What’s your strategy once you come off WLIs?

[threeeggsontoast]

I’m only halfway through my MJ weight loss but with 2.5 stone to go, I’m thinking about I’m going to make sure I never go back to where I was.

Prior to WLI, I was permanently on and off a 1200 calorie a day diet. When I was ‘off’, I’d eat too much and then regain any small losses. However I DO know that I was capable of losing weight it’s just that mentally with 5 stone to lose, I felt totally hopeless and kept putting it off till ‘tomorrow’. All the while I was getting just a little bit fatter every month.

I’m thinking long term now. I don’t want to stay on WLI forever but I know my weight problem isn't go to disappear either. My plan so far, post WLI is to find my maintenance calories, probs 1500 cals (I hope!) and eat within that (which feels doable especially if I eat good protein) and allow myself treats when every now and then. However I’m hoping that because mentally I’d no longer be facing a 5 stone uphill battle, I’d give myself a 5lb ‘buffer’ and if my weight creeps up to that, I just drop to 1200 cals until it’s back down again.

This might sound unrealistic but I do know my mindset at having 5 stone to lose was very much hopeless and ‘what’s the point?’ Whereas 5lbs seems really achievable.

Over the next few months of WLI, I’m focusing on diet changes (lots of protein and fibre) and also doing decent walks 3 times a week. I just know I never, ever want to go back to the self loathing of being 5 stone overweight.

Is anyone else thinking about a plan post WLI?

All of the above, keep up the weight lifting/ protein/ tracking & weighing.. plus I’m considering stocking up on a pen or two to have on hand if the weight does creep up. I am a bit nervous of losing access to my ‘crutch’ once I reach a healthy bmi.

I am planning to come off very slowly, at least 6 months reducing down to lowest dose possible, probably lower than 2.5mg (currently on 3mg).

When I do come off I’ll try to make sure there is a door open to restart with one of the maintenance friendly pharmacies in case I need it.

I think the single most important thing for me is to keep weighing myself.
Once I start avoiding the scales denial beckons and then a few pounds becomes a stone and then several stones and then I feel it is insurmountable again.
Weekly weigh ins really help me.

Keep up the weights
Keep up the high protein
Continue to cut out UPFs
Come off MJ very slowly. With small reductions every few weeks.

I am hoping that the protein/UPF changes will stop that cycle of appetite cravings etc, and that maintenance will be more manageable within this than trying to lose weight

I think a key thing for me was to be planning coming off from day 1. So I never went up to high doses and I never chased high levels of appetite suppression. I wanted to just take enough to make me eat 'normally', not be a slave to being absolutely ravenous soon after eating a perfectly healthy meal.

I think all of the above with the recognition that my TDEE will eventually need to be higher than the calories I have been eating in order to lose weight.
I have been almost fainting at the gym this week and my PT (kindly) had a go at me about eating enough to fuel my workouts.
It’s not healthy to eat way below TDEE for an extended period. So I guess it’s slightly shifting my mindset when I decide to stop losing and start maintaining and continuing to focus on being strong not skinny.
I hope to stay off the alcohol too. This is something else that’s been made much easier through WLIs.

Do we know who the maintenance friendly pharmacies are?

I moved down to 5mg and have spread out the doses to 10-14 days depending on how hungry I’m feeling, so pretty much micro dosing at this point. I’m getting married in May so hoping to maintain until then and then I’ll come off WLI altogether. I’m just hoping to continue the routine I’ve picked up and keep my exercise up as much as possible.

I’m going to keep logging absolutely everything calorie wise. Keep high protein and keep up exercising though I was already doing that before MJ. I like the idea of having a pen in the fridge just in case.

Good idea. 👍

I'm in the process of weaning off WLI but have been plateauing for the past few months, plan is to get another half stone off by the time I drop WLI completely and be prepared to regain that half stone in a few months. I'm not using the BMI scale now as its so depressing to see that scale dropping so slowly as you drop some significant weight, 3 stone =19.0509 kilograms and only 7 off the BMI scale. the difference in shape however has been massive 26 cm drop in waist measurement. so I'm concentrating on changing shape more.

https://monj.co.uk/mounjaro-maintenance-pharmacies/

I started mine pre-jabs , but now the deficit is alot higher than then but had lost a modest amount of weight. I used IF and had fast days.
The plan is to eat a normal diet not in deficit mostly, but continue to be protien forward. I will continue to IF and fasting a couple of days, restrict alcohol and weigh myself monthly. If its getting high or my clothes are getting uncomfortable will go into deficit for a week or so to get back to the weight i settle at.
Still going to the gym, using the walking board in meetings and starting with a PT instead of paying for jabs

🙏

https://www.thetimes.com/article/29b8487d-1d3f-484a-bdc0-ce43768986c6?shareToken=5e14d910b4b0231196b89c7caee4465f

i was reading this article earlier and have downloaded the kindle version of her book (free on kindle unlimited)….

some really useful stuff that i think will be a help along with reducing really slowly….

Great article - thanks for sharing 💛

I gym 3/4 times per week and run 3 times per week. My problem is and always has been my food choices. I pick rather than eat. Im at target and tried to come off the jabs last year and gained 2 stone in about 3 months so went back on again. I've gone 10ml to 5ml and managing to maintain. Planning on dropping again to 2.5 next month and potentially to 1.25 in 3 months time before coming off completely.

Calorie counting at my maintenance cals and berberine (which seems to have very mixed results and I know lots of people find it crap but it works for me!).

I wouldn't have been able to stick to 1200 cals without MJ to lose the weight but think I could do maintenance.

Committed anorexia frankly

Since Mounjaro enables me not to have to count calories, or obsess about food, I intend to stay on 5mg indefinitely. Hubby and I are vegetarians and eat very little UPF anyway, so healthy eating involves no effort. We also lift weights, swim and walk. There are other (in addition to controlling appetite) benefits associated with these drugs, including the reduction of inflammation in the body. As an older woman, this alone is a significant benefit to my long term health.

For me it’s probably going to be that I don’t ever come off. If I do then I’ll be ordering a pen every 11 months to keep my prescription available.

Protein, fibre, tracking, weights. Weighing a few times a week and not stopping, as someone else said that’s always my downfall.

I have a zone of tolerance of 7lbs in either direction, if my weight goes above my 7lb window for two weigh ins a week apart then I’ll take decisive action and go from maintenance calories to restriction.

That’s scarily fast!

Hi OP, I’ve just moved into the maintenance phase. During MJ, I’ve really tried to focus on nutrition and utilising protein and fibre. I’m also a creature of habit and eat the same lunch on repeat and then my evening meal is a protein/carby meal but with loads and loads of veggies/salad and I snack on watermelon I have recipes in the fridge. Since maintaining I’ve tried to stick to the same meals but I’ve added back in breakfast (that I was initially skipping). I have Greek yoghurt, protein powder and berries. I’m only on week 3 but I’ve fluctuated within 1lb either way.

I’ve never weighed myself much but I’m going to weigh in a couple of times a week to keep a check and adjust my diet accordingly if needed. Also, added in a few treats on a weekend.