Weight loss has really slowed

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I've been on mounjaro just over a year, I've lost 51.5kg. I still need to lose about 25kg. I'm really pleased so far but it seems the last few months its really slowed down and I'm only losing 1.5-2kg a month. Has anyone else experienced this and can give me some tips to boost it again?

I have spoken with my doctor this morning (getting it via a private doctor) and she recommends sticking it out and only taking a break if i drop to half a kilo loss. At that point she said to take a break for 2-3 months and restarting from the beginning.

I am on 15mg. I have been going to the gym 4 times a week, mainly focussing on cardio with some strength training. I have made huge changes in all areas of my life, meal planning, cooking from scratch etc. Is this just a normal part of weight loss, stalling? I didn't expect it to happen when i still have a lot to lose.

I don't think coming off it is good advice. If you're still losing then it's still working. Weight loss does slow the more you lose. Are you tracking your calories? If not, then start. If you are, you'll be able to see where the extra calories are coming from - what tweaks can you make to reduce slightly without being excessively hungry or feeling deprived?

I haven't lost anything for 6 months pretty much. I put some weight on and lost it again (bloody America!) but I am back where I was last October and it sucks. I am finishing my pens and taking a break. I'm going to focus on exercise and stuff to try keep the weight off and I might do low-carb/keto as well if necessary but I really want to build a more active lifestyle.

You’ve done amazingly well!

1.5-2kg a month really isn’t a stall, especially considering you’re probably doing some body recomposition with all that training. A pound a week isn’t even really slow.

This isn’t a scientific opinion, just a feeling, but losing so much weight, I reckon it’s no bad thing if you lose the final third over a relatively long period. You’ve got rid of the most dangerous weight and now you’re building health for the long term.

FWIW I took much longer to lose my last quarter. My total lost wasn’t as impressive, but the pattern of slowing was similar. Got there in the end though and without much muscle loss. I think if I’d hurried the last phase, I’d have used up muscle because once I was lighter, I didn’t automatically get the same exercise from basic movements.

I also don’t feel a pound a week is a stall, but if you want to lose more you need to increase your defecit. I’d not advise stopping, you then need to start from the lowest dose again and build youself up, it likely won’t be effective till you hit 15mg which could mean you have a shit ton more to lose than 15mg by that point, as it would take 6 months to get there,

I think 1.5 to 2kg a month is a decent rate of loss at this stage in your weight loss progress. It's not a stall at all. As you get lighter it becomes progressively harder to create a significant calorie deficit, and so your rate of loss slows. Ways to increase your calorie deficit would include slightly reducing your daily calories, or increasing activity to create a bit more of a deficit, or a combination of both.

Stopping taking the medication for 2 -3 months and then starting from the lowest dose doesn't seem like a great strategy to me, and I'd want to know what evidence the doctor was basing that advice on. Not just anecdotal or individual experiences from other patients but some actual research data.

Wow, congratulations on your amazing weight loss so far. That’s brilliant! 👏

As you were a lot bigger when you first started, it’s normal to lose faster in the first few months of any diet.

However, it naturally slows down as you near your healthy weight and losing around a 1lb a week is perfectly normal at this stage. It’s only really a stall if you’ve lost absolutely nothing for 4 weeks or more.

Are you calorie counting or just eating less than before starting the WLI?

I don’t think having a break at this stage is a good plan as there’s some anecdotal evidence from others on here who stopped when they reached goal then re-started that suggests the body isn’t as responsive second time around. 🙁

1.5-2kg a month is still great weight loss. That’s a normal rate of loss and is to be expected when you are closer to a healthier weight.

Isn't it just natural that the closer you get to your goal weight the less rapid the weight loss will be? I think since you are still losing weight you should keep up what you are doing, losing it slower isn't necessarily a bad thing when you think about it as a long-term lifestyle change.

I am aiming to lose 25kg max overall, BMI of 31ish to 22ish (may be too ambitious) and I’ve been losing just under a pound a week. Yes it’s slow compared to super losers, but I want to feel ok too.

It will have been years going on, be patient - you’re going in the right direction.

What's your deficit? Have you recalculated your TDEE to take into account your new weight?

This is me too, op. I’m on the max dose of mounjaro and have not lost for 6 weeks. Before that it was maybe 1lb/week or less.

Im going to try tracking calories and cutting out the very small amounts of anything unhealthy I’ve been allowing myself. I don’t know whether it’s practical to eat any less- perhaps not. I’m stuck at bmi 26 and would like to lose another stone.

I agree with your doctor.
1.5-2kg a month loss is fine, especially at this point in your weight loss.

Thank you all, i think i just need to gove my head a wobble and get on with it. If anyone else told me they were losing at the rate i am I'd tell them all the same as you are. I think i just got so used to losing 4-5kg a month that it just seems like nothing much is happening, then chuck in the good old hormones and the fluctuations it causes 🙄 its hard work.

I am tracking calories, i use nutracheck and log everything i eat/drink, its become second nature. I also do it as i eat something or as im cooking so that i don't forget anything. I regularly adjust it so it accounts for the weight i am, not the weight i was.

Yes this. When people stall or plateau it’s because they aren’t in enough of a deficit taking into account their new lower weight.

However you haven’t stalled, you’re still losing weight so you’re in a deficit, but as your weight has got lower the deficit has narrowed and weight loss has slowed down

This is normal and a much better way to do things, get used to eating less and lose weight slower because when you lose that 25kg your maintenance calories won’t be that much so the more time you have to get used to eating fewer calories and making different food choice the better

Don't forget you are also working out and building muscle, the slower pace isn't necessarily because you are not losing as much fat it's because you are adding muscle mass. Your body should be toning up.

It’s incredibly difficult to build muscle in a defecit, for most people just protecting it is a challenge, the op won’t be building muscle

That’s not what’s happening. That’s just what people say when they’re eating too much and not losing weight

Remember the lighter you are the less calories you need just to exist (without factoring in exercise etc) I worked out I only needed 1100 calories (alas) hence typical diets at 1400 calories not working. A really active lifestyle and exercise will increase this but not as much as you think (again alas)

Can I just buck the trend by saying post Christmas I went up a dose to help shift the last few lbs (was almost at goal). It made me feel dreadful and whilst o didn’t stall exactly, it took ages to drop. So I came back down a dose and found myself eating a bit more. But I was also sleeping better and felt like exercising more. So I am now eating probably 100 - 150 cals more a day but have started losing more - from 1/2 lb a week to 1 -1.5lb.

May be just me - I started hrt at Christmas too and I feel so much more like myself but thought I’d throw it out there…

Not really. Any muscle gains the OP had would have been at the beginning of her journey and quite small - a couple of lbs of muscle gain is very good going for a woman in a calorie deficit. At this point there will probably be almost zero muscle gain.

Ah yes, my thinking was that since she is losing a lot less but has lost a lot already that maybe she was no longer in a clear deficit but that the increased cardio and weight training is what is helping her lose at the moment. I'm not sure if my maths is mathing though.

What is your deficit, then?

According to nutracheck to lose 2lb a week my calorie allowance daily is 1286. But i have days where I'm eating less that that and im not hitting the 2lb at all. I also don't eat back the exercise calories. So I'm really not sure whats going on. I really do add everything, if i have a coffee from costa it goes in, if i have a water its logged, a tangerine etc. Everything goes on.

I've added pics from nutracheck for the last 2 weeks. Ignore last fridays exercise, my watch went funny and was way over. I also went out for dinner for a friends birthday. Saturday and Sunday are always low because it's after jab day which is when i really struggle to eat much.

Just realised I've added the same picture twice 🤦🏻‍♀️

Maybe you need to see a doctor?

our body fuels itself with cals consumed. When we don’t consume enough to fuel our energy expenditure then our body burns fat or muscle to make up the defecit.

thid makes our body lighter. And we see weight loss.

as our bodies can’t fuel itself with anything else. It can only be what we consume, or our fat or muscle, it can’t be the air for example, the only other thing we take in.

So if you aren’t losing but in a defecit the only other way is you have something wrong and you’re offsetting the loss with fluid retention. So it’s hiding your weight loss. So you need to see a doctor very quickly.