What to do now I’m at goal

[Blossoms17]

I’m at goal weight which is just unbelievable, and I’m thrilled. But now I’m anxious about what is best to do.
Ive lost over 3 stone, and back in a healthy bmi for the first time in years and years. Its a strange feeling.
im on 5mg.
I dont know whether its better to stabilise and stick on this dose and up calories for a few months then think about titrating down. Or just titrate down to 2.5 then come off and try alone.

I do want to eventually come off, but not sure I’m ready to right now.

what are you doing?

I was only ever on 2.5 and got to goal in Jan. The last 4 weeks I’ve taken 1.25 (actually missed this week as away) and have 2 doses left. Then I’m on my own!

I would titrate down slowly splitting doses if necessary (albeit know that’s not the prescribing advice so your decision!)

I was considering using a 5mg to take 2.5 but have never gone past the 30 days and worried I’m going to get ill.. but it does seem a lot of people do it?

Congrats on getting to goal too!

I’m interested as very nearly at goal too.

from reading lots of threads on here about experiences and people restarting, I think I am going to stay as I am for a few weeks whilst monitoring calories and trying to get close to tdee, then gradually try to reduce.

For now at least, I can afford to continue jabbing so will keep on weighing and tracking, and see how I go.

lotus who I am buying mj from encourages that you aim to be stable in terms of weight, dose etc before reducing.

Am 30lbs down, 11 off goal - so not quite there yet. Am planning on losing a bit slower - so 1lb a week instead of 2/3.

Think I’d titrate down to 2mgs / 1mg for a while before coming off completely

Congratulations on reaching goal op! 🙌🎉⭐️

Maybe just keep it in the fridge?

Keeping it in the fridge makes no difference to the 30 day use guidelines. The manufacturer instructions still say to discard after 30 days once opened whether in the fridge or not.

I would titrate down slowly for the following reasons: 1) stopping suddenly can cause a rapid return of appetite & food cravings, thus titrating down will help you adjust gradually. 2) Your metabolism would have adapted while on the meds, so a slow reduction gives it time to rebalance & reduce the risk of a quick weight regain - so much evidence supports this. It will also let you test & adopt hunger control strategies (meal plans, portioning, protein/fibre, sleep) as the drug effect reduces. 3) Reducing the dose stepwise also lowers your chance of withdrawal symptoms, e.g., nausea, stomach issues, etc plus it allows you to still get help in managing hunger. I'd encourage you to exercise if you are not and drink enough water/fluids. 40% they say of weight loss on GLP1 is muscle, which is scary in my pov as it's so hard to put muscle on not fat, unfortunately. You dnt want to be a 60-year-old who can't walk up the stairs, pick up her bags etc etc.

I went down to 5mg and I’ve put 8lb on in the last few months. I was hoping to be on a maximum of 2.5mg but doesn’t look like that will be possible at the moment.

Voy pharmacy is now prescribing pens to use over for 6 weeks, that should give you some reassurance at lease 6 weeks is ok.

Did you exercise? Are you exercising?

@Sal210873 I’m doing the same level of exercise I’ve done throughout. I can’t do a lot as I have back problems, so unfortunately can’t increase it due to pain.

I reached goal over a year ago having lost 5 stone. I've continued to take MJ weekly, I'm taking 3mg. I'm going to keep doing this for a while, I sort of accept MJ gives me something I was missing so this may need to be long term. I'm with Oushk who support maintenance.

@Blossoms17 I would personally up my calories for a few weeks to maintain weight, not lose. Once I was confident I had stabilised my weight at goal, then I would start to titrate down.
I wouldn't titrate down until I was happy I had my calorie intake at the correct level to maintain at goal.
If I was on 5mg, I would go down slowly, probably to 3.75mg first, for at least a month, until I was confident I was still maintaining and not gaining.
Small steps!

Yes, 3-4 times a week. I'm a tad addicted. It's a mental thing for me, too. I also take a 95% essential amino acid sachet In my tea in the ams. It helps to preserve muscle. Everyone says to eat protein, protein, protein, but it's the amino acids you need from the protein.

Have you tried swimming? Even just doing some exercises in the pool, just legs.

Sorry, reread – you are exercising; that's what matters.

I’m on MJ 2 years.
5 stone off. Have been at goal since last summer. I’ll stay on it forever. I take 5mg weekly.
I know the minute I come off it the switch goes back to ‘eat’, so I’m good with the switch off.

I came down from 7.5 to 5 and just staying on 5 for as long as I can justify the cost as I'm terrified of gaining the weight. I was a few days late using it a month or so ago as I was late ordering and the hunger I felt was wild!

I’m so worried about this. Does the hunger actually comeback stronger or is it because we aren’t used to it

At the risk of getting shot down, because every time I say this I do for some reason there's a group of people that are very upset when someone maintains without using MJ.

Disclaimer: I don't care what other people do, if you feel that you need it to maintain then you do what suits you! There's zero shame in staying on MJ at a low dose if you need it. I am already on a billion medications so didn't want to stay on another long term and then there was the added cost, so I wanted to try and maintain on my own. I also didn't have any food issues, I was just lazy and ate too much (again, not a popular view but it's absolutely true in MY case, I hate exercise, I love food) so I was quietly confident that with some effort I could maintain. I move a lot more, I eat a lot less.

Before anyone comes for me, I KNOW it's not that easy for everyone.

I stopped taking MJ December 2024, I was on it for four months, four pens, only went up to 5mg and lost 3 stone. I was 8st 11.6lb when I stopped taking it and today I am 8st 4lb. I've not been trying to lose weight, just maintaining.

The hunger does not come back worse, it just comes back.

It's hard to know. I've lost 2 stone and maintained this for a year now. I wanted to eat everything in those couple of days, terrified me !

@Blossoms17 I've been a few days late with an injection now and then, and I don't get massive hunger suddenly.

I think you just need to decide on an approach but be prepared to be flexible if things don't turn out how you expect or hope. So decide on another number of months on 5mg, then some number of months on 2.5mg, then see if you feel like staying on 2.5mg for a while, or whether you might do a half dose for a few months with a view to stopping. It's also worth considering the pharmacy that you are with, and what their policy is with regard to stopping and restarting, if you find that after a while you would like to go back onto the 2.5mg dose.

Can I ask what you typically eat in a day? Is it a constant battle? (Anxiously aspiring to be able to maintain without meds)

I’ve been at goal for over 6 months , 4 stone down ,
I feel like I eat a lot , the suppression has deffo subsided but I move a lot more . I’ve got a 10mg pen and a spare in fridge still , I’m injecting fortnightly , so I guess you Could say 5mg , I have no intentions of coming off completely ( yet at least ) , it’s possible psychological for me but it’s a comfort blanket .