Did you lose weight on WLI and then ‘pile it back on again’?

[scatterbrainy]

I’ve been on MJ for 11 months now and it’s been slow and steady losses - 3.7 stone and another 2 to go. When people ask me how I’m doing it, I’m open about the fact I’ve overhauled my diet and have had some help from medicine. However, I keep seeing (and occasionally hearing) this everywhere - ‘you’ll only pile it back on again’. Nice, eh!

So while the studies seem to indicate that’s likely, surely it’s only like every other diet and only happens if you return to your old ways of eating? I will always have to watch my weight and so my plan is to get to goal and give myself a healthy buffer of around 7lbs. If I start gaining, I’ll cut back for about a month or so and get back down to goal. For me, I forever sabotaged my own weight loss because losing 5 stone seemed utterly insurmountable whereas 7lbs seems so much easier.

I know there’s a maintenance thread but just wondering if anyone did lose a lot and then have a big regain? Am I being naive to think I can avoid it? For you, how did you tackle the regain or are you still struggling?

Just trying to get a realistic idea of what might be ahead.

That's a strange thing to say. I think the poster is right, it really is a total lifestyle change and to keep it off you have to maintain that lifestyle. It's tough wli or not.

Surely people will only regain weight if they go back to their old ways of eating, the same as with any type of diet ?
WLI's are just a tool, that are supposed to be used in conjunction with dietary changes and exercise.

I’m interested to know why you think people are jealous. Do you mean people who are slim? Not sure why they would be jealous. Or perhaps you mean people who are overweight/obese and can’t afford weight loss injections. I fall into the second category by the way and feel no jealousy or glee at the idea of people putting weight back on if they stop the injections. It is simply a fact. As you say, they work while you take them. My 13yo has Crohn’s Disease and is on bi weekly biologic injections which keep him in remission. If he stops taking that medication, his horrendous symptoms will return almost instantly. But I don’t have to pay for them thankfully, which is where the problem lies with long term weight management with injections. Coupled with the worry of being on medication for life. Of course there will be people who can keep the new regime going and that’s fantastic, but for most, reactivating that little hunger switch appears to cause old patterns of eating to return. It’s not their fault. I think some people are probably gleeful about this because they think people who use them have taken the easy way (I don’t agree with this at all) and there can be an element of schadenfreude because, really, a lot of people are just shit. But I’m still not sure if it’s jealousy.

I took it from July to November, was on the maximum dose by the end and lost 4 stone on it. I’ve been off it since November and have lost another stone. So a lot slower and a lot more difficult, but it is possible to keep the weight off as long as you are disciplined with diet and exercise.

If you read this posters long posting history on the topic you might understand why I am saying this.

It isn’t about this single post in itself.

I’ve lost 3st on MJ and am trying to work out what my maintenance dose should be. I know if I take a break for too long then the overwhelming cravings come back and I still can’t control them, so I know that without MJ I would put the weight back on.

I know I was overweight because I ate too much, I’d lost weight loads of times before and always put it back on because whatever switch in my brain flicked to let me control the cravings eventually switched off again. MJ is, for me, like a medical version of that switch - it makes it easier to eat the right amount of food without extreme cravings, but it can be there for the rest of my life rather than going away.

Because many people see fat as a moral failure which must be redeemed by suffering and wli mean we don’t suffer enough to satisfy them.

Others enjoy looking down on fat people and more people losing weight is threatening to their sense of superiority.

Also some people are, rightly, angry that this treatment is being kept from them due to finances but blame those who pay privately instead of focusing their anger on the system.

I don’t think it’s jealousy in some folks but it is very clear many are jealous. And I get that, being slim and healthy is perceived as an enviable position to be in, and it must be hugely frustrating to see people succeed, feel so great on the meds and not be able to access, whilst struggling with your own weight.

the issue is when instead of owning that, they attack or post nonsense.

i don’t feel there is a worry to be on them long term, im proactively choosing rhis, due to the many proven health benefits, ie cardio vascular, liver, kidney, reduced cancers etc, and it always surprises me when people fail to take into account the huge risks of being obese.

it’s the leading cause of cancer. That in Itseld is terrifying, so I chose a drug with proven health benefits, and with over 50 million users over 20 years, with 15 years of trials before that, not one person has died from the drugs, not one person has got cancer from them and the instances of pancreatitis or gallstones they are still testing to see if it is in fact the drugs or it’s actually the more likely cause of weight loss and gain.

so I honestly think people should be significantly more worried about the proven and common life limiting and ending risks associated with obesity rather rhan a very safe med for life.

I think you’re mistaking me with someone else.
I’m pro WLI, if they’d been around 7/8 years ago I’d have taken them.
I post here about my experiences of maintaining as hope it might be useful to some. And actually it shows I believe we’re all the same, going through a struggle, no matter the method.

No mistake. I see you.

Thankyou, some people are so defensive about wli that they jump on the people with good intentions too! My post was supportive.

Well whatever you want to believe. People can still read my posts and get an honest account of what long term maintenance is like, no matter the method. Hope it helps some 🖤

Yes! I lost loads of weight on Mj very rapidly and then regained it all AND got a hideously infected gall bladder as a a direct result. I ended up having weight loss surgery at the same time as fb removal and I’ve done amazing. I’ll attach a chart that show my weight loss/gain over the last few years. I had surgery in aug 25 and started mj in 24 . You can see I’d pretty clearly in the photo.

my surgeon says research is showing that most Pele regain when they stop WLI and very few remain stable. They only recommend them for reducing weight loss while waiting for surgery. And surgery is the best long term solution as is a very small % that lose the weight alone or via medication and actually keep it off.

That makes no sense, to only recommend when waiting surgery, these are very safe drugs with a huge health benefits that th3 global health authorities recommend for long term use.

why on earth would anyone want invasive surgery rather than stay on a low maintainance dose.

I would never ever pick surgery over the drugs.

The regain rates for bariatric surgery are also pretty high, and comes with the risk of the surgery itself, post op complications and other issues specific to bariatric operations.

Long term maintenance of weight loss is incredibly difficult and a minority of people manage it so really well done 👏🏻👏🏻 and also thank you for taking the time to share your experience, it’s inspiring and valuable for those of us who have lost weight and are wishing to begin the longer journey of maintaining it in a healthy and sustainable way, that will look different for everyone. I have lost 7st and am happy to stay on a maintenance dose for as long as I am able because my life is so different now and I know that going back to being obese would cause so many health problems which I have managed to overcome such as high BP, pre diabetes, joint pain, inflammation, IBS. I am active and healthy for the first time in years and feel happy and comfortable at my new weight and size. MJ is the only medication I take now and I am sure I have extended my life expectancy by enough years to see my Grandchildren grow up and be a very active part of their lives. I still enjoy food but I can moderate my intake and understand what my body needs to stay healthy Long term use of WLI may show a risk in the future as more data becomes available but for now with the current information and guidance I feel happy with my choice and feel that the alternative of weight gain would potentially be a much greater risk to my physical and mental wellbeing

I started MJ in May 2024 at 13.6 and stopped in March 2025 at 9.9. Max dose was 7.5 and I tapered down over about 6 weeks. Weight this morning 9.11, I generally bounce between 9.10 and 10.0.

I did put on 10lb quite quickly after stopping but it was a difficult time in the family and I quickly realised I valued my new clothes and my ability to fit into them more than wine, crisps and cheese. Key for me is (and always has been really) lowish carb, especially at dinner, weighing most days so things don't creep, no skipping meals and being mindful of alcohol intake. I have to say my old caution to the wind you-deserve-it attitudes have never really returned nor have my abilities to inhale wine and crisps. I enjoy tea, nuts and fruit more than I ever did before - there's a definite mindfulness to it all which I try to maintain.

It’s just slightly less than normal diets, which is 80 percent regain in 5 years, for bariatric surgery it’s 76 percent in 6 years. Regain usually starts at 2years from hitting lowest point and statistically the average is keeping about 20 percent of the initial full weight off.

where as if you follow the global health authorities recommendation and stay on a low dose of the drugs, you maintain it all off, for ever. And if you find yourself regaining, you just tweak up the dosage, drop the couple of pounds off, and then go back to the maintenance dose.

anh surgeon saying surgery is better than the drugs in general is either not educated on them, or has a vested interest in keeping people on his table.

Yes
regained all of mine, partly because I had quite intense sugar cravings when I can off MJ.
i only had 10lbs to lose (yes I lied to get my injection) but it’s all back.
im back on 1700 calories ish a day which maintains my weight but I don’t lose any.
it was very hard to get below 2000 in the first couple of weeks of coming off MJ.

Did you do a month then? Just one pen?

Yes

Why is it so hard for people to understand that if you have a disease (MS, Diabetes, Obesity etc ) and you take a drug to control the symptoms… why on earth would you expect that disease not to come back when you stop taking the medication. ????

If you suffer from blood clots, the doctor will prescribe blood thinners to prevent life threatening clots. Warfarin has 3x the amount of serious side effects compared to MJ but I bet none or at least a tiny percentage of you would not tell a doctor you don’t want it - or for heavens sake, take it, then stop it and be completely surprised to develop a clot ! If you do then you have a kink in your think..

People really do need to read some proper peer reviewed papers on what they are taking rather than listening to all the crap on instagram about ‘gaining new habits’ ‘re educating their brains’ GLP-1 mimics a hunger hormone. It doesn’t miraculously alter your neurological pathways and thought processes. !! If like me you had lived with obesity for many years , then you had probably tried EVERY diet under the sun, lost a few stone and then regained it all and more in a short period of time. ? If like me, you could name the amount of calories in any given food at a 1000 paces and work out in nano seconds the nutritional content of a plate of food - then you don’t need re-educating .. it’s got fuck all to do with ANYTHING other than eating too much.. because your hunger hormone is switched off by insulin resistance.
Therefore, when you stop taking the drug that regulates your blood sugar and suppresses appetite you WILL be hungry. The small amount of food that satisfied you with the GLP-1/GIP in your body will no longer satisfy you and your portions will increase.

There are of course exceptions to the rule and there are some people with the most extraordinary iron will - who may be able to maintain some of their loss but let me just give you the real life stats for the ‘eat less move more’ mantra.

A study of 275000 people in the uk and taken from primary care records and published in the BMJ in 2015 shows that only 8:1000 people are able to go from BMI 30-34 to less than >24. and of those stoic 8 , 6 will put it all back on and more within 5 years. Making the diet and exercise method of weight loss successful for only 0.02% of people trying to lose weight.

For me, I have made the decision to keep on a maintenance dose. I’m not a high earner and pay rent in the south-east, so it’s quite a commitment but I live alone and the food savings equate for at least 75% of the cost. So I’d rather think of the other 25% as an investment in my health and happiness. Not to mention the effort of selling a pile of size 22 clothes and replacing them with 8s …

I don’t have a condition or a disease.
when I have been obese it’s usually because I’ve put on weight for another reason- eg post pregnancy- then got in a ‘fuck it’ spiral.
i get obsessed with food and think about sweet food all the time if im hungry.
if i go very low calorie I just think about food until i break my diet.
nothing wrong with me, just eating too much.

I absolutely think WLIs have a place and I believe they help with more than weightloss. My adhd was the best it ever was as an adult while I was on it and my auto immune issues were massively improved too. I’ve got zero issues with WLI . But when you stop you do tend to regain weight. I know surgery also can see increases… I’m in support groups and every 6th post is complaints of how they are regaining weight but you search their name and they are asking about which alcoholic drink is best, can they eat a 3 course meal, does dumping happe
after X OR XX bars of chocolate/haribo. Both the WLI and surgery are a tool and a tool only. Neither are a free pass. Not I also know multiple people who have not regained any weight ( my sister is one and she’s 6 years post surgery and done all the plastics etc after getting from a 32 to a 10).

i do believe that WLI are going to have a bigger impact on multiple conditions, I saw an article this morning talking about how one of the studies saw an increase in weight bearing cartilage in osteo arthritis. Its amazing.

Then to be fair I think 4 weeks on it really isn’t probably whay the op was looking for,,