to balance with being a mother and if I’m completely honest, self care went completely out of the window, I survived on take aways and barely ate anything nutritious for about 5 years. But not really because I was hungry. It was almost like a self neglect to be honest.

Im pleased to say that I’m completely better now, I came off all medication about 4 years ago. I’m exercising again but OMG it hurts and I’m so out of shape! I’ve been eating non UPF for about a year and feel much healthier.

I’ve tried calorie restriction and I think you’re right, I do then feel food noise. But if I just eat a healthy non UPF diet without counting calories I’m fine. So yes it’s linked to the feeling of deprivation I guess.

Thank you, that’s good you can shop around. If you switch companies, can you bounce back to a company you’ve already used? I’ve seen things about them not letting you start again if you stop for a while, and wasn’t sure if they assume you’ve stopped using it when you went to another company?

As someone who hasn’t reached their goal - I’m really not sure you are guaranteed to put ‘all’ the weight back on.

First occasion - summer 2024 9lb went on - I’d just started HRT and my body had just had a coil removed. I remember mindfully being aware of weight gain. There came a point when I became aware and so pulled it back.

Second occasion on Wegovy - hospitalised so unable to take - first thought was not let me eat everything insight and the times when there was nice things it wasn’t let me carry on eating. The catering team I think use to dread coming to take my food order. I woke up sick of the thought of the eating fest ahead of me.

Still trying to phantom out how to weigh.! (got leg bandaged up)

Thank you! I’m going to go for it.
Just case of finding a good deal now!

Ok, so when I originally posted this thread I was concerned that mounjaro would trigger food noise on quitting when I felt it’s not something I suffer with currently.

I now admit, I was wrong!

I'm going to order my first dose after my holiday this week. I decided to get started with calorie tracking so I’m in the habit when the injections arrive. Guess what has started immediately when I started tracking……..??? That’s right! FOOD NOISE

So yes, when I’m not actively trying to diet I don’t feel food noise but the way I’m eating is obviously keeping me overweight! When I try and eat in a way that would result in weight loss, I get food noise and a stark reminder of how fucking hard it is to feel this way.

I absolutely cannot wait to start the injections now and break out of this cycle!!