Why am I not losing weight?

[EdinaTheConfessor]

I lost 7 stone over the last couple of years with mounjaro.
I have been of MJ and maintaining for a few months and then put on 7 lb at Christmas 🙈
I have been trying to shift it since the new year and it’s just not going anywhere.
I thought it would be dead easy as whenever I first start a diet (in the years before MJ) I’ve always been able to shift the first half stone or so dead easily. But that of course was with a much higher starting weight.
I’m 9 stone, I want to get back to 8st 7 which was where I was most of last year. My maintenance calories are pretty low as I have a very sedentary job.
I have calorie counted everything using nutracheck. Every day is coming in below 1000 calories (which really is what I need for a decent deficit) I’m trying to increase protein, I have not touched alcohol, I’ve started running (C25K) and do Pilates 3x weekly.

Why am I not losing weight?

Ok, no need to ffs me, I think it’s obvious what I meant

Sometimes it just takes a while to show. When I duet it doesn’t move then boom, one day half a stone comes off. No idea why

Yes and when it doesn’t get it, it burns fat or muscle to fuel, thus making rhe body lighter. Starvation mode is a myth. The less you eat below tdee the more you lose. There is no way round this basic biological fact,

That’s not actually true, the body will lower its BMR in order to account for such a low intake. It will reduce body temp, heart rate, spontaneous movements etc so that fewer calories are needed to survive.

Unfortunately what you said is still inaccurate. You simply aren’t building muscle whilst eating at such a calorie deficit, your body needs surplus calories in order to build lean muscle and it’s actually quite difficult to do as a woman. That being said, the whole “your body is holding onto calories because you’re eating too little” is also nonsense in this scenario. Most likely, the running is causing your body to hold onto some extra water due to inflammation which will naturally resolve over the coming weeks and you’ll start to see the scale go down again.

This is true, but the body still loses weight as normal, unless the person is totally bed bound, and no one is burning only 1000 cals a day unless bed bound.

in the starvation study, where it was nil by mouth, as in starvation, everything reduced as you say, but weight loss continued as expected. The op would need to be literally starving and not moving to burn less than 1000 a day and maintain her weight, she is not doing that.

so no, it is and never will be th4 case someone eating 1000 cals a day is eating too little to lose weight, unless as said they are bed bound and not moving.

Hi OP.

I am on Mountjaro and I am no scientist but it is very evident to me that I lose so much easier when on it, regardless of diet.

I went off it for a while due to illness and when I went back on, I lost weight before I had begun to eat less.

On MJ, I was eating the same calories as I had previously to lose weight. When younger, the weight would drop off when I dieted but in the couple of years before MJ, I would struggle so much to lose weight despite eating way less.

I know it is something to do with insulin resistance but like I said I am no scientist. However, it is clear to me that MJ is not just an appetite suppressant - it works in other ways for weight loss.

Argh this is probably true but I am in the position now that I can’t re start as it’s been too long since my last prescription, and my bmi is too low.

I am taking berberine which is supposed to have some of the same benefits as mounjaro in that respect.

I wouldn't think it is

If you eat too little, your body is going to store what it can as fat because it doesnt know when its getting fuel again

I never lose if I cut to so few calories . I have a physical job, I do a 5k walk at least every day - busy housewife - and if I drop below 1200 calories , I won't lose

@EdinaTheConfessor going veggie may be the problem. I try to balance out my grains, pasta , bread and beans - Im not veggie, but trying to get as much plant into my diet as possible, as well as keeping my belly full

So for me it will be high fibre fruits and greek yoghurt for my first meal , with some bio and me granola for interest. If Im hungry again before dinner, I will take FF cottage cheese and a tin of mackerel on a protein flatbread/pitta or bagel . Then evening meal will be protein and veg ( not potatoes as I dont like them ) So maybe grilled chicken and salad with couscous or quinoa to fill me

I will make a choice daily if it was to be pasta, rice, or beans - I wouldn't go heavy on them all on the one day filling more on carby veggies . So Im having pasta for dinner , I won't be taking bread that day

Lentils and barley work well for me, porridge doesnt unless its raw Oatbran stirred into my yoghurt I find works well as a filler upper and eggs - pure power bombs

It takes a while of listening and watching how your body responds to find a workable diet that works. I can no longer eat white bread for instance ( and I love it ) because I can feel clothes getting tight as Im eating it

This is a myth btw. If you don’t put enough calories in you will always lose weight (strange medical illnesses aside). Starvation mode is a lie.

If it’s storing fat as it’s not enough cals how does it fuel itself??

honeslty the amount of people who don’t understand basic biology. It’s not just that it is utterly illogical to think the body fuels itself on thin air,

Lowering metabolic requirements is not the same as ‘the body doesn’t lose weight on such low calories’. You will still lose weight.

I weighed in at -0.1lb this morning. Hardly worth getting out of bed for 😭

Dinner last night was ratatouille with butter bean mash and I threw a couple of poached eggs on for protein. Hardly carb heavy.

I think from everything I’m reading it’s the new exercise that is preventing the numbers dropping. I mean, that’s fine, I’d rather be fitter and toned and as I say my clothes still fit so I shouldn’t pay too much attention to the number on the scales.

I’m just soooo paranoid about gaining weight after coming off MJ that I just hate seeing myself just teetering on the edge of what I deem my ideal, and I want my buffer back!

Have you measured yourself OP? Scales can be a bit unreliable but if you measure your vital stats you can keep a record to check you’re not gaining that way.

I think just keep eating healthy meals and exercising.

It isn't difficult to eat lots of protein when vegetarian, or indeed vegan. Lentils and pulses are full of protein, as is tofu. Also nuts and seeds, although I appreciate you're probably limiting those.

E.g. You could have a silken tofu based breakfast such as tofu scramble or a smoothie bowl. Lentil soup or puy lentil salad for lunch. Five bean chili or butter bean stew for dinner. All with lots of veg.

When I'm feeling lazy I just cook some frozen garlic and spinach, whack in a tin of butter beans and a glug of olive oil plus whatever spices I fancy and sprinkle some seeds on top. Tasty, comforting, nutrious and high in protein.

You might find it easier to lose weight if you cut out dairy too. I do.

Exactly this. I swell up with water when I exercise, the scale only goes down when I have a break. Also blood volume increases.

For last ten days I have cut out the snacking. Done IF so only eating between 12-8pm. Healthy food only. Lots of exercise. Small portions. No carbs.

Put ON 2kg 🙄🙄🙄

So will go in even harder. Am trying to pretend I’m on mounjaro and essentially eat the bare minimum.

Hoping this weight gain is the Christmas weight showing and it will take abit longer for my new regime to have results. I need to lose half a stone to be in normal bmi and a whole stone to be my preferred weight. I am determined now.

TOTM? Are you doing any weights?

I’ve put on 0.3lb this morning 😭
Maybe I should start weighing myself once a week rather than every day. It’s so demoralising.

Sounds like you are in the same boat as me. Good luck I’m sure we will see results soon!

I flipping hope so! I can’t eat any less or exercise any more.

I would suggest your body is just at the right weight and you don't need to lose any weight? That is the issue with the weight loss injections I think. They are manipulating your natural hormones and body processes, so you lose an unnatural amount of weight. If you are eating well and exercising, your body will naturally stay at the weight it's meant to. Is it possible you have become a little obsessed because of the initial weight loss with the medication? Your weight already seems to be very low. I say this as someone who has battled disordered eating and weight obsession for many many years. After essentially starving and overexercising myself to a very low weight (much lower than my natural weight) I gained 7 kilos out of nowhere and couldn't shift them. I think it was my body just moving back to it's natural weight. I made peace with it. I have since lost a small amount but I realised I couldn't eat less, didn't want to eat less and couldn't exercise more, so needed to get comfortable with my weight (which is similar to yours). It brought me some degree of peace although I do find the talk of weight loss injections and seeing a few people on them lose a huge amount of weight, very triggering. Just something to think about (and I mean no offence at all).

You are probably right, but what concerns me is that I am eating in a calorie deficit currently, if I increase to a maintenance level then judging by what is currently happening I will gain weight.
And I really am logging every single thing that passes my lips, oils, condiments, drinks etc.

8.5 stone is tiny for an adult! How tall are you? 9st is also a low weight, but might be better for you.

I mean this kindly: if you have lost a lot of weight, maybe your idea of a healthy weight has become a bit skewed? People can get obsessive over the numbers. If your clothes fit, and you are able to eat well and exercise and be 9st, maybe you could also relax and not weigh yourself so often?

This is what I was trying to say. It's a very low weight and weighing yourself every day and tracking what you eat is quite obsessive. I think your significant weight loss has skewed your perspective and now you are very concerned about gaining the weight back. It's understandable. I was exactly the same when I was at a very low weight for my body. I was obsessed with keeping the weight that low. I weighed myself every day. I wasn't worried about losing weight but just maintaining the low weight. But it wasn't a healthy weight and it wasn't sustainable. So my body naturally gained weight to what was a healthier weight for me. So I stopped weighing myself, tried to find peace at a heavier weight and over time (3 years now), it stabilised. I didn't continue to gain weight. I am very fit and active, exercise a lot and eat well, but my weight won't go back down to the lower weight and I have accepted that. But I did find my body found it's set point and my appetite stabilised (I was very hungry once I started to gain weight) and I started to feel more settled.