Mounjaro to lose 10 kg

[ReadyfortheUnknown]

morning! I am thinking to start MJ to lose 10 kg due to a health condition which will greatly benefit from weight loss. I am worried about any side effects, but at the same time I have tried everything and due to menopause I find it extremely difficult to lose the weight even with regular strength training exercise and sort of healthy eating (I cook from scratch every meal, don’t have takeaways and my down fall are chocolate, crisps and wine).

if anyone has done this, it would be great to hear your experience, how long did it take to get to your goal weight and whether you continued or slowly stopped it.

Many thanks in advance!

What's your BMI?

It will mostly depend on your BMI starting point, calorie deficit and metabolism. My first 10kg took 6-8 weeks. My most recent 10kg has taken around 20 weeks. The next I expect to take much much longer.

If you share your starting BMI and planned calorie deficit those with similar starting stats may be able to share their experiences.

Ideally if you are on the lower end of obese you want to aim for a healthy sustainable 0.5-1lb a week so 10kg could take anything from 22-44 weeks.

You won't be prescribed it unless you have a BMI of over 30, or over 27 with some very specific additional health conditions.

Assuming you do fit the prescription criteria, it took me 12 weeks to lose 10% of my body weight. How slow or quickly you lose 10kg depends on a number of factors - your start weight, whether you start losing weight with the lower doses of GLP1s or only lose weight at the higher doses, and how strongly your body reacts to the medication when or if it does kick in. So it's a difficult thing to measure before you start. That said, if it is to improve a different health condition then it doesn't really matter if you lose it quickly or slowly right? You're not aiming for a deadline date.

Many thanks for the answers. My BMI is 29 but my main concern is that since I gained the last 10 kg I have been in pain and two consultants have told me that losing weight will help with that and I want to reduce/stop the painkillers and also improve health condition.

I can see that it depends on many factors. I am not counting calories, so it’s hard to estimate the deficit, but will need to start. I used Myfitness Pal some time ago - please let me know if you recommend any other App for tracking. I am terrible at that. Thanks again!

So I did this and it has been fantastic. Exactly the same, menopause, downfall is chocolate, cook from scratch. It’s 10 weeks today (including a 2 week holiday) and I have lost 10kg. I feel absolutely amazing, no side effects as I haven’t gone above 2.5mg. BMI now 23. I ate 1,200 calories with 120g protein each day.

My main concern as muscle loss, as this would be terrible at this stage but I have lifted heavy and eaten a lot of protein and it looks like I’ve pretty much only lost fat (as per gym bodytrax).

My BMI was 27 (just!) and I had high cholesterol as well as PCOS both of which count as health conditions. I have another cholesterol test next week so I’ll see if that has improved.

If your downfall is chocolate, crisps and wine, then you are going to have to make some long term changes to your habits, or your weight will just go up again.

I had twice as much to lose, and I'm a pound or two away from reaching that. I lost 10g in the first 3 months, and it has taken another 9 months for the rest. However, I think that if it had only been 10kg and I'd stopped after 3 months, I'd have done little to re-educate myself or change my habits for the long term. I'm back on the lowest dose and the food noise has returned a bit, so I am exerting will power and making very conscious decisions - no chocolate or crips in the house. Stay away from places that might tempt me, or be very mindful and determined (in the garage getting petrol on the way home from work, when I'm hungry and tired). As completely reframe my thoughts about drinking wine.

The past year has given me time to develop strategies that will keep me at or close to this healthy weight, and it has introduced me to a community of supportive people, with much food for thought as I've learned from them too.

Try counting calories first. Invest in a decent set of scales and don’t over exercise. I have lost over 10kg since Feb, primarily for health reasons. My BMI has dropped from 30 to 27.4 so have another 7kg to go.
I’m post menopausal and take hormone blockers for breast cancer. So the odds were stacked against me. I do no exercise apart from everyday activities. I should walk the dog daily but she had a serious injury last year and is too big for me to carry if she starts to struggle. The warm summer has also meant that it’s been too warm for her.

Calorie deficit does entail a bit of effort but when you start you realise why you have gained weight. WLI are not magic they just replace will power and help keep you off the carbs.

The big bonus with doing it without WLI is that it is slow and steady so you are less likely to have serious side effects and it’s cheap. You also retrain your eating habits.

I still have the odd day when I enjoy my food but I still stick to sensible calorie intake. My appetite has naturally reduced. I am not a big fan of biscuits, cakes and chocolate so although we have them in the house I rarely eat them.

The benefit is that you don’t have to worry about weening yourself off the drugs and the resultant return of appetite. I don’t lose a lot of weight 0.5-1 kg a month but it does add up. The first 3 mnths were the hardest because it was difficult seeing any changes. But after 10kg I’m at least two sizes smaller.

When I put on weight I carry it all over so my shape hasn’t changed it’s just shrunk. I feel better, my sleep apnea has gone ( clinically diagnosed) I no longer suffer with reflux. And because I follow a low carb rather than low fat my skin is better.

Im hoping to hit my target by Xmas but I’m not really bothered if it takes longer because I will hopefully have reset my eating habits permanent then. I am also planning to restart exercise this month, gradually building up so that I can possibly join a gym after Xmas. It’s a long term project and having been very active in the past. I know that rushing it will only lead to injury or more problems physically. I’m naturally athletic build so even when I don’t do much I’m still fitter than my dog walking friend.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, it is very kind and super useful. I hope that I can get the same good results as you!
I agree that changing habits will be key. In the past, when I have been losing weight and feeling better about myself, it has been easier to avoid chocolate/crisps. I hope that it will be the same this time. Wine is more difficult to drop, but my partner wants to cut back, so hopefully that will help if we do it together. I don’t drink to excess but have progressively been drinking 1/2 glasses of white wine most days which I know is not good. It is is crutch to deal with emotions and make me feel better…

Thanks again for all the comments and feedback, I really appreciate it.

It puzzles me if you know chocolate, crisps and wine are your downfall could you just not stop consuming those?
I know it’s hard, really hard as I am menopausal and low carb due to long term health conditions but you would need to make those dietary changes long term anyway.

Best of luck whatever you choose.

I learned recently that its very difficult to lose weight if drinking alcohol even in moderation, because the body prioritises dealing with the alcohol, so I would cut that out completely, as would the snacks, try intermittent fasting it's brilliant, and nutracheck has been a brilliant resource for me it's easy to use, and once you've worked out your tdee you can very easily program in your calories to be in a deficit.
It took me about 6 weeks to lose 10 kilos, and I started about bmi 28, at 5ft 5. I have now lost nearly 4 stone in 6 months.
It's easy if you knuckle down and mj really helps.

you are right, of course, and it is hard to explain. Until recently I was doing IF, low carb and prioritizing protein. With that, I had maintain a weight loss of almost 30 kg in the last 5 years after yo-yo dieting since very young. However, we went on holiday earlier this year and because we ate out for every meal it was difficult to keep good habits and when that happens I find it incredibly difficult to go back. I have gained rapidly 10 kg and I am on the way up. I was hoping that MJ would help with the initial going back to healthy habits and with the weight loss alleviate the pain I have. Wine is a different story, I have not been able to drop it and would really like to.

Thanks so much! Glad it has worked well for you. I hope to stay in a lower dose and hopefully without too many side effects.

I started today with a 2.5 dose. The GP (who was so kind and helpful) advised to take it for 6 months - fingers crossed it goes well. I will now go to the other threads that have good suggestions and advice for beginners. Thanks again for sharing your experience in your earlier posts!

I hope your cholesterol goes down when they next test it. I also have high cholesterol so hope to bring it down as well.

Thanks for sharing your great results, it was an incentive to try 😊

@ReadyfortheUnknown fingers crossed for you, hope you respond well to the low doses, I never needed to go above 5,don't get despondent if you don't respond well to the lower doses though, everyone reacts differently to it, the thread I have been on from the start has vastly differing responses to the drug and it helps to know that, simply go up as advised if you don't get the immediate response. People find their sweet spot, for a lot of people it's immediate like I was, but for some they don't get it until they go up, hopefully you won't have any side effects, but I would get some pepto bismol just in case, as even a mild case of nausea or tummy upset can be alleviated with this, has to be pepto bismol though.

It puzzles me if you know chocolate, crisps and wine are your downfall could you just not stop consuming those?

Nobody would be overweight if it was so simple.

Good luck OP!

Where are you getting MJ from a GP?

@rewardh ,lots of people take mj with the support of their gp, doesn't necessarily mean they get it from them.

GPs should not be consulting on something they are not prescribing. There is a difference between ‘oh yes that could work well for you’ and ‘you should take it for 6 months’ hence me thinking the GP was prescribing.

Any private GP would be able to issue a private prescription.

@rewardh at least they're having an open conversation about it, mine doesn't even know I'm on it, haven't seen her since covid, if your gp is open and supportive of you taking this, then I'd see that as a positive,regardless of whether they've prescribed it or not.

Re the cholesterol issue. During weight loss and particularly rapid weight loss your cholesterol will go up. It’s probably better to wait 6 mnths after weight loss to see if ch sterol has come down. I take statins which had brought my cholesterol down, they were prescribed at my request because their is recent evidence suggests they help post breast cancer as an adjuvant.
I had my annual MOT during weight loss and cholesterol had gone up. My GP wasn’t worried because they could tie it in with weight loss.

I don't understand this. If your GP was willing to prescribe it, but you get it from an online pharmacy, why couldn't your GP continue to give advice on it?

If the GP was willing to prescribe it why would you get it elsewhere?

Well, in Ireland you pay for GP services. You might not want to fork out €80 a visit for the prescription, if you're able to get it prescribed by a pharmacy. But you might want to be able to discuss the fact that you are taking the medication with your GP if you are attending him for other reasons, like cholesterol or diabetes. I'd hate it if my GP was like "well I didn't write the prescription so I can't give you any advice".