This really struck a chord with me on the facebook community - I am hoping the lady that posted doesn’t mind me sharing as it just seems something we should all take into account. It relates to those of us feeling weak, lacking nutrients and going through weight loss plateaus- also addresses hair loss issues.
From GK in SheMed Community:
“It’s now September 22nd and I cannot crack the 12 stone barrier. I have changed nothing. So my inquisitive mind went into overdrive. I contacted a nutritionist friend and we had a long conversation about my diet. She was happy with everything but said to me “I can see no fat in this diet. Why is your Greek yogurt 0% fat? Why are you eating no nuts? What about eggs? Avocado? Olive oil? Why are you doing this to your body? Your body cannot absorb certain minerals and vitamins without eating fat. You need to eat 25% to 35% of daily calories from fat , but mainly healthy fat. That equates to around 40 - 65 grams of mainly healthy fat per day.” I was quite honestly stunned. Fat prevents carbs digesting too rapidly and causing insulin spikes as sugars are released too fast. Your pancreas answers this by increasing insulin production. All these spikes eventually cause insulin resistance.
Without fat your body struggles to regulate appetite, energy storage and metabolism.
Vitamins ADE and K need fat to be absorbed. So you become vitamin deficient. Hence the hair loss. So my lack of fat has probably caused sharper insulin spikes, more cravings, poor hormone balance and higher risk of insulin resistance over time.
Even on 12.5 mg of MJ I’ve struggled with suppression and satiety even though MJ slows down digestion. Eating healthy fats helps extend your satiety alongside MJ. Without fats your cravings and feeling full return much faster.
While Mounjaro slows digestion, carbs without fat can still cause bigger spikes → your pancreas works harder to release insulin. That can blunt weight loss progress.
A long-term very low-fat diet may reduce production of hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and leptin — all linked to fat metabolism and appetite.
Healthy fats help with muscle preservation.
So in short Even while on Mounjaro, you need healthy fats daily — about 25–30 g minimum — to keep insulin stable, stay satisfied, and maximise weight loss without harming metabolism.
I’ve used my chat to the nutritionist and AI to investigate this. Some is taken directly from AI as it was easier to write this post.
I’m not an egg lover, salmon and oily fish lover, avocado lover but all that has got to change. It seems quite apparent to me that I am doing damage to my body in the long term. I am going to start changing my diet immediately. Who knows? Perhaps my weight loss will now get a kick start. Watch this space.”
She updated to say after several months of no losses that she introduced healthy fats and lots 3lbs that week!
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I have been feeling weak, weight loss has stalled and like this lady I eat a low calorie very low fat diet and my good cholesterol is low! I am the fattest person in my extended family by far, most are healthy and into fitness. My mum was a size 10-12 when I was young but deemed a “big girl” by her skinny sisters and mum so was always pushing diets. From about 12 she was encouraging me to have low fat, skimmed milk and these low fat treats laced with sweeteners. I yoyo’d from a 12 to a size 16 in my teens and in recent years went to a size 20 with no budging downwards no matter how hard I tried. I realise on reading this how I became insulin resistant and stopped being able to lose weight. I also tested low for several vitamins which again given that we need good fats to absorb nutrients in our food just makes a whole load of sense. Like this lady I have stopped losing on 12.5mg and have 3-3.5 stone left to lose.
My plan going forwards is to prioritise veg, protein, fibre and good fats! I just had mozzarella with tomatoes for lunch and will get a few walnuts and strawberries as a snack at some point. I am also going to try and eat more things like avocado and switch from fat free to half fat greek yoghurt. I am going back to tracking in myfitnesspal as they give you a nutrient break down in the app. I can’t actually manage fats in dairy as it’s been over 30 years since I regularly consumed them so now a full fat latte would have me running for the loo tmi! Here’s hoping I can try and reverse some of the damage 30+ years of bad dieting has caused!