How bad is the hunger coming off Mountjaro?

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

I've got 1 month and 3 weeks of 5mg left,came down from 7.5 and I feel fairly hungry.Ive cancelled my subscription now as won't be able to pay the new prices from September.

If you haven’t changed your eating habits - high protein and lots of fibre then it’s going to hit you hard.

Oh no thought as much

Try to incorporate some healthier eating as mentioned above higher protein, low carb meals as they fill you up better and prevent sugar spikes. Drink water to help hydrate you and also it can help when insatiable hungry. I did this the other evening after having a carby lunch when eating out and being away all day, which kicked off junk food cravings and the water help settle my tummy so i could go to sleep and not cave in, then the next morning i still wasnt as hungry as expected, the carbs must have set off the cravings.
Get enough sleep and try to keep relaxed as cortisol stress hormone leads to hunger and carb cravings.
If you exercise it will help build more muscle which burns more calories.

I'm tapering down, currently from 15 to 12.5 and feeling more hungry already but its good so far and manageable, but I'm also tracking on myfitnesspal so I can see what I eat and keep control of it.

I'm also going to take liquid berberine which is an appetite suppressant and lowers blood sugar, but that's because I was prediabetic and from a young age had insulin resistance.
I've heard the hunger settles after a few weeks, so just try to get through the initial phase and then it will normalise.

I've got a 15mg pen currently going down to 12.5, then 12 then will do 10.5. Then I've got 2 x 10 pens as the higher were out of stock so I'll taper down with them further. They say the best is to come down slowly, at least a month on each dose but with the price rises a lot will be in the same boat coming down a lot quicker or going cold turkey, especially if like me they reached the top.

I have to say, I'm absolutely dreading this. I'm still waiting for another 5mg pen to be approved and I'm due to inject on Monday. I've lost 3 stone 10 and terrified of putting it back on 😔

Horrific, I came off and felt like I couldn’t eat enough I put a stone back on pretty quickly and am feeling frustrated as I can’t afford to carry on but without it, I’m just destined to be fat again!

Can I ask for info did you go back to eating not as healthy? And more volume too? Also did you track? It might be worth trying berberine as lots do use it with some good reviews and results.
I have high protein yoghurt in and nuts to snack on. When I come off I'll make sure not to have junk food in the house so I'm not reaching for them!

I try to eat high protein and I’m good with nuts and yoghurt. My problem is the hunger and food noise, I am starving all the time. Way more than before I think? I just constantly think about eating and food and it’s such a pain after feeling free of it for months. I will try berberine, thank you. I feel a bit stupid tbh as on mounjaro I was eating very little and now even tracking my calories and trying to be careful I’m still eating way more than when I was on the jabs so obviously I’m going to put weight on!

Yes but at least you know why. I have heard the hunger settles after it leaves your body, it takes approx a month after stopping.
The increased hunger is normal on mounjaro and tapering down and coming off, as it increases metabolism so it makes you hungrier, I had it inbetween jabs when they wore off and even when i started before they kicked in after 2-3 days after jabbing, my doses all wore off quickly because I was prediabetic, so I needed 10mg and above for decent suppression and to control my blood sugar or I was ravenous and it was constant too!
Hopefully it settles down for you soon. Good you are eating more protein, another tip I heard is to drink water if hungry and eaten a meal within a few hours, as it could be dehydration instead.

I think it depends on how you eat while on MJ. For a lot of people that’s chasing high suppression and eating very little of the same shit foods they always ate. For others it’s an entire overhaul of eating habits and a healthy, balanced diet. I think the former would struggle more, but the latter still find it hard to maintain the new habits with food noise coming in.

I’m just about to start using WLIs after procrastinating for a long time, I need to lose a lot of weight before having two new knees. I’ve been dieting for about three months and already lost over a stone but want to speed things up a bit.

I try to fast using the 8:16 method and have changed my eating habits, cutting out alcohol, high calorie snacks etc. I tend to have two hard boiled egg sandwiches with fruit for my first meal of the day then a high protein salad ( chicken, tuna, steak, salmon etc) for my main meal. I allow myself two snacks a day which might be a low cal packet of crisps or a low cal ice lolly. I drink a lot of water throughout the day, always have. I can honestly say that I rarely feel hungry and sometimes have to remind myself to eat!

My understanding of using WLI is that you need to change your eating habits as well to avoid putting the weight back on so I’m hoping that I won’t have that problem having got used to eating better. I’m starting to think what to eat in the winter when salads won’t be as attractive - maybe based around jacket potatoes, soups and stir fries?

I found the food noise came back quite strong, but I’ve been strict with eating three meals a day and staying in a calorie deficit. Fruit with weetabix in the morning for example keeps me full until lunch, and using salad/veggies to fill up at lunch and dinner along with lots of water helps. I’m also taking Berberine which I think is helping. If you find yourself craving sugar or carbs (like me) I have things like low sugar jelly, crumpets, Greek yoghurt etc but just make sure I don’t go over calories.

You are doing really well without WLI, I would reconsider starting WLI especially with the current price rises coming up and you might not see an increase in loss, and if you do it will be due to suppression of appetite which lowers your calorie intake but the risk being when it goes so low, you will lose muscle too and lose fast so skin can sag as well.
They do help immensely with metabolic conditions like pcos, underactive thyroid, prediabetes which makes it difficult to lose weight.
Seriously if I was losing as you were without WLI, I'd carry on maybe spend that money on a gym or a few personal trainer sessions a week or an app for coaching, nutrition and exercise like Joe wicks body coach etc.
Unfortunately, I was prediabetic for years and tried Joe wicks workouts before mounjaro working out 5 times a week and eating healthy and a calorie deficit and tracked calories and lost 5lbs in 2 months but I was exhausted with long working days and commuting 2-3hrs a day then exercising too. It also didn't resolve my high blood pressure, high blood sugar symptoms and carb cravings until I was on mounjaro.
For winter lunches etc, I like to batch cook hot meals like chicken/fish and veg tray bakes which are easy and high protein and filling. Then just portion up and freeze. Using quinoa instead of rice is a good swap too.

Has this helped with maintaining your weight?

Definitely, it is hard sometimes and I’ll probably always have to work hard to even maintain, but I tried to adjust my habits as much as possible before coming off mj so I wouldn’t gain

Great to know, especially as I am currently tapering down, any advice and experience is appreciated, thank you for sharing!

Unfortunately I have greatly restricted mobility due to osteoarthritis in both my knees, it’s bone on bone and even with strong painkillers and two walking sticks every step hurts and I cannot stand up for very long. So exercise is very difficult, I manage sitting yoga type exercise but that’s all.

As I was not weighing my self at first ( I find weighing myself puts me off dieting!) it might have taken me longer than 3 months to lose a stone so I thought WLI might help me lose a bit quicker, especially going into the colder weather when I always eat more high calorie foods - I’m like a bear who needs to hibernate!

But if cost was an issue, I would consider carrying on through diet alone and spend the money instead on more acupuncture which really helps the arthritis in my hands.

I have a BMI of over 40, still weigh more than 18st, take high blood pressure meds and statins and had a TIA a couple of years ago leading to some sight loss so almost qualify for the injections on the NHS but I don’t want to go through their pre- treatment plan before being prescribed it. Luckily my recent blood tests show that I am not pre diabetic.

I think I’ll still give them s go, I’m planning to use a local chemist who offer a 30 minute consultation and monthly chats about the progress. It’s taken me months to consider WLIs but I’m finally being brave enough!

I didn't find it instant, it crept up on me over a few weeks and then found I craved (unhealthy!) foods I've never craved before and never felt full, I had been on mounjaro for 8 months and changed my eating habits a lot but didn't plan to stop so wasn't strategic or planned about it so wouldn't recommend doing so without putting some structure in place and preparing for it as I just reverted back very quickly... 3 months later I was back to all weight back on and back to mounjaro again, so this time round I will be much more strategic about it!

@Ihateslugs good luck with your mounjaro journey. I'm sure you will find many benefits with using it, in fact it works well for managing arthritis and other inflammatory conditions, it resolved my IBS. There has been many positive studies seen with heart health and cancer reduction too. Make sure to drink plenty of water and try to focus on a higher protein diet for better results.

I feel "normal" on mountjaro like I expect someone who eats for fuel and not greed to eat.Im dreading it now

I'm 6 weeks off it - had to stop due to illness, so it was sudden and I didn't taper. I haven't gained anything but I've been very strict with myself - I definitely didn't really do it the right way while I was on MJ, I just found I wasn't hungry so I grazed a lot on small amounts of not-necessarily-healthy food rather than putting a new routine of healthier eating in place. So I'm having to do that now instead and there is definitely more hunger again!

But I'm tracking my calories very strictly, making sure I exercise regularly, and I haven't put any weight back on yet (nor do I intend to). I literally can't afford it - I've sold all my own clothes and spent a fair amount replacing my entire wardrobe, so unfortunately my life from now on will be very carefully tracking everything I eat to make sure I don't. Which makes it sound miserable, but I'm hoping that it'll become routine and easier over time. So it's definitely possible!

Hi I am tapering down from 10 mg and struggling currently at 5mg and food noise is def back . Any tips ?

Unfortunately this was my experience too. Food noise back and hungry all the time 😒

I’ve gone from 15 to 10 and been ok and even still losing weight tho don’t want to

next drop to 7.5

Ive just come off and im coping ok. The food noise and hunger are back a little bit but I’ve found that if I eat a shit load of protein (and I mean a shit load- like 150g or more per day) then my hunger is under control. Carbs spike my bloody sugar and start me on the annoying hunger rollercoaster.

im also increasing my activity, and of course I can do just SO much more activity these days due to being way fitter and healthier.

This video is basically how I eat for anyone who is interested.