How does food suppression work?

[VioletandMauve]

I’ve just taken my first jab this morning.

So I understand the theory behind food suppression but I’m just wondering about the reality and how it works for people.

An example as I understand it - say I have a sandwich and a small packet of crisps for lunch. Does the food suppression stop me wanting (and having) a second packet of crisps? Or does it stop me wanting the first packet of crisps and just eat the sandwich alone?

Or does it stop me wanting lunch altogether (which has never happened to me)! 😂

yes, it’s a choice, very surprised the poster interpreted what I said as meaning I had to stay on. I don’t. I chose to as I understand how beneficial they are on so many fronts, and I am able to maintain my weight with 5mg and get all those benefits.

past that it’s like any weight loss journey, be it slimming world or low carb, calorie control or intermittant fasting, however you lose the weight, once you hit goal you need to maintain your weight after. No difference at all. Just some of us chose to stay on for multiple reasons listed.

That reassures me rather than scares me. I'm in my early 60s and have absolutely no qualms about staying on this for the rest of
my life, knowing that never again will I have to go through the constant battle of food noise and cravings that have blighted all of my adult life, not to mention the constant yoyo dieting. This to me is a wonder drug and I cannot overstate how life changing it is for me.

Yes, I agree it's reassuring. I know that there's no need for me to yo-yo anymore in the way that I have done previously, no need for my BMI to ever hit the mid to high 30s, 40s or even 50s as it had done at my highest ever weight just before starting Mounjaro. It's not just Mounjaro either, there are several GLP1s in development that will come online in the coming years and these medications will become increasingly available and affordable.

I’m praying I can cope with coming off it at the end. I really don’t want to have to stay on any drug that I don’t need to. I’ve not had full suppression anyway, so have had to work at it a lot even while on MJ.

The rate of weight gain following Mounjaro if you stop completely is exactly the same as the rate of weight gain following any major weight loss.

Studies show that people who lose lots through diet, surgery or Mounjaro all have the same propensity to regain that weight in the future.

Personally I intend to be on MJ long term, but I have T2 diabetes and am prescribed it primarily for glucose control so it’s a different reason for taking it even if the effects are the same, maybe that changes my mindset to it.

i am also on Statins for high cholesterol and will take those forever and my husband is on BP medications to reduce his BP and he’ll take those forever. Some medications are necessary long term and that’s how I see Mounjaro.

I don’t want to stay on MJ for the rest of my life but I’ll stay on it probably for another 6 months. There are new (even more improved) drugs in the pipeline and I think we’ll eventually get to a pill format that is much lower cost. In that scenario, I’d just treat it like the pill I take each day for my BP (which is hereditary rather than weight related).

That’s how I feel. It’s not I can’t come off them, of course I could, I could stop tomorrow, we all could. there is no withdrawals, but why would I?

I feel fantastic on the drugs, healthier than I have been for years, my blood pressure is now healthy, I’m off those bp meds totally and they are horrible drugs, very hard on your kidneys, so hard they have to keep running tests to see if your kidneys are damaged, and my sleep apnea is cured, likely due to weight loss and reduction in inflammation from the drugs, my cholesterol is normal, and importantly my stomach is completely flat. I’m a size 8-10, no more fat clogging my arteries and smothering my internal organs. Stomach fat is the most dangerous. I was insulin resistant before with high cholesterol,both now operating optimally.

I think some folks struggle to grasp the concept of preventative medication, medication you take to prevent you developing multiple health issues. This is a drug you first take to cure an issue, then can keep taking to prevent it reoccurring.

obesity, like alcoholism, is never cured, we are always in recovery. For ever, once you become obese, that’s it, even if it was for a short time, and you maintain for ever, be it through spending your life fucking miserable, or on a low therapeutic dose of the drug, in recovery is where you are. Slimness is never ever going to be easy for a former obese person. Like alcohol, it is a life long battle, and I pick this option,
.

For me, it’s the fact that people with lower bmi can’t get prescribed them that says I shouldn’t stay on it. The risks are higher than the benefits at that point. B I’ve been obese most of my adult life, but I don’t believe I can’t help it. I can, it’s just hard. I was the sam when I gave up smoking. I want to get down to a normal weight and then behave like my slim friends - work out more or cut back what I’m eating if the weight is going up. Plus I’d rather spend the thousands of pounds I’d spend on WLI on something for my family. We’ve forgone a holiday this year so I can do this. I don’t believe it’s vital to stay on it. But I’m only half way down through six stones, so we’ll see.

Thanks to everyone who has replied, I've read them all.

So after 2 full days on 2.5mg of Mounjaro I understand food suppression, after experiencing it for myself beginning about 5 hours after taking my first jab. For me, like so many of you have said, I was just uninterested in food, I even thought about the packet of crisps and just thought, no I'm not interested. This was a complete revelation to me! I've had the odd side effect, but I'm just not interested in food at the moment and am eating little and often of the right foods.

But, I'm aware that this may or may not last long, maybe until my next jab, maybe not. But I now know that food suppression is possible and have experienced it!!

It is nothing short of amazing!!! Thank you all 😊

I don't think there's any justification to say the risks outweigh the benefits when you get to "point B". The trials show that these drugs are safe to stay on long term, otherwise they would not be approved for such use. You can't of course start the drugs if you are a healthy weight, it makes no sense to give a diabetes/weight loss drug to someone who shouldn't lose weight. I do understand the issues around ongoing cost though. MJ especially is now very expensive, which in itself is a good reason to come off it.
For me personally, I have completely changed the things I eat, over the course of the last 4 months. I now eat low carb, but haven't personally found it necessary to count carbs. My portions are smaller due to the drug, so the calories seem to have taken care of themselves so far.
@Hanschristiananderson yes, studies show that the majority of people regain the weight lost when they come off the drug, but those trials have generally been for instantly stopping. However, the results were exactly the same for people who have come off conventional diets. It's no more likely just because you lost using Mounjaro.
There's actually a whole separate thread dedicated to what you do when you reach goal weight. Some people choose to stay on MJ forever, but others have chosen to come off - but over an extended period of time, by slowly reducing the dose taken, and even extending the period between jabs. And many have found this a successful way of keeping the weight off. I suspect I will try that same method myself when the time comes.

So glad it’s working for you! Totally agree this is an amazing treatment. It has changed my life and I didn’t even think I was particularly bothered about my weight.

I saw for myself an example of one of the ways in which these drugs work.
I like to regularly record my eight, blood pressure and fasted blood sugar. I then thought I'd invest in a continuous glucose monitor, to see how my blood sugar responded to meals. What I saw over the course of 14 days was that when I ate, I hardly saw any spike at all. It rarely even nudged towards 6, and always quickly came down to around 4. It basically flatlined. So MJ clearly has a big impact on insulin sensitivity, to keep blood sugar as tightly controlled as that. That of course then translates to hunger - or lack of it.

@VioletandMauve glad to hear it is working for you. I found the suppression very strong on MJ and really didn't want to eat much. I was on it for 5 months and then reduced my dose for just under 2 months. I came off completely for 7 months and I only regained 3lb.

However, I've chosen to go back on a 1.25 dose to help silence the food noise. I think there is something wrong inside my brain because until I took MJ for the first time, I hadn't realised how constant the food chit chat in my head was. I couldn't believe how calm and measured I felt around food on it. After I stopped taking it, the noise came back again and I became obsessed with how many calories I'd eaten, how much protein I'd eaten, how many calories could I eat, when could I next eat, what would I eat, how could I incorporate more protein etc etc etc. It was exhausting.

@Hanschristiananderson if only I could claim to gorge! What decadent fun that would be. I have discovered I have a tolerance of 200-300 calories a day between maintaining weight and gaining weight. That's two pieces of toast or a few apples and pears and a yoghurt.

There is a maintenance thread in the WLI section where there are lots of different experiences shared. Different approaches work for different people, their bodies and lifestyles. There is no one size fits all.

I get that for you on not staying on, I certainly would not stay on, or even do it if my family had to forego things to enable it, but I understand why people have to make their families do that, as it’s better for them if you’re healthy.

I think the price will come down in a few years so this isn’t the hard choice people need to make going forward.

I don’t think anyone said it was vital to stay on it. More we chose to stay on it. Every decision is a personal one that needs to be made for the individual given their circumstances.

its approved by all the global health authorities for use in their populations at a healthy weight , be it for diabetes control or if once obese, and is about to be approved for cardiovascular, kidney and livery health , in healthy weight indivduals.

Nurofen and paracetamol are much more risky, nurofen has 2000 people a year die from it on average.

so No drug is entirely safe, but obesity is by far the biggest risk, it’s a huge risk, the biggest killer we have, inc the biggest cause of cancer, literally the number one cause of cancer, and the risk of regain off them is the same as stoping a diet, 90 percent failure rate at least.

That means 9 out of every ten people who get to a healthy weight on them will regain back to where they were, just like if they stopped sliming world or whatever other diet they were on.

And that yo yo dieting is an enormous risk to our health, huge.

So staying on is a logical for many of us. Others it’s not possible, or not desirable, and that’s ok too,

I will stay on it too even though it is a struggle financially.
I like feeling in control and I need to be in control for the sake of my health.

Without mounjaro I had no control.

It isn’t just the loss of weight making me feel better it is the ability to make decisions without a primitive part of my brain overriding my choices.

Trying to not eat was, for me, like trying to not breathe. I could hold my breath for a while but then the urge to take a deep lungful of air would become essential and I couldn’t stop it.

Now with mounjaro I can decide, not biology.

Anyone else read Diet, Drugs and Dopamine by Kessler? He's an ex head of the FDA and this book brings the science. He's used/is using GLP1s himself.

It's fascinating. Some people are able to go on the drug, lose the weight and then not regain. It's not simply about 'retraining' yourself to have better habits. The drugs have greater effects than simple food suppression. Most people will need maintenance or to go on and off as needed.

I've been on ozempic for over 3 years, I'm diabetic. I had horrific side effects and lost weight. I continued to lose weight until about 6 months ago. I was on Wegovy levels of oz as I get oz on the PBS here in Australia. I decided to trial mounjaro and hilariously I gained a kilo. I went on the equivalent dose of MJ to oz.

Now I'm back on oz on what I would have hoped was a maintenance dose--everything diabetic-wise and inflammation-wise and cholesterol-wise looks good so I surrendered on the weightloss. I've gained another kilo so back to the higher dose.

I highly recommend the book, I learned a lot.

@3flyingducksarrive i looked that book up and it looks like an interesting read, I might get a copy, thanks.

@3flyingducksarrive thank you for recommending that book. I'm fascinated by the science behind WLI and how people react so differently. I'm going to have a look.

It really is amazing stuff going by all these comments, it really is the secret to it all. The only small negative for me would be that life revolves around enjoying food, socialising, bonding etc and it would be sad to lose that huge aspect of life. But guess most won’t be on them forever

@HeartbrokenCatMumyou can happily socialise, bond and even enjoy food whilst on Mounjaro. You just eat less and choose different things. Like lots of other people do. You don’t lose a “huge aspect of your life”. I actually enjoy going out to eat more now because I don’t stress out about the possibility of overeating. I choose what I fancy and I enjoy what I’ve chosen.

@HeartbrokenCatMumim at a work event at the moment, 3 meals a day with 100 colleagues from around the world and im having a great time. I put a little bit of everything I want on my plate, I eat as much as I fancy and leave the rest. I still socialise and enjoy spending time with and catching up with people, I just don’t eat lots.

That doesn’t change just just as you eat smaller portions of healthy food. It’s not once negatively impacted my social life, I enjoyed restaurants throughout the weight loss phase, just I ate smaller amounts of my food and chose lighter options, seafood and fish for example, grilled veg etc, I still went out drinking with friends, just I drank less, I’m now in maintenance and it’s the same. There is absolutely no need to lose this aspect of it. If you do you’re probably on too high a dose, we don’t starve or something, we all eat food within a defecit, doesn’t matter if that food is cooked at home by ourselves or a chef in a restaurant.

I’ve started eating half the amount I’d usually eat. I’m just full quicker and for longer.

Also I’d have a salad not a sandwich and crisps.