Came off. Can't stop eating.

[Mrincredibull]

I know how this is going to go so before it starts please don't.
Have come off mounjaro. Happy with weight although not at target but just needed to be less tired (huge side effect) and couldn't really justify the money. Haven't made the necessary changes yet and expecting to put about 5 kg back on which I'm ok with. If I need to go back on in 6 months I'm ok with that but right now I need to take a break. But honestly I cannot stop eating. Like proper binge eating. Thought a protein shake might keep me full. Yep it does for 2-3 hours but that's it. Then I'm so hungry. Any tips for moderating food intake (yeah, not the way less move more brigade) and finding things to fill me up?
Can eat protein again now which I couldn't before so trying to concentrate my binge eating on that!!
I will get round to changing the food relationship but right now I have bigger fish to fry and that's ok. Baby steps.
Any recipes etc.
Thank you in advance.
I thought it might be helpful for more than just me to pool knowledge.

You have two distinct issues: almost certainly a fluctuating blood sugar level which you need to stabilise through good food choices and lay off the UPF’s which are designed to and will cause you to want more of them. Do you have smart scales? Use them to work out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) that equates to the amount of calories you can eat before putting weight on assuming you don’t move beyond the basics. Mine is 1340, so you are right, 2000 is probably too many. If you watch a lot of tv, get a treadmill/walking pad and walk at a steady pace watching the tv at the same time. You probably would’ve sat down to watch it, and your hands are bored so you eat. A treadmill takes away that option. Drink more water. You are likely thirsty not hungry..Fast until 11am and condense your eating into an 8hr window..so stop eating at 7pm. Use chatGPT to create a low carb, protein rich meal plan which will give you appetite satiety. Keep prepped veg and fruit in the fridge so you eat that instead. Avoid carbonated anything. And use MFP to log everything. It’ll take a couple of weeks but you’ll get there. Good luck!

I have to be rigid in my thinking or I go into free fall and eat anything that is not nailed down.
Once a month I do a 3 day fast. It is not as difficult as you think and gives me a feeling of control. Look up Dr Jason Fung....he advocated fasting for his patients! It doesn't suit everyone but it helps me.
I also cut out as much sugar and carbs as possible and eat high protein with lots of veg and salad. I find this stops the sugar cravings.
For the first time in 40 years I am a normal weight and have not gone up and down like a yoyo for a couple of years.
It takes effort but it is worth it.

Can you have a bit of protein shake more often? I drink black huel first thing. 500ml of it is a bit much. I tend to drink 1-2 small glasses and then have the other I’d morning. I was wondering if a shot of protein might keep your stomach happy, and then top it up with a bit more later, and see if it gets you through to later in the day instead of having it all at once?

Just looking through your replies and there are a couple of pieces of infomaation that would be helpful in offering advice:

What is your current TDEE?
How many calories are you eating - around 2000
What are you eating?
How much water are you drinking - Not enough

If you are eating 2000 calories of white bread, crisps and haribo then it will be easy to explain why yo7 are feeling overly hungry and craving more food.

If you have a TDEE of 2900 then it will be easy to explain why you are feeling hungry on only 2000 calories.

I agree on the water issue, it’s so easy to mistake thirst for hunger, drinking a solid 2 litres min throughout the day helps satiate that feeling.

I also agree on fluctuating blood sugar levels, this makes you feel hungry and crave certain foods, it’s one of the reasons mj works so well on hunger, blood sugar is controlled, to manage that both carbs and sugary drinks need to be very limited. So lots of lean proteins, healthy fats and fibre.

And knowing that if you are eating too many carbs and/or drinking sugary drinks, then your blood sugar will spike and then drop after, and you will feel hungry and crave certain foods when it drops. So expect it. And plan to ride it out till your next meal time where you get back on track.

plus exercise, exercising daily helps us use insulin more effectively.

BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the MINIMUM amount of calories that your body needs to function... not the amount before putting weight on.

You're thinking of TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) which is your maintenance calories.

A couple of tablespoons of plain yoghurt with chia seeds added whenever you are hungry. Fills your stomach and good for your gut.

You are right and I probably should’ve been clearer. TDEE includes the energy required to digest food (BMR doesn’t) on top of BMR but also includes physical activity- which the OP has suggested in her original post is not really happening…I did say ‘before you move’ but should’ve added ‘and before you digest food’. It’s not a bad shout to understand both numbers but smart scales focus on BMR rather than TDEE so it’s a number available quickly and for a lot of people easier to understand/track. It is also easy to think you’ve burnt more calories doing 45mins on the treadmill/whatever than may be the case when working your TDEE. In my case, I do exercise every day and try not to eat my exercise calories when trying to lose weight but include them in maintenance which would give me my TDEE.

BMR are the calories your body burns everyday (even if you were in a coma).

TDEE is BMR + activity calories

Activity calories aren't just exercise calories, it includes any activity - standing, moving around your home, walking around shops etc.)

So TDEE is calculated based on an activity level... sedentary is the option that includes no exercise.

A person's weight is included in the calculation of activity calories, which is why people that are heavier can burn more calories even with less activity.

A calorie allowance it should be a deficit from the calculated TDEE with the correct actvity level

hi @Mrincredibull I am in a similar dilemma to you - though not off MJ yet I will be titrating down.

Like you I wonder if MJ is causing my level of fatigue to be even more than usual.

I have a few pens left, but I am going to start titrating down. I think very soon. Maybe to zero MJ, or maybe to a very low dose of say 5 mg.

I expect I will feel hungrier, so I’m taking this thread on board. I’m thinking, of different ways to do this.

So far: ideas

• counting calories. I found Noom to be excellent for this, very user friendly. Last time I stopped using Noom, before MJ, I put the weight back on. I find the counting a drag, but maybe necessary for me.
• drink more water
• Exercise - I can only manage a couple of days a week because of a chronic illness, but something is better than nothing.
• Volume – e.g. soups, salads
• Twice a week, trying to have extra low calories a day, say 600. On those days just eat soup, salads, fruit, water.
• Once I have reached target, weigh myself every day. If I go over an upper limit, rein things in for awhile, e.g,
• Eat normally at times, but also consciously reduce calories at other times.
• More protein. MJ seems to reduce my desire for some proteins, I don’t know why.

I am happy to be a size large 14/ small 16. But the 16-18 I was before MJ I looked puffy and chubby and my clothes were a tight squeeze. Now at 2 stone lighter clothes definitely fit better.

I hope, if I do all of the above, it should help keep my weight down. Even if that means 1000- 1200 cal on average a day; I need very few calories due to age, thyroid and other health issues.

However, at the same time, ultimately, if it’s impossible to do that whilst eating healthily and reasonably I think I need to accept that, and learn to accept and love myself and my body, even if it’s over my desired weight.

Where are you at now OP, going forward?

I would look at an Intermittent Fasting regimen that works personally for your life.

I do 2MAD - I have slowly pushed out my breakfast to 3pm. The minute I eat I feel ‘hungry’ but I have worked out this is just my metabolism kicking in after being ‘off’ for 20 hours. I usually have eggs or yogury, seeds, fruit - then I feel so full that I am not tempted to snack before my evening meal at 7pm. I don’t feel hungry at 7 - so I don’t over eat. I am not counting calories but I know from my TDEE calculations I can only have 1400 / day to MAINTAIN!

For me it helps to have only 2MAD - less planning and food noise - breakfast always the same at 3pm and I just eat what everyone else has for dinner. I have dropped the evening after dinner wine, crisps, chocolate - which makes me hungry in the morning to crave more carbs - they are the devil for hunger. You just need to get ahead of it either by IF (take time to get into it) and planned high fibre / protein / healthy fat foods. Cut out all UPF.

If you do 2MAD and your breakfast is alway the same and easy - then you only have one meal a day to cook from scratch.

Lots of good tips on here ! Very helpful.
I too had similar back on low dose but determined to come off eventually. Lost 3 stone.
I find helps me

• carrot to snack on during the day.
• stopping reaching for junk as then want more
• eggs for lunch rather than bread/ carb based food.
• water
• exercise is the key for me it regulates my mood so less inclined to overeat.
• reduce alcohol don’t know about anyone else but after alcohol feel mj less effective.

I will start tracking my calories once worked out TDEE as sounds like helps many. Going to let me self have treats maybe just at weekend as have been snacking on biscuits during the week and bad habits lead to more cravings. I am not going to never eat stuff like that as I feel if I ban certain foods makes it worse but if option there to have at weekends less likely to crave them anyway.

Would suggest looking into Slimpod. Very helpful for getting to grips with habits and the psychological side of eating. Can try for 40 days with no £ commitment. I lost 8kg in a year with no real effort.

Protein shakes aren't proper food, they are ultra processed crap.

Why didn't you just eat a chicken breast and something high in fiber like baked beans or chilli?

And don't buy any rubbish that you can snack on.

Protein shakes don’t fill me up at all. I think they work for some people and they don’t for others. I’d have a yoghurt with protein powder stirred in with berries instead and see if that fills you up. Or buy one of those protein yoghurts.

I intermittent fast (I am on mj as well) and I eat lunch and dinner. If I eat breakfast, regardless of how healthy it is, I will always eat more calories that day. I also calorie count using MyFitnessPal. I think if you struggle with hunger it is so hard to make good choices and you have to accept you are who you are and work with that.

Eat real protein, I do fine when I have salmon for breakfast (I mean a proper fillet 200g) and some cottage cheese. Little carb so minimal blood sugar fluctuations, something like 50g protein.

Protein shakes don’t fill me up either.

Look up the protein leverage hypothesis. Just loads of real protein, eat as much as you want until your hunger dies down.