Genuine Mounjaro question

[EdnaTheWitch]

I’m on the fence about Mounjaro and just trying to gather as much info as I can to determine whether it’s right for me or not.

Bit of context:
I am carrying 15-20kg more than I’d like and have been for years. I thought it was due to 10+ years of antidepressant (sertraline) use (complex PTSD from childhood abuse) but I’ve now come off them and it’s made no difference.

I eat well, as in I eat real food that I cook myself from scratch and it is more or less a Mediterranean diet that we eat. I genuinely do not eat UPFs on anything that could be considered a regular basis. And I genuinely do not over eat. I’ve always drank water rather than sodas. I occasionally share a bottle of wine with my husband, but I’m not a big drinker. I am not sedentary. Other than my weight, I’m generally pretty fit and healthy.

I’m now 47, not aware of any menopausal symptoms. I don’t have an unruly appetite and am satiated throughout the day. My evening meal is usually around 6pm and that’s me until coffee the following morning, so I have roughly 15hr fast period. But my weight is stuck where it is, no matter what.
At the moment, the only other thing I can think that might help is if I start a consistent strength training programme. Failing that, is Mounjaro the next step?

My question is this: Is Mounjaro only useful where there is a need for appetite suppression?

If you are eating well and have no metabolic issues, then the only possible reason you are not losing is that your calories in are equal to your calories out. So it’s either reduce portion sizes, or do more exercise. Mounjaro will help with the former as it increases satiety and slows digestion, making you feel fuller after a smaller meal. But it’s probably healthier to do the more exercise route, especially weight training to increase muscle mass which will then burn more calories long term.

Yep agree with what the PP has said. If you’re not losing weight then you’re eating at maintenance calories. Try smaller portions for a few weeks and see if that means weight loss. You can combine that with strength training too of course.

If you find it hard to stick to a reduced amount of calories then that’s where Mounjaro would come in to play.

And I genuinely do not over eat.

But you clearly do, or you wouldn't be three stone overweight.

Having a good diet doesn't make up for eating too much of it. Have you ever tried tracking calories each day, to analyse what you do actually eat? That might be a good starting point, before Mounjaro.

First thing you need to do is be honest with yourself. To lose the weight you need to consistently over a longer term be in calorie deficit, if you are not losing weight you are not in calorie deficit.

Mounjaro will help you eat less and achieve that calorie deficit especially if you, like many of us here, struggle to sustain it long term without medication. But to be successful on it you will need to recognise you are current in maintenance calories, what a deficit looks like and change your diet/portion sizes.

Strength training and building muscle can improve your metabolism and help preserve lean mass while you're losing fat.