How to decide when to switch to maintaining and stop actively losing?

[SparklyTwinkleGlitter]

Aaargh, please help!!

I’ve lost over 5 stones, gone from bmi 39 to 25.2 and a dress size 22 to a 12 and I’m 10st 4lbs currently.

I lost most of the weight in the first 8 months and then it slowed right down. I’ve lost less than 5lbs in the last 3 months but since starting Mounjaro, I have completely changed my diet, increased my exercise and I’m running and lifting weights twice a week.

BMI isn’t a good measure for me though as when I was very skinny, rib and hip bones sticking out and a size 8, I would still have a bmi of around 22. I am short but naturally muscular with huge hands and feet. I definitely looked unwell and far too skinny as a size 8.

Initially, I plucked a figure of 9st 7lbs as my target weight and thinking if I’m a size 10/12, that would be perfect but now, I’m not so sure?

I’m in my 60’s and I think it’s important to retain some body fat and I don’t want to risk looking scraggy on my face and neck as older women are prone to do.

Any older ladies who have cracked this dilemma?

Do we have to be older? I’m mid 40s for reference. Well done on your weight loss and good luck with the next phase!

I’m in a similar place - down to BMI 22 and not sure when to stop. I am 1lb away from a target weight I set a few months ago, but can’t imagine being able to maintain this by myself. I didn’t get many comments on the weight loss until the last ten pounds, but now I get asked a lot by people who know me a bit.

I think my face is too lean now really, but I still have a belly pouch and chunky thighs. I have always exercised loads, including cardio and weights, but my muscle is at least now visible. And I’m enjoying being able to run so much faster without so much strain on my joints.

I have begun tapering my dose, having not got that high on WeGovy. I think I’ll switch to every other week injections and see what that does, and my next pen will be a lower dose again.

I do sport with a lot of women who are naturally very lean, so I sometimes think my benchmarks aren’t quite right for my (stocky) physique. I can see and feel my ribs and hip bones now, but still also have pockets of fat. And I have built a lot of muscle on my frame in the last 3 years (despite the last 10 months on jabs).

It’s been a bit of a process for me - I hit my notional target of 10 stone 7lbs (which is BMI 23 for me) back in June but like you my weight loss was pretty slow in the run up to that. It wasn’t really like an “I’ve arrived!” moment either as I was still seeing weights ranging from 10 stone 5lbs to 10 stone 10lbs even when I’d technically hit 10 7lbs on my official weigh in day.

I wasn’t really sure what my maintenance plan looked like either (how quickly to titrate down, if at all, or whether to try without drugs now or at some point…) and as we were just coming up to the summer holidays, it didn’t feel like a good moment to change anything suddenly. So I basically just kept on the same dose (5mg) but went from 6 day spacing to 7 day spacing and reckoned as my losses had been very slow that would be enough.

In actual fact though I have lost another half stone or so since then and now see weights between 9 stone 13lbs and 10 stone 4/5lbs depending on the day of the week!

I feel pretty good at this weight - quite similar to how I have felt since about 11 stone to be honest - and I don’t want to lose more but I’m actually more worried about the food noise and gigantic appetite coming back than I am about exactly where my weight is sitting, and I don’t feel ready to ‘go it alone’.

So my current plan is to just notch down by 0.25mg every two months and see how I go. I’m expecting my weight to stabilise but if it still seems to be drifting down a bit then I guess I’ll reduce the dose slightly faster?

I’ve definitely found this the most confusing part of the whole journey though!

Well done on your loss, OP!

I'm 54 and maintaining after losing 6.5 stone. My original goal was 6 stone off, which I hit in March this year, after a year on MJ. I was at 10mg then.

I started titrating down at that point, but decided I wanted a bit of a buffer zone for when I came off. In the course of titrating down from 10mg to 5mg I lost a further 7lbs in just over 2 months. I'm now around 10st 10-11 and have pretty much held there, give or take natural fluctuations, since June. My BMI is around 22.5. I've now decided I want to stay on MJ for longer than I thought for all the benefits it gives me so I"m on a maintenance plan and sticking at 5mg.

I suppose what I'm saying is you can start titrating down but still lose a bit more weight while you're doing that.

I'm late 50s, I stopped when I got from BMI 44 to BMI just under 25.

I was never sure what weight I wanted to stop at as I hadn't been in that weight range for decades. But I thought top of a normal BMI would be a good place to stop and review.

When I got there it was also around the point I was getting more comfortable in size 14 jeans (I am tall) so I was happy to stop there and set that as my maintenance weight for tracking going forward. I've maintained for the last 9 months.

I probably am "looking scraggy on my face and neck", but I also still have a tummy and unsure how much is loose skin and how much is still fat. ChatGPT says with my personal weight history it could be as much as 7-15lbs which would potentially make my functional BMI much lower. But I am very happy where I am now compared to where I was before and loose skin was always going to be unavoidable.

Well done on your incredible loss. I would say once you are at the top of the normal BMI range it is becomes more about how you feel in your body, does it feel healthy, comfortable and the right weight for you, rather than any number on the scales or clothes size.

I’m 51. My BMI is 23 and I’m a size 8. I’ve kept my weight stable for the past year and worked at (very slowly) adding muscle and losing fat. I don’t want to lose more weight but I’d be ok with trading some more fat for muscle.

How do you manage this with your providers, who expect us to order regularly and don’t like micro dosing and using pens longer than advised? I’ve been wondering the same as you as I approach being within half stone of my nominal first target and wondering about losing more. My face is also too lean, I now have no bum in clothes, and breasts are dramatically smaller, but I also have the belly pouch spare tyre and wondering if that will ever go!I’ve got enough in my stash for 11 more weeks at 7.5 but am going to have to make a decision about my next order in the next few weeks

My target weight when I was younger was about 70kg. I’m tall and was a size 10/12 then. But very hard to maintain- exercised every day and really watched my eating. Now two decades older my goal is 80kg. I’ll be a size 14 and that would be good enough. My DD is 5’6.5” and a size 10/12 and I can’t believe I was that small - I’m four inches taller!
Go with how you feel, not just a number. I remember my high school dance teacher asking us if we noticed any difference in her. We didn’t. She was so disappointed- she said she’d worked really hard to lose 10lbs, but honestly she was slim enough (and fit being a dance teacher) already. She was just chasing a number. BMI is a blunt instrument.

I’ve gone from BMI 30 to 22, having lost 29kg since July ‘25, only ever on 2.5mg. My ‘target’ was to lose 30kg (I like round numbers!) but realistically I’ve been maintaining since May/June time which was when I stopped tracking calories and switched to intuitive eating.
I still weigh myself most days and will keep with my weekly 2.5mg until the new year, my weight does fluctuate around my cycle but settles back down again within a few days. I plan to reassess dose wise in the New Year.

I built up a stash of a few months by switching providers and ordering early. Now maintain on 2.5 weekly from a 5mg pen. I am aware of taking it past its 30 days but I'm as careful as can be. This way I have enough to last me a good while and then hopefully I'll stop. It's a dilemma I know.

I've come at this from a slightly different direction as I needed to lose about 4 or 5 kg but mainly wanted something to stop the food noise. MJ has done this brilliantly and I am considering whether this is going to be a long term medication for me.
I am only on my second 2.5mg pen but am planning to buy 5mg or even 7.5mg pens but stay on a 2.5mg dose to bring the cost down. However, I wondered about expiry dates. My current pen expires in February 2027 so if I bought say three 5mg pens I am concerned I would get ones that wouldn't have a long enough expiry date to last.

I think it's very individual like you say, we all look different at particular weights because of our frames. I'm around BMI 22 currently and thought this would be my target weight but I do think I've got more to go. However I've realised I have more to lose than I thought when I started, I have a very petite frame and it makes sense that I should be towards the bottom of the BMI range to be healthy, not the top. I want a bit of a buffer and then ideally to add a bit more muscle - I'm focusing more on my waist measurement/waist to hip difference than bmi.

I am a little anxious about stopping, regaining and not qualifying for the jabs again. I haven't tried it myself but I've heard some providers are accepting lower BMIs if that's the case, I have read of people being accepted by swift Dr for maintenance if they've had a prescription within last 12 months.

Yes at @MagpiePi i thought of that and did worry but ultimately just took a risk mine are up until 7/27 so it's worked out for me 😊

Oh I'm 54 5ft 3 and 9 stone exactly which is fine for me it was what I was for years and years before menopause. I don't know my bmi tho 😂. If I dropped lower I'd not be able to do my beloved reformer Pilates as much as I do - so wouldn't be able to keep up with the young women and I LOVE being able to do that!

I've lost 5 stones over 13 months and gone from BMi of 36.3 to 25.4 which is great, but those BMI charts show a stupidly wide range, my nominal target is at the top of the range for my height as I've got a large frame. Weight loss has slowed so much I could be staying on 7.5 for months to shift those last pounds but I'm assuming there will come a point when my provider will want a discussion about my lower weight and BMI. The problem with it dragging on is that it has already cost me over £2,500 and will be unsustainable financially long term, I do want to reduce the dose eventually but feel I am going to need some kind of support for ever. I'm wondering if Foundayo tablets might come into play for maintenance, not being so use and storage critical as the pen of liquid requiring needles.

I think that you are correct - the BMI normal range is a bit too wide for my liking too...and could easily lure you into number chasing and losing more under the reassurance of being within the 'healthy range'.

For my height normal could be between 49kg - 65.5kg (7.7 - 10.3 stone)
As a teenager and in my early 20s I actually weighed 49kg...but I looked anorexic and used to have to get checked at my GP (taken by my mother).

I would definitely look ill if I headed down into the lower BMI healthy range.

Realistically I am looking to end up somewhere bewteen 23.5 and 25.
Ideally I would now lose all of the remaining c 10kg loss that I have in my goal from my belly 😂but undoubtedly it will come off other areas first....

This is where I believe that ongoing good nutrition and exercise will have more long term effect for me...I don't intend to carry on with MJ beyond getting to my goal....I have lost over 20kg, so this is my final push...

@HappyNewt I agree, though from the other end of the scale! A healthy BMI for me is 46kg-62kg and whilst I definitely wouldn't want to be under 50kg, I had been kidding myself in the past that I wasn't far off a healthy BMI when actually I was carrying a lot more than was healthy for my frame. As I've lost weight the biggest change has been around my middle, then my legs. My upper body/face/bust hasn't really changed at all . I assumed as I got down towards the mid fifties that I'd be looking positively gaunt, and I was a little surprised that that's definitely not the case!

When I started I just wanted to be at a healthy BMI. In my case the top of the healthy BMI scale was 9 stone 10 lbs as I am short. When I got there I felt I had no wriggle room, so have continued to lose slowly, and am now just over 9 stone. I am a bit disappointed that I am still size 14, but I have to accept my body shape I suppose. At 68 I don’t want to be at too low a weight. I am on a maintenance plan with my provider and hoping to go down the doses to the lowest sustainable dose. It’s a bit hit and miss, because I haven’t counted calories at all during my weight loss. One thing I am determined about though, I am not putting those 82 pounds on again!!!!

I have my fingers crossed that the next stage of my loss will come from my middle...if it does I will be very happy...and most likely keep going for a better buffer!! 😂
There is definitely plenty still to go...and I do agree with you about having fooled myself about how much extra I was carrying.

Wow @Onefairfish that's a big weight loss, especially for someone shorter. Do you mind me asking who you're with for maintenance? Im hoping I can manage without eventually but Im keeping notes as to who might be worth approaching if I need it!
I have a good routine of steps, gym and calorie tracking, I just don't know if it'll be enough to combat my appetite!

Good luck! I thought it would be the last place for me, but it was the first. I've lost 3.5 inches off my stomach, 2 from my hips and I'd mainly been wearing the same clothes. I'm a little embarrassed looking back!
I do a sport that means I'm surrounded by athletes (some semi professional) and I think I forget how much difference there is between us, I certainly don't have an athletes frame or metabolism!

thanks!
Yes, I have lost more than 20cm of each of my waist and hips, so actually most of my loss really has come from my middle, a lot from my back & rear, and my muffin top above my waist has changed a lot!!

Elasticated waistbands have a lot to answer for. Whoever named those trousers magic...??? 😂

I am getting married in Jan so keen to do as well as I can before then...!
Currently I am fitting in to a (new purchase...not stretched!!!) 14 aiming for a strong 10-12....I am taking exercising seriously so I am sure I will get there.
But I am very interested to have seen what you have written about goals changing.....
Well done!

I’m with Oushk. I’ve been with them for most of the weight loss, mainly because when I started they were the most up front about offering maintenance, and I just knew I would need ongoing help. Now maintenance is offered more widely, but I am a creature of habit and will stick with the provider I know. They are not the cheapest but I am happy with their service. Good luck !

I started titrating down when I hit my dream target of getting to a healthy BMI (9 stone 12 for me and also conveniently a nice round 5.5 stone off) at the end of April this year.

I'd gone up to 10mg for a month but that made me feel ill so I quickly reduced to 8.5mg and then slowly came down to 7.5mg. I stayed on 7.5mg for 13 weeks just because I was a chicken and didn't want to see any weight gain. I've now started reducing again (2 click reduction at a time) and I'm down to 6mg.

In that time I've lost another 8lb and I'm currently 9 stone 4. My weight tends to fluctuate between 9 stone 3 and 9 stone 6. I've set 9 stone 7 as my current warning weight. But I'll see how it goes I may lower it. In my head, 8 stone 12 would be the lowest I'd want to go but I'm not actively trying to get there.

My goal is to go as low a dose as I can so that it's as cheap as possible. I'm with Swift Doctor for maintenance and during my maintenance call they agreed I could use up my pen stash to find my maintenance dose and then I can go on whatever dose that may be when I next order from them. They allow 8 weeks between orders so in theory I should be able to get a double dose pen and make it last 2 months (I'm happy to use a pen beyond 30 days).

I don't plan on coming off MJ. I know how to lose weight, calorie count etc. It's just this drug has taken away the voice in my head that's constantly thinking about food, constantly thinking fuck it 1 biscuit won't hurt. This is the only thing that shuts the bugger up and means I can eat the right things without constantly battling myself.

Thanks for all your replies so far. Much appreciated.

Lots of useful comments and strategies to ponder over. Yes, the bum has disappeared but the tummy pouch remains! At least I know I’m not the only one struggling with this dilemma.

And it’s also quite bizarre to me that when I started MJ, I was convinced it wouldn’t work and now it has, I’m finding the whole concept of moving onto maintenance even more tricky to get my head around!

So when I lost my weight I was left with the same thing, belly pouch and no bum! More healthy eating didn’t solve it so I started doing 30 day shred and added some more squats/weights, now I have a round bum and flat tummy. I think sometimes we get to a stage where just losing more fat isn’t possible without adding muscle