Obese but not interested In Mounjaro, I’m genuinely interested to know why.

[Vatsallfolks]

I have struggled with my weight since my last baby 23 years ago.. prior to that I was a standard size 10 and never really thought about weight.. but last pregnancy at 39 saw me develop an underactive thyroid AND an autoimmune disorder that required an astonishing amount of steroids .. long story short.. I went from 10st to 22 stone in 4 years.. I hated it. I lost my sense of balance , self confidence, health… blood pressure meds , cholesterol meds, knee injections, chronic IBS .. because of the steroids I was extremely lucky to get a gastric sleeve on the NHS . Took me from 22 stone to 16 stone and there I stayed until this miracle drug came along.

I did my research. I looked at the pros and cons . The cons of being obese FAR outweighed the cons and so I began. Financially I thought it would be a terrible struggle but in reality I save money . No more latte and a croissant for breakfast at the station . It’s taught me to be mindful of what I need to eat to be healthy by prioritising protein, good carbs and fibre..

Im now BMI 22 and 9st 5 and size 10 again .. since end of November.. I remain on a small maintenance dose of 5mg and after a I had a chat with my GP yesterday, I am happy to be there for life .

so my question is .. if you are obese with all the associated health risks AND you have the funds to prioritise your health but are not interested.. ( earring in mind these drugs have been around since trials in 1992) why would you not ?

In addition to my last post - a lot of the people taking it right now aren’t in the situation you mention. I’m also alarmed by the number of people ‘wishing’ they could take it because their BMI is 27-29.
There will be unintended consequences of this.
Anyway, to answer the OP, people make the right decision for them based on a range of factors.

I’m on Mounjaro and track intermittently though I did it daily for the first few months, until I got a good idea of portion size.

So, without any negativity intended at all - If you’re not tracking or don’t have a good idea of your calorie intake how do you know you’re eating enough to meet a reasonable/good standard of nutrition everyday. I ask because I eat 1450 - 1500 calories a day even if I don’t feel hungry because I want as much nutrition as I can get, and yes it means I’ve ‘only’ lost a pound a week since mid August but I’m eating really well.

I don't like taking medication of any kind, so I certainly wouldn't want to take this for life. And if I just took it temporarily and then came off, I'd be worried about putting the weight back on. My BMI is not much above 30 and I'm healthy and active - maybe I'd make a different decision if I was morbidly obese.

I take it for diabetes and have lost a fair bit of weight. However it's reasonable to be worried about side effects. MJ has been fine for me, but Ozempic was a nightmare. I was so sick that my husband swore he will never take any GLP-1, even though this one is fine. Also it is a commitment, most people will gain weight back when they stop.

Just a quick aside, tinnitus (and tingling feet or hands, brain fog, hair loss, fatigue etc) can all be symptoms of B12 deficiency, or functional B12 deficiency. You ought to go to GP for blood tests :)

What happens when you stop taking it?

That sounds horrible, but it's less unpleasant than being morbidly obese for life. It just is. People who are scared of the side effects but ignore the real and unpleasant impacts of being obese day to day/scared of long term effects and ignore the long term impact of obesity are walking a strange cognitive line IMO. I think it's easy to get used to what it feels like to be obese so you forget how much better it feels not to be.

I decided to do something about my weight about 15 months ago. I didn't consider weight loss jabs simply because they really weren't on my radar and I don't know anyone in RL who has used them (or at least who admitted to using them).
I've lost almost 4 stone to date simply by cutting out 'bad ' cards (sugar, white flour, white rice & potatoes) and drinking water instead of fruit juice.

I weigh myself daily and record the weight - and I plan to do so going forward 'to keep me honest'.
I think the weight loss drugs are really impressive - my only concern would be that without an ongoing maintenance dose, the risk of putting the weight back on (and yes, I know this is true of all diets) is high.

The NHS is barely funding this for anyone at the moment. However eventually yes they probably will. It will be a long term saving when balanced against the costs of treating obesity related conditions.

3stones to lose here. Sedentary job.
It doesn’t seem healthy to me.
I work out, I eat healthy food.
I really care about NOT putting unnatural drugs into my body.
It’s alarming to me that all these people are blindly taking this drug and making a lot of money for drugs companies.
I dont think “being thin” is the highest achievement any woman can make.
I think you will see people putting it all back on.
I think you will see litigation in the next few years.
I’m sorry to say this but I am just going to aim to love my body, eat less and move around more.

@LavenderBlue19 if it’s any help all I can say to you is that from the 1st day you take Mounjaro you start preparing for the day you’re off it. And by that I mean putting things in place along the way to change or change as much as you can of the things that got you to this stage.

So day 1 - if you haven’t exercised till now, start today. This is a must, and no it doesn’t have to include going to a gym, until your ready to, or jogging from one lamp post to another feeling as if your dying. A good home based workout and increasing your steps daily is great to start with.

Dont carried away with how happy the change in your appearance makes you - from day one think health, health and health again.

Do little things like eating from a smaller plate and if that’s not possible then only eat half of what’s on your plate.

Don’t eat processed food.

Eat much more protein than you probably have been doing.

Eat veg rather than fruit, though make sure you have some fruit because of the health benefits.

Read up on what slim people have to say about what they do in order not to gain weight - very few of them don’t have to think about it, most of them have to work at it.

Be prepared to practice being hungry, it’s nothing to be scared of and it’s a normal bodily state to be in. And you will be hungry, I’m hungry before every meal and that’s ok. In fact I’m glad I’ve not had the suppression people talk about because it’s meant I’ve had to plod away everyday making good choices and that can only be good for me in the long run.

So, in brief - from day one start thinking and planning for the day you’re on your own with this.

You will gain weight if you don't make an effort to maintain your way of eating. Same as any weight loss.

Me too - everything you said

I’m sorry to say this but I am just going to aim to love my body, eat less and move around more

One day your body is going to show you with high Bp, dangerous levels of cholesterol and pre-diabetes that loving your body isn’t enough to protect it from the harmful effects of being fat, or all the medication you’ll have to take to treat it.

But why the need for any medication then? These things are all likely to reduce your weight, surely in a more healthy and long lasting way?

Too early for bingo?

I think some people's lifestyle and life centres around food. My bil and sil go out drinking every weekend, and for big family meals every weekend. During the week she cooks big dinners every night for the family. They love it all..I couldn't imagine her suddenly not drinking and eating half a sandwich. Shed be miserable!

Plus..my sil's whole family are v overweight (all obese or morbidly obese (except DH) - including grandparents) but they r all weirdly v healthy and live til their 90s, so I doubt she has any motivation to change.

I've struggled with my weight all my life, and am currently in this phase where I diet for a bit, lose some weight and can't maintain the loss, so repeat the process. Had high blood pressure for ages which is well-controlled by medication and am veering towards pre-diabetes. Still wouldn't consider the jab, mainly because my issues aren't around "food noise" - I don't snack, can wander down biscuit aisles without succumbing etc. I do, however, eat large portions, and drink too much and (until recently) have been leading a pretty sedentary life. I'd rather work on all of those issues than take another drug!

Because it carries the risk of osteoporosis.

What are the unintended consequences? I know plenty of people who were in that BMI range when they started taking it, and they now couldn't b happier they did!

Why wouldn't you 'wish you could take' a drug that increases your longevity, reduces your risk of multiple health complications, and helps you loose weight and feel.fabulous??

Both parents have type 2 and have taken it. In both it impacted their MH, they both said they felt depressed and a sense of rage. They also had terrible nausea. It took over a month for the side effects to subside.

@bigvig this class of medication been used for about 20 years and on the back of that is considered generally very safe for most people.

There is no "tablet Ozempic " (yet).

@Maverick66ive lost 68 pounds on Mounjaro without tracking calories.

things have slowed down a bit now and I keep thinking about doing a bit of calorie counting now. Part of that is getting used to eating less when I come off MJ too.

you might be surprised you wouldn’t have to count cals.

But why the need for any medication then? These things are all likely to reduce your weight, surely in a more healthy and long lasting way?

The science/psychology behind the answer to your question is available online and for sure it will take you way less time to read about it than it would take for me to type a reply.

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a62282449/ozempic-bone-density-loss-study/