Confused about whether I should eat anyway??

[forrestgreen]

Hi I’ve just started on mj so 2.5mg
Ive started with a friend who is barely eating but I’m still working in cal deficit.
Is there a better way to do this, to loose more weight?
(this is a lot of money to me so I want to use it wisely)
Also, re the cal deficit, do I just use the number I used to do?
Thanks everyone

Yes you should eat, although you may find that you need to average out your calories over the week if you find the suppression higher in the few days after each injection. “Barely eating” isn’t the intended effect, you should still be able to eat a reasonable number of calories and be in a decent deficit without not eating at all.

Speak to your pharmacist and make sure you know how this work and what’s safe. You’ve done little to no research right? Daft.

I'm in maintenance.
I used "no appetite" to make good choices and eat healthy food whilst maintaining a calorie deficit and aimed for about 1200 kcals a day. So because I didn't fancy anything it was easy to choose to eat a high protein yogurt for breakfast, then chicken breast and salad for lunch, for example. I didn't starve the weight off. For evening meals I continued to eat with the family, prioritised protein and veg, so if I left anything due to being too full it was usually carbs. If you can't manage to eat much, ensure what you do eat is good for you.
I used Nutracheck app to count calories and protein.

Here’s some starting advice from the Asda Online Doctor site:

https://onlinedoctor.asda.com/uk/what-to-eat-on-mounjaro.html

Do your TDEE to find out how many calories you should be eating to lose 1-2lbs per week (obviously this isn’t linear) do some exercise/weight lifting if possible.

Don’t try to rush up the doses if your appetite is suppressed on the lower doses - you’ll end up feeling knackered and losing your hair. It’s not a race, focus on nutrition.

The hope is that the MJ suppresses your appetite enough to make it impossible to overeat. If you’re still able to eat too much you need to move up to higher doses, as per the information.

Thanks. I felt like I was doing the right thing with nutracheck and a cal deficit, but friend has thrown me off and made me doubt myself.

Your friend is doing it wrong , sure she will lose weight, but it will be a lot of muscle and she won’t like her aappearance at all.

Lift weights and eat 30g protein each meal or you’ll
lose muscle alongside the fat.

Yes and she will have no energy, lose more hair, electrolyte imbalance which affects the heart etc

Focus on protein.

When I started I sometimes struggled to get 800 calories in. I didn’t fight it, I just made sure I was eating quality food for those 800.

It will stabilise in time. Be patient.

Your plan to go steadily is the better one. It’s safer, less likely to lead to side effects or severe symptoms, and more sustainable and therefore successful, in the long term.

If you are concerned about your budget, try to keep to the lower doses for longer rather than race up the higher, and more expensive, doses in an attempt to hit the finish line sooner. If you look at media articles about people who put all of their weight (and more) back on once they stop WLI the people most affected are those who didn’t make lifestyle changes and plan for maintenance.

From looking at threads even here, some of them seem like a weight loss competition.

Youve to remember:

• It depends on what weight you're starting out at. Some people here are 4/5+ stones to loose, and they will have larger losses comparable to their starting weight. So, don't compare your journey to others.

• Slow and steady is better. If you are way under eating, you can lose hair, more loose skin.

• Focus more on the nourishment of food, e.g., protein, with veg/salad, and some carbs.

You can still eat what you want, snack wise, but just less of it. MJ takes away that urge.

I am crazy for crisps! Bonafide crisp offender. I've often arrived home from a shop not remembering putting a pile of crisps in my bag. And since I started mounjaro, that fix is gone (so far, anyways!). Cant explain it other than that want to eat them is gone...I have been having a snack (if I want) like an apple, or carrot, and sometimes one of those popped crisps low cal versions.

If I was eating like that without MJ, I'd have this constant noise in my head about "have some crisps", "you're running low on crisps", "if you don't get crisps today, you'll run out tomo" and panic. Crazy stuff.

For me, that urge is gone. Also, the competition feeling of MJ is gone also, and I look for particular support. I ignore those types of competition loss. It's my journey.

Friend is doing dangerous weight loss. Eating is your bestie. I have lost 8 stone in just over a year and after the first few weeks where I really struggled I have eaten about 1600 calories a day, sometimes more. I have been losing more slowly since the summer, 0.5lb a week but I’m losing so I’m happy with that. Do not stop eating properly, your body will not thank you for it.

You're absolutely doing the right thing.
I did what your friend did for the first few months but your body adapts to the jabs and then you do need to be more careful or the weight loss slows right down.
Now, I also use nutracheck ( it's good, I like it) and count my calories. You can just use the usual tdee although be aware that it's only an average so you may need to adjust up or down to personalise it a bit.
Sounds like you're on the right track. Good luck with your journey.

Op again
Thanks for the advice, but I have a follow up an if you don’t mind
If I’m following my appetite I’m naturally sitting at around 1200 cals
But I did a few test days and ate more than I wanted to at 1500 cals and seemed to loose more weight??
I’m around 15stone if it helps.

I like the idea of following my hunger, as obviously that’s a better future habit rather than religiously eating to the clock.

Eating more calories for a few days, 300 cals a day from 1200 to 1500, isn't going to be responsible for losing more weight over the course of a week. There are too many other variables and factors that will affect your weight loss each week. As long as you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight, the amount each week may vary, but it's all the weeks together over a long period of time that makes the difference.

So I don't think there's any problem with eating around 1200 cals a day if that's what you're comfortable with. Neither is it an issue if you eat 1500 every now and again. It's probably a more useful idea to consider the nutrition in those calories as much as the exact amount, to make sure you are getting enough fibre, protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.

OP I am losing weight via calorie deficit, I’m not using Mounjaro but I’m not here to judge.
I started 12 months ago and lost 2st in the first 6 mnths. I then decided to maintain for 6 mnths in order to see what my calorie needs would look like to maintain.

I don’t want to have to count calories forever so I wanted to see how I felt eating after a period of deficit. I naturally choose less refined carbs because I no longer like sweet tasting food. A lot of UPFs contain a large amount of sugar and just taste sweet so I’m not drawn to them. Over Christmas despite having a lot of sweet food around I found myself craving a handful of nuts rather than a mince pie. I’ve also had to source bread from an independent bakery because most bread is too sweet. When you reduce sugar in your diet you get used to food being less sweet.

After 6 mnths of maintaining successfully and even losing a few pounds without consciously monitoring calories I’m now going back to deficit to lose at least another stone.

Rapid weight loss ravages your body. The muscle disappears quickly leaving skin to sag. It’s not just the big obvious muscles but all muscles so your face takes a beating. I’m lucky that I gain fat evenly all over so no particular area increases in size greater than others. Fortunately my face is the last place to lose fat But my thighs have disappeared so I do need to work on them. I’m 61 so the skin is no longer as elastic.

Weight loss for me is health motivated not cosmetic. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, now sorted, I also have high blood pressure which has improved but weight loss will never cure it since it is not weight related. I have also had breast cancer so high BMI is not a good idea.

Motivation is subjective but having a solid goal and reason to lose weight helps you focus. I put on a few pounds over Christmas but because I know I can lose those pounds in a few weeks I don’t panic.

A good set of scales for weighing yourself and an accurate set to weigh food are essential. I have a set that link to an app so I can see my progress over the last 12 mnths. I try not to weigh myself daily because you can become a little demoralised. Being able to see my progress over 12 mnths on a graph on my phone is far more motivating than selfies. When measuring the weight of food I have a small measuring cup and make note of the volume and associated calories, it means I’m not constantly weighing food but also not underestimating calories.

Slow weight loss is not as noticeable to everyone so you avoid the comments or accusations. On the other hand you don’t always get the feedback or “compliments”. Remember, you are losing weight for you not everyone else. It’s not a competition. Slow weight loss is likely to be far more sustainable than losing it all in 3 months. By the time you get to your target your friend may have lost her weight and regained it if she is unable to continue on Mounjaro. It’s an expensive drug, one of the reasons I was keen not to become reliant on.

It took me 20 yrs to gain the extra 3.5 stone I know that it may take 2-3 years to lose it. I’m post menopausal so it is much harder to shift excess weight but I am determined to make life easier for my body as it starts to age.