Mounjaro not working for me

[Feralpupwouldnotchangehimfortheworld]

I have been on it for 5 months and have only lost 1 and half stone.
I started at nearly 19 stone so there is a a lot of weight to lose!
I just kept thinking I just needed the higher doses then it would kick in, but I’m now on 15mg and I still feel little impact. I have 2 days where a feel a bit nauseous so off food, then after that don’t feel the effects. £300+ a month feels a lot to be losing 3lb a month.
just frustrating that everyone else seems to have amazing results.

Didn’t want to read and run. Can you tell us a bit more about your diet and fitness routine? You’ve increased the dose to the maximum in a fairly short period of time - was this because you still felt hungry or was it to try and increase your WL? Do you know your BMR or TDEE? How is your calorie consumption in relation to that?

Not everyone loses loads of weight quickly on MJ.
I've been taking it every week since 1st May 2024. So 19 months. In that time I've lost 4 stone. I have calculated that works out to less than 1 pound of weight loss a week.
That's very slow weight loss.
I've been on 15mg for over 1 year.
And now I've hit a plateu for the past 8 weeks where my weight hasn't dropped an ounce. I'm still on 15mg MJ and my BMI is now in the overweight category meaning I still have more weight to lose.
The level of commitment it has taken me to stick with it for 19 months with unbearably slow weight loss results has been colossal. Not to mention the enormous cost.

You've lost about 20 pounds in 20 weeks - would you have lost the same without MJ?
It's a tool but it's not (for some) a stand alone miracle drug. I've been on it for 14 months and average about 1lb loss a week - I couldn't have done it without MJ but the weight has not exactly fallen off. I have to be very careful about what I eat and how much.
As an aside, I'm surprised your provider let you get to 15 so fast, that seems unusual.

Your weight loss will depend on many factors: calorie consumption, tdee, sleep, water intake, protein, exercise.

Do you track all of the above?

I think you just have to ask yourself if you'd have lost that weight if you weren't on mj? I know for me I was just slowly going up.

Are you staying within a calorie deficit? It can be lower than you think. Mine is 1235 and if I go over I gain.

You still need to be in a calorie deficit

I don’t have massive “I couldn’t possibly eat” type restriction (although still on a low dose to be fair) but what I find is that it smooths out the edges and makes me feel calmer around food and therefore able to stick to a diet.

What I have noticed is that restriction is much better when I eat a high protein, low carb diet and the times I’ve struggled have been when I’ve had too many carbs and too much sugar (even when still in a calorie deficit) I feel ravenously hungry the next day.

So, I suppose my question would be are you using MJ as a tool to supplement a diet or healthy eating plan or are you wanting/expecting it to do the heavy lifting on its own?

That said, it sounds like you are losing weight, just slowly. So it’s working just not in a dramatic way.

You’ve lost about 8% of your starting weight in about 21 weeks. In the clinical trials the average weigh lost was about 22% after 72 weeks. Your weight loss is on track to achieve that result too.

I think the things people read online about the rapid weight loss that some people get tends to skew expectations. A lot of people get the steady weight loss you’re describing, and also need the higher doses.

You’re making progress and a lb a week will get you to your goal if you keep going. What’s the alternative? Giving up?

Lots of people don’t lose quickly on WLI but they’re the ones we hear about and tend to focus on.

My view is that those that lose more quickly are generally doing a lot more exercise than the rest of us. Well, that’s true with me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've been on it just over a year and have lost an average of 1lb a week. It's not fast but it adds up. I'd never have stuck to a diet for that long without it.
Your loss sounds ok to me.
Are you just eating less naturally because of it or are you consciously counting calories? I got away without counting calories for a while but then needed to be more careful. I find MJ helps me stick to the diet but it no longer does all the work for me (most of the time, I still have days when it doesn't feel like I'm taking it).

You could try Wegovy which is cheaper but weight loss is optimised with diet and exercise. Use tdeecalculator.net to work out your calories to lose 1lb a week and track food and everything on myfitnesspal app. This will help keep you on track. Drink plenty of water and prioritise protein, too many carbs cause water retention, so if you can reduce bread, rice and pasta that will help.

I think I thought it would make the dieting easier. I’ve yoyo’d on slimming world and ww over the years, the weight I’ve lost is because I’m consciously eating better but I’m finding it no easier than I did when I wasn’t paying £300 a month! I’m still hungry, I still have food noise. I obviously knew it’s not a magic weight dissolving drug but thought it would help with the challenges I have when dieting (falling off the wagon because the craving gets so bad!) , it’s not doing that for me, I think for me, it’s not worth the money. I can pay a fraction of the price on go back to SW where I get the same results. Just feeling a bit sad about it after constantly reading about other people’s amazing results.

@Feralpupwouldnotchangehimfortheworld you could try Wegovy as it’s a different medication and you might find it works for you, plus it is cheaper.

It's funny how we all view these things differently. I've been on MJ for 19 weeks. Other than the 1st 2 weeks where I lost quite a bit, I have steadily lost 1lb or thereabouts each week. Sometimes 1.2lbs, others 0.6 or 0.8lbs. I've been so pleased with that! It's a healthy rate of loss. It's a loss I'd never have seen without MJ. I feel healthier, can move easier, my MH is better....what's not to love?

To consistently lose 1lb a week is pretty good though, you need a calorie deficit of around 500 cals per day for that, obv 1000 for 2lb so it really is tough to lose more. I would definitely struggle for that though without MJ as my willpower is so poor when dieting long term.

If you would lose similar without then it makes no sense to pay that sort of money when you could be as successful using another method.

I have been on Mounjaro for 10 weeks now and my loss is on the low side. I do have days when I don’t feel like eating or when I cannot finish the meal but I force myself to eat regularly and have around 1300 calories a day - my TDEE is slightly higher than that as I have a lot of weight to lose! I focus on high protein, low calorie meals and snacks, which help keep the hunger at bay and are setting me up for a healthy diet for the future. I have severe pain in my arthritic knees so can barely walk let alone exercise so have to rely on diet for weight loss.

I actually lost more weight over the same period of time when I was dieting earlier this summer without WLIs, mainly by 16/8 intermittent fasting. I was disappointed that I was paying a lot of money to lose less weight but I wanted to give Mounjaro a go to boost my loss leading up to knee replacement surgery - with the approval of my gp. That has not happened but my 21/2 st loss overall has meant that my first surgery is booked for the 16th of December and if I recover well, I’ll have my second knee done in March.

I have to stop taking Mounjaro in a couple of weeks before the op so I’m reducing my dose to 2.5 for my last two weeks. I might then not go on it again with the prospect of another operation in the Spring and also because of my reaction to the injection, I’ve had really bad diarrhea after every one! I sometimes think I am injecting myself with poison! But I will continue to follow my diet and healthy eating, incorporating some exercise once I have new knees.

@Feralpupwouldnotchangehimfortheworld you’ve not mentioned exercise?

If you’re only counting calories, your losses aren’t likely to be that great as MJ won’t dissolve the fat for you.

Have you tried considerably upping your exercise? I think you’ll really see the difference if you do.

Hi OP. Are you tracking calories? What is your daily intake? I've lost 6 stone 5lbs with MJ sinve Jan. I am super careful with tracking. I only went up to 10mg.

So you have lost 0.5kg a week which I don’t think is so slow.

Can you set out what you’d eat in an average day? Are you tracking your macros?

I know that I’d lose it faster if I upped exercise, that’s true whatever diet I was on, yes I track calories, the difficulty I have when dieting is food noise and struggling not to give into cravings, this what I thought MJ would help with, my point is I feel no difference to when dieting without it, hence why I don’t feel it’s working for me, I thought the whole point was it helped dieting by removing food noise, making you feel full sooner and for longer etc. that’s not happening for me. So I might as well save £300 a month as I can lose 1lb a week without it. Like ive said, I’ve yoyo’d on other diets, I thought MJ would help me stop that. It hasn’t because I still can’t control the cravings.

it’s clearly not for me.

I'd try the alternatives before giving up. I know two women on Ozempic. One hasn't noticed much difference (she got it for diabetes although she is overweight), and the other hardly eats, and may need to lower her dose.

Can you set out what a typical day looks like? I

£25 a month would see you sat in a SW group losing at least 1lb a week, with 24/7 support and not dieting , rather slowly changing eating habits till you are eating a healthy balanced diet and healthy portions

Why did you quit SW/ WW if they worked for you? Did you look at both programmes as a diet - lose the weight and walk away? They arent diets, they are healthy eating programmes, stop the programme - you gain. It costs nothing to carry on the programs once you get to your target so why stop?

3lbs a month is a healthy rate op. You’ll be less likely to get saggy skin. Concentrate on exercise, protein and fiber. Drink loads of water. Do weights - you’re doing grand.

SW and WW are food companies. They aren’t healthy, and 97% of people regain the weight plus more within 5 years. They encourage diet culture which often adds to to issues with insulin resistance.