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?

@SnacklessWonder so refreshing to hear your experience, I will be stopping soon, and was scared because of all the anecdotal you'll pile it on stories, I have changed my habits dramatically and don't drink so realistically I know I can keep it off but the hunger is definitely a problem
@OneOliveOtter I would not hesitate to start WLI you sound an ideal candidate. It changed my habits, I cc with nutracheck, a brilliant app imo, and if I fancy a snack it's incorporated into my daily calories, skinny bars are great I love the cherry bakewell only 88 cals, and Greek yogurt is great for breakfast and snacks, good luck hope you get back to riding soon.

Do the MJ. But make the lifestyle changes too. Cut out the snacking etc and look at your portions. And can you increase your exercise? 3000 steps a day is extremely low, I don’t know if that’s because walking is hard for you with lipodema but if you could get it up to eight or ten thousand that would help a lot. And get some weights in.

You can do Pilates with weights. I have been watching Suzanne Bowen she incorporates Pilates with weights. Good luck

I stopped in December so I could join my family. I ate loads and drank lots of gin. I gained a stone and now I am back on track after the sugar rush over Christmas and New year's I am starting to lose weight again. Eating right is a life long journey as we age and I don't plan on taking MJ again. I need to make this work for me in the long term. I will enjoy food but not like I did before. That's the mindset you need and when you do come off have plenty of fruit and veg in your kitchen. Mixed bean salad is good with seasoning. At the moment I don't want to maintain I still have 2 stone to lose. I want to do it without suffering. I wanted to change my mindset and learn about my body. That was a journey.

I think regardless of whether you opt for WLI, you should educate yourself about nutrition. With or without WLI you will need to ensure you are eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Personally I would give dieting a try for a month or so without WLI, because if you can do it alone, why spend the money on the jabs? If you find you can't do it alone, then you can look at the jabs.

Personally I wouldn’t. I think you’re probably just eating too many calories and have lost an understanding of what you should be aiming for. I lost 2.5 stone last year by restricting calories. I think you should try that first and if it’s too hard then try the jabs.

if you are not keen on MJ, maybe start by tracking calories and lifting weights? Actually tracking my calories, rather than just thinking i am eating healthily, made the difference for me.

Find out what your tdee is (Google a calculator) this will give you how many calories you need to maintain your daily weight within your lifestyle. Deduct 500cal per day and you’ll lose 1lb a week.
It should also tell you how much protein, carbs etc you should aim for, and bear in mind eating 100g of chicken breast does not give you 100g of protein!!
If you then weigh/calculate all your food, and find the diet changes are sustainable- do that before you hit the MJ. I say this as someone who is on MJ, I lost a chunk of weight through Slimming World and then plateaued and couldn’t get the weight off (you need to recalculate your tdee periodically). I went on MJ and it turns out I had a lot of food noise (genuinely don’t know how to explain it but know something has gone on the MJ), have not felt full or overrode the feeling of being full after eating. MJ has helped me overcome this, but I’m well aware it’s long term, and I have tried to stay on the lowest dose possible, and lose very slowly.

MJ is brilliant but you have to think about it carefully, it’s not a quick fix, it does involve changing your food mindset, so try alternatives first. Also it won’t necessarily make you drop weight quickly, some people drop 4/5lb a week (also some did this on slimming world too) others lose slowly at 1lb or less a week, you really don’t know how quickly it will work for you. I lost slowly on both.

Whatever you decide, drink shit tonnes of water because your body needs water to metabolise the fat away!

I’m an inch taller than you, same starting weight and was still riding but only one horse who could carry me.
I’ve lost 3.5st in 6 months on MJ now down to 12st and BMI 24ish. Never gone above 2.5mg and have tracked everything that I put in my mouth which is boring but needed. Like you ate fairly healthy but I was eating far too much, effectively double portions. MJ has allowed me to reset my portion sizes to normal and has had a positive effect on other aspects of my health. I hope to lose another stone with my remaining 6 months, then come off and see how I go.
My riding has improved no end and I can now ride a much more diverse range of horses 😊

I have lost 1.5 stone since September by cutting out all refined sugar. I was previously eating chocolate after lunch and dinner and having sugar in tea, biscuits, cake etc. I also started 10 mins of weights daily and a 30 min walk. Had horrific headaches the first week but then felt so much better

I have lost 10 stone on monjroro,and I have another 4 stone to go ..
I currently weigh more than you do op .
However..I would of never used monjroro to loose two stone ,the risks would of out weighed the benefits for me .
I also have already had my gallbladder out ,and I wouldn't of touched monjroro if I had not already had my gallbladder out .
I have lost weight in the past by joining a gym and calorie counting,which I intend to switch to after the next stone of

Yes you can get them online with your bmi.
Why not have a look at all the chats on the WLI threads and give them a go?

WLI are a life long Mexican to treat obesity. You should be on them long term hence maintenance doses they aren’t for a quick fix

'Nutrition wise, my meals are really healthy, ...'
What do you mean by this? You are contradicting yourself.

I think my main problem honestly is that I don’t really know what I’m doing nutrition wise.

What would a standard meal look like to you? What sauces would you have?
What snacks do you have?

Hi OP

Apart from the big boobs, you could be be, height, weight and even including the lipedema, I carry the weight okay and walk a lot so it's the eating that lets me down.

I can't go on WLI as I am medicated for epilepsy and apparently it isn't suitable, but instead I've decided to get a handle on my diet, I eat okay but am a late night snacker/binger and have a real sugar addiction at times, intermittent fasting has worked well in the past but I can't do it now as it makes me too hungry, weight watchers I found too complicated and faffy for me to stick to.

What has helped me since Christmas is working out my TDEE (google it) and it will tell you exactly how many calories you need to maintain and how many you need for weight loss based on your activity level.

Mine said 2000 to maintain so I'm using a tracking app, I've set mine for 1500 and logging everything I eat/drink.. it sounds a faff, but it takes seconds and I rarely go over the 1500, late last night I was on 1200 and hungry so I had a yoghurt and pack of hula hoops, and I'd normally feel guilty because I'd "snacked", then I'd spiral the next day.. but it was within my daily allowance so no problem! Even if I went to 2000 it would only be a day of maintaining, The app also tracks your steps and will add them on as calories to your daily allowance.

I am consistently losing 3-4lbs a week doing this and I don't feel guilt for snacking and am eating more than I was before as I've swapped some unhealthy habits for healthier alternatives which I still enjoy just as much.

If you already eat a lot of healthy foods, I'd recommend trying it to see how you get on!

I'm not a user of WLI but my understanding from reading various accounts is that a key benefit is that they cut down 'food noise'. I.e. people who's brains are so food fixated it seeps into every area of life leading to a predisposition to overeating.

It sounds like 'food noise' isn't the issue for you, as you mange to eat fairly well by your own accounts, but that maybe you've lost sight of calories levels.

Before embarking on an expensive journey with WLI, it could be helpful to take e.g. one month of measuring/recordung what you're consuming to 'reset' your understanding.

Echoing a PP, tracking apps are fab. I use LifeSum for a month or so a few times a year as it puts into context just how easy it is to mindlessly consume way too many calories per day without realising, and how easy it is to 'waste' a big chunk on nutrition poor foods like sweets and chocolate. The app also beaks down carbs, protein, fat intake against a recommended total which was eye opening for me (and really brought home just how shockingly low my protein intake was!).

On the exercise side 3000 steps is a great start. It sounds like we have similar body types and I only see good results with walking 30+ mins per day combined with 20+ mins weights every other day. The latter only requires a kettlebell, youtube and a commitment to making sure those future horses have a controlled rider with good core/leg strength! Anytime you feel motivation slipping away switch your focus from 'I'm doing this to lose weight' to 'I'm doing this to protect the horses health'.

I would be very reluctant to go on MJ if you’ve only got 2 stone to lose.

Remember coming off them will cause very fast weight gain and the goal is for very obese people to at least be a couple stone lighter than they originally were.

If you’re not morbidly obese then I would try everything you can before committing to them.
You cannot just go on them for a couple of months and then expect to come off them and the weight stay off.

FWIW my friend has put on over 1stone already whilst still being on them.
She’s on 10mg and the weight is just creeping on.
It reduces your appetite but if you emotionally eat or eat out of boredom etc then the weight will obviously come back on.

Try reducing your carbs, upping your protein and tracking your calories.
Do it for 4 weeks.
If you’ve seen no improvement then perhaps look into it.

Coming off them doesn’t cause very fast weight gain. Weight gain is only if you revert back to normal eating habits before the drugs, the drugs don’t melt the fat off and it doesn’t magically appear back when you stop either. Good grief. And hunger levels just return to before, simply people aren’t used to it. The drugs do not change us permanently or do something weird, they work when you take them and not when you stop.

its like any other diet stop and go back to old eating habits and you’re going to regain. But no the weight doesn’t suddenly come on like you wake up two weeks later 3 stone heavier even though youre still dieting

do people really beleive this stuff?

I lost 3 stone and feel amazing! Not just the weight loss either. So I would do it, for me it just made it easy to do all the things I know I should be doing. The doctor i did it with had a few rules: no breakfast, protein heavy lunch, normal dinner as your eating with the kids etc. Get rid of all UPF s from
your diet. We eat healthy too and the rest of my family is slim. However, I had constant blood sugar crashes so smacked, ate crisps late at night and drank wine every night. I eat well now and really enjoy my food, I still drink m when i’m out. But never just because. You won’t look back! Oh and don’t skip the gym you need to build muscle

Some might, but what is true is that unless the changes to eating habits are maintained the weight will go back on. It won't go back on immediately.

@BettyTurpinPies most people I know on them have dramatically changed their habits, me included, so intermittent fasting and protein heavy meals alongside cc, weights, so I am keeping the 5 stone off,on a micro dose, it's obvious if you don't do that you'll regain. It's nearly a year now since starting, and I've got no intention of getting fat again I love my size 6 clothes too much😁

Well done, but the main points are that you have made changes.
You're doing fine and I'm sure you look and feel great.

Same as any diet then.

I go carriage driving instead of riding on the horse. Horses can pull more weight than they can carry, and I've been able to drive ponies and horses of various sizes, including a 12hh Dartmoor pony. Obviously horse fitness comes into it as well, but as I've struggled with my weight and knew about the riding weight limits, I decided to stick with carriage driving and found a place that had fit horses to pull me. I have also lost two stone using mounjaro, but the weight didn't stop me from carriage driving. I drive at GO Equestrian near Tickhill, Doncaster if anybody else is curious.

Perfectly reasonable to try WLIs in your circumstances. Lots of us were low 30s BMI when we began. You don't have to be massive to be obese and, as you say, the risk is there.