Questions for those of you who have lost a lot, from a newbie.

[LovelySunnyDayToday]

Planning to start MJ soon.
I have over 3st to lose.
I’m wondering a few things:

1. how quickly did you lose the first stone?
2. What has it taught you about what you need to do differently when you come off injections?
3. What was the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself and why you couldn’t lose weight before WLIs?
4. How have you changed?
5. What will be different when you reach target?
6. Did you tell people you used WLIs?
7. If not, did they ask?

I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts if you don’t mind sharing…

Thank you x

That’s amazing. You must feel great. Well done 🙌

Ah I have a very sedentary job. Have been going to the gym for a year now. 2-3 times a week and not lost a lb!

Are you taking anything like collagen for your hairloss?

I tend to eat really healthy food - lots of protein, fish, vegetables, not a lot of junk, I think it has to be portion control.

5 and a half stone down and now maintaining, I’ve attached my week by week so you can see it goes up and down a bit but a generally consistent downward trend.

Dont starve yourself, you can sometimes, depending on how effective the MJ is for you, find yourself with not much of an appetite but your body still needs fuel and you’ll feel crap if you exist on a 500 a day diet. So work out your TDEE and eat 500 less than that, you’ll lose weight consistently and feel good doing it.

Eat plenty of protein, fibre and good fats, reduce carbs and have them as the smallest portion on your plate rather than the biggest.

Drink loads of water, it’s essential in the chemical process of breaking down fat so if you don’t have enough then lipolysis doesn’t happen as effectively.

Bloody hell that's tone deaf.
And obviously how much weight someone has to lose depends on their starting weight 👀

Yes taking collagen and biotin but hair loss is a listed side effect of mounjaro which has hit me hard but it's pretty much the only side effect I have had. Reversed pre diabetes and brought my high cholesterol right down

No idea how long the first stone took but I'm 10 months on & 5 stone down. Probably the same still to go.
It's taught me that I'm not stupid or lazy there really is something weird with my metabolism because I have previous food/calorie diaries & can see the same calories resulted in very little loss which then stopped v.s with MJ higher losses & they haven't stopped. I don't have suppression so it's not because I can't eat as much.
Only my husband knows because I don't discuss my weight or medications with anyone other than him - probably for the same reason no one has asked!

Sounds like some great positives! The hair loss seems unfair. Maybe a vitamin deficiency?

@LovelySunnyDayToday ,it was a burger, not a whole one and no bun but boy did it make me ill.

Ah. But I thought protein was supposed to be good no?

Oh and yes you can drink alcohol, but you may find you simply don't want to, I haven't touched it since I started,i have no desire for it and I was quite the drinker before.

@LovelySunnyDayToday ,I think it was more the fatty greasy element of it, there's lots of people on here who'll say the same, steer clear of anything greasy or fried it seems to sit heavy, because your digestion is slowed right down, or in my case not at all, I was so sick.

OP everyone responds differently to MJ.

Why don't you read through the monthly threads? All your questions will be answered.

I occasionally drink alcohol while on MJ although I don't fancy it much now. I don't mean that I drank a lot, but my desire for alcohol has just about gone away.

I've had no hair loss, but lots of us have done.

I've had almost no side-effects. I can eat anything with impunity.

how quickly did you lose the first stone? 2 weeks but I really wasn’t happy about it. Everyone wants to lose weight quickly but back at the start I could hardly eat and it was brutal.

What has it taught you about what you need to do differently when you come off injections? Nothing really, I already knew what to do, how to eat well etc but I couldn’t put it into practice. MJ has supported me to do it for 19 months and counting. For that reason I plan to stay on it long term

What was the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself and why you couldn’t lose weight before WLIs? nothing here either tbh. I could t lose weight before because I gave in to the cravings and desire to eat. I don’t do it now but I always knew why I couldn’t t successfully lose

How have you changed?

my confidence is through the roof and I love exercising. I used to struggle my way through a short walk and now I actively choose to run

What will be different when you reach target? nothing I intended to continue as I am

Did you tell people you used WLIs? I told DH and the kids (all adult and teens)

If not, did they ask? nobody has asked me but I don’t really have a group of friends so that’s why

Hi OP - I started with a BMI of 30 - original plan was to lose 3.5 stone - I’m now thinking 3 might be enough. Started in April - total loss so far 2 stone 10 lbs

1. about 5 weeks - weight loss slowed after that…
2. I don’t think I can ever eat crisps again - they are too much of a trigger for me. Also I need to address my emotional eating if I ever want to maintain my weight off these drugs.
3. I could lose weight before but I would lose about 1.5 stone - feel better about myself and gradually slide back into bad habits - this is the first ‘diet’ I’ve been on that wasn’t fuelled by self hatred.
4. i don’t really think I have
5. I’m going to think really hard about how to maintain - microdose for a long time - maybe even a year to try and reset my ‘set point’. Therapy. Try to build more muscle to increase my metabolic rate. I’m considering hypnosis too. Will weigh daily and low threshold to go back on MJ if things start to slide. I will not be fat again.
6. No only my husband and my therapist know
7. Nope - but I’ve lost weight successfully in the past with Fast800 so I think people assume I’m doing the same.

Ive gone from a BMI of over 50 to a BMI of 22, it’s taken 2.5 years.

1. how quickly did you lose the first stone? 1 month.

2. What has it taught you about what you need to do differently when you come off injections? I’m going to stay on the injections.

3. What was the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself and why you couldn’t lose weight before WLIs? The food noise was so strong before, it’s so good to have peace & quiet in my head.

4. How have you changed? I eat very healthily now, no processed foods at all. I’m super fit and take part in half-marathons, weight training, cycling 10 miles to work every day, active holidays, swimming, hiking and skiing.

5. What will be different when you reach target? I’ve reached target now and will carry on with the WLI, healthy eating & fitness. My wardrobe is very different, I’ve gone from a size 28 to a 8 and can’t stop buying clothes!!

6. Did you tell people you used WLIs?If not, did they ask? I’ve only told my husband and 2 friends. A few people have asked what my secret is, I think that’s code for asking if I’m on WLI, I’ve just replied that I’m eating healthily and exercising- which is true. Other people assume I’m not on WLI because they’ve seen how well I eat and how fit I am and have amusingly launched into tirades about how awful it is that other people take WLIs.

Agree - I can’t do any oily or spicy curry. Same with earlier comment on alcohol - I would always have a couple of glasses of wine most evenings as my wind down. Now never drink at home at all - have zero desire. I do drink when I am out socially with friends but could quite easily choose not to. I think the drop of my weekly wine bill directly paid for my MJ as I used other MNer’s discounts and the bonus dose so was only costing me £20/week (pre price rise).

Your journey is magnificent.

The food noise was so strong before, it’s so good to have peace & quiet in my head.

This is the biggest change from any other diet. In fact the food noise on any other diet is actually amplified - the peace and quiet - that’s lovely way of putting it. Also beyond this previous preoccupation with food - either conscious or subconscious - I now have space in my head to think, plan, explore and consider other things and actual joy - because you are now fully present in the moment and not beating yourself up in your head about food compulsions.

I have lost 8st 10lbs.

1. 3 weeks
2. Nothing as I’m not coming off
3. I have metabolic dysfunction and I am not lesser than slim people
4. My bp is ‘perfect’, my asthma is much better controlled, I can walk upstairs, I can move so much easily in general, I go to the gym every day, I love yoga… loads of things!
5. I’m there and nothing really
6. Not for most of the last 15 months, no but I am more open about it now
7. Only one neighbour!

I’m really hoping this will happen for me!

Wow that’s amazing - well done!

1. how quickly did you lose the first stone?

4 weeks, but the first week was a massive 6lbs, as all the inflammation and water retention left my body,

1. What has it taught you about what you need to do differently when you come off injections?

im not coming off, i am staying on 5mg to maintain and also get the therapeutic benefits,

1. What was the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself and why you couldn’t lose weight before WLIs?

How little we actually should be eating to maintain weight, I was insulin resistant with very high cortisol levels, the later due to peri. I had high blood pressure and sleep apnea, and my bad cholesterol was getting very high, they are all normal now and the onky drug I take is mounjaro, the bp meds were stopped months ago. My body cannot cope with excess weight, I am quite talk but have a very narrow frame.

1. How have you changed?

everything has changed , my diet, now it’s low fat, high protein, low carb, very healthy and limited alcohol, onky drink when I’m socialising every couple of weeks, and even then it’s limited, and I changed how I dress, no more black stretchy clothes , now nearly light coloured clothes, creams, beiges, tan, blush pink, sage green etc, and now I wear things Like wide leg trousers and slim fitting tops. I work out 6 days a week.

1. What will be different when you reach target?

I’ve been at target 3 months, it’s lovely. I’ve lost 6.5 stone and my bmi is now 20, I look fit and toned and you can see muscle definition,

1. Did you tell people you used WLIs?

yes, everyone apart from work colleagues as I’m quite senior and don’t discuss this sort of stuff at work, but I told All friends and family and my gp, even my hairdresser, there is nothing to be ashamed of here, everyone could see I was fat, it wasn’t a secret, and I’m using a drug I was prescribed for the reason it was prescribed to me. I no more feel it’s something to lie about and hide than say blood pressure meds, and I certainly don’t want people to think I could suddenly do it myself especially if they have weight issues themselves.

1. If not, did they ask?

see above, I proactively told everyone.

I thought the patronising “Bless you” in the post replying to the OP was tone deaf actually. 3 stone is a lot of weight to lose. I needed to lose 3 stone for a long time and I seemed to be staring at an impossible task in the throes of menopause. In the end as said earlier, I ended up needing to lose just over 5 stone.

As for the posts suggesting that OP read the monthly threads, they’re mainly full of chit chat, she had specific questions she wanted answers to. Some of us were happy to answer OP.

Was the saggy skin after a huge weight loss a problem?

1. how quickly did you lose the first stone? 6.5 weeks
2. What has it taught you about what you need to do differently when you come off injections? I don't plan to come off them until have maintained for at least a year and new habits around exercise/drinking much less are completely ingrained. I still have a fair amount left to lose so that will take another year or so first...
3. What was the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself and why you couldn’t lose weight before WLIs? I could lose weight before, it was keeping it off that was the problem.
4. How have you changed? Wine drinking - gone pretty much
5. What will be different when you reach target? I will still be in WLI and still tweaking my lifestyle
6. Did you tell people you used WLIs? No
7. If not, did they ask? No - I am pleased I do not know anyone that is rude enough to ask that!