What opinion about WLI would you not normally admit to?

[LittleMissContrari]

Do you have an unpopular or unpalatable opinion?

Mine is that if you can't do the maths, you probably shouldn't be messing about with the dosage.

Absolutely. Prescriptions are always reviewed by a qualified pharmacist for this very reason. They are much more familiar with drug interactions, certainly those that are not commonly found.

I think the risks are really scary.
What were the symptoms you experienced?

I think the risks are really scary.
What were the symptoms you experienced?

Personally I found the risks associated with being overweight far far scarier than any associated with WLI.

It is cheating. Not everyone has metabolic issues preventing weight loss. But there is no shame in taking them because we do lots of things in life to make things easier.
People get really angry that it's considered cheating. If you have PCOS or a thyroid issue or a disability thats obviously different. But I dont know why we don't own it. Yes it's cheating. Do I care? No!

What or who are we cheating?

Why is it cheating? Is it cheating when I take blood pressure medication? Or medication for my mental health? Or when I had an epidural?

It’s medication for a medical condition- obesity.

@FoxRedPuppy pretty sure you could grin through the hypertension, smile your way out of your MH issues and honestly my 3 day induced labour wasn't THAT bad - could have easily done it without epidural!

(fyi - that was sarcasm for the pp incase it wasn't as obvious as WLI's not being "cheating")

Ah there we go..... the anger I expected lol. I don't see my not being able to stop myself eating a whole bar of chocolate and not walking enough as the same as high blood pressure. Or mental ill health. Childbirth??? How is that possibly the same? For some people obesity is caused by health issues. For others it is purely lack of activity and excess calories plain and simple. So, if there is a cheat code that can take away the cravings then great. I don't see why people get so mad about that. But.. this is a thread on opinions I wouldn't admit to in reality. Because look at the responses on what's quite a lighthearted post 😂

You’re interpreting sarcasm as anger though. Could you explain who is being cheated out of what? I think that would help people understand this idea that taking WLI is cheating someone or something.

But you didn’t answer the question, who is it cheating and what are they being cheated out of. I think everyone is just trying to understand your logic as it seems irrational,

the definition of cheating is “act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.” how are people who are prescribed this medication acting dishonestly or unfairly? Who do they have an advantage over, do you feel weight loss is a competition? As how would they have an advantage otherwise,

simply no one understands what you actually mean,

You haven’t said who or what you think we are cheating here? I’m interested to know how using something to fix something is a cheat. It doesn’t actually matter why we are obese, we now have a resolution for it; much in the same way we make every other aspects of our lives as easy as possible.

I don’t think what you have seen is anger, although the response is understandably defensive.

By considering WLI a ‘cheat code’, even one that you cheerfully apply to yourself, you are perpetuating the view that the size of a person’s body is a reflection of their moral character. If we are going to address the obesity crisis then I think we need to do a little better than 4th century thinking on the sin and corresponding virtue of gluttony and temperance.

*edited for poor grasp of early Christian theology 😂

Leaving aside the whole why does that make it cheating point - you don’t seem to have registered that obesity itself is a metabolic issue preventing weight loss? If you want to know more about this (which I would recommend before you risk making a tit of yourself with posts like this one) try the Zoe podcast episode with Dr Louis Aronne. He explains the damage that is done to hormone and nerve pathways by obesity, how and why multiple systems in the body act to prevent weight loss, and how therefore obesity is a physiological problem and nothing to do with willpower and lack of activity.

Goidness, its really not that deep but OK. No i don't think it's a competition. It's very hard without the jabs and much easier with. Like a cheat code you get to gain an advantage in a computer game. Its not hard to be prescribed unfortunately as we know people lie so yes there will be those who are dishonest too. I believe thats changing with tighter checks but I have used multiple suppliers and never had to do a video call for example.
I am not convinced everyone on the jabs suffers with the medical condition of obesity. Yes, they are be obese but im not sure it's always due to metabolic issues and something not right. I do think there are lots who just didn't want to make any effort and now don't have to because the jab will supress their appetite enough for them to lose weight anyway. If they can stay on it forever then even better.

Either way it's the end goal that matters but I don't understand why people get so angry/defensive. I started obese, prediabetic, with high cholesterol. My ethnicity means I need to be BMI 23 to be in the healthy range accirding to the NHS but I am currently BMI 25.9, no longer prediabetic and cholesterol only borderline above normal. I get how the jabs benefit. But I do see it as cheating yes.
I could have done it without jabs. It would have been hard and tedious but with has been really easy so it does feel like that.

I think you're all being a bit hard on @MrsMiagi .
I think i know what she means. I've lost over 6st and been on maintenance for 9 months and it's been the easiest weight loss, and the longest consequent weight stability I've ever experienced in my over 50 years of dieting. It does feel like I've won a cheat code; I've still had to change lots of things about my diet and lifestyle but tbh, that hasn't felt hard thanks to MJ.

🙄 ok have it your way I am making a 'tit' of myself. Not going to argue about this with randoms on the internet, I need to get on my walking pad! You don't need to agree with my unpopular opinion. I have listened to many podcasts, read many articles. It's all fascinating. I still needed to eat less and move more despite the research telling me it's not my fault I am obese. Much easier 50 odd pounds lighter.

No one is asking you to argue, just to clarify who or what we are cheating?

I suppose to me cheating sounds like something people shouldn’t do, whereas I would frame GLP1/GIPs as an important tool for steady and sustainable weight loss.

I can do DIY with hand tools and effort, or get out the power tools for better results.

I am not convinced everyone on the jabs suffers with the medical condition of obesity. Yes, they are be obese but im not sure it's always due to metabolic issues and something not right.

This is what I mean by making a tit of yourself - this comment betrays such a fundamental misunderstanding of obesity that your opinions are completely devalued. Yes, everyone on the jabs suffers with the medical condition of obesity, it’s one of the prescribing criteria. You can’t be obese and not suffer from the medical condition of obesity, they are the same thing, it makes no sense. Obesity is a metabolic disease, so yes there are always metabolic issues, it’s a defining characteristic of the disease. You are talking nonsense.

I need to get on my walking pad

Your walking pad? 🤣

Have you ever thought about taking up some real excercise?

An no, I don’t mean the kind that involves getting on your soapbox box for a session of frothing at the mouth.

I agree with you that not everyone on the jabs has the medical condition of obesity. I recently started Mounjaro with a BMI of 32. Technically that makes me obese. Do I see it as a medical condition? For me, no. I accept that it is different for others. I am too fat simply because I have been eating too much. Too many carbs, much larger portions of food than I need. I’m using Mounjaro as a tool to help me lose the weight for good by reeducating my eating habits and getting used to smaller portions. It’s a great tool so far and I know I’m lucky to be able to afford it. But I don’t consider myself fat because I have a medical condition.

Again, I don’t think anyone is angry, I’m , and I mean this politely, not sure your opinion is of such value to others it would cause anger, although defensiveness would be a natural reaction, when you run into a discussion, elbows out, accusing people of cheating.

yes, it’s easier on the drugs, what a silly comment, this is prescription medication to treat the health condition of obesity, every single obese person as tried every diet under the sun and failed, the drugs are a tool, an enabler to suport them to lose the weight, to treat the obesity, as said it’s a prescription medication to treat a health condition, we aren’t snorting speed and pretending to be naturally slim. We aren’t cheating and don’t have some form of cheat code. That’s a silly idea.

you keep reverting back to the same terminology, we are all cheating, now we have a cheat code, a term that means we have an advantage. An advantage over who.?

You say you don’t feel it is a competition, but continually refer to people who take these meds as cheating, meaning we have gained some form of advantage, unfairly or dishonestly, over others. Both can’t be true.

it feels to me like you see these drugs as similar to Botox or facial fillers, just about the aesthetics, and have not grasped these are prescription medication used to treat a health condition, possibly as for you it is just about aesthetics.

I don't think it's a silly idea. By using the jabs I have an advantage over (for example) a person who is battling food noise with willpower and discipline alone. I am privileged to have been able to afford it which could be seen as unfair as its out if reach for many, even more so with the price increase. I also don't believe that every obese person has tried every diet under the sun. I know obese people who haven't tried at all and now may not need to.
Obviously, the jabs havent melted my fat but I don't think it's so outrageous to consider it a cheat code when I have literally been able to buy my way into a slimmer (and healthier) body. It's not been just about aesthetics, but I would be lying if I said that wasn't part of it. I do look better at a healthier weight.

I think it's the term 'cheat' that is the problem. It has negative connotations, and often when people use it, they do mean it that way.

It’s exactly what is the problem. Saying that WLI are a ‘cheat’ because they make losing weight easier means that you implicitly believe that weight loss should be hard and difficult, because you assign a moral judgment to fatness and feel on some level that obese people should atone for their sin of gluttony through suffering.

And it absolutely is that deep. You can choose not to see the moral framework that our society places on fatness if you want but it doesn’t mean it’s not there.