Colleagues all dissing Mounjaro

[KateERxx]

I'm now officially 2 stone down and work colleagues are starting to notice and asking what's my secret etc. I don't want to lie but also after a conversation in the office a few weeks back, I now feel I can't be honest about taking Mounjaro, so I've just said I've been strict with my calorie counting (which is also true).

I work in an open plan office and someone brought up casually into convo about how everyone is on weight loss injections now and before I knew it, it turned into a frenzied attack on anyone who takes them. Comments such as 'it's the lazy way out', 'they'll put all the weight back on again', 'they don't know what they're putting in their bodies', 'no such thing as food noise', 'they have no self control', 'people have no discipline nowadays', 'that's the easy way', you get my drift. I just sat there, with a quiet smirk on my face I have to say, as these were all the same people who had quite literally said to me not 20 minutes earlier how great I looked 😂These comments were people from all builds as well, not just 'skinny' people.

In hind sight maybe I should have spoken up at that point in time to defend it and made them all embarrassed, but I'll lose another stone and maybe then do it 😜Anyone else had this at all?

I've deprived myself and have made a hell of a lot of effort all my life since I was a teenager to be slimmer, always having to watch what I eat and take regular exercise. Between the ages of 16 and 28 my BMI was between 19 and 25 and there was no yoyo dieting, any weight loss was achieved steadily by eating less and moving more.

Immediately before I had DD1 I was BMI 20. Then I put four stone on in pregnancy, and struggled to get down to BMI 25 before having DD2 three years later, who is 16 now.

Since then I've been making just as much effort as I always have but have mostly been between BMI 27 and 30. I was also diagnosed with endometriosis and PCOS ten years ago. I'm now 49 and at menopause.

Now I'm BMI 25.9 after three months on Mounjaro and am about 5lbs off normal BMI.

What it took for me was eating 300 calories a day less than I was previously eating to try and lose weight, but I was way too hungry to eat less than I was without Mounjaro.

Or TL:DR version, staying slim or slimmer has always been difficult since I went through puberty and it has always taken a lot of effort. I'm making the same amount of effort on Mounjaro but actually have a positive result.

I resent the implication that those of us who are a healthy weight don’t face the same “food noise” as everyone else. It’s a stupid term. We all get hungry. We all like donuts and chips and mayo and cheese. It’s meaningless.

@Shouldntbutdo I don't think you know how Mounjaro works. Some people seem to be under the impression that you just carry on eating the same way and the weight/fat melts off. This is not the case.

Everyone I know who has taken it (about 8 people that I know of) looked at the research, considered the ‘risks’/side effects, weighed them against the benefits [also took a moment to look at the risks/side effects of other medications they were prescribed yet had taken unquestioningly] and made an informed decision in consultation with a clinically qualified professional. [NB I could not give a shit about the idiots getting it on the blackmarket from the person who does their lip filler, while only having a BMI of 23.]

Everyone who has NOT actually discussed the drugs with a qualified clinical professional and researched it because they are not taking them [or they are the aforementioned idiots]…. should really just mind their own business?

There are just as many ‘new’ drugs being trialled for cancer, for example. If our BFF hadn’t taken a risk and used them for fear of the side effects he might have died within 8 weeks of diagnosis of his brain tumour as predicted. Informed decisions as to the risks meant that he got an extra 3 years with his wife, family and friends.

But all the arguments the uninformed use against MJ/related drugs [which have been used for 20 years for diabetes, so the risks and side effects for the obese are very well researched] would also mean he should never have been offered those cancer management drugs either? The. Very. Same. Arguments. Used. Every. Time.

Yes, of course you do. But it's not the same as having the health condition called obesity.

I was a healthy weight myself for many years. But as soon as you become overweight/obese you suffer the effects of obesity. Our bodies want to keep us that way - it affects hormones, things like adrenaline, cortisol, insulin - which have an impact on mood, appetite, hunger and eating habits, and also things like how well you sleep which also has a huge effect on mood, appetite, hunger and eating habits. You get trapped in a vicious circle that is very hard to break out of.

Oh and I also think those on the WLI who say others don’t know what we are talking about because we haven’t been obese need to realise that they also don’t know that. I have just checked and at my heaviest I had a bmi of 36 but at present it is 26 so I do know what it is like and it’s shit. I too resented people telling me that to lose weight I had to eat less at my heaviest weight but you know what they were right. Whether it is with injections or another tool it doesn’t matter but as my previous post people have opinions because being fat and losing weight is what most people battle with whether you use medication or a different method.

I think well done to all of you. I'm not overweight (but flabby as fk!), and the only thing I will say is that I feel very sorry for those who cannot afford it. I don't think it's available on the NHS yet, but when you think of all the diseases associated with obesity, surely it would be a good investment on their part. But no apparently, and hopefully that will change. Although I'm sure the criteria will be very bloody strict.

Ive not told anyone either. Ive been vocal about being on a diet/losing and gaining weight and plateau ing but not given it away. I honestly dont think these people really understand that its not the miracle the papers are saying it is. You still have to control your diet (in the way of eating well and just eating enough!) plus educating yourself how to eat like a “normal person”! 🤣

i manage to swerve the conversation by just saying 1. They are too bloody expensive and 2. Ive been white knuckling it counting calories and avoiding treats! People seem satisfied with that

but, saying that, why should people feel bad for taking a medication thats been around for years and helps you to lose weight? It has numerous benefits to your health with weightloss and also to avoid adding to the strain on the NHS and being able to continue to work. I just rationalise it to myself (and tbh i might start saying this to others) by saying - look if someone has diabetes or high blood pressure due to lifestyle etc, no one would call them out by saying they are lazy/need to put the work in etc. they just shrug accept its part of life and almost inevitable and move on. I do wonder if a lot of it deep down is from jealousy that they are unable/willing to take the jabs? 🤷🏻‍♀️

for me the total lack of food noise is bloody fantastic

Thinking it's about mayo and chips demonstrates exactly that you don't experience it in the same way.

FFS, any food then. Bit childish

Do you honestly think that only some of the population crave food?

Not if it's the destination you want. If I want to get to the US, I'm going to choose the quickest and most convenient way I can afford. No way I'm going to spend a month swimming, arrive cold and wet, and then have to rest a week.

In a race, the point is the journey not the destination. So obviously you wouldn't tell someone running the marathon to just take a bus. But weightloss isn't a race. It's about arriving at your healthy weight destination.

Yup. In the last 2-3 years three women older than me on my mum's side of the family have had strokes and mini stokes, including my mum, and including one in her 50s. I am obese, and my issues with food are linked to anxiety. Unfortunately I don't have all the wisdom about obesity and anxiety at hand, and nor do I have access to all the resources of the NHS. I don't have access to support to help me lose weight after 15 years of trying and failing to do it on my own. Maybe I should just wait another 15 years and die from a stroke and the concern trolls can rejoice when another fat person dies from being unable to just simply 'eat less move more'. The absolute fucking hypocrisy on concern trolling fat people AND the legitimate tools they use to improve their health.

Or, maybe, I can assess as best I can whether I think this tool might help me lose weight and reduce my risk of stroke and other obesity related risks.

I do think that this is the issue. Lots of people of normal weight have been fatter and constantly fight the inner monologue of eating more. I too have heard from my relative that lost the weight through surgery and put it all back say that it’s easy for me but it isn’t. I know if I give in and eat a packet of biscuits a day then I will become obese again and yes that relative does that but pretends they don’t and only eats a salad but I know that is a lie. I too lied to myself previously. Why can’t we acknowledge that it is what you eat but different tools help people eat less.

Do you honestly think that your personal experience is the universal one? Or do you think maybe we're all a bit different and have different struggles in life. Novel, I know.

Lots of people of normal weight who have been fatter have found something that works for them and that they can sustain. Congratulations to them. Now people should just back off and let everyone else find what works for them.

I've been on Ozempic since February. I am prescribed it on the NHS because my type 2 diabetes control was very difficult and too variable no matter what I did.

I had plenty of weight to lose too of course. I'm over 2 stone down now and my HBA1C is almost back to prediabetic levels.

I'm totally unashamed of using the Ozempic. It's better than continuing to put my health and life in the danger that it has been in for some time now. Things are improving for me at last. It's not cheating, but if anyone wants to call it that then I don't give a flying fuck. It works for me. I'm barely thinking much about food now.

I know there are people who say that they are worried about the effects of injecting something into themselves. It's a fair point to an extent, but what about the negative effects of chronic obesity on health and life expectancy? Surely that's just as bad, if not worse? It more than balances out in favour of the weight loss injections in my book.

but don’t pretend you’ve achieved something by just taking a drug.

wow!

Also just to add, don't assume that everyone who is fat has always been fat. I was slender for most of my life. This is something that I developed. So I know that people don't all experience food noise and cravings in the same way, and I know that because I was a thin person who didn't experience it in the same way as I do now.

I think that's because no matter what some people on WLI like to insist, it IS harder doing it on your own.

The whole point of WLI is that you don't crave the unhealthy foods to the same extent, and food noise is massively reduced.

Lots of overweight people know what they should eat, it's not largely about needing education. The difficulty comes because of the difficulty with sugar addiction, cravings, and food noise, and WLI help with all of that, plus they have a biological effect by stabilising blood sugars/ramping up fat burning.

I have close friends on WLI and it's been a breeze for them. At least a couple used to struggle with binge-eating and WLI have solved that problem for them. They haven't had to battle, and it's been easy for them to make healthy choices. They've tried and failed conventional diets many times and say this is completely different. All of that mirrors everything I've read about WLI.

So I don't think it's always "jealousy" when people want credit for losing weight without. It's because it's much harder. If it wasn't easier to lose weight with the WLI, they wouldn't be so popular.

I am significantly overweight. I have repeatedly eyed up the WLI but as I've said on previous threads, I have a stupid body that always gets side effects. I got a blood clot from the first COVID jab. I am THAT person. There isn't long-term data on non-diabetics so we don't really know the full effects. The media are reporting loads of sensationalist claptrap - some of it praising WLI, some of it doom-laden. None of that is helpful.

On top of that, there are plenty of companies out there who don't have robust procedures which allow people to lie to get powerful drugs prescribed that they're not licensed for. I don't think there's a proper ethical process in place for many prescribers, it almost feels as if it's treated like Botox eg/incentives to get others to sign up! Obviously some prescribers are doing things properly, but certainly not all.

I don't judge anyone for using WLI. If I thought I'd be OK, I'd take them in a heartbeat. But I also understand people who are slogging through a traditional weight loss regime feeling quite frustrated at others assuming they're on injections.

I understand WLI have been revolutionary for some, and I understand the enthusiasm. But I think it's become such a divisive issue - for many, complex reasons - that it's impossible to have a rational conversation without accusations flying from both sides.

To anyone who's lost weight and made healthy changes to their lifestyle, fair play, however you did it.

I was never jealous. In fact, I was reluctant to start my Ozempic as a) I'd never injected myself with anything before and was nervous about doing it, and b) I was getting pissed of with just trying different medications with nothing really working all that well, and I thought it would just be more of the same.

I reluctantly gave it a try and now I am glad I did. I was wrong to try and avoid it.

I've just started and will have no problem in "admitting" to people that I am using WLI. But I don't feel the need to actively announce to all and sundry what I am personally doing at this moment. If it comes up in conversation I'm not going to lie but I don't feel at all inclined to subject myself at this early stage to negativity from those who have not perhaps done the amount of research as I have.

But one thing for sure is that I fully recognise I can't just rely on these injections to do all of the work because they are not made that way. I have to do the work with this aid.

I've already upped my exercise classes to four times a week, overhauled my menus for the week, reduced my weekend wine intake and am taking a thorough and sensible approach to this journey that I recognise is going to be a long one. Once I reach my target weight which may take me two years I am going to be stringent in applying everything that I have experienced in getting myself there. I have no intentions of letting myself get into the obese category again.

I admire people who remain slim/trim all their lives. I also have friends who quite literally only see food as fuel and are not really interested in it at all. We are all different. But I think it's unwise and unkind to knock people who are actively doing something to improve their health and reduce their weight and whether that involves WLI is neither here nor there. It's personal choice - though I do accept that finances also play a part here.

Pah, it's just plain old jealousy op. They probably don't think twice about cheating when they reach for a nurofen for a bit of a headache instead of just powering through, drinking more water, doing mindfulness shite etc to get rid of it 🙄

Congratulations to everyone on it who is happy and doing well on it 😊👏👏👏

after reading some of the comments on here, I’ll just carry on jabbing - bmi down to 26 from 43 - my life has improved so much.
to be honest, knowing how much me being slimmer is annoying some of you, just makes me more determined to lose the last few pounds and keep it off.
a poster upthread commented about the currency of thinness and that was bang on .

I think a lot of people do misunderstand though how it works and literally thinks it melts fat away and you can be 6 stone overweight and bingo 2 months later itsall gone. As you all know it really isn’t like that and can still be quite a long slog and basically still involves a lot of calorie control - difference of course is for many it’s much easier to control as they don’t feel hungry or have the mental urge to eat everything in the fridge . What it doesn’t do though is literally dissolve the fat and clearly some people think it does and hence use the word ‘cheating ‘ -