Does this sound ok as a maintenance plan? MJ transformational - I don’t want to be without it!

[BeesUnicornPot]

I’ve lost a lot of weight but more than this my eating habits, alcohol consumption, ADHD symptoms, binge shopping have been completely transformed. I am now a healthy weight but have a few pens left.

The thing is when I get about 2 weeks after last pen, my old habits return 😕 I think I was really lucky in that I never had to go higher than 5mg which I think is fairly rare.

I’m with cloud for maintenance, I definitely am not and do not look overweight in my photos.

However it’s the other benefits that I can’t do without and I just feel better when on MJ, my mood is better and I feel better about myself.

On almost every thread about weightloss people say oh just retrain your brain and, while I do make healthy choice as much as I can, after the 2 weeks I feel the insane cravings kick in. I’m a teacher and I could eat a load of junk from my store after school. When I was on weekly injections I never thought of it.

Is anyone thinking the will need a small dose of MJ for as long as they can get it? Not just for weight but for the other benefits?

I'm thinking 2.5mg every 2 weeks?

Medexpress advertise a maintenance dose too. I’ve written and enquired and got really helpful email back asking me to let them know when I hit my target weight and how I want to maintain it. Sounds like they have changed their policy from the messages here.

Is a BMI of 23.5 really the clinical cut off? My BMI is currently 24.3 so I'm quite close. I really need to stay on for a maintenance dose.

I'll have to make sure I wear my heaviest jeans and jumpers when I next get weighed!

But seriously, will they really stop prescribing at that point? I've not read that anywhere. What's the rationale? I don't really care about my weight/BMI I just want to be healthy

My BMI was 34, was on Ozempic then through the NahS have been on Mounjaro for over a year and my BMI is 19. I’m still on Mounjaro on 7.5, no side effects with Mounjaro. I’m 5ft1, and the diabetic review nurse advised to continue as I am with Mounjaro, we both agree I do not need to increase my dosage, my diabetes is no longer Pre diabetic, it’s now in normal range. The nurse advised, because of my height and ethnicity, that the BMI is where I need to be and not to go lower than 18. My next review is in September, she may reduce to 5.

The pen will last until its expiry date in the fridge provided it is unopened. The instructions say that once a dose is taken it should be used in 30 days.

According to Med express, although a pp says they now do maintenance so I guess I’m wrong.

Oushk will prescribe for maintenance at a maximum of 20 BMI (at least that was their policy back in Nov ‘24 when I moved over to them, so people thinking of it will need to check with them). Realistically it’s better not to wait that long I’d say.

They do expect you to do video consultations and submit ongoing evidence that you’re not dropping below that threshold while you’re on their maintenance plans.

I tapered back down to 2.5 after achieving goal, and had intended to come off altogether. Changed my mind and intend to stay on the maintenance dose for the foreseeable/forever.

I’m ticking over at 2.5mg and have maintained at bmi24 for 5mths now. I tried to stop with a 4week gap but the carb craving and food noise and achy joints all came back fast. It definitely helps with adhd and menopausal joint aches & generally just feeling more stable. I’d happily take it for life now to feel this good. I run 3x a week, walk dogs daily, lift weights so getting better muscle tone post weight loss. My mum takes statins for life with high BP & cholesterol although she’s always been a size 12 & a healthier eater this feels same to me.

I have no plans to stop. It would be like taking anti depressants and then stopping them when you no longer felt depressed.

I have another stone to lose and will then switch to maintenance dose.

Absolutely- the anti-inflammatory benefits I’m not prepared to let go of either!

Would you mind explaining a bit more about the maintenance plan? What dose and how often?

Thank you for this. I started on MJ May 2024, lost five & a half stone between then & Feb 25 (BMI from 40 to 28) & have been maintaining since March. Highest I ever went was 10, & found 7.5 effective enough for the majority of the time. I'd considered going onto maintenance as I'm ok now, but having to deal w food noise, which is such a pain when you've been free of it! Wasn't sure if 2.5 would be effective, but good to know it might just be enough.

I’m on the ‘Conti’ plan, taking 2.5 at weekly intervals, just as I did when I started out on MJ. I have to send regular updates/full-body photos and have check-in calls with them.

Their plans are detailed here

I find that on a maintenance dose there is minimal ‘food noise.’ Whereas I didn’t touch sugary foods for months, I now occasionally fancy and have them, but just a bit. I eat normal meals: a full breakfast and one full meal a day - lunch or dinner - something small or nothing at other standard mealtimes. I still get the MJ feeling of fullness and satiety and don’t eat beyond that feeling.

I’ve been back on 2.5 since January, and it’ll be interesting to see whether my body ceases to react in the same way to it over a longer period of time. Hopefully not!