Not sure what to do next

[daysare]

Hi, I’ve put this in weight loss injections as I’ve spent the last six months on Mounjaro, going from fifteen and a half stone to ten and a half. I did this diet; I’ve done it before successfully but I just couldn’t seem to find the willpower. Mounjaro obviously meant I didn’t have those cravings and so on.

Now I need to come off the shakes etc but struggling a bit with eating a healthy, balanced diet. I’m also wondering if I should use the Mounjaro money for a gym instead; at the moment I do nothing but would like to. Definitely can’t afford both. Any thoughts appreciated.

What do you like to eat? You might need professional help then by the sound of it.

That sounds expensive! All the wrong stuff - chocolate, cake, sweets, toast, fast food.

It is worth saying that you've done it in a way that means you're highly likely to regain the weight very quickly if you come off it though. That's advice for you and for anyone else who sees Mounjaro as a way to achieve a VLCD to lose weight as quickly as possible. It's a recipe for disappointment if you think you can come off it and join a gym and not regain weight.

I don’t like broccoli but I eat it three times a week. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like, like eating vegetables. People are offering suggestions but you have a lot of excuses why you can’t do things.

I think I have two choices; either to stay on the Mounjaro or to join a gym; unfortunately I can’t really afford both and so if the consensus is to stay on the Mounjaro that’s completely fair enough, that’s why I asked and that does so with support and without criticism

I am a bit like that with a few foods; I don’t really like them but I can bear them. A lot though, I really, really couldn’t bring myself to eat (broccoli is one, for instance.) I just end up gagging and retching. It isn’t just veg / unhealthy stuff but a lot of it is.

I’d start with protein first. What do you actually like and will eat regularly? Fish, chicken, meat, eggs, tofu, edamame beans, lentils, Greek yoghurt etc. Build meals around that.

Ideally aim for around 30g protein per meal if you can. If that feels too hard (and it often does), adding something like a clear protein powder can really help. I use MyProtein and have two servings a day, which gives me an extra 22g protein, but I still make sure every meal has some protein in it. Eggs are an easy win for breakfast.

Then look at carbs. You don’t need to cut them out, but keep portions fairly small and choose ones you enjoy so it’s sustainable.

You do need fat too – extra virgin olive oil is great, real butter is fine in sensible amounts, plus things like avocado or a small handful of nuts if you like them.

And vegetables matter. Make a list of the veg you actually enjoy and use those regularly.

Once you’ve got those basics (proteins you like, carbs you like, fats, veg), ask ChatGPT to help you plan meals around them. It will feel repetitive, but honestly that’s pretty normal when you’re trying to lose weight. Over time it does get easier and can even help you broaden what you enjoy eating.

There is one thing to say and then I’ll bow out. The culture of the WLI threads on MN is one of non judgement and support (not adverbial like some other threads!). I’ve been commenting on various threads since I started my journey and have received nothing but kind support. I think there isn’t a lot of point in you posting or us taking our time to comment and make suggestions if you don’t want to hear them. Lots of us have gained huge amounts of knowledge and experience on our journeys by sharing ideas and research info with each other. We do tend to point it out if someone is still learning or hasn’t got the latest evidence based information - that’s what you’re seeing here in our replies. Have you joined the thread for the month you started? Mine is October 2024 and it’s been fab.

My treadmill was £50 on Facebook Marketplace and there are always loads on there. Stationary bike was £30. You don’t have to buy new items.

Do try the ChatGPT advice, give it a list of things you will eat and ask it to generate menus with the macros you need (protein, fibre etc) and as healthy as possible.

At some point later, you may need to think about addressing your limited range of foods and trying to break away from the processed type beige things. But that might be too much to tackle alongside stabilising your weight loss.

Do also take a multivitamin if you don’t already.

My veggie DH has various food issues and lives on a very bland diet of mostly salad and cereals, no hot cooked meals etc. I’ve had to put in lots of effort to ensure our kids don’t follow his lead to ensure they eat a far wider variety of foods. He never eats his ‘meals’ with us apart from Christmas Day when I insist he sits at the table with us.

You sound similar and I think you also suffer from disordered eating with your comment about gagging and retching when faced with something perfectly normal.

Have you considered finding a specialist food disorders therapist to work out why you’re struggling to eat normal healthy foods?

Unfortunately, it’s highly likely that you will put all the weight you’ve lost straight back on if you don’t drastically change your current eating habits and there’s the added danger that you’ll pass your food hang ups onto your kids.

Surely you don’t want that for them?

@letshavetea look, I agree, and yet the second I posted I got judgement which obviously got my back up when it isn’t really the ethos of the board. There’s no need for an argument about it but I was disappointed.

@AldiLidlDeeDee i am sure there is a certain amount of disordered eating but if there’s one thing Mounjaro has taught me it’s that therapy for food related problems just isn’t very effective and it’s also hugely expensive: if I had that sort of money I could do gym plus Mounjaro, it wouldn’t be a problem. Please don’t try to use my children to guilt me. I haven’t done anything wrong here other than really dislike certain foods. I’ve no issue with others eating them and encourage it; I just can’t myself.

Sounds like you have ARFID. There are techniques you can try to add new foods to your diet (if you want to).

Isn’t that where you don’t like foods touching one another? I think I’m just fussy!

No, Arfid is when you only feel like eating certain foods. My DS friend has it and he has never eaten a fruit or vegetable in his whole life (12 y old). Not a big eater in general but can eat food he feels are "safe"; bread, pasta (with nothing), lentils, nuts and one particular brand and variety of chocolate biscuits. No cake, no sweets.

I think you might find that you dont regain it all - I was on it micro-dosing last year to shift a stone, over 9 weeks. Have been off it 3 months now, and haven't regained it all. not at all. it has reset my appetite in a way - it's not all doom and gloom when you come off it! taper down and that will help

Did you lost 5 stone in 6 months on a VLCD?

I think like all diets, the weight will go back on if you revert to previous habits. It’s a shame that my method of weight loss is inviting judgement when as noted earlier this space isn’t normally a judgey one but no matter. At the moment, I’m a healthy weight, I’m actually enjoying life, that’s worth a lot and I’m determined to keep it that way.

absolutely. congratulations to enjoying life! long may it continue

I did Cambridge for a while several years ago. lost 4 stone. When I came off it my metabolism was wrecked. You lose too much muscle.

But you can recover from this. I started a lifting program to rebuild muscle and did manage to stablise things and kept the weight off for a year.

I did put it back on after that but that's on me not the diet really. Although I wouldn't do it again.

No… that can be part of it but it isn’t for everyone.

ARFID is an avoidant/restrictive food disorder that involves being extremely sensitive to textures and tastes, finding it impossible to eat certain foods because they ‘don’t like’ them aka gag and vomit when they try to eat them, rely on safe foods (generally beige, ultraprocessed foods with predictable tastes and textures and sugars). It’s essentially being extremely fussy as it means you avoid or restrict certain food types…. Like almost all vegetables.

My food tastes have changed a lot on Mounjaro. Healthier foods are much more appealing to me now. If you’ve been on shakes, you may not have had the opportunity to notice this. But apparently it’s common so you may well have the same effect. I would always have ordered the steak pie, but suddenly I want the white fish.

I don’t think that pointing out that you will have lost a lot of muscle is necessarily being judgemental. It’s factual and a problem you’re going to need to mitigate. Rapid weight loss without strength training and high protein loses a good deal of muscle along with the fat. That reduces BMR. People often then regain weight, but what goes back on is all fat instead of 40% muscle. This is a cycle lots of posters on here have experienced in the past. So they’re keen to communicate the message that muscle maintenance is important. Exercise needs to be part of your longterm strategy now.

Physio here. Mum with young kids.

I would honestly forget about exercise for the time being, if you aren't 100% confident with a balanced diet yet. Keep it simple and focus on one thing at once. I would stay on MJ and use a nutrition app to track your calories and macros for a week or two (nutracheck is very user friendly and has a free trial). Look up some easy balanced recipes and stick to a few favourites to start with. Then gradually add in a new recipe each week.
Focus on protein intake, try to learn about what foods make a balanced meal (you also need good fats, fibre and carbs to keep cravings at bay - balanced meals will reduce cravings).

In terms of exercise, I would stick to step counting or walking while you get to grips with your nutrition. Later down the line add in strength stuff to help build muscle again. if getting to the gym will be difficult then stick to home exercise, and instead invest in some cheap exercise equipment you can use at home. Basic exercise bands are fine, or you can easily do lots of exercise with no equipment at all and still get decent strength training in.
YouTube is an absolute haven of free workouts, and consistency is way more important than being able to access a gym or equipment. You can exercise when the kids are in bed, or stick the telly on for them for half an hour and do a HIIT workout. Joe Wicks has some really good simple beginner ones.
Google basic no equipment strength training, and you could specify beginner, or a time limit like 20 mins to start. Get chat GPT to make you a plan if you like, and progress it.

Well done on the weigh loss so far, and good luck with continuing your journey. There's nothing wrong with using all these tools to help you get to a healthy weight, and now you're focusing on learning how you'll maintain this. I hope you get lots of good advice - Well done you x

@Myeyeisnotokay has given exactly the advice I would. Given how quickly and the diet you used to lose the weight you will be at high risk of the weight piling back on as soon as you stopped Mounjaro, that’s not a judgement but it is the reality. If you can only afford one of gym or MJ - stay on MJ and take time to find the nutritious foods that work for you, I don’t agree that has to include forcing down anything that you hate, but may involve figuring out what you can add into your diet that isn’t your favourite but does fuel your body well. Lots of ways to exercise that don’t involve a gym membership.

As cost is a concern and you are already on MJ if you are planning ahead, say for 6 months, you could order every month and get higher strength pens for a few months and then use them to sub-dose - see the new prescribing from Voy. You can do that yourself using a cheaper supplier getting 6 weeks instead of 4 and it’s only 35 days of the pen being open. Then taper down when you feel you have got your diet stable rather than stopping abruptly. But I think many of us realise that coming off only works for some and this may be a long term medication for many so it’s about figuring out how to make it sustainable, on or off the Mounjaro.

I am with the majority here, 80% will always be diet, the exercise is such a small part of it.

Why do you need to come off protein shakes? Many people maintain weight but having a protein shake instead of breakfast for example, I did for many years as I can't really eat early but that was a good replacement for me.

Definitely continue with moujaro to maintain and find a healthy eating plan thats sustainable. You can eat at maintenance calories on a low dose then reduce dose as and when you feel its established.

Get some dumbells that you can add weight to when you improve and use ChatCPT for a suitable programme. You need to lift to fail, not just bang out loads of reps, then increase the weight regularly.