Jabs for short term kick start?

[Y0gamummy]

Wondering how feasible it is to use weight loss jabs to lose weight, embed good habits, then stop them and keep the weight off? Has been so long since I had good eating and exercise habits and I'm struggling with failed attempts. Am now obese, on medication for acid reflux, finding peri really tough (even with HRT) and feeling the impact of being so out of shape when I want to do things with my sporty teens. Very temped by the weight loss jabs but don't want to be on them long term. Would like to try them for 3-6 months ideally. So I'm wondering if you're left in a better place after taking them or if you just pile the weight back on because without them, all the cravings etc return?

As with all medication if you stop taking it, it stops having any effect on your system. So about 30 days after the last injection there will be no medication left in your system. Your appetite will no longer be suppressed and your digestion will no longer be being slowed by the medication. Whether or not you can manage to stay at your target weight without that support is a difficult question. The fact is that most people don’t.
3 to 6 months may not be long enough to lose significant weight or to make permanent lifestyle changes. You may not start losing weight until you get to the higher doses, some people need to get up to the top dose to lose significant weight. Rather than just stopping taking the medication, you could consider a planned taper process where you gradually move back down the doses whilst working on maintenance. Some people find they want to continue taking it for benefits other than weight loss too.

None of that would mean not giving them a try though, as it’s probably better to lose the weight and no longer be obese/overweight and then worry about maintaining that rather than never losing the weight in the first place or even having further weight gain.

Honestly- it’s a wonder drug but I think I will be on it long term. It’s reducing what I can eat not what I want to eat… it’s not given me a personality change

I started at the beginning of the year and then had to stop due to different health issues … I put all the weight back on and then some as my head went oh I can just take mounjaro again!!! I’ve had gastric sleeve and mounjaro and lost weight with both - mounjaro far superior- but none have stopped my emotional eating/ dopamine hit eating

Start today you won’t regret it - I’m due my jab today and I’m so excited as I love not having food noise!

A good friend of mine did this, but, it was a complete lifestyle overhaul, you'd have to be prepared for that.
She was in a vicious circle where her weight affected some illnesses she had and made exercise very difficult/painful, she didn't like going out much and food was the main thing she looked forward to (takeaway night, film night with snacks etc)

By losing a lot of weight she was in less pain, able to get out more and exercise more. It's not that regular exercise has had that much effect on her weight (can't out run a bad diet etc) more that she will say, go on a bike ride with her kids or do other hobbies rather than all fun stuff being associated with food. She's also pretty much teetotal now, not that she drank lots before but I'm sure it all makes a difference.

@Y0gamummy why do you say you "don't want to be on them long term"? Is there a specific reason for that?

It took me 6 months to lose 3.5st. I suppose I could have stopped then. However, I’ve been at goal for over 6 months and I’m still taking a tiny dose. I’ve totally overhauled my diet and lifestyle but I’m still
not sure I trust myself to go it alone. I’m planning to reduce my dose further and try coming off in September when I’ve been at goal for a year. Even then I will have a low threshold for going back on them. Why don’t you try the drugs, lose the weight and once you are at goal think about how to stay there rather than going into it thinking you will only take them for a short time?

I have lost 9 stone and it’s taken over 18 months. There is no way I’m stopping. I did a complete lifestyle change and I eat a good balanced diet and take regular exercise. I am under no illusion though, I’m only able to manage that with the MJ. I don’t think it’s anything to do with embedding new habits, not for me anyway, as without the MJ I would absolutely revert. This was never about me not knowing what to eat it, it’s about not being able to do it long term without help.

Mostly financial!

Thanks all, that's really useful. I think I'm just a bit nervous about starting something I then find it really difficult to stop. Mainly for financial reasons! Then again, I think you're right @Incognitoburrito88 I can lose the weight then worry about next steps to maintain. Will be in a better position than I am now anyway.

I have spent the last 2 days looking at the jabs online and costs.

I'm a little confused by the pricing. I was looking at Joy and it showed something like £69, but is that just a reduced price for the first month? So after the initial offer, it will go back up to £140 plus a month?

I am currently 14 stone and although I was 'happy' at 12 stone, I can't seem to shift this menopause weight gain. I've done the calorie counting and I did manage to lose 10Ib, but then the minute I walk past a cake shop and inhale deeply, I gain 3Ib again.

I work full time, but I run a house on my salary alone. I really don't know if I can stretch my money to cover the cost.

My DH was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, got medication overhauled his diet massively used one of those blood sugar monitors to help keep track. His main focus was managing his blood sugar levels but he also lost lots of weight. After about 6 months of this he was enrolled on a clinical trial for Type 2 diabetics which included weight loss jabs for 3 months. He carried on losing weight but he said the jabs made him too relaxed and be more lax with carbs etc. He’s off the jabs now and got back into his previous groove. He’s not tempted to pay for the jabs, and so far hasn’t put any weight back on.

@Belladog1 many pharmacies or providers like Voy (I think you mean, rather than Joy?) do a substantial discount on the first month and then the price goes up to the usual retail amount for the subsequent months. Some providers, like Voy, operate on a subscription basis too, so you are signed up for a number of months and would have to pay a cancellation fee if you wanted to leave for a cheaper pharmacy before the end of the subscription term.

People keep costs down by changing pharmacies each month to take advantage of the new customer offers. Or by persuading friends/family to sign up and getting a referral discount as a result, for pharmacies/providers that do a referral scheme.

Thank you for the confirmation. I appreciate it.

I quickly realised when I was on WLI that it wasn’t going to be the kick start I wanted. The only thing I can liken it to is imagine taking a tablet every day to keep headaches at bay, you stop taking it and the headaches come back, you want/need the tablet again.

I know how to eat healthy, it’s not a knowledge thing, I need something to switch off the cravings.

So I’ve just accepted to stay on them, very low dose, but thankfully there seems to be so many benefits to them that apart from the financial cost I can’t really see any reason why not to? It feels like a miracle to have something that fixes this problem, lets me like my body, be healthy, and not have to give it much thought.

@kooljegs I was wondering about dose once you've reached target weight as I can see cost is higher for higher doses. So, once you reached target weight, did you start going down the doses again rather than staying on high dose long term? I would be much more comfortable with that plan from a financial standpoint and could budget for say, 12 months working up to high dose if required, if I am aiming to be maintaining on a lower dose at some point. Big difference between low dose and max dose financially.

You might find that a lower dose is all you need. I get good suppression at 2.5mg.

My approach was to use Mounjaro to help me shift the weight. I was technically obese but only just-BMI 30 and size 16. I ate healthy meals and exercised but my main issue was snacking on toast, butter and cheese. Plus menopause, large portion sizes and too much red wine at weekends.

Mounjaro very simply made me less hungry. I’m now a size 12. I stopped the jabs after 6 months. I have stayed at a more or less stable weight for a year so far. I get hungry like I used to but I am more motivated not to snack because I like how I look and feel now and don’t want to go back to how I was. For me, that is better motivation than (when I was overweight) trying to picture how I would feel if I was thinner.

So, to answer your question, yes, worked for me as a kick start.

@Y0gamummy I haven’t really needed to go above 2.5, I’ve bought a couple of 5mg pens but have mostly click counted smaller doses from them. My hope is to manage on 1.25mg a week, but still have some weight to lose so still on 2.5mg currently.

That's good to hear @HotCrossBunplease and @kooljegs as when I've been looking at price plans there seems to be an assumption you will move up doses each month until on maximum dose. I've just tipped over into obese category. Was a healthy, active, size 10 before kids -15 years later I'm size 16, three stone heavier and very much feeling both the effects of that (not fit enough to do what I'd like to with my sporty teens, breathless at slightest exertion, acid reflux worse than ever etc) and also the struggle to fix it. Feels like a mountain to climb. Hoping that wli will help me lose weight and find my way back to healthier habits.

@Y0gamummy yeah it was one of those things I was surprised about, when you sign up to Voy they just sign you up to 2.5 and go up each month. Some people will need that, there doesn’t seem to be much rhyme and reason to it, genetically people just seem to have varying experiences. But I think the best tactic is to try to stay on the lowest dose you can until you stagnate for 3 weeks.

Also remember it builds in your system, I took a break for a couple of weeks so it was completely out my system, but first couple weeks back on and I got barely any suppression but by the 3rd week, despite it being the same amount each week, the suppression was much stronger, but it takes longer than 7 days to leave your system so it effectively builds.

Go for it. Sure you know already the importance of still forcing yourself to eat to get the right nutrition, that can feel a bit annoying as I would liken the feeling of not being hungry to that which you get when you’re not very well and “off your food”. Another thing to watch out for if you are cooking for family is that it feels like more of a chore as you’re not motivated by your own hunger (and once or twice I just totally forgot to cook them anything as I was engrossed in an activity and didn’t have hunger to tell me how late it was getting!)

You have little to lose by trying- except 3 stone!

@Y0gamummy I recommend that you listen to this excellent podcast, it answers all your questions about coming off, as well as giving a really good understanding of how the drugs work and how to eat.

in a nutshell: while on them you need to pack as much/many protein, nutrients and fibre into the small amounts that you eat.
After coming off you’ll need more volume to feel full so you have to learn to achieve that with good quality, fibre-rich foods.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/zoe-science-nutrition/id1611216298?i=1000773258136

Same here, 2 stone down in 3 months feel better than l have in years and would rather pay for this and go without something else.

Thanks for the link to the podcast @HotCrossBunplease - just listened to it and was very informative. Very motivating too. Have gone from feeling like I've somehow failed to be considering WLI to feeling lucky that I have an option to use them as a tool to get me on track with a healthier lifestyle. I was much healthier in the past, enjoyed healthy foods and being active so I'm hoping this can be one of the tools I use to rediscover that. And it sounds like eating well on the jabs is really important for symptoms and long term health in any case. Thank you!

My DH did this. He was just feeling really unmotivated and stuck in a rut, he took them for 3 months, lost about 2.5 stone in that time, then kicked on with diet and exercise to lose another 1.5. I took them for much longer, I only came off them because my hair was looking terrible, even taking collagen, pumpkin seed oil etc. I've maintained but it's not been easy.

I think it really depends on the root cause of your weight issues, he was struggling because he has a very sedentary but demanding job, and we have young kids and no support so he had got stuck in a negative cycle and had no energy left to exercise etc by the end of the day. What he needed was a kickstart and then once he'd lost some weight he had the energy to motivate himself. I had more energy but a far more addictive relationship with food, so I found I needed them for longer. Whatever you decide I hope it works out!

There is no way in the world I can keep up the changes without the WLI. It’s not as if I didn’t know what changes I needed to make, i just wasn’t able to make them long term. Now I can easily stick to a healthy diet, but I know full well the habits formed will get in the bin if I stop WLI.