It’s only day 2 and I could eat my own arm I’m so hungry.

[ThewrathofBethDutton]

I’m 5 fucking stone overweight.

Huge, uncomfortable, feel disgusting, look disgusting, it’s make or break now.

Ive made up my mind.

im almost through the menopause, the 5 stone has attached itself throughout perimeno over the last 4-5 years.

I have tried I have failed multiple times. I can starve, weight watchers, slimming world, MFP, fasting, vegan, vegetarian, meal plan, walk more, move more… I’ve done them all, everyone of them over the last 30 years. I’m still huge.

Peri meno has proven impossible, utterly utterly impossible.
I could drop a stone doing any of the above over 4-5 months before hormones fucked off. Now with very careful changes, the weight WILL NOT BUDGE at all no matter what I do. Not even one LB.

MFP is a great little APP, I get on with it well because I like the nutritional information that it gives.
I like to track my nutritional intake, cholesterol etc, calories & fat secondary. I have 1200 cals a day,

I went to bed last night starving, I’m hungry now, feel like shit.

Pffftt and GAHHHHHH! I hate being so overweight and overwhelmed with the mammoth challenge ahead of me every single day.

What can I do??????

I’m loathe to answer this honestly as anyone who’s averse to the injections inevitably gets jumped on.

My concerns are that the long term studies have been based on diabetic bodies. We don’t know what the long term effects are on non-diabetic individuals. No long-term studies on non-diabetic menopausal women.

Some studies are showing the injections actually might have protective effects. Some are showing possibly the opposite.

Different weight loss drugs are also producing different problems when you try and stop. There’s already increasing noise about people taking a “maintenance dose” for life rather than coming off the drug. In some people there seems to be problems when you stop. We seem to have gone from insisting that you can just stop the injections to now insisting that it’s fine to take for life.

There are multiple sources online which confirm that the long term effects of these drugs isn’t known. Particularly Mounjaro as that’s a dual-agonist and was approved later.

I’m not actually trying to say don’t have the injections.

As people will tell you, being overweight has its own risks so many people understandably think injections are the lesser of the two evils.

I can afford the injections and honestly, they sound great. But for me, there’s too many question marks. It’s hard to have an honest discussion about this here because the injections have been a wonderful solution for many and they’re reluctant to acknowledge things might not be as rosy as claimed.

With a bit more time and proper studies carried out on non-diabetics in the long term, the injections might have data to prove their safety. It would be absolutely amazing if this was the case. No one needs to lose weight the hard way to prove a point.

So, the injections might be fine. But they might not. And there’s increasing reports to suggest that many people will need to take them for life. Doctors also can’t confirm whether the injections permanently change your biology, and don’t know if it will affect how you lose weight in the future.

For me, there are too many question marks. There was even a death caused directly by the injections. I’m the kind of person that reacts badly to drugs so sod’s law, that would be me 😂

I’d love to take them but I’m just too cautious to disregard all of the above.

NOTE: I’m not criticising anyone who’s using injections. I’m just answering OP’s question!!

1200 is ridiculously low, no wonder you are starving. I would imagine if you are 5 stone overweight you could trial 2000 and then go from there. Depends how active you are as a general rule plus how tall you are.

I'm really short but pretty active so if I'm bordering overweight I can lose on 1700, potentially more if I'm doing a lot of running but when I was losing on 1700 I was only working on my feet and gymming, not running as well plus walking the kids to school.

Could you speak to a doctor about WL injections? I don't know a lot about them to be fair but I'm pretty sure they are safe. You still can't live off 1200 though even if they remove the food noise, it's it healthy for many people long term and not at all sustainable.

Why are so many people just blithely suggesting weight loss injections? Not advising on healthy eating and exercise, or encouraging or helping the OP. Just 'inject yourself with chemicals to lose weight!' FFS!

This kind of thread should really be on the 'weight loss' board! I have that hidden - along with the 'weight loss injections' board. I hid them because I got SO sick of seeing weight loss injection threads! And I'm pissed off with seeing 'USE MOUNJARO!!!!!!!!' aimed at people, (or wegovy!) often without any diet or fitness advice.

Long term healthier eating, regular exercise, and a better relationship with food is what is needed, not spending the rest of your life injecting yourself with chemicals.

Fully aware I'm going to very likely get the 'weight loss injection' obsessives coming at me. Save your breath. I've said my piece, I won't change my mind, and I WON'T be responding.

.

Mounjaro

If I had that much weight to lose I would start by cutting out chocolate, cakes, sweets and biscuits etc. and eat loads more veg, salads, pulses etc. Don’t count calories eat high density low calorie foods so you don’t feel hungry. Also move more. This will start your weight loss and you’ll get used to the different foods. Going to bed hungry is not going to help you at all, as someone else said eat a cucumber or a few carrots etc so you feel full. Good luck 🤞🏻

Been where you are so many times....7 months on Mounjaro and I have lost 5 stone, no more food noise, and feel mobile enough to start Couch to 5k.

I know we all sound like weight loss evangelists but it truly is life changing.

Most people wont agree with this but it may not be actual hunger, discomfort yes, craving yes, but possibly not actual hunger, as long as you've spread those calories out across the day.

A week of this and you'll be more used to it

There's a facebook group called The Chub Club Calorie Deficit - Women's Group. The admins will work out your calorie alowance based on height, weight and activity level.
As an example I'm 5' 6" and weighed about 12st with a low activity level. My calorie allowance was 1538.
I'm down to 10st 7lb and hoping to stay this weight as I'm comfortable with it. It took me about 5 months to lose the weight. I still stick to roughly 1500 cals on weekdays but can go up to 2000 on weekends.

1200 cals is plenty if you use MJ to curb your hunger pangs. I am half way to losing ten stone using MJ and Fast 800 ( done properly)

What are the long term health considerations of being 5 stone overweight? That’s the question which should be going through your mind.

@LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway people are suggesting WLI because they work exactly for people in the OPs position. People using them know from personal experience how effective they can be. All medications are chemicals. So is water. The OPs had loads of advice about diet and exercise alongside people mentioning WLI.

The whole point of WLI is that they enable you to maintain a healthy calorie controlled diet for the length of time needed to lose enough weight to move into the healthy weight range. They don't just magically melt the fat off you whilst you continue to over eat.

It's also weird to want to ban anyone from mentioning injections on every board apart from one. This is Chat, anything goes.

I am interested in your evidence for this statement. I don’t know - but when I google I get that it was approved for type2 diabetes in around 2022 , and for weight loss in 2023.
That’s not years, and not enough time to be certain about any long term problems

MJ

Don't give up - fat bastard here, had a blood sugar warning 12 months ago. This year all back to normal.
All I’ve done is cut out processed foods - and all ‘diet’ drinks - but the biggest difference is I’ve kept eating - just less bread pasta and spuds, and I kept on going.

keep at it!

Adding to the chorus of Mounjaro. I’ve done everything before and it’s an absolute game changer. I’ve been to the gp etc saying there’s more to my weight gain (goitre, pcos etc) and always been told there’s nothing wrong. Started on Mounjaro 6 months ago and I’m fitter, healthier and happier. The risks for me outweigh the negatives at this point because obesity is a significant health factor on its own.

Honestly, bring constantly hungry is miserable. It's also entirely unsustainable. You won't get used to it. You'll get frustrated, binge and eat more, undoing any "good" work you've done.

I know. I've been there.

As a former "naturally" thin person, I can tell you that being constantly hungry is not normal and is totally real, not in your head, not because you are greedy or have some sort of moral failure or lack of will power or any other sort of thing you may feel or find other people feel.

I've lost 5 stone, I'm maintaining my loss and I'm not constantly hungry anymore. I used drugs. Best thing ever.

The drugs (specific brand names and slight tinkers with formulations) have been around for decades. My OH has type 2 diabetes and hsa been on them, one name or another, for around 18 years

Look at Team RH on social media

How tall are you?

1200cals is my daily amount to maintain if I'm not exercising. I have to go 800-1000 to lose. Height is really relevant.

Another vote for Mounjaro. Lost 3.5 stones since May, another 1 stone to reach a healthy BMI. It's changed my life, especially my mental health as I felt so hopeless about being able to even stop gaining the weight, let alone losing any. I'd tried so many diets but need to eat below 1200 calories a day to lose a pound a week and was just so hungry and miserable I couldn't sustain it for long enough to lose more than a stone.
I've done lots of research and know about ten health professionals also taking it, including two GPs. Apparently there is a Facebook group for GPs taking it with 1200 members! It's not without side effects for me, mainly fatigue, so it's not something I recommend lightly and certainly not for people with less than a couple of stones to lose. But so much better than despairing about a future with all the health risks of obesity and the impact of that on my children.

Omg same. I wish MNHQ would stop threads like these appearing in chat and AIBU. They're really triggering for people with EDs and there is a really busy weight loss chat board and a separate weight loss injections board for people who want to talk about them. So irksome

Target weight in lbs x 12 = daily calorie target. 1200 is too low. My 7 year old eats more than that. You'll end up binging as you'll be so hungry.

Life is triggering for a lot of people, stop trying to silence people

Have you considered 16:8?
I eat between 10am-6pm. I am sensible with what I’ve eat, but I don’t go hungry during that time.
I’ve lost weight, when nothing else has worked.
Are you able to walk? Two 30 min walks a day will help too

If you’ve tried all of those things your best bet is prob a weight loss drug. Peoples bodies are all very different some can lose weight eating amounts that will cause others to ballon, others lose weight focusing on protein of amounts that will cause others to have kidney issues..

weight loss drugs seem to level the playing field with regards to how the body responds to standard advice of eating less running round more. They lessen the food noise, esp a problem for those in flight of fight mode a lot, adhd, anxiety, depression etc.