Mounjaro 'buffer' weight?

[Pegs11]

Wondering if people have given themselves a 'buffer' when they use mounjaro - i.e, deliberately losing more weight than their goal weight, in case they gain back some pounds when they come off the jabs...? I'm 5 foot, and 10.7 stone currently. I would be happy to end up at 9-9.5 stone, but thinking of trying to get down to 8.5 stone initially... then if I do put (up to) a stone back on, I won't feel too terrible about it 😅. Anyone else done this?

It's not microdosing, people use the term incorrectly but they generally just mean taking a smaller dose from a larger pen. So people might buy a 15mg pen which has 4 x 15mg doses, or 60mg overall. They would then take multiple smaller doses from it (eg 24 lots of 2.5mg), using syringes to extract, and using the pen for much longer than the 30 days the manufacturer states is the time limit for keeping an open pen.

So, it's using the medication against the safety advice, and you may also run into issues with being able to be prescribed a high dose pen and being able to get another prescription for a high dose pen after a potentially very long gap.

I'm 5ft6 and just reached 10 stone. Started at 17 12 months ago.

I think my buffer is going to be 9 stone 7lbs.

I'm a steady size 8 now so pretty pleased.

OP, you’re a couple of inches taller than me so just be aware if you’re anything like me your maintenance dose may be the same as your weight loss dose as you will find a natural ‘set’.

My weight settled at 7 stone 8 pounds and 10mg. I have not lost weight for 9 months and am not trying to.

As I’m shorter than you, peri menopausal, etc my calorie intake to maintain weight is literally 1000 a day. It’s not possible for me to do that without the medication, I would naturally drift higher as it’s too low a calorie intake to not feel hungry every minute of every day without the meds.

The other thing is that this weight is where I had to get to in order to get my inflammation as low as possible (my hormones are difficult, small amount of arthritis produces swelling, and as I’m so small every bite has to be carefully thought out - protein first, don’t eat sugar unless protein first).

My body is a small, fit and healthy machine now. But my inflammation was still high and painful at 8 and a half stone. The good news is that being short means I don’t look skinny at all, my bmi is 21 so bang in middle of healthy range.

Just don’t be surprised if at some point you stop losing on a certain dose.

Yes, my target was into the 9st 10ish, and then if I hit 10st then I know I need to cut back a bit. I'm 5'6

Well done! Great achievement.

Yes, my starting was 18st 11. I've had various targets along the way and met my target of 10st 3 on Christmas day. I'm reverse dieting so lost a little more as not quite at maintenance calories yet. I read that once you eat maintenance the scales will go up because of storing water, glycogen replenishment, and increased food volume in the digestive tract so it's worth getting a little below. I want to maintain at 10st-10st 3 longer term. If I go over 10st 3 I go back into deficit calories.

I won't be able to get anymore MJ pens once I've used up my stash as I haven't placed an order since the summer '25 but I have 3.5 pens left I'm dragging out with microdosing for several more months.

I thought that, I wanted 9 stone so went to 8.10, but I’ve been maintaining for best part of a year on a low maintenance dose so seldom go above 8.11, my weight is very stable, I went down to 8,9 before I went on holiday came back 8,13 and was back at 8,10 within two weeks.

so I think it depends on your maintence plans. I’ve found this is the perfect weight for me, and I’m surprised at how stable it is as I socialise a lot, a meal out and drinks and I maybe 8,11 maybe even 12 the next day and I’m back at 8.10 within a couple of days,

I’ve found I can go on holiday, have weekends away, socialise, go for meals, drink etc and as long as I then get back into eating healthy the rest of the time my weight is very static,and of course staying on a low dose makes it easy foe me to immediately go back to good eating habits, where as before I’d have another fuck it day which leads to another, or I’d try to be good but the next social event or just life got in the way.

if you’re coming off totally I’d really advise don’t have as much as a stone. Or even half a stone, as to gain that much it’s 3500 extra cals for each pound gained, so if you do that you’re dieting for longer and it will feel harsher with no drug support, and then life gets in the way and you’re back into never ending diet for the same few pounds, I’d be stricter and give it max of four pounds.

I think it might be Martha Beck’s 4 day weight loss solution (excellent book, btw, recommends short bursts of dieting whilst addressing the psychological reasons for weight gain) that recommended not going more than 4lb or so over your target weight, as 4lb can be dealt with by an intense focus over 2-4 weeks of getting back on track. So you never have to face the long haul of “I’ve been dieting for ages and I’m still not slim so fuck it”.

I’m in a similar place to Broon, still BMI just into the overweight bracket as I’m short, but wearing size 8-10, waist to height ratio is 0.45 and waist to hip ratio 0.75, post menopausal (by some way) and exercise 5 times a week. I really want to stabilise at around this weight, knowing that if I went up 4lbs everything would still fit comfortably but I’d be able to deal with it by focusing for a few weeks.

I’ve made my peace with BMI not reflecting how my body looks or feels

I started on 2.5mg (officially the lowest dose), but the first dose made me incredibly sick with D&V for a full 24 hours - felt like having norovirus! And the second dose did the same! So in my third week (last Friday) I only used three-quarters of the dose and I've been absolutely fine on that. My appetite has increased a bit compared to weeks 1 and 2, but I'm still losing weight so that's fine. I think I'll go back up to 2.5mg next time as I should think (hope!) my body has adjusted to the medication by now. I plan to stay on 2.5mg for my second month and see how it goes.

Just make sure to ear clean and healthy, sugar. Fat and too many carbs can make you have gastro issues.

Same as me but I’m currently 10at exactley!

This is great inspiration, I’ve never thought of having a buffer zone. When I’ve put a few lbs on I just lose it again but I do feel uncomfortable for a few days, this would hopefully help that.

Sorry, yes 3 ml from a 15 pen.
I have a stash of pens as I buy every 2 months pharmacy don’t mind as I’ve always bought from them.
I never went above 5 ml as anything higher than that made me so uninterested in food I think it would have been dangerously unhealthy.
I use the pen counting clicks then when it jams I use a syringe.

My autocorrect keeps going ml instead of mg.

My autocorrect keeps going ml instead of mg.

Just shows how different we are. I'm 5ft 3' recently height measured at GP. I weight 9st 1.5lbs currently bmi 22.9 and I'm a size 10. I'm envying how thin you are at your weight. I have a decent muscle mass too for a woman, currently 38%.

It is crazy how everyone differs so much. I am 5ft 4 and now weight 9st9, I am wearing size 10 Next jeans so in reality closer to a 12 as I think they come up big. My BMI is 23.2. My waist/height ratio is the very top of the healthy range also so do need to lose more there. I would need to be probably closer to a stone light to be a size 8 so BMI around 20ish I guess.

Your weightloss is incredible, congratulations!!

MedExpress prescribed to me when I was under BMI 30. I have also bought from 3 other pharmacies since then, last one my BMI was 23.6. Medexpress apparently can be funny when you are a BMI under 24. Most will prescribe as long as you are still in a healthy range and have been ordering/taking regularly. In fact the last supplier tried to get me to increase dose as I wasnt having side effects.

I’m five six and a half and I’m an eight at a bmi 20. I work out a lot though. It is very unsuhal to be a size 8 and over weight.

Yes, at least half a stone I would say.

I think the idea of "coming off the jabs" in itself is problematic. All of the majors studies to date have shown that the vast majority of people who stop jabbing regain the weight. I assume that I will on some form of GLP-1 for the rest of my life - a view that is shared by my endocrinologist. That doesn't mean that it isn't possible to keep the weight down with an iron will, great self discipline, etc etc. Just that it's pretty unlikely.

I’m staying on too, but it’s not quite correct to say all major studies show regain, the studies were on the folks in trials who only lost 8kg, the real life studies coming out of the USA show people lose much more on average and are more successful at keeping it off.

but obesity is a relapse disease. 80 percent of people who diet regain it all within five years, it’s 97 percent on slimming world and 95 on weight watchers, the simple truth is our habits and our bodies go back to as they were and we regain. I suspect when we see the five year data from real life it will just be the same. I caveat that by saying as people can stay on these drugs till good habits ingrain (unlike trials) then there is a huge chance regain is much much lower.

so I am with you, I’m staying on, but not just as I don’t wish to and can’t regain the weight, and don’t want to live my life struggling not to. As we all know there comes a point where life and our bodies take over. I want all the health benefits the drugs bring,

I've been on mounjaro for 3 weeks and have lost half a stone. Still going strong on 2.5mg, although it's taken 3 weeks for my body to adapt to the meds (I had an extreme reaction after the first two doses with very violent D&V). I'm having to force myself to eat as my appetite is so low. I'm focusing on protein as I know how important it is.

I know we all have different reasons for being overweight. For me, the issue with my weight is partly caused by (early) menopause, partly lack of exercise, but mostly due to extreme stress and the fact I have ADHD which means I really struggle to manage stress - I'm emotionally dysregulated and I don't produce enough natural dopamine - so I tend to reach for the quickest "hit" of dopamine - i.e, sweets and chocolate. There have been many days when all I've eaten has been toast, chocolate and sweets.

I worry about coming off mounjaro as I won't be able to control my terrible eating habits without it - unless I can find some way to address the underlying causes, and to-date I haven't. But I definitely don't want to stay on mounjaro forever. I have to find a way to be able to change my habits for good. I just don't know what that looks like at the moment.

@Pegs11 you need to find stuff that gives you some money endorphins, is there a reason for the lack of exercise? I would be hitting up some weight training and getting some home exercise equipment (weights, kettlebells, resistance band aerobic step) so you can take exercise snacks for your health and stress.

You are very right, unless you can form new coping strategies and change the relationship with food it won’t stick.

Mj will stop you celebrating and commiserating with food and that can help you because you are then forced to address it.

You might benefit from a private adhd coach and some support for managing the effects of it. You have to make it as easy as possible to keep choosing to make good decisions. Path of least resistance.

My living room looks like a gym most of the time as I then will do little bits of exercise through the day every day. If it is all put away I forget it exists and do nothing. If people are coming over I’ll pop it in the corner, but k need it to be accessible and obvious.

@FurForksSake I couldn't exercise with any degree of regularity for several years due to poor health. My health has improved but I'm now very out of shape. I have been making an effort to get fitter in recent weeks, to do some load-bearing and cardio exercise every day. I can only manage about 10-15 minutes at the moment but hoping to increase that over time.

I do have an ADHD coach who is amazing but, having just had the most stressful year of my life (mum died, lost my job, had a health scare, family issues and more) I still haven't managed to get a handle on the cravings, and that's where mounjaro is helping me, but it feels like more of a crutch at the moment in that regard, than a true lifestyle change.