Why are you not taking WLI?

[Pronkey]

First of all I do not look down on WLI. In fact I possibly regret not going on them as my weight loss has been very very slow (50 pounds in 18 months). With plenty of step backs after holidays, Christmas etc. I must have lost the same 7 pounds at least three times.

But I chose not to go on them as I have had horrific gallstones ever since my last pregnancy and just could not risk it after they finally went away.

My cravings have definitely reduced since I have made diet and lifestyle changes. Was living off and craving pasta before my weight loss journey. And now I can definitely take it or leave it.

Just curious to hear why you didn’t go down the WLI route?

My GP friend is very anti them, having seen people lose a lot of muscle as well as fat and ending up in a worse position than they were in before if they stop taking them.

Yup, I don’t want to be rude but the couple of people I know who have used it (openly) look like they have been to hell and back. They lost a lot very quickly. I wouldn’t be happy with that appearance.

The replies on this thread are interesting and show the power that social media wields in the face of logic.
Of course there are some sensible replies related to medical conditions where it is contraindicated but those claiming to be ‘scared of unknown side effects’ are completely bonkers. Do they not know that the side effects of obesity is more than ‘known’ .. and include heart failure, stroke and death!

Also these drugs aren’t new ! Ozempic has been in human use for over 20 years. MJ since 2016.

As for risk of rebound or being on it for life this argument is very strange.

whilst clinically obese I was on blood pressure medication for life, statins for life, high dose of thyroxine for life. When I took bp and statins my bp and cholesterol markers improved. If I stopped them my bp and cholesterol returned to life threatening levels. In EXACTLY the same way that i would get fat again if I didn’t stay on a maintenance dose of MJ for life. Only now I’m medicated from a point of health with a BMI of 22 for the last 14 months. Rather than at a point of life threatening Obesity with a BMI of 39 .

I’m not “scared of the unknown side effects”, I’m cautious about using any medication whose side effects are unknown. I’m old enough to remember thalidomide. These drugs have only been used widely for weight loss for a very limited time, and it is already known that they can cause digestive problems and pancreas and gall bladder issues.

I know what the side effects of obesity are, which is the reason I lost a lot of weight using a more conventional method. WLIs are not the only way to tackle obesity.

I don’t risk a rebound effect or WLI for life because I didn’t use WLIs to lose the weight. I changed my relationship with food and my lifestyle, so I haven’t regained any of the weight I lost. By all means, justify to yourself taking expensive medication for a quick fix, but I venture to suggest that logic is on my side.

I think that’s a tad condescending if I may say so. None of my objections are related to social media whatsoever. I am able to weigh up competing risks and come to a decision about my health without consulting Facebook or Instagram thank you!

@Fishingboatbobbingnight a rational summary, thanks.

Vaccines?? You’re lumping vaccines in with this?? Completely different, I do hope you’re never exposed to polio, all the healthy eating in the world won’t help you.

I only wish my friend has enough discipline not to catch meningitis.

The information in these articles looks pretty rational too:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-01-08-new-study-finds-stopping-weight-loss-drugs-linked-faster-regain-ending-diet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c050ljnrv2qo.amp

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/fat-loss-jabs-weight-faster-dieters-b2896300.html#

I’m interested to know why this happens. My weight loss has been slow, eating a healthy balanced diet, but n fast I do exactly as I have any other time I have lost weight, WLI just help me do better able to do it: o wonder why that would mean o lose more muscle this time around then any other time?

Not fat enough to warrant the horrible heartburn and constipation. Plus they made me feel weak and tired so had to stop

Re: long term side effects
Weight loss drugs, specifically GLP-1 agonists, have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for nearly two decades, with the first, exenatide(Byetta), approved in 2005, though the underlying hormone was identified much earlier, leading to medications that mimic it for blood sugar and appetite control.

Most of us would take paracetamol without panicking about side effects….Paracetamol side effects are rare at recommended doses but can include allergic reactions (rash, swelling), while overuse or overdose can cause serious liver and kidney damage, with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain. Less common issues can involve blood disorders or drops in blood pressure. Long-term use concerns exist

Re: cost
The starting dose for monjaro is £25 a week. I’m definitely spending £25 a week less on food/ alcohol snd have stuck at the lowest dose for 12 weeks.

re: enjoying food
Still enjoying food, cooking, going out to eat - I just get full quicker

Re: piling it back on
This is a risk with any diet. Not a reason not to try and lose weight.

If you use WLIs as an opportunity to change your habits, ensure you eat high levels of protein and fibre, drink loads of water, do weight bearing exercise to maintain muscle mass, you will be establishing habits to help with maintaining.

I’ve been 4 st overweight for years now. Am perimenopausal and I can’t tell you how much better I feel for shifting that first 2st!

I’m worrying less about cancer, heart disease, my body aches less, I’m getting really into exercise and I’m learning what I need to do to shift weight - I ate healthily previously - just too much. I’ve tried so many different approaches to weightloss, but none of them stuck.

The only side effects I have had were feeling tired and a little nauseous in the first couple of weeks as my body adjusted.

I was skeptical to start with but I am delighted with the results.
Started off weighing 14st7lbs with a BMI of 30 - am now 12st7 with BMI 26.5.
My weighloss has averaged at a healthy 2.1lbs a week. I have another 2st to go.
Really happy I have WLIs a go.

I had wls and have lost 7 stone, I did consider using them to lose the last bit of weight, I want to lose , but the people I know who have been on it the regain is horrendous, I'm in various bariatric groups on FB and I'm seeing lots of posts saying about regain after stopping wli, my sister lost 4 stone and put 10lb on in the first month after stopping it, I read something about putting up it back on up to 4 times faster, and so don't want to risk putting it all back on.

Quite interesting that so many people taking WLI have come into this thread to try to persuade other people that they’re fine. Not what the OP asked. They obviously have lots of upsides and if you want to take them, go for it, and think whatever you need to think to justify it to yourself, but it’s not your job to recruit other people who have already decided they don’t want them. The drug companies aren’t paying you to promote them. It comes across as a bit sinister really

I’m on WLI now but it took me 12 months to decide and I was hesitant for many of the reasons people have said. There’s a lot of misunderstanding around them. They don’t ’melt fat’ and typically people only lose hair and muscle if they don’t eat properly. I was concerned about side effects but in the end, I realised the risks of being fat were far greater.

I’ve lost 3 stone now and I’ve got another 2 stone to go. I’m slowly chipping away at it but it’s the best thing I ever did.

I realise that’s not answering the question! But I recognise myself in many of the ‘reasons why not’.

I don’t post to recruit others. We all do what we want. I do however like to counter the suggestion that WLI = unhealthy weight loss

These drugs have been used by people for a very specific medical condition for 20 years. Taking them for fatness is a new thing and therefore that’s why people are being cautious.

Yet if any dissenter dares to go onto one of their pro-threads to raise a word of caution merry hell breaks loose!

I don’t weigh enough although I know of people who have been similar and lied to get them. I didn’t want to do that.
I don’t want to rely on them & wanted to take other steps to lose weight and get fit.
I am nervous of what we will find out about them in the future. Admittedly they have been amazing for some people. I have a good friend who’s lost 8 stone and completely changed her life with fitness etc so I can see they are beneficial for some people but I didn’t trust myself to not just use the jab without making other changes.
I also can’t afford those & the gym I signed up to so I chose the gym.

Sorry. That was long.

I have read the thread and don’t see that. More people it’s pointing out the inaccuracies being posted.

And if they were genuine reasons people are not taking them but are fat then I’d have thought they would want to know if the reasons they were not doing so were false. I would. Surely everyone would. No one likes being fat. And there is a lot of misinformation and utter nonsense being posted.

of course if the thread is just an opportunity to post some made up stuff due to jealousy as the real reason is cost then I can see why you’d not want the inaccuracies corrected.

I don’t think so but I’d never be so rude as to ask… It could be more to do with the fact that they are all ladies who are 40+ so don’t have the skin elasticity to “bounce back” from the sudden weight loss in their face.

People’s reasons for not taking WLI are genuine to them. Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or believes.

So it doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t take life saving medication due to false information? It shouldn’t be corrected ?

That’s not why OP started the thread though. Posters aren’t asking to be corrected. We are just sharing our reasons.

And it isn’t life-saving medication for everyone who takes it - some people have become seriously ill with conditions such as pancreatitis.

In the same way that WLI users don’t like it when the anti-brigade try to hijack their threads, you are trying to hijack this one. Please don’t.

I am not on them, I can afford it and I’m big enough. For me it’s that I need to just figure this out myself, I don’t want to be on them for years and yes side effects worry me. I lost 7lbs last summer changing small habits which worked really well and the longest I had stuck to something. I’m only just back on better habits after Christmas now and hoping it sticks long term, Christmas very easily shut it down for me 😆.

I saw a lot of school mums shrink very quickly with either WLI or the local ‘nutrition’ club (internal screaming with that one…) and it made me pause but honestly, I know I can do this myself, I want to change my mindset rather than a drug do it for me.