Has anyone stopped Mounjaro and found their former appetite didn’t fully return?

[deepseaargyllfish]

Just that, really. I’ve lost 20lbs over the last year, which is enough to bring my bmi down to below 25. I stayed on 2.5mg for the first five months, then moved to a 5mg pen for another six, but didn’t use it weekly (left much longer intervals).

I feel as though MJ has done a hard re-set of my appetite. I feel liberated from my previous ravenous appetite (and it really was) which is wonderful, but also unexpected and - if I’m honest - slightly worrying. Granted, I only stopped six weeks ago, so there’s plenty of time for my appetite to return. At the moment, it feels as though the hunger I used to experience is a distant memory.

I’m interested to know if others have had a similar experience.

My appetite did somewhat return however my lack of willpower around food returned with a vengance and I just snacked constantly until I felt sick. Food is an addiction for me, as opposed to only eating when I'm hungry.

No. I stopped Wegovy and it's been a disaster. My appetite is back and I'm ravenous. It's completely depressing.

I think you are unusual as it makes more sense to return to the previous state once the drug has left our bodies. It sounds amazing though! You didn’t have much to lose though so maybe you aren’t as food driven generally anyway

Twenty pounds in total?
So you were not even slightly obese?

You’re not the body type the drug was designed for and therefore being able to manage without the drug surely isn’t that surprising?

Twenty pounds is a considerable amount.

I think my ravenous appetite will re-emerge, but gradually. It hasn’t come roaring back, but I think it will do - just by degrees.

I think it would have emerged after 6 weeks

I agree with previous poster that it was only a stone and a half so your habits weren’t terrible in the first place

It might be something to do with the change in diet that the meds facilitated. When I successfully move over to a very low carb diet, I find that my appetite has been normalised by the range of changes (blood sugar, metabolic, hormonal) that the low carb diet has forced. The normalisation stays with me for as long as I stay broadly on track with the low carb regime.

I think that for many or most people "food noise" is the result of the distortions of bodily chemistry that are caused by the unhealthy, addictive, high-carb foodstuffs that are so hard to avoid these days, and that (when used well) the jabs are a stepping stone towards freeing ourselves of the almost irresistible cravings caused by their effects on our body.

Maybe you’re over estimating how ravenous you were, as you only had a stone and a half to lose. Most people who are as ravenous as you say have considerably more. As it would be impossible to ignore it.

Me! I lost 3 stone and have kept it off for a year off the jabs. It takes some will power but I avoid sugar and concentrate on protein

Sadly not. I lost over 100lbs and have regained 10

Listen to the latest Zoe episode with obesity expert. Broadly if you can improve insulin sensitivity- presumably by reducing fat stores, and increasing muscle mass your leptin signalling (and hence appetite regulation) should improve.

That’s interesting, I’ll check that out.

It’s interesting how differently appetite can feel after stopping, especially after having such a strong appetite before. Six weeks is still fairly early though, so it’ll be interesting to see whether things gradually change over the next few months

I definitely think this is due to you having less to lose. It is massively different for those who have been morbidly obese. I think it’s a sliding scale but if someone starts at BMI over 50 they must have been consuming far more calories than you over a long time period. I think that’s why coming off it is easier for you, your ‘ravenous appetite’ just doesn’t match those of people who have been much much heavier.

Six weeks out, the medication itself is long gone, tirzepatide's half-life is around five days, so what you're feeling now is your own signalling, not something left over. Worth knowing, because it means this isn't borrowed time in the way people assume.
Your pattern also makes it less surprising than it sounds. A slow loss on a low dose doesn't provoke the same push-back as a fast one on a high dose — there's simply less for your body to react to. 20lbs over a year is about as gentle as it gets.
That said, six weeks is early. Appetite tends to come back in stages rather than all at once, often around the point the weight starts drifting. So I'd treat this as a good window rather than a finished result, it's far easier to put structure in now, while it costs you nothing, than to build it later if hunger does return.
One practical thing: if you're eating noticeably less than before, keep an eye on protein. It's the first thing that quietly drops when appetite is low, and it's what protects the muscle underneath.

I've read on another thread that studies are indicating that the people who have been seriously overweight for a long time, and have other conditions such as high blood pressure linked to weight (ie people like me and not like you OP ) are the ones who will need to stay on WL medication for life. Also if you weren't jabbing weekly you would, I imagine, not even have had a therapeutic dose in your system for half the time!