Losing the will

[Emas82]

Hello all. I'm very down. I'm about 5 stone overweight, I lost it all back in 2019/20 then it's gradually crept back on. When I try and do now what I did back then I lose about 4lbs then come to a halt.

I know about calorie deficit, I know I should eat less and move more but it feels so much harder this time around.

I'd love to start the weight loss injections but I really can't justify that kind of money every month.

Has anyone has any success with a tablet or any kind? I know orlistat would probably work but I'm afraid of the side effects 😬😬😬

I know I should be able to do this on my own but it just feels impossible!

Just a thought about weight loss injections… If you’re happy to shop around each month, which is just a bit more admin than reordering from the same place, you can keep the costs down by taking advantage of new customer discounts. Also, although it’s not recommended or endorsed by the pharmacies and the manufacturers, you can use the leftover liquid in each pen for an additional dose, using separate syringes. That means a pen lasts for 5 weeks instead of 4. The costs would then be £20 to £30 a week for the lower doses and a little more for the higher ones later on. You may also find that you’re saving money on your food shop as you’ll be eating less.

Orlistat works, although the weight loss produced is not as high as WLI and of course the well publicised side effects exist, which you’ve mentioned. No harm in trying it and seeing how you get on though, as you could stop as soon as you get any side effects you don’t like and it should be gone from your system quickly.

Sorry I don't have much advice to give as I have only lost weight the traditional way or MJ but just wanted to say that I know how you feel regarding the weight gain.
I lost 7 stone in 2018/2019 through the traditional route & put 9 back on over the following 3 1/2 years.
It really affected my mental health.
I have now lost about 5 1/2 of those 9 stones gained back. (4 1/2 of that on MJ)
MJ is so expensive but I don't think anything else would have worked for me in the state I was in (I tried & failed lots)
My willpower had run out as 2018/2019 was supposed to be the last time I would have to lose a significant amount of weight but it didn't work out like that :(

I note you say "can't justify" rather than "can't afford" and I'm going to push back on that. The title of your post is 'losing the will', you're down, it feels impossible. You're clearly unhappy. So I'm wondering, why can't you justify spending the money on yourself and your own health, on something that very probably WILL stop you feeling all of those crappy things? What price your own self-esteem and happiness?

If it's more about 'afford' then that's different but a lot of people do find the monthly saving they get, from buying less food and booze and takeaways, offsets a decent chunk of the cost of the mounjaro. Also, there's a lot of discount codes and price reductions if you shop around (I can't offer advice on that because I get mine in person from a local inpedendent pharmacy to avoid delivery issues).

The way orlistat works has always sounded a bit grim to me.

I hope you find a way forward.

Thank you all for your input.
@GiveMeWordGamesyoure right, it's not an affordability issue. I suppose I would feel selfish for spending what's looking like £200 a month purely on something for myself whereas that money could go into savings or something.

I just don't know what it is about the last few years but I just don't seem to be able to get in the right frame of mind. I feel like I should be able to do this as I've done it before

It’s not, or shouldn’t be, £200 a month. My most recent pen cost me £135 and that will do for 5 weeks.

And, I would say, it’s been an amazing thing for my whole family. I am so much more cheerful and active with my children, and with my long suffering partner. Having a happier, healthier and fitter Mum benefits the whole family.

It was the sudden shock death of a colleague that gave me the wake-up call I needed. What is the point of saving the money if I can’t benefit in the long-run due to ill health. That might not apply to you but 4 weeks in I’m very glad I made the decision to start MJ. I haven’t yet committed in the long term (in my head), I’m seeing how things go month to month. Sorry, I realise your question was about tablets but I don’t know anything about those. It was your comment about saving that chimed with me.

There's more than one way of saving and this would be literally investing in your own future and, by extension, that of your family/partner/loved ones. To echo @SilenceInside what do you think they would rather have - an extra couple of grand in savings or a healthier, happier, longer-living you?

Also, yes, with the assorted discounts out there it wouldn't be £200 a month.

Thank you, I looked on the monj website and it looked as though as lot of the higher doses were closer to £200.
Where do you get yours from?

It was from Pharmacy2U with a £60 new customer discount, iirc.

You wouldn't necessarily be on the higher doses to start with and not everyone has to go that high. I have been on MJ for a year now and haven't gone further than 7.5mg (which I get from a 10mg pen so get 8/9 doses out of it - I know and accept the risk of going over 30 days but for me it is an assessed risk that I am happy to go along with)

Thanks very much everyone. I'll carry on thinking about it.
Something else I worry about is the commitment, I realise passing 5 stone will take a while, I've been there before, but it's the after, I understand that to keep the weight off your need to stay on the jabs?

Sounds as though no one has really had a positive experience with tablets, I guess if they worked wonders then we'd all be having them.

Maintenance of weight loss, as you’ve got recent experience of, is an issue however you lose weight. You may find that you can manage to maintain it without continuing Mounjaro, as some people do. Or you might find that continuing with a maintenance dose might become something you’re more comfortable with as you get to that point. I know I infinitely prefer being in the situation of having lost most of the weight I need to lose and having the task of maintenance ahead, rather than still being seriously obese for yet another year.

I've lost 4 stone this year, OP. By Christmas, your 5 stone could be gone, or close to gone - of course there's then maintenance to consider, but you have a very compelling personal reason to make that work, having regained weight in the past. Good luck whatever you decide

You've all been so helpful, thank you

In terms of watching what you eat whilst you are on the jabs, do you find you still have to restrict, or watch, your calories or do you find the appetite suppression does that for you?

It varies for each person and at different times. Mostly for me, in the 3 or 4 days after the injection the appetite suppression is stronger. I can eat, but it would be easy to forget, and I make sure what I eat is nutrient dense as much as I can because I get full quickly. Then towards the end of the week, the suppression is less and I need to pay a bit more attention to my food choices. But it’s still possible to do that, and I don’t get the desperate hunger and psychological feelings of deprivation/misery that I would get on a traditional calorie controlled diet.

So, I mostly don’t calorie count. Sometimes I will track for a week to check where I’m at, or if my weight loss has slowed/plateaued.

I have 5 stone to lose and I get it, it's daunting as I couldn't see anything other than how rubbish I felt being overweight.

10 weeks on, I'm down 27lb which is 8 lbs away from being half way there. Yes it's a monthly cost but I'm staying on 2.5 as it's working so maximum I've paid is £125.

What I thought about was the future cost of me being overweight, be it to the NHS and to my family. My not so helpful GP told me that if I didn't lose weight I would not see my kids grow up. I was so upset but it was the kick I needed.

Best thing I've ever done.

That monthly cost is saved by the reduced food I'm not shopping/paying for. In answer to your question, work out your TDEE and deduct 500 and in the first few weeks I'd recommend tracking what you eat and then you can get a good idea about what that looks like.

That's awesome! How did you go about staying on 2.5? Did your provider pressure you to go up a dose?

How much do you spend on food you don’t really need to eat? Maybe try thinking in these terms so the cost seems less.

I get that obviously I will save money on foods, snacky bits etc, but the rest of the family have still got to eat! There's only 3 of us, but I can't see myself recouping the whole cost.

No but there’s nothing wrong with spending some money on yourself and your health. You’re with it.

No point being the richest woman in the graveyard.

I am certain your family would rather you healthier and possibly live longer. My DD is a firm believer in health is wealth.

You may not ever need to go up to a higher dose. Low and slow to increase doses seems to be the most sensible option for alot of people. Lower costs and less side effects. I’m planning on staying as low as possible for as long as possible so I can learn to adjust for sensible eating and lifestyle for after the MJ.

I’m not a social media person at all but TikTok has a wealth of content from seemingly sensible people. The main regrets from alot of them is that they wished they hadn’t jumped up doses every 4wks. Once you get to 15mg there is nowhere else to go.

Also you can change provider every month. I’ve not paid more than £115 so far. Have bought 2 x 2.5 and 1x5mg as it was so cheap for if and when I need the 5 (or 3.75). Also did the golden dose on Friday which means a pen every 5wks.

I was you 6 weeks ago I’ve got 8st to loose it’s so daunting and I’ve tried & tried. A couple of big losses before then regained more and lots of small losses. If will power alone was enough we would all be skinny because who wants to feel like we do day after day….

I’m heading into week 5 and am 17lb down. It’s not always been easy but worth it!! I can’t tell you how much better I feel!!!

yes I will need to continue to manage once I stop but that is no different to any other “diet” but doing it in a sensible and healthy way will mean old habits broken and new ones formed and I am hoping that along with knowing how awful this side of the journey is will be enough!

stop feeling like a failure … you’re not … the world of junk food & sugar addiction means we’re so stuck. I suggest food noise by Jack Mosely to understand the jabs more and why we eat (too much ) by Andrew Jenkinson to understand & start being kind to yourself

@SevernWonders i’m planning on doing the same as you as I need to increase I’ve read lots round it & feel it’s worth the calculated risk. My main concern is losing efficacy just wondered if you’d noticed this st all?

@Emas82 all the best whatever you choose to do

Bit of both. At first I didn't have to track anything - it was amazing! Just steadily lost weight week to week without effort. But now my TDEE is lower I do need to roughly track - however being on the jabs makes it easy to stick to a deficit.