How do weight loss injections work alongside a very low calorie diet?

[ChubbyGroundhog]

Hi all - I am woefully ignorant about WLIs so thought this would be the place to ask the questions?

I'm currently on VLCD that says its GLP-1 compatible. But, if I'm already on 500-800 calories a day, with a nutritionally complete diet, what can WLIs help with?

Would I eat even less than what is daily for VLCD?

Do WLIs mean people eat their normally recommended deficit based on TDEE or does it mean people eat similar to VLCD?

I just don't know if WLIs will work for me, alongside VLCD, or should I get a consultation to ask?

Thanks so much and hope everyone is smashing goals whatever the chosen method!

Thanks. I can't lose on 1200. I lose 1.8 lbs/week on my VLCD and I have a very specific goal and timeframe.

I've lost over 16 stone in my life through calorie counting so I know what works and what doesn't apart from WLI.

Is this the New You plan?

Ok are you very short and sedentary/bed/chair bound?

if you’re losing less than 2lbs a week on 800, that means you only burn off about 1700 cals a day, which is incredibly low. If not chair/bed bound, it maybe worth seeing if you can move more.

I'm not here to defend VLCD or advocate for it - I just wanted to know what WLIs did for people ie. was it mental/physical/caloric restriction, none, all or some.

I'm feeling very uncomfortable being preached at, or it being assumed I need educated about VLCD, and not what I asked about so not answering further questions about the VLCD, specifically.

I think one poster suggested I contact a GP and, as I said in my starting post, I think a WLI consultant will be the best bet for me.

Thanks all who assisted!

What is your long term plan? If you currently have a body that needs less than 1200 kcal to keep your weight where you are happy for it to be then how are you going to manage that?

As with any weight loss plan, the deficit to lose is temporary and, once desired weight reached, transition into maintenance calories/macros to maintain desired weight.

It was more about what you see that transition looking like. That time might be the better point to use a low dose of a GLP1.

Makes sense, thank you!

There's really nothing wrong with vlcd if that's your choice although they seem to freak some people out (a bit like glp1 jabs). Some GP surgeries even prescribe vlcd for some patients.
If you're on a vlcd then after the first week you really shouldn't feel hungry. Where a glp1 might help is if you get obsessed with food as mounjaro should help with that. It is definitely a thing to do them together.
I was on a vlcd quite a few years ago now and I did lost about 4 stone. That was in about 2 1/2 months so a bit fast really. And almost certainly what caused my gallstones.
After about a month on it my food noise was so bad it was unreal. I wasn't really hungry at all ( you go into ketosis so you don't get hungry) but it was more an emotional obsession with food. I stopped because nobody can put up with that long term.
I've been on mj for 18 months. I've never stayed on a diet so long. It's a better option for me.
One thing you should be cautious about with a vlcd. My metabolism dropped hugely when I was on it and it took a lot of work on rebuilding muscle and putting it right afterwards. It's the main reason I, personally, wouldn't do it again although it was very effective. And you can reverse the metabolism drop but it's really hard work.

WLI help me to stick to the small amount of calories my body needs to lose weight without feeling hungry and miserable.
Prior to starting mounjaro I did a 12 week programme through the NHS which focused on three meals a day that are low in carbs, with a focus on portion sizes. It wasn’t about counting calories but I did count the calories mine worked out about 1100-1250 a day.
I stuck to it religiously apart from one meal out and one small slice of birthday cake and lost and gained the same two pounds throughout the whole thing.
I swim twice a week for an hour, go to the gym 4/5 times a week, usually do 20-25 mins on the cross trainer and 30 mins weights.
I feel great on mounjaro in a way that I wasn’t just not eating much.

@IsItSnowing Sorry to hijack, but very interested in your experience of building your metabolism back up. What did you do beyond strength training?

Just weight lifting. I'm guessing it's due to muscle loss when losing so much weight so you just need to try and make it up again.
This time round I've been more careful with keeping the strength training going but on 800 calories a day it wasn't so easy. This time I'm on mj and have been on between 1600 and 1400 a day so much easier to incorporate a good exercise program.

Hi Kitt1,
You might want to look at michael mosley very low calorie diet (a derivative of the Newcastle Diet devised by Prof Roy Taylor)800 to 1000c for 12 weeks ( fast 800)then moving onto low calorie OR 5/2, 4/3 intermittent fasting to understand what OP is likely on, it's not a Cambridge didt type thing.

They identify a number of recipes that are GLP 1 compliant (wrt calories, protein, fibre , nutrients etc). Many many people (10s of 1000s) have used this to lose weight..but others have found the restrictiveness impossible to manage. If OP can manage 800 to 1000 on their own, no they dont need glp1...if not, glp1 might be a very helpful adjunct and the programme gives a range of useful recipes

Given you don’t have much weight to lose i
think a VLCD is a recipe for muscle loss, and it’s a terrible idea. VLCDs can be a good option for those who are very overweight.

I used WLI with a similar profile (BMI with 2 stone to lose). I never went below 1,200 and I had 120g protein every day, and lifted heavy. I maintained most of muscle mass.

Not true. I’ve lost 10 stone using WLIs, when I started I was eating 1600-1800 calories a day, as I’ve lost weight my calorie allowance has decreased and now I average 1400.

I think people think you either starve yourself on th3 meds, or the fat melts off. Sure some folks do starve themselves if they are abusing the meds, but most not.

i was about 1500 cals a day in weight loss phase, some days more, some less, lost 6 and a half stone.lost about 1lb and a half week on average. Ate min 1g of protein for every kg of body weight and worked out most days of the week.

result was I hit goal with min loose skin, lost minimal muscle.was able to easily move into body recomp and rebuild any muscle I lost, very quickly and any crepy skin tightened up, tummy is flat, backside isn’t. No bingo wings and you can see the muscle on my body.

it takes effort to do it right, and vlcd are not doing it right, for anyone. But the undeniable truth if the matter is no one loses significant weight on a vlcd and likes what they see in the mirror when they hit goal. No one. Sure you might like the number on the scale. But that’s all you’re going to like.

Do you have a plan to increase your muscle mass? If your TDEE is that low you are likely very low in muscle. A VLCD will be reducing this even further, so your maintenance calories will be even lower, thereby increasing the risk of regain.

No it doesn't. If you're eating under 1000 calories on WLI you're taking too high a dose. I've never gone below about 1600 calories a day in the weight loss stage. Now maintaining at 1900.

I’ve never heard of VLCD but now I’d have I’d say do a LCD and go on WLI, you’ll probably enjoy life more! (Yes you can get it at a bmi of 27 now).

Yes, but in even taking minimum doses it suppresses your appetite and you have to force yourself to eat the food. I did it for while and couldn't fave eating, made me feel queasy after food etc I stopped because I was only able to eat around 500-700 calories a day

I've never had to force myself to eat food. Again, if you're struggling to eat 1000 calories a day then your dose is too high.

Been on it two years, never had that,was on 10mg for most of my weight loss phase, now maintaining on 5mg,

always got hungry for meals. Was satisfied with a healthy portion, no urge to snack, as it’s supposed to work.

maybe you couldn’t tolerate it, or were on too high a dose.

The issue is that it’s very hard to gain muscle, and really it needs lifting and a surplus over many years, and inevitably it comes with fat gain at the same time. It just doesn’t work in the way you describe “once the desired weight is reached transition to maintenance to maintain” and gain muscle.

Not true. I took 2.5mg. I did not have to force myself to eat. But it make it easier to avoid snacking and still to my approx 1,200 diet.

This is very true and something I think many people don't realise. Building muscle is hard, especially for women. You can also realistically only expect to put on a few kg of muscle as a woman even with heavy lifting. And it takes a long time.
But as a beginner you will often see better gains than someone more used to it. So that can be encouraging.
The best time to get started is when you are still overweight and still have surplus fat. It's the only time when you can expect to build any muscle while in a calorie deficit. The body will burn fat instead so it's a double benefit.