Coming off the Jabs - please tell me what happened?

[coconuttyz]

I’ve been off Mounjaro for 2 months now. I got down to my target and started to worry about the injections so decided to stop - I’ve gained 5lbs in that time.
Currently trying to maintain by counting calories (1350 a day) 10,000 daily steps plus running 5K x3 times a week.
Was anyone able to maintain following a similar pattern?
I’m sure the 5lbs gained has gone straight to my stomach and hips, but otherwise I still feel quite lean.

Any advice and tips welcome!

TIA

I stopped mid November and I’ve put a stone back on.
I’ve ordered a Weygovy pen now

I went down to 10st 2, in November i stopped the jabs. I decided to allow myself up to 10.7. Im currently 10 stone 9, so need to loose a couple of pounds.
I try to plan whst I eat. Have a banana for breakfast and take a small lunch to work, then I eat a normal cooked tea. I give myself more leeway at the weekends. I also excepted I would put some weight back on but in moderation.

The second bit.
I became very ill and was bed bound for 3 days a few months ago and couldn't eat. I dropped from 102kg to 96 kg. Thankfully I haven't put it back on. I'm just not clear why weight regain seems automatic.

Honestly, I am struggling to come off completely. I’ve reduced down to 2.5 mg and maintained my goal weight for two months now including over Christmas, but I still feel I need that bit of help. I have always struggled with food more in winter so will try again when the weather warms up. But it may be that I need to either continue a low dose or take it intermittently long term. Disappointing, but I can live with that. It would be £100 a month if I order a 5mg pen every two months, which luckily I can afford.

Lol yes I know how it works thanks! Yes I was eating “significantly above what was required to maintain my body weight” as my appetite came back crazy strong, I had even more cravings than I did before I started on MJ. I also wasn’t trying that hard. It was over Xmas/new year and I wanted to enjoy myself. I’m not upset about the stone (although would’ve liked it to go on slower) I deliberately got down to a weight lower than I wanted to give myself a buffer zone over Xmas as I knew I’d put on weight

Yep, that’s true.
I went from 3 meals in my 20s (and not gaining weight) to 2 meals in my 40s (and still gaining weight). What works for me now is to have 1 meal a day and have some snacks (ideally healthy) before or after the meal. I found that instead of eating 2-3 small meals where I count calories and choose lean ingredients, I prefer to eat a normal meal where I eat whatever I want. The snacking mean I don’t get hungry. And intermitent dieting is v good for you.

I’ve been off since March and maintaining. But I do a ton of exercise to give me a bit of leeway with food or I would feel quite deprived I think.

I struggle to grasp how this happens. When I came off ozempic in the early days of shortages I gained 1/2lb a week steadily. I know why, because I tried to fight the hunger but didn't manage it well enough. How do you go from WLI calories to gaining pounds of fat immediately? I know some of that stone would be water but even so...

Because obesity causes damage to the body that lasts a lot longer than the body fat. The issues that led to weight gain return immediately when the medication leaves your body. Losing weight doesn't mean you're 'cured'.

Im only doing fast walking, for balance and MH

I have no interest in weights but in addition cannot lift due to injuries. I was also told by a number of health professionals that the walking is weight bearing

And when I say fast, I mean my fast, I can only go at about 3 miles an hour.

I dont get out of breath.

Walking is body weight exercise, it won't build muscle. That's not to say it's bad or unhelpful because it is great for mobility and wellbeing, but it won't help you increase your TDEE. That's doesn't seem to be your goal anyway so crack on :)

Because when off, like when people stop any diet, they start consuming more than they need to maintain their body weight and gain weight, just in the exact same way they gained weight before the injections, getting them to obese and being eligible,

80 percent of people who diet regain the weight. They relapse, portion sizes creep up, treats creep in, old ways start to emerge.

it’s not a complex thing, there is no magic behind the drugs, you don’t get hungrier off them than you did before, although it may feel that way as not she’d to it, you don’t magically gain weight, the drugs don’t work when you don’t take them, so quite simply people find it very difficult to eat to maintenance cals for a prolonged period and when they eat more than they burn, they regain weight. Same for absolutely any diet plan we come off.

yes walking is weight bearing not weight building, very different things,

I can’t unfortunately as I’ve had pancreatitis which is apparently a big no-no for WLI

The vast vast majority of that will be water

Last week I started an anti inflammatory/acid reflux type diet, I dont need to lose weight as such, technically I started with a BMI of about 26, a few pounds 'overweight'

I didnt do it for weight loss per se, although I would like to be half a stone lighter

In one week the scale show a 'loss' of 8lbs

That is not weight, its pure fluid

@soupyspoonI’m doing similar and feel great on it. The weight loss is a surprise bonus. I wish I’d known about this earlier.

I started taking insulin for my type 1 diabetes. My blood glucose levels became normal so I stopped taking insulin and now my blood glucose has shot up again. I don't understand!

The reason they regain is a) they just suddenly stop the medication and don’t titrate down, adjusting diet and exercise each month as the dose lowers and b) if they HAVEN’T made changes to their diet and lifestyle during the weight-loss phase that they then stick to.

Any diet where you do it to lose weight but then resume previous eating habits leads to weight gain. I think people have the same unrealistic expectations about the long term impact of the medication as they do about any diet - and sadly, as you age, lose muscle mass, are not as active - so you need to accept that you need to lower your calorie intake and/or increase activity/muscle mass.

Did you mean to address that to someone else? I didn’t say it was magical or any of those things. I merely said it was dispiriting to read how hard it seems to be to maintain.

I came off a year ago. Put in 5 pounds immediately and had then maintained since. My measurements have remained the same even with the 5 pounds added.

I was on it for about 6 months. I lost 3 stone. I never went to more than 5 in that time as I was extremely sensitive to it.

I identified why I had become overweight as I thought I was relatively active and ate healthily. Turns out my portions size were far too big. The wine and snacks might have been moderate but were daily. The active life I had was being very busy and knackered but actually quite a lot of sitting and driving.

In the time I was on it, I really worked on portion control and really getting more active. Not more exercise but more movement in daily life. I never had treat days, never came off for Christmas or Easter, as I’d seen others do. I did have wine and snacks but small amounts and not regularly. I recorded everything I ate.

Now my opinion is that I have to sacrifice some time every day or week to focus on what I’m going to eat. Make my lunches everyday, figure out what I’m going to eat in the evening. I have to say no to somethings sometimes. I have to weigh my food 99% of the time. That is what I have to do to keep at this weight. I’m happy and prepared to do that to keep myself at a healthy weight.

Yes sorry it was to @TheQuirkyMaker in their post that they didn’t understand why people regain weight after losing it.

The weights is very important. It will help him regain any muscle he lost without regaining fat.

Ah yes, that makes more sense.

It's not and never has been about not making changes to your diet and habits while on the medication. You can make those changes easily whilst medicated. You cannot necessarily maintain those changes when you stop. Some people can but they are very much the minority. Regaining weight when you stop WLI is not because of a lack of education, or good habits, or effort. It's a medical condition which returns when you stop taking the treatment.

There is a spectrum. If you make changes to diet habits and most importantly to overall health (eg reduce inflammation, improve gut microbiome, and significantly increase muscle mass) then I think it’s possible to maintain when you come off providing you accept parameters like;

no ultra processed food
an element of time restricted eating
adequate water, fibre and volume (veg) to feel full
limit to carb intake (say at 100g a day)
daily exercise - over course of week both cardio and weights, plus increase in daily steps

Re: when to make the changes - they’d have to be firmly embedded and in place before you come off so I’d suggest they should be made once on the medication.

Clearly if go back to old diet and lifestyle will quickly gain. The question to ask is what’s going to be different.

I have a friend who lost 10 stone on lighter life around 15 years ago and she’s kept it off. But she is very very careful about eating wholefoods and keeping carbs low.