How do you ensure you eat enough?

[AnnaQuayRules]

I've been taking MJ for 18 months. I was prescribed it on the NHS to control my diabetes. I wasn't particularly interested in weight loss, but obviously that's a side effect of the medication.

I had a BMI of 27 when I started, it's currently 20. I really don't want to lose any more weight. I never wanted to lose this much, or anything really. It's cost me a fortune in new clothes. Thank God for Vinted. But I also don't want to stop taking MJ as it's been brilliant at controlling my blood sugars.

Has anyone managed to maintain a healthy weight whilst taking MJ long term? I really struggle to eat enough at the moment. I do eat relatively healthily.

Do you track calories? When I started Mounjaro and had the initial intense suppression and struggled to eat enough calories I tracked them and snacked on high calorie/low volume foods such as mixed nuts to keep my calories up.

I've never calorie counted. When I've tried to lose weight in the past, the only thing that has worked has been low carb diets.

I do try to snack on nuts but just don't have any appetite

I am under dieticians to maintain my weight. Buy marvel milk powder and add it liberally to your normal milk for cereal and tea. Add butter and cheese to anything they will melt in.

Thanks @Lifeisexpensive. I do try to use butter and cheese but possibly could up my intake. I don't like cereal but do sometimes eat yoghurts for breakfast so could add milk powder to those

Can you be on a lower dose? I've been taking it for two years (for weight loss) and am on 5mg. If I go higher, I get bad gastro side effects. For me, it's been about finding the dose that gives me the benefit without too high suppression or side effects.

What dose are you taking? Can you reduce the dose slowly and still maintain the benefits?

@Kitt1 I'm on 10mg. I could ask my GP to reduce the dose but one of the issues is that it then takes 12 weeks to see if my blood sugars are still low. So if I reduced the dose to, say, 5mg and had a blood test 12 weeks later which showed my blood sugar level was rising, if have to increase again. Plus my surgery is very reluctant to do HBA1C tests any more regularly than every 6 months.

What do eat during the day op?

DH is type 2 diabetic and was prescribed semiglutide tablets, not injectables. He also had high BP, high cholesterol and sleep apnoea with a CPAP machine, but was told he couldn't have injectables. He did lose weight initially but his BMI is still in the obese category. His sugars have been normal since.

I'd asked for a diabetic review and see whether the tablets might be an option to control sugars, without making you lose more weight.