The joy of food and drink and Mounjaro

[hardtocare]

I’m considering Mounjaro as I’m sick of gaining and losing the same stone on repeat with other diets. I need to lose a lot of weight- at least 5 stone.

I’m worried that it might make me very depressed though as food and drink is the thing that makes me feel happy/ calm. Anyone able to share their experiences of how they dealt with it if they felt similar?

I know I need to do something soon, I just like to worry about stuff!

Hi, I'm starting in the next couple of weeks and feel similarly. I'm sick of it though - always wanting to eat. I am deliberating starting after my holiday to France....but then again feel I just need to get on with it. I have 3 stone to lose.

Liking worrying about stuff is really weird!

I still love food I just can’t eat much of it anymore. It’s rare I feel hungry enough to want to eat a proper full sized dinner - I just get full quickly so now have to prioritise what I eat before I’m done. Tend to eat the meat and veg/salad first and then if I’ve got space I’ll move onto the carby element of dinner. Lunches I will have either a salad or eggs if I’m at home.
I go out to eat at least a couple of times a week, a mixture of breakfasts/brunches at the weekend and lunch and dinner during the week, happy to share a starter if everyone is having them and wants a bit of mine too, then just order a smallish manageable main. Hate the waste though so tend to order something I feel confident I’ll be able to if not finish then not be so wasteful - I wouldn’t any longer order a 10oz steak if I’m not with anyone who won’t finish it for me!
I’ve not stopped drinking but I had cut back anyway pre MJ because my hangovers were savage, I’ll have a drink very infrequently now and very little.

Part of the point is that it breaks the comfort eating cycle.

I keep my dose low enough to still get hungry but it's not the screaming hunger I had before and I don't crave sugar or crisps. I've more time to cook as I'm less hungry so don't mind eating late. I use a healthy recipe service a couple of times a week to mix it up and get lots of variety in our diet. Really enjoying the experience

This is why I came off it. I want to be able to go out with friends for a meal, or have a takeaway once a month or have some birthday cake etc without having explosive diarrhoea/nausea and being house bound for 2 days every time. It is an amazing drug and people are losing with it but to know I’d never again be able to have a load of carbs or chocolate again would make me miserable. I’ll stay fat!

I still enjoy eating. I enjoy cooking too. Mounjaro has freed me up from the whole food stress, constant thought processes and feeling down/guilty if I overate, or deprived and sad if I cut back on food. All that’s just gone and I can just eat a smaller amount of food and not have any angst about any of it. It’s a genuine relief.

@monicagellerbing sorry you had dreadful side effects on it, I’d have come off it too if I’d had that.
I’ve been absolutely fine and as mentioned still been able to eat carbs, cake and basically whatever I want - just less.
Such a shame it doesn’t suit everyone, eating out is a huge part of my (and our) lives!!

I still enjoy food and like going out for a meal but I don't use it as comfort any longer and it's one of the most liberating things of my life. Similar to giving up smoking and getting over my fear of spiders - it's like being freed from a trap I used to be in. There is absolutely nothing to miss about comfort eating.

For me it's taken away that hold food had on me. My thoughts were constantly surrounding food, what was I having for dinner, what could I have for breakfast at the weekend etc. And going out to meet people would always revolve around food. I love food (hence my need for MJ!). But now that obsession is gone. I eat because I'm hungry and my body needs fuel. It's liberating. And I am enjoying being lighter.
At the end of the day, if you don't like the effect MJ has on your relationship with food you can stop the jabs and everything will return to normal.

I still enjoy food to a certain extent. Some foods still tempt me. But it's just easier to say no and the cravings are not as strong. I can resist a lot more easily and feel full quicker. It's amazing...I feel liberated actually

My Advice would be to use your food knowledge to your advantage. For optimal long term results, focusing on protein and fibre seems to be the best way forward and for me, MJ helpfully cuts the food noise and craving for sweet carbs. And although I’ve not had too many side effects the one thing guaranteed to give me indigestion on MJ is fatty food, so that’s now off the menu too.

Another thing to bear in mind is that it can take up to 4 weeks for your levels to reach a therapeutic level, so it also requires a certain amount of willpower too, especially in the early weeks. Again, being a foodie might help you to make interesting and healthy options.

I started last week... I am like you and love my food. Being on MJ hasn't affected it. I am eating much less but that means I can truly enjoy food and focus on the quality of food (what I find most tasty) rather than volume of food. I don't need to go ah let's go to restaurant a as they do bigger portion sizes than b... Or I'm so hungry in going to have some cheese sandwiches to fill in the gap until dinner. I can just wait till dinner. Or let me just cook pasta or freezer pizza as that is done in 15min max and I want to eat now. Etc etc. It is so liberating.

I don’t enjoy food as much as I used to but then I am not using food as an emotional crutch anymore so it’s a win.

You’re worried that it might make you depressed because food and drink comfort you and calm you… I’d argue that maybe you are depressed already and treating it with food. If that’s the case, do you want to simultaneously try to self-help/treat your depression and see if that helps?

Did anything else ever give you peace and joy?

I’ll be honest (as someone who has been on it for about 15months) it has spoiled certain elements of food for me. I have to plan if eating out so that I am properly hungry before I go. If I have had a little snack a few hours earlier I might not manage to eat. Sometimes cooking has randomly made me feel ill. Sometimes food has not agreed with me afterwards (pretty rare tbh) BUT overall that is manageable and as long as I’m mindful that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I also try to eat treats to excess on occasion like I used to and I find it very very hard to- which is obviously a good thing. So I can still eat treats but at a ‘normal’ level. Fab. Most people don’t seem to feel depressed by this on mj, you feel calm and freed from the pressure that your brain used to put on you to eat compulsively to relax. I say most, obviously everyone feels different.

I also love food and cooking. Not sure how often Mounjaro is taken, as I'm on Ozempic. It's a once a week jab, so I take mine on Sunday morning. By Friday my appetite has returned a bit more, so I can enjoy cooking and eating out with friends and family over the weekend. During the week I eat small healthy portions with fewer calories. So if I have more calories on the weekend, it balances out over the whole week. Am still losing steadily.

I didn't read all the posts before writing my comment but reading over them now it's notable how many of us have used words like 'liberating' and 'free'. I am loving being on MJ.

I still really enjoy the food I eat but now there is less of it than I used to have and I find I don't want fatty or very sweet things anymore. I do love an Alpro yogurt though or a square of dark chocolate. Those are my sweet treats and now a preference. On holiday I had a cake and didn't enjoy it so haven't really bothered since. I have eaten out and been fine and have the occasional takeaway. I have to be careful what I choose but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. To be fair I do it less often but that is a good thing. I did have nausea after a chinese in the early days and again after a dominoes (spread out over several meals). You live and learn! Luckily I have never had the vomiting or diarrhoea that some people suffer from. Mostly I just get a bit of indigestion or bloating if I overeat.

Ive found that just the thought of fish & chips/pizza or overly sweet/greasy food absolutely turns my stomach!

I'm buying more eggs than ever and make pea/spinach and ham soup weekly 🤤 I don't eat much meat or bread but will have the occasional overnight oats with a protein or greek yogurt. My love of alcohol has diminished massively and I've suffered on two social occasions when I've drank too much....more planning needed!

Loving my 9 weeks of MJ, have been on 2.5 and lost 13.5lbs so another 21lbs to go before I take stock at 11 stone. 👍🏻