we really don't need a lot of food....

[JustPinkFinch]

Are any other females 40+ quite surprised - after taking MJ or similar - at how little they actually need to eat in order to lose weight?

I am eating a healthy lunch, healthy dinner and a snack (either fruit or nuts). On this I am losing 1-2lbs a week.

It feels restrictive vs what I am used to and there is no way I could have done this without MJ.

Once I reach my target, I can increase intake a bit in order to maintain. That I can probably do without MJ, but if not I will stay on the drug long term.

I am very grateful this drug is available, but at the same time a little sad at how little food I actually need.

I am active too. I do not lead a sedentary life.

All my thin friends eat like birds, so I shouldn't be surprised. But I am!

@Juliesjewels maybe we should run our own free but vinted type system on mumsnet - I’m down to a size 16 now and feeling ‘relatively slimmer’ !!! In fact I’m going to post to suggest it!!

I would gain on 1600 😢

Yanbu I'm not on EI but am constantly amazed at how little food we actually need

It's hard

Well I don’t think I could sustain that for long. I eat about 1800 to lose and feel hungry quite a lot so 1600 would be hard and for me would feel restrictive. Maintenance for me is about 2200.

@Crikeyalmighty ha ha, another thread I'm on for support with mj, is awash with comments about the sudden rise in traffic on vinted and the like, presumably because of the rise in folk having to downsize clothes, I was a 16 for years, I've lost quickly on mj, bought a couple of things size 14, and was only in that size for a couple of weeks, bought some size 12, can feel them now getting looser, it's hard when you've been the same size for years to believe that you'll fit in a smaller size isn't it? but I tried my size 16 ' best' trousers on this morning and they were ginormous on me, so time to get rid!

I don't know why your thread started with such weird posts!

I agree with you. I have been SHOCKED at how little I need to eat to lose weight. Pre MJ I lost 3 stone in 8 months on 1600 calories a day but I was miserable and often starving. I felt deprived, often had hunger headaches, and hangry moments.

On MJ it's totally different. I now eat about 1000-1200 a day max and never feel hungry. I have no physical hunger symptoms at all, they're all gone. In fact I feel full of energy now and often leave food on my plate and never eat snacks.

I was a typical overeater- tons of fast food and snacks. All gone now

This is why it feels so shameful to discuss overweight and food consumption. As someone who's been overweight, you know that this is what people are thinking. Obviously on one level it's true - you don't get overweight without overeating, either in terms of volume or in terms of high calorie foods. However, what this thread shows is that a basic calorie intake to maintain weight varies enormously for different people. Everyone assumes you're gorging yourself, and treats you accordingly, but it doesn't always take that to put on weight.

I've absolutely overeaten at times, but other times I haven't and no one believes you, you get that look of slightly pitying disbelief at your supposed delusionality. But when you're short, you can't eat much, and when you've lost weight, you will regain it more easily than when you put it on for the first time. So just eating the same as family or friends will result in pretty immediate weight gain for me, but explaining this gets the patronising head tilt of incredulity.

Thanks Crikey. I might do that when I've lost a bit more. Trouble is I love crisp bread and might slip into my old habit of spreading thick butter on them, cheese and tomato. Tomato salsa seems a good idea though. Thank you :)

I think it's not so much surprise at how little calories you need, but more surprise at how many unnecessary calories I was eating before and how easy it is to overeat. I feel like what I'm eating on Mounjaro now is pretty much right - two big meals a day, one lighter snack, not eating late at night etc. I'm eating 1500 calories per day and I know I can eat more when I exercise - I haven't been, but having that room after Mounjaro will be good as in the middle of my healthy weight range my sedentary TDEE is still around that. I think I would feel differently if I was eating the default 1200 calories - I don't know why that's always set as the default.

Food culture in the UK really horrifies me - how easy it is to consume thousands of calories, how normalised it is, how nutritionally illiterate so many of us are/were, how hard it is to unpick it all, how expensive eating right is.

@JustPinkFinch completely agree. 1600 calories makes it hard to have a treat, glass of wine. It is restrictive but on mn not to the competitive under eaters- that’s probably more than they have in a week.

I find it difficult to get all the nutrients that are needed for bone and heart health etc so eat enough to maintain at around a BMI of 25 - 27 (but I have a lot of muscle and am very active). I would need a lot less to maintain a BMI of 21 (keeping my muscle). I’m healthy at that BMI though - no indicators of metabolic disease and fit and active and a size 12 (mainly due to shape and muscle).

Losing weight is different but maintaining … if you’re struggling with how little you can eat, is that to stay a desired lower BMI or within a healthy range?

My friend, same height but very slim/willowy eats like a bird. She lives in Spain so when I visit I see everything she eats and it’s not much.
We don’t breakfast but for brunch, say we have poached egg on toast, she will have one, of course I am two and will finish the lot but I look at her plate and half the toast left.
Go out for meals and I’ve wolfed the plate down and she’s eaten less than half and saying she really can’t manage any more.
So I know it’s definitely how little you eat which keeps you slim.

Inspired by this thread, I’ve calorie counted what I’ve had today and I’m pretty surprised at how many I’ve consumed. Busy day, grabbing bits as I go:

Merchant Gourmet black Dahl with a slice of bread

A small cupcake with icing at a work meeting

olives, 2 slices of cheese (60g) and a dozen cherry tomatoes

1,143 calories before I add anything for drinks (milk in many cups of tea).

I’ve been on WLI for over a year and I love how it has reset my appetite to what I imagine a “normal” person must feel like. Today’s menu has been a bit crap, but it’s normally a lot more balanced. With the food noise removed, we’re eating for nutrition and fuel rather than for gluttony. I’ve not needed to calorie count to lose weight - just eat mostly fresh, healthy meals and it has slipped off steadily.

Yes this is true for some of us but of course you'll get sneering 'competitive undereating' comments if you talk about it

Some people need more an have an appetite for more, some people need less and have less of an appetite, both are ok.

I have been off mj since march. I lost 3.5 stone whilst on it and I actually found that I could not go over 1200 calories a day, and there were times I ate less than that to lose half a pound in the week. I was also very active so thought initially it could be higher. Anyway after reaching my goal weight I went cold turkey on it. After gaining a few pounds initially on holiday I am back to my target weight and have achieved this by continuing to fast and restrict calories. So yes... I am blown away by how little I am able to eat in terms of calories to maintain the weight loss and also sad about it. But I really don't want to gain the weight back and that is what's keeping me on the straight and narrow... for the time being at least. I have also realised the real impact alcohol and hangovers have on my ability to maintain the weight I'm at now, which really does make life much more dull!

I've always struggled with weight, had success multiple times in the past with slimming world but always put it back on. It's great on mj not only because it makes loosing weight so much more manageable, but because I'm now tracking calories. And I agree I am shocked at how much I actually need to eat. No wonder I ALWAYS put the weight back on, I was eating far too many calories. Obviously I knew that on some level, but to actually see how much food I can have for my calories is quite shocking!

61 and 5’3”
When I’ve been trying to lose weight in the past I’ve had to stick to fruit n black coffee for breakfast
I’m GF and not keen on a lot of the alternatives so generally have a salad lunch or soup and a small portion evening meal which is usually low carb
My biggest weakness is alcohol and mounjaro has reduced my cravings for a drink hugely
I am on week4day1 so just gone il
to 5ml dose and have lost 10.5lb so far
If I can lose a steady 0.5 stone a month and keep it off I will be happy

I'm 5'1.5" and 44 I've previously been successful on diets by skipping breakfast and sticking to the diet, e.g. slimming world but there has always been a limit to how long I can keep it up before I fall off the wagon. With mj I can keep calories low and have done so for 6 months. I skip breakfast and have a snack for lunch and then a proper dinner and some pudding (yoghurt and hifi bars). I'm now trying to maintain but realistically it's still a small lunch, perhaps slightly bigger and otherwise everything else the same. My sister in law is a similar size, 13 years older and she has overnight oats for lunch and normal dinner, when we have gone out for lunch she would then have overnight oats for dinner. I was never willing to eat like this and in my 20s and 30s exercised so much I could get away with more but perimenopause and constant injuries have meant that I really couldn't get away with eating so much. My mum always used to order from the children's menu and I did when on a diet but now that's the way forward. I'm still working out maintenance and how much I can eat in the week and how many treats I can have (not a lot). I'm approx 8st 7 (sometimes a bit lower) and on 2.5mg, I'm not sure I can sustain this way of eating without mj. My brain just wants to eat everything in the cupboard.

Has been an interesting thread. Like a few others mentioned, I also now often have to eat smaller portions. That’s the only way for me to lose weight or sustain - as I don’t think my diet is unhealthy generally. More fruit and soup ie. low calorie fillers would probably also help. Mounjaro has definitely helped with portion size, as still feel hunger (which is healthy after all) but feel satiated more quickly.

Perhaps a few slim people do “starve” themselves : didn’t Liz Hurley say she always went to bed hungry?! But other slim people perhaps don’t eat much - but don’t have big appetites either. Other slim people eat pretty “well” but don’t seem to put on weight (my mother in that category).

Also appreciated the recipe ideas for tomato salsa on toast and I’ll try the Merchant gourmet lentils :-)

I thought that while I was losing but now I've reached (in fact overshot) my goal weight and still struggling to build up any appetite, I think it's the Mounjaro talking!

I admit whilst on treatment I ate way less than I should have. I simply couldn't force myself to eat anymore some days, and decreased to 10mg after I went up to 12.5mg and simply could not eat more than maybe 400 calories a day - I tried but just couldn't.

I'm still undereating if I'm totally honest, it is taking a while for my appetite to come back but it's only been 2 weeks since my last injection and I won't be ordering more.

Just be wary that if you're undereating, you may need to speak to your doctor about moving back down to a lower the dose. It's great reaching your goals but honestly I'm slightly concerned long term that I will have an eating disorder if I can't get my appetite back!

@KhakiCat ,i hope my appetite never comes back! I think maybe you're an exception as the anecdotal evidence I've heard seems to be that it comes back with a vengeance. However I've never lost weight before successfully, simply because I'm a greedy pig, and not realised, or been blind to how much I was eating / drinking, I haven't gone above 5 mg and I do have hunger breakthrough, which worries me and reassures me at the same time, because I've not caved in.
One of the main effects I've had is a complete revulsion towards alcohol, which I didn't expect and it's been a game changer, that's the thing I worry about most when I come off this soon.

I’m 5”3 41 and gain over 1600 I need 1000 a day to lose 0.5 kg a week
it’s been Slooooow

I'm short with a small frame, in my 60s, and now that I've lost weight on MJ my TDEE is 1300. I've become so aware of the calories in foods that I eat out of the house (glad they now have to list them). If I had a regular big Mac meal (and it never seems very big to me) that's 1080 cals, leaving only enough calories for a boiled egg (no toast), a small apple, and 5 walnuts.

@20bloodypounds which is why I had my payday treat today for l breakfast - bacon and egg McMuffin and a hash brown 465 cals!!

Totally agree OP. The being short and post menopausal makes the maths challenging, especially if you’re aiming to eat a range of nutrients and avoid losing muscle & bone density.

My TDEE is around 1500 so to lose weight I need to reduce to 1000 - 1200 calories. I’m pleased that MJ has taken away the constant hunger as without it, it doesn’t feel sustainable. I eat 2 meals based around protein & veg, plus a cup of Greek yoghurt with collagen powder and progress has been slow.

I’m also not craving alcohol, and have never been a heavy drinker, but the thought that a single glass of wine, an ice-cream on a day out, or a small slice of birthday cake could easily put me over my TDEE is depressing.