Keep going or stop?

[Strider55]

Would love some advice please, please excuse my waffling.

I've been on mounjaro since Jan, currently on 10mg and in that time have lost 2 stone.

I lost the 2 stone maybe from month 2-3, I was astounded how quickly the weight dropped off. I was on 5mg during that time.

When I noticed hunger creeping back in and the suppression wearing off I moved on to 7.5mg, but I haven't lost any weight since.

I still do feel supression but the weight is not shifting. I'm really struggling to get my head in the game and sort my diet out, I think part of the problem is I need to eat very little calories to lose anything, which means tracking everything and I just can't get my head into the calorie tracking. I try for a few days, something comes up, I stop and it all goes to pot. I know I need to clean up my diet but I just can't get in the zone.

I spent 2 years prior to mounjaro trying to lose weight by calorie counting, eating approx 1700 calories per day (I am hugely overweight so this is definitely a deficit for me), didn't lose any weight, went to the Dr and got blood tests which ruled out any thyroid issues. No idea why I wasn't losing weight when I have done so previously doing the exact same thing.

I'm not sure what to do now, I've been on 10mg the past few months now, not losing, feel like I'm wasting money I haven't got because my heart isn't really in it, but scared to stop because the hunger will come back and I'll put it all on plus more.

We are trying to pay debt off so the guilt I feel continuing to buy mounjaro is awful because I'm not putting the effort in.

Should I go up a dose and keep trying? Have a break and then start from scratch? Feel like I need to invest in really good therapy which is another thing I can't afford! 😅

I think I’d want to have tried up to 15mg before deciding to stop, given that it has been working for you so higher doses should have an effect. If calorie counting and tracking is causing you difficulties, could you try something like intermittent fasting or One Meal A Day, and see if those work better for you. Also, can you increase your exercise at all - cardio and strength work?

I’ve been on it 18months. I’ve lost about 3 stone in that time. But I’d say that for the last few months I’ve lost barely anything. It’s just maintenance now. Prior to starting Mounjaro I lost around 6 stone by my own efforts of diet and exercise. I was very I obese! So in total I am 9 stone down. I am still overweight but just not shifting it - on 15mg weekly.

I’m thinking of giving up but terrified of regaining. At least I am maintaining. I exercise several times a week and eat carefully but after a very restricted diet for a long time that is slipping due to boredom! Plus there is the cost but I am happy to be almost the right weight. Anyone have experience of quitting?

One other thing. I have previously lost around the same total - 9 stone- through a very hard battle with diet and exercise. Eventually I regained it all and more. But when I had lost the weight I got a lot of praise for it which was motivating. This time - silence. Of course it’s rude to comment and anyway people suspect the jab. It HAS been the jab, of course, but only for losing the last stretch and for maintenance. I don’t really need the compliments. Just interested by attitudes! I am older now, of course, basically getting so old I am almost invisible.

Thanks for the reply @SilenceInside , I'm just hesitant to go up a dose and spend even more money when I might not lose weight. I'm not doing anything differently now than I was when I lost the first 2 stone, so I feel like going up a dose I'll just have the same results.

My other fear is that if I go up a dose to the maximum and I still don't get to my target, then the supression starts wearing off, I'll be pretty stuck!

I “cruised” on Monjaro too. Just let it do
its thing and ate what I wanted - which was considerably less. Didn’t lose loads but enough. I’m off it for financial reasons.

I think try and do 4 more weeks where you eat no crap, no UPF and focus on protein and salad. Hopefully you can shift some more weight. Focus on the habits that will keep the weight off going forward whilst you have help.
Then stop because you can’t afford it.

OP - I would up the dose. It really works. I’d say it boosts your metabolism as well as cutting appetite so without thinking you don’t go for any of the small snacks, fruit or whatever, you would have to keep yourself going otherwise.

Also make sure you are drinking enough water. A lot of hunger is due to being dehydrated. Note to self to do the same!

Honestly. I think you need to be tracking cals. I started on 20th Jan and am now on 12.5 mg and I have lost 5 stone 4 lbs in the same period.

What's different is that you are 2 stone lighter which will reduce your daily calorie need, and mean that the rate of loss will slow down, even if you were on it with your diet.

If it's too expensive and causing you debt, then that's a different decision making process and you should stop. Then you will need a different strategy for long term weight loss, or a plan for how to budget for it in the longer term.

If you can manage the cost, then upping the dose and seeing if that helps for one or two more months is worth trying. Certainly better than staying on 10mg when you know it isn't working well for you. I'd be moving supplier each order for new customer discounts to keep the price down.

I lost nothing on 10. I was getting lots of side effects and good suppression so persisted at 10, but with hindsight, should have gone up after the first month. I lost nothing for 3 months on 10, 2lbs on 12.5 and when I got to 15, lost 12lbs in a month. I definitely hadn't been drinking enough water either, so have focused on that.

Are you doing anything with the injections to help or are you depending on injections alone?

If you just have the injections and don't increase your protein and add some resistance training then a decent chunk of the weight you lose is muscle so your calorie needs drop so you will end up struggling. I have seen people in maintenance only able to have 1000kcal a day without regaining, that's very hard to sustain.

We have been sold this as a magic wand, and for some people it could be enough alone but for a lot of us it is an obesity assistance that gives a helping hand alongside other things.

Also about the cost, personally I’d say it has been worth it as an investment in my health and that is worth it for my family’s future. But I can afford it. Same as I can afford gym membership which is an essential. Only you can decide on your own finances.

FWIW I tried to get it prescribed on the NHS - as I was already on a tier 3 weight loss programme. That is basically all the talk and support without the one magic ingredient which really makes it work - the jab! No dice anyway on prescribing it via the GP. Apparently I don’t qualify although I meet all the criteria. I’ve always, always been overweight since my earliest years and I hate it! I’ve tried most things over the years.

Thank you all, I think your words have really been the head wobble I needed. Being completely honest with myself, I haven't been doing enough to help with the weight loss, just kind of hoping it would continue like it did when I lost the first chunk of weight.

I need the lightbulb moment to really commit myself to it and I'm hoping this is it. I have some gym equipment at home I need to start using again, water is a huge problem as I don't drink nearly enough

DH was doing a low card, low fat diet and he lost about 2 stone doing that very easily. I had to beg him to stop though as his breath was absolutely vile (I feel awful saying that, but it was really affecting me being anywhere near him). He stopped and his breath is back to normal but the bad eating habits have slipped back in for him. I asked if we could do a variation of what he was doing only with some healthy carbs so hopefully he gets back on it (without the awful breath) and I also have more organisation and discipline.

We're not going into debt for mounjaro, just not paying off as much as we could because of it.

I'll look to go on the higher dose, and maybe I'll report back on this thread for motivation/to provide updates? I haven't weighed myself in a couple of months because it's too depressing jumping on the scales and seeing the same number all the time.

You do need to be eating healthily and exercising but the Mounjaro should cut out the mental load on the food front because you won’t feel as hungry if on the right dose. The recommendation is to go up 2.5mg every four weeks until you hit 15mg. There is a reason for that because your body develops some resistance to it and then needs a higher dose to keep working.

It always seems a lot easier for men to lose weight - so don’t compare. Even when they have excess fat they are naturally more muscly so they burn calories more easily.

Also, everyone can only eat healthily for so much of the time. That’s my theory anyway. I’ve been slogging away at it for years now but my taste buds are rebelling! I know I’m almost there but not at my weight target and now my willpower has gone despite the Mounjaro. Actually I suspect I have become a bit resistant but I am at max dose so can’t do anything more. I’m not bingeing but I am allowing myself more treats occasionally. The “occasions” are becoming closer together. At least I am not regaining weight.

@Looploop I think you have pretty much described me! I was calorie counting for a couple of years before starting mounjaro, I was so motivated, tracked everything and was determined, so when my weight consistently stayed the same for so long I got so disheartened. I'm amazed I stuck at it for as long as I did, I felt like I couldn't give up but at the same time it clearly wasn't working as I remained over 17 stone despite eating in a calorie deficit and exercising.

I was convinced I had something wrong with my thyroid which was the reason, because I had previously lost weight multiple times doing the same thing and it was relatively easy. But nope, nothing wrong there. Think maybe years and years of yo-yo dieting has just fucked up my metabolism and now my heart is just no longer in it.

Age makes it harder to lose weight too. I am still overweight - hovering around BMI of 30 but I have to remember how far I have come.

When I lost a load of weight before (the only time I really got it down over a lifetime and I was still officially overweight at BMI 27) I massively slashed the calories. I aimed for around 800 a day - just food not some crazy LighterLife regime. I also exercised fanatically. It was the only time a diet worked. It still took about 18months. Over time the calories crept up because they have to - you can’t live like that! And eventually life became tricky and the weight came back on. This is just to say I concluded that regular diets didn’t work for me because there were too many calories. Not because of some personal moral failing. I’m pretty sure I have a slow metabolism - various NHS people have confirmed that thought they don’t test for it. Plus I have a sedentary job and a sweet tooth!

One other thing about comparing to men and food portions. It’s just massively unfair but they can eat a lot more because of their muscle. Basic body composition. Which makes me think it’s actually a bit unfair that restaurants serve the same size portion to everyone. There should be the “lady portion” - lighter on calories and cheaper on price to reflect the gender pay gap!! I’d love to be able to eat what the blokes do. I mean, I can of course polish off the plate but then that undoes all my healthy eating efforts.

I think for me it seems to stabilise my blood sugar, so I really enjoy not feeling randomly frantically hungry, faint and grumpy all the time. I dont seem to be losing much anymore, but I've dropped 2 dress sizes since May.
I think its worth staying on it if you still want to lose more. If its more gradual a loss, then it will be easier to maintain later

If you've been overweight for any length of time or yo-yo dieted in the past, your metabolism will have been impacted & likely some insulin resistance. MJ helps with balancing this again but it can't do everything. I haven't counted calories for 5 years now but still lost just under 6 stone (21lbs of that since started MJ 11 weeks ago). I'd definitely track protein & reduce all carbs for at least a few weeks, you can increase non UPF carbs in the future, but try to keep lower for at least a while. Hormonal response to food is much more important than calorie values.

I would stop wasting your money until you are ready to take it seriously and put the effort in.

Food and dieting in particular is such a difficult issue and the judgement of others does NOT help. There is so much judgement about the jab - I’ve been taken aback by that.

All I really want to be able to do is to eat normally without fixating on calories and not gain weight! That’s all I’ve wanted my whole life. At the moment I am achieving that even if I could do with losing a small amount more. BTW I don’t think anyone would pick me out as overweight any more. I don’t look it in photos. So that is a major victory. That’s why Mounjaro has been worth it.

For me it’s about my health. It’s not about looking more fashionable or pulling a better boyfriend (no luck there) it’s just about health. But my impression is the skinny haters don’t like the idea some of us are taking away their competitive edge!

Always has to be one, doesn’t there? If you can’t say anything helpful, why say it?

I literally answered OP question. They said they are not making the effort so what wrong with suggesting stopping it until they are ready to do so? I wasn’t trying to be unhelpful, quite the opposite in fact.

OK, well I’d say Mounjaro is not like a diet exactly in terms of needing to make “effort”. I’d guess it was the implication that the OP was not trying that irritated me.

If it’s working you will feel a lot fuller so naturally will not be wanting to overeat or eat the wrong things. So a lot less effort is needed. That’s why it works. It switches off the inner dialogue I had for years when I craved food and felt starving then hated myself for giving into hunger hormones and actually eating it! A vicious circle of self-hate and even secret eating.

You will get better results with the right diet and exercise but I personally hate the moralising about whether you are trying hard enough! Most people trying to lose weight are trying damned hard. Hunger hormones are very powerful.

It wasn’t an implication, it was literally taken from OPs own words.

@Strider55 Make sure you give yourself grace, I am sure all of us on these medications have spent years trying to manage our weight and it is such early days in learning how best to use these them.

It is amazing how even adding a small mount of (consistent!) resistance training will make a difference - gaining muscle has been a real mood boost for me too, but I know we all vary in that.

Adding an update, finally weighed myself after maybe 2 months of not getting on the scales (because seeing the same numbers week after week was too disheartening!) and I'm doing 5lbs from the last time, so really happy with that.

I've been religiously drinking my 2L water everyday, trying to get my steps in and have cut out all the crap completely (no more little bits of chocolate or sweets here and there, no puddings except fruit or yogurts, no nibbles of crisps and I've also cut out all bread products, just because I know they added a fair amount of calories I didn't need!)

Did my first dose of 12.5mg last night so feeling a lot more positive now 😊