Huge shock on the scales- is Mounjaro right for me? Please share your thoughts.

[OneOliveOtter]

Hello,

Ive been wanting to get back into horse riding to heal some trauma I had from my childhood. Riding schools understandably have a weight limit and the ones I’ve looked at tend to be around 13.5 stone, with a couple of outliers going up to 14 stone. This meant I had to weigh myself which I haven’t done since my pregnancies.

Im 5ft 9 and a size 12/14 on top (usually the matters as I have very large boobs, 32K!) and a 14/16 on the bottom depending on the shop.

I stepped on the scales and I currently wear 15 stone 9ish which was a bit of a shock. I know I am overweight- I have very fat thighs and my boobs are massive and my tummy is flabby. But I didn’t realise I could be quite so far away from being able to ride again. My BMI is 32 so I do qualify.

Has anyone used weight loss injections in this situation? Losing 2 stone on my own feels completely insurmountable. I already eat fairly healthy but I probably fall down in terms of snacking and sweet stuff.

I think I need some help but I don’t want to be silly about this.

My mum died of bowel cancer two years ago, she had struggled with her weight for most of her life and had brief period of losing a lot and then gaining it back. I have regular colonoscopies and have reduced my consumption of things like red meat, I don’t drink etc but I’m aware that not being classed as obese would be another step to staying as healthy as I can. Can anyone offer any advice?

When I wanted to get back into riding I joined the gym doing both weights and cardio, cut out eating between meals and started cycling a lot to build up my legs. I lost two stone without too much effort and kept it off. Mounjaro isn't the brilliant drug you might think. Keeping the weight off without a lifestyle change is impossible.

Go for it, keep the goal in sight of that first ride.

I mean, I’d say go for it but you will get mixed responses on here, for sure.

I’m using Mounjaro and I’ve lost 3 stone in a year (17 stone down to 14), which is much slower than some people say it works for them. It’s less than a pound a week, I think. I’m happy with that, though, as it has felt gentler on my body than dropping very rapidly, as some people seem to experience.

I plan to keep going but my main observation is that MJ made me feel much, much better physically before it started to show as weight loss. I felt an immediate sense of reduced inflammation and generally felt less ‘all over the place’ physically.

I used it for a year. Came off it and put weight back on. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you think you could do it for life. I’m still needing to lose about four stone but want to do it now without using a weight loss drug. It did have benefits like food noise reduced and I wasn’t as hungry but it was very expensive, lots of eggy burps.

Just go ahead and start mounjaro. You won’t regret it.

As regarding riding, I know four people who have taken mounjaro to be able to ride again.

I had horses and rode all my life.

I have lost several stones with mounjaro. No side effects.

Have a look at monj uk which is a price comparison site to see which provider you want to start with. I can personally recommend those I have used which are Curely, IQ Doctor and Pharmacy2U but there are lots of others.

Reasons for changing suppliers is that costs sometimes change and most offer discounts for your first order.

Personally I would avoid Medexpress as they can be annoying with their customer service.

And to follow up what the other pp has said — that sense of being supported by MJ has really helped me stay in the right mindset for being consistently more active and to feel the benefit of it more clearly than when I was fully occupied with wrestling so hard (and mostly unsuccessfully) to get a handle on my eating.

Keeping any weight loss off without lifestyle changes is impossible, regardless of how you get there.

You are eligible, so it's definitely an option. If you think you can lose the weight without WLI, you could try for a set period of time, see how you get on and then make a decision whether to continue or to try WLI. But, if you know that you are unlikely to stick to a diet long term, then of course you could start with WLI now.

You do need to consider what your approach to maintenance would be, whether to stay on it long term, or stop either immediately or gradually. Best to plan for that up front so you have an idea of the long term costs.

I would aim for a decent chunk lower than the top limit for riding, to give you some leeway and to give you more choice as to riding schools and horses. Also better for the horse regardless.

Mounjaro, or the decision to medicalise your weight loss "might be" right for you.

It is not a quick fix, there are side effects, there are risks to any medication, and you might need to stay on it to maintain your weight. It is also a huge financial, potentially long term, commitment buying privately as most people have to.

But, the health risks from remaining obese and/or relapsing back into obesity are also very significant.

You need to research what the medication involves, balance up the two personally for you, and see where the highest risk lies.

I’ve had exactly one instance, in a full year, of what I think people must mean when they talk about ‘eggy burps’ (I often think they’re choosing that phrase because it sounds extra disgusting). It was when I ate some very greasy fried bacon out of misguided politeness.

So fwiw, based on my experience/what I’ve read, I suspect if you don’t eat rubbish you are unlikely to have a major side effects problem.

Do the online consultations but you sound ideal for MJ. Don’t waste time messing about with standard diets.

I had a good experience on MJ, only ever had the 2.5g starting does, lost the 2 stone I needed to lose in a year, stopped about 6 months ago and haven’t put it back on. It was an effortless way to cut out the snacking and large portions.

I stopped because I wanted to enjoy food again and never feeling very hungry was getting boring.
Portion habit stuck. Am better at avoiding snacks as motivated to stay in my new smaller clothes.

My main problem is I just wouldn’t know where to start. My legs are huge anyway- possible lipedema, at the moment I aim for 3000 steps a day walking the dogs and I go to Pilates a couple of times a week which is great for my wellbeing and flexibility but hasn’t made a difference to my weight.

I think my main problem honestly is that I don’t really know what I’m doing nutrition wise. My main meals are healthy, I don’t eat between 9pm-9:30am but I fall down on things like oils, sauces and sweet stuff.

Im really ashamed that I’ve left myself reach this point. I look quite balanced because I have big boobs and so my shape isn’t too bad but the weight remains obviously. And I know this isn’t healthy.

I’ve been making changes to my diet for about six months but I’ve never weighed myself, or not for about 5 years, so I’ve really no idea what impact it’s had.

i think my main issue is probably snacking, mostly in the evenings. My meals are actually very healthy because I genuinely love healthy foods but the snacking lets me down.

I am also not doing any exercise beyond the dog walking any the two classes a week. So that isn’t helping either.

I think I’d struggle to lost at least 2.5 stone without some support.

@OneOliveOtter a first step might be to track your calories for a normal week of eating, and see how many calories you are taking in compared to what you need. It is a bit of a faff to track calories as you do have to measure and count all the oil, sauces etc, but you won't know how far off your daily calorie need you are otherwise.

That would be useful information regardless of whether you are going to use WLI or not.

Sounds like Mounjaro would give you a good start BUT you need to make lifestyle changes otherwise the weight will just go back on.

Start by keeping a food diary. Don't worry too much about following a particular eating regime like intermittent fasting or low carbing. At this stage your main enemies are likely to be mindless/empty calories (crisps, sweets, biscuits, soft drinks) and overly-large portions. Mounjaro will knock that on the head.

Have you consulted a medic over your possible lipodema?

A personal trainer can work wonders if you can afford it along with radical changes in diet. You can eat as much vegetables as you like, stir fried, soup, anything, a small piece of protein, tofu, chicken, or beef. And that's it. Porridge for breakfast with nuts or a banana . . .

Do it. Why suffer when there’s help. With the medication you want to eat healthier, as PP said- you just don’t crave crisps & sweets- but definitely use the time on it to build your own willpower/ change tastebuds/ develop good eating habits. Exercise is great but I put on 2 stone alongside increasing my fitness over past 5 years.. because my diet was rubbish! It’s all about what you put into your body. That said, you must weight train to prevent muscle loss on WLI. Do you research first.. but I’d 💯 recommend it. Miraculous drug.

I can recommend MJ. I was BMI 31, used it to get down to 23 (didn't really want to go lower that was fine for me) which was 3 stone off. Took just under 5 months.

Came off December 2024, and I am half a stone lighter than when I took the last dose so it doesn't go hand-in-hand that you will regain (as much as others want to say you will) as long as you make some healthy changes with regard to diet and exercise. I eat completely differently now.

In 2024 I went from 20st 3 down to 15st 9, I regained a stone when I stopped it, but managed fo stay in the 16s since. I still want to lose more weight, I’ve tried without it as I get side effects but if losing weight was easy then there wouldn’t be multimillion pound diet industries making money from it.

Statistically if you are obese and lose weight you are very likely to regain it, that goes for any diet or lifestyle change. So I don’t think the worry of regaining is the criticism people insist it is. You have to keep working at it

I agree with everyone above who has suggested a food diary to really get an accurate idea of your calorie intake. I have just started using the Nutracheck app as I was convinced I was not eating over 1400 calories a day and (shock horror)...I was. It it very sobering when you realise that one miniature Reeses peanut butter cup (tiny!!!) is 50 calories, so what I was thinking as negligible in the scheme of things wasn't. Whether you then go on to use mounjaro or solely calorie control then up to you but at least you know where the problems are.
I paid 27.99 for a year's subscription, much less than my fitness pal and it seems to do everything I want.

An influencer i follow does a thing where she makes an evening "snack bag" she makes 7 for the week. And they are 150-200 cals
So it'll contain something like
1 x sherbert boiled sweet
1 x bag of popcorn / skips
1 x itsu seaweed snacks
4 x mini eggs

Or something like that to whatever the call limit is.

Might be worth trying this.

Fat jabs do work but cost ££££ and they wouldn't be my first port of call.
I am on them and 2 yrs in still overweight!
Im short and a bit older.... and got into a bad way after 2 kids close together i was 5"3 and over 105kg

She also plans her food and logs it in mfp the night before.
I dod this for a while amd if you cam be bothered it works well!

Based on what you’ve said about your meals, why not book a consultation with a dietician. Get them to go over what you eat. Start by keeping a diary of everything for two weeks and take that with you.

If that weight has crept on over a few years, it may only need some simple tweaks to slowly lose that weight again. If they can’t help, you can still go with WLI.

I did notice you said you do 3000 steps a day, that’s well under what is recommended for healthy adults. That said, weight loss itself will come from the food you eat. Timing up the legs and cardio health will come from increasing your steps. Wishing you luck and good riding.

I am aiming to do a similar rhing i think you want to do, use it mainly to get rid of the backlog of weight from covid times. Since you have changed your lifestyle i dont see the problem with using it to lose this and then come off it using the back up of the new regime.
so it could be good support and when you lose it you might find other things like getting your steps up and changing how you view snacks. good luck

Can you afford it?

you’re obese, it’s a presption med to treat obesity. So they link if you can’t do it alone.

I feel wonderful on it. By bmi was same as yours, now 20 and maintaning for the last 10 months on a low dose. My blood test results all great, my weight stable, and I’m very fit as I work out most days.

id say a huge amount of us were about rhe same bmi as you , and yeah our boobs growing with our weight is very common, but they do shrink back,don’t worry.

do you really only want to lose 2 stone? It gives you no buffer for horse riding and puts you at 13 stone 9. So not eligible for many places.

I've been on MJ for almost a year, so I fully support its use, and think it's brilliant.

However, that being said, I am not getting the sense you have actively tried to lose weight without it yet. You said you aren't sure about nutrition and don't exercise much. I would start there first for a while. As wonderful as MJ is, it's a medication with risks. Most of us on MJ have tried the nutrition and exercise but are fighting uncontrollable food noise and hunger, often driven by perimenopause/hormone changes.

If you are struggling to manage hunger and food noise despite trying to eat healthily, and exercising a sufficient amount, MJ could be really helpful for you. Even if you do go on MJ you will need to think about nutrition and exercise anyway. It won't make the weight go away on its own.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do

I have no idea how much I’d want to lose, the riding was my goal.

I know my BMI puts me at obese but I think 2 stone would be quite a dramatic difference. Although my BMI is really high, the weight doesn’t look as obvious on me because I’m tall. And quite proportionate even though ny thighs and boobs are much bigger than id like! I think 2 stone would be quite a bit difference and I’d be really happy with that although of course it would be great to be as healthy as possible.

You sound like you’ve put a lot of work and dedication in to improve your lifestyle overall which is great.

I definitely want to exercise more, I really enjoy the Pilates and find it helpful for my flexibility etc and just mentally too.

Nutrition wise, my meals are really healthy, I think it’s snacks that I fall down on and also not really having the knowledge about protein and so on and perhaps feeling a bit lost with what to swap as I have a lot of allergies. So that I could definitely use some help with and need to work on!