I stopped Wegovy and it’s all piled back on. What now?

[Cuzco]

I was using Wegovy for about 18 months and had already started to see the effects wear off on the highest dose, having lost about 12 kg, down from 93kg. I’ve never had will power and once previously had lost 19kg (but during Covid) before that all went back on again too.

I’m wondering about starting Mounjarno. But I guess then I could end up back in the same situations in another year’s time.

Reason’s to be positive which might mean that won’t happen: 1) I had a miserable job which I’ve now quit so could in theory comfort eat less. 2) I never got down to the target weight where I really would have felt good about myself 3) There was general upheaval at home so I didn’t form new habits. I know this needs to happen.

Any thoughts?

It’s a long term medication you need to be on a maintenance dose. It’s not a quick fix

It’s not about forming good habits. It’s all about the effect the drug has on your insulin resistance among other things.

energing science shows that almost everyone will put the weight back on. And you can only count yourself as maintaining your new weight at about 2 years in.

I have accepted I’m not going to be an outlier here but it seems that there are still swathes of people who genuinely still believe they’ll maintain off the drugs because they have ‘learned to eat properly.’

We could probably all write our thesis on ‘eating properly’

I don’t know what the answer is incidentally. I suspect very long term use of the drug. But I do know is that people need to accept the scientific facts and fast - depressing though they may be

Oh and I’ve lost 80 odd pounds and have maintained at 9 and a half stone for almost 10 months now. I do this on a 5mg dose at the moment and I’ll look to try and come down a little more next year.

Unless you’ve got more money than God, I’d be doing Wegovy. Mounjaro super expensive now.

Have you got a link to this please
It's not anything I have read ,and I tend to follow anything about WLI

I found first podcast Half Size Me on Spotify. What is the other resource called?

I have reached target weight on Wegovy, Has anyone tried to maintain by taking injection every 2 weeks to save on expense and maintain weight.

My prescriber suggested one month on, one off. They won’t recommend spacing the doses out beyond 9 days because that would take pen past recommended open time, but many do do that.

I did read the wegovy pen is ok for 8 weeks rather than 1 month, will try and find where I saw that.

https://help.numan.com/en/articles/9917061-fridge-storage-faqs-for-wegovy-and-mounjaro#

It says 6 weeks here, I did see 8 though. Different to mj then.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9542252/

Research looking at regain following use of WLIs

It's going to need to be a long term drug - I think a tablet is in production but don't know how effective it will be - should be cheaper though if effective.

One year after withdrawal of once‐weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg and lifestyle intervention, participants regained two‐thirds of their prior weight loss, with similar changes in cardiometabolic variables. Findings confirm the chronicity of obesity and suggest ongoing treatment is required to maintain improvements in weight and health.

Ozempic can be used for 8 weeks in the fridge and is the same thing

https://www.ozempic.com/how-to-take/ozempic-pen.html#:~:text=Store%20your%20pen%20in%20use,Ozempic®%20left%20in%20it.

I do worry there's a general lack of understanding of how these injections work and why changing habits to healthier ones won't necessarily put you in good stead when you stop them.

WLIs mimic the hormones that are naturally released after eating. These are the hormones that signal to the brain that the body is full. They also slow down the passage of food through the digestive system, again adding to that feeling of fullness. WLIs trick your brain into thinking you've had enough to eat and that's why they are so brilliant. They essentially fake your body's natural off-switch.

The only way you can replicate that brilliant fake off-switch once you stop taking WLIs is if you teach yourself to pay scrupulous attention to your body's natural off-switch and tune in to your hunger and fullness signals, such as learning to recognise "the sigh" that is your stomach telling your brain when you when you are full. (Honestly, it's really a thing! Everyone sighs during a meal when their body has reached satiation! Try it!). But constantly tuning into those signals takes so much discipline and requires being 100% attentive at mealtimes, which we just don't do in this crazy busy age of endless scrolling/eating on the go/chaotic mealtimes. So it stands to reason that if you stop the medication that is the brilliant fake off-switch, you will very likely, and very easily, regain. Of course, it'll be a slower regain if you eat salad over pizza, but without that fake off-switch, eventually your portion size will creep up and you'll start eating again when you're not hungry or when you are already full, because you no longer have the medication doing the signalling to your brain for you.

FWIW, I cannot take WLI because I'm a recovering bulimic but I would really love to. It pains me that I can't when I see the positive impact they have on other obese people. But because of the research I've done into understanding exactly how the medication works with the body, I know I can't, because the minute I stop I WILL binge again. The only way I could safely take them was if I really nailed my body's fullness and hunger signals but right now mine are physically and mentally broken because of decades of purging and bingeing. But if I ever in a position where I was able to, I'd definitely prioritise learning to recognise being full over healthy meals, and how little food it takes to feel full, because calories are calories whether they're coming from pizza or salad.

"The only way you can replicate that brilliant fake off-switch once you stop taking WLIs is if you teach yourself to pay scrupulous attention to your body's natural off-switch and tune in to your hunger and fullness signals"

The thing is I won't know if some of us have this - or feel it normally hence the WLIs helping.

It is a bit annoying someone who hasn't taken WLIs coming on and telling us all this when they have not experienced it themselves TBH. But I appreciate you were trying to help SuperTrooper1111

Yes, i'd agree with 99% of that post, but i know i never really felt any satiety for many years. Changing to low car carb has helped, but not always. For some of us, i think this mechanism is just broken without WLI to aid it.

I've had genetic testing and have lots of these gene variants for Obesity and this seems to relate to things like levels of ghrelin and leptin (which tell you you are full etc) so it could be genetic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTOgene

I could understand you being a bit annoyed if I hadn't taken them AND was against them, but I'm very clear on my pro-stance and it feels a bit unfair that just because I have an eating disorder that precludes me from taking them I shouldn't be allowed to comment on any WLI threads.

I totally get what you're saying. Mine is beyond broken and I wish I could take WLI too. What's tragic is that every single person is born with a natural off-switch – it's why babies know when they've had enough milk and why toddlers regulate their appetites by leaving food on their plates. It's only as older children, adolescents and adults that we lose it. I know exactly how I lost mine too – being made to clear my plate as a child regardless of whether I was full or not.

Slimming world acccept members that are on weight loss injections so they can stay at a healthy weight !!
it’s all changed now in group therapy so much better !!! ❤️

So we can get it back ,by listening to our bodies

I think op
It wasn't the right time for you to use wli
You weren't in the right frame of mind ,that's why the weight went back on.
It's not the injections that make us loose weight
It's the fact we are putting less calories in to our bodies
Try them again..when you feel ready ..
But be prepared to track your calories to ensure a loss
I use NHS weight loss app
And be prepared to stay on them around 2 years to give your body the best chance of success.
When you come of them ,make sure you come of very very slowly and keep eating the same amount of calories you ate while using the jabs .
Take no notice of people who have no experience of using them ,they are just trying to bring us down .
We can make this work for us ..you can do it op x

I think op
It wasn't the right time for you to use wli
You weren't in the right frame of mind ,that's why the weight went back on.
It's not the injections that make us loose weight
It's the fact we are putting less calories in to our bodies
Try them again..when you feel ready ..
But be prepared to track your calories to ensure a loss
I use NHS weight loss app
And be prepared to stay on them around 2 years to give your body the best chance of success.
When you come of them ,make sure you come of very very slowly and keep eating the same amount of calories you ate while using the jabs .
Take no notice of people who have no experience of using them ,they are just trying to bring us down .
We can make this work for us ..you can do it op x

@Bulldogautumn it’s all out there if you have a dig about.

without MJ (or your WLI of choice!) you have a very low chance of maintaining any loss and the sooner we come to accept that, the better: Sheet force of Will and ‘eating less and moving more’ will ssdly
jot work

I’ve accepted that I’m probably going to have to take weight loss medication for the rest of my life. I’m factoring it in to my finances and going without other things so that I can afford it. I have struggled my entire adult life with obesity and I honestly don’t know what it’s like to feel full up and satisfied. It’s like the switch just isn’t there. So Mounjaro has been life changing for me. I’m 6 stones down with another 3 to go.