Has anyone lost weight without the jabs ?

[thethreegreens]

Nowadays I see so many posts about weightloss and then about the weight loss jabs and pills, has anyone lost weight without using the medication ? I’m really big for what I was before and uncomfortable but feel like I’ll just fail also taking the jabs medication is not an option for me

I agree with not having time to plan and prep. At least an hour of my free time in the evening is now cooking from scratch and prepping breakfast and lunch for the following working day.

I’m doing it now. Just over 3 months in and 33lbs down (long way to go still!)

It's worth remembering that the OP has said quite clearly that she is not able to take GLP1s, so all this discussion about them is moot.

Losing weight clearly can be done without medical support, but it is a harder task and has its own challenges. I would suggest that the OP starts with simply tracking what she's eating now, and then making small manageable changes that are something that she can stick to long term. One small change every few weeks would soon add up to long term change.

@thethreegreens you could self refer or ask your GP to refer you to the NHS weight management service in your area, and you may be able to access some support that way assuming your BMI is in the obese range.

I did with dripping all carbs other than bulgur etc

WTF

Can I ask, with tea and coffee outside your window . Do you stick to black? I’d like to try intermittent fasting but I love my morning coffee with milk and sweeteners too much !

I lost the same two stones several times over without Mounjaro and the last time when I just turned 50 it took me nearly a year. A year of being hungry no matter how healthy I ate. A year of more migraines than ever because I was so hungry all the time. It was soul destroying. Fast forward to 54 years old and I started taking Mounjaro and it’s changed my life. The constant hunger and anxiety around food has significantly reduced and I’m able to control my eating habits for the first time in my adult life. I’ve lost nearly 7 stones and feel so much better.

Just come out of hospital and the weight loss is noticeable. Why? Portion control. Three meals a day.Lots of water.My appetite has reset and amazingly I'm never hungry until mealtimes.I don't think about food, or treats or snacks.I had no idea my view of normal portions was so out of touch with reality!

No. I have coffee and tea with milk and sweetener! I highly recommend - I find it very easy to manage as it’s one less meal to worry about. I do have a relatively low carb lunch but then a normal dinner. Happy to answer any other questions.

I didn’t say they help people stick to a proper balanced diet, I said they help me stick to a proper balanced diet. People make their own choices about how to approach weight loss whether they are using WLI or not. Some people will, like me, completely overhaul their diet and others will just jab and co time eating as they always did, albeit less.

You know your complexities, I can’t speak for anyone else but for me the autism and ADHD, suffering neglect and hunger as a child and having absolutely no control as an adult probably covers it. I always knew what I needed to do, I was just too weak and pathetic to do it. Is that enough?

I was morbidly obese, I knew every take away, every piece of chocolate, every fatty food, every double portion or extra meal was the problem. I knew about nutrition and what I should eat, god knows I had don’t it tens of times over, WLI just mean I can stick to it.

Like some others, I've lost 17lbs in 7 weeks so far, just calorie counting using Nutracheck and walking. I stick with 16:8, not necessarily because I believe that in itself works, but because it helps me switch off from eating mode after 7pm.

I'm nearly 50 and have always struggled. Two things are making a difference now: I initially thought I was pre-diabetic and that scared me into getting on with it. The second is that I can't afford to spend thousands on WLD and am determined to see if I can save myself the money.

Completely incorrect in every way. Sustainability in weight loss has fuck all to do with what you eat. You could eat a Big Mac everyday if you wanted to. It’s entirely related to control of your hunger which is why the drugs are the game changer. If I did choose to eat a Big Mac and chocolate milkshake (which I wouldn’t because I no longer have an overwhelming hunger that leads to poor food choices. ) then it would take me the whole damn day split into 4 or 5 ‘meals’ . Which together with a couple of coffee and milk would be all I could consume in a day when on higher doses of MJ when losing. Total calorie intake is the same as 4 or 5 healthy protein focused small meals.

The ENTIRE thing about GLP-1s is hunger control. Without them, as an insulin resistant former obese person, I would have little control to not eat the Big Mac PLUS plus plus..

As for the increased risk in gall stones - I already had my gallbladder removed 15 years ago when I got stones from dieting the ‘conventional’ way. It is a side effect of ALL methods of weight loss. As for the kidney/pancreatic issues, these are a risk but a very very small one - dwarfed in comparison to the risk of stroke and heart disease that is life threatening in those with obesity. It boils down to reading the research and making a logical decision for long term health. That is why I will remain on MJ and its successors for life.

A few people have questioned my posts, so this is what I’ve read regarding the research and science. As I said further upthread, I use ZOE which is science backed for healthy nutrition rather than weight loss, but I lost weight because I changed what I ate. Part of that is learning how my body works, and my body does not respond well to fat or sugar. I completely overhauled what I was eating (with a view to reduce my risk of future health complications, in particular cancer).

WLI are a great tool - I’m not knocking them - but there is research out there showing their side effects. That doesn’t mean WLIs should be stopped, but awareness of side effects should be considered when deciding to use them.

However, the OP said she can’t use them and was looking to other alternatives.

https://zoe.com/learn/how-to-reverse-insulin-resistance?srsltid=AfmBOooVQ5By6YL2Unb_c0EcqAmyEVn_86zGSX5vcNQzq0Z3NrZ_s1K_&lead_id=9969ccd6-4373-424f-ba18-ad4d1ca5e83b

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2025/jan/new-study-raises-concerns-over-side-effects-of-weight-loss-injections.html

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/weight-loss-injections

The important point about side effects of GLP1s is that the data and research show that overall, for people who are obese or overweight with a weight related health condition, losing weight with a GLP1 reduces your overall risk of a huge number of health issues. That's exactly why they were approved for use for those patient groups.

Oh god did you really post a link from Zoe which has skin in the game and some outdated research lol?

https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2026.44.2_suppl.712

https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2024/10001/s5_glp_1_receptor_agonists_and_pancreatic_cancer.6.aspx

https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-15879295/pancreatic-cancer-remarkable-link-mounjaro-fat-jabs.html

There’s no need to be rude @Velvetandleather?
Thank you for the links - I shall have a read.

I've lost 13st with WLS (regained)
8st by myself twice (regained)
3st so far with WLI (actually feels like I've cracked it this time)

I can’t understand from looking at the link what exactly Zoe is/does? Looks like a supplement, is that it? The nutrition stuff, well as upthread, that was never the issue. So what do you get for your money with Zoe?

That’s music to my ears! I always thought there was no point me attempting IF if I can’t give up my morning coffee.
please could you give an example of that you eat and drink in a day

DH did, 4 stones. It has been a year and he has kept it off.
He did exercise (1-2h a day) + no more alcohol or carbs. Lots of proteins and vegetables.
When he was stabilising, he really paid attention to what he was eating and his weight to re-define his long term diet, trial and error basically, until he knew what to eat in order to maintain his weight.

Sure thing.

I would usually have a coffee and a couple of teas in the morning along with water / squash / other drinks that take my fancy.

When I break my fast at lunchtime, in the summer I am tending to have full fat Greek yoghurt loaded with fruit, low sugar granola. In the winter I was having a homemade soup.

In the afternoon, I will snack on a handful of nuts, maybe a little chocolate, maybe something little when the kids come home - say if I am doing them a pizza, I will have a slice. I am also having an Apple / other fruit for snacks.

Then dinner is something like curry and rice, pasta bolognese, burger and chips. I am tending to have quite small portions but not yet cutting the starchy carbs. I have done that in the past but haven’t felt the need to whilst this regime is working.

i don’t drink alcohol but will have a ‘nice’ drink with dinner such as a no alcohol cider.

Just before I start my fast, I will have a decaf coffee with a little sweet treat such as a few maltesers.

When I started out, I found the Zero app really helpful, but I haven’t used it for a few months now I am properly in the swing of it.

That's what I wonder too

@hansenhen@CormorantWings
When I started ZOE, I had blood tests to gauge how well my body reacted to fat and sugar. I also did a stool sample to check my microbiome. I then got the results and when I log food the app tells me if this a good choice for me. I pay £10 monthly so I can log, scan barcodes of food when I shop, get recipes, get advice on simple food swaps to make better choices based on my results.

They are pushing the supplement bit but I don’t (yet) use it. I think it’s expensive at the moment.

ZOE is very much focused on eating for health. Due to cancer in the family, I wanted to improve my health, hence my choice. I have naturally lost weight by changing my eating habits. I thought I was eating healthily before but I had failed to understand why white rice and jacket potatoes were not good for me (I was overweight and still gaining) and how I was putting my body under pressure to process the fat I was eating. As part of using the app to log what you eat, it breaks it down to show your protein, fibre, fat, carb intake. There are videos along the way to explain how to make better choices and why.

The gut microbiome is a huge thing at ZOE and there is ongoing research as to how it influences health, both physical and mental.

It’s based on scientific research and you can read the research here: https://zoe.com/our-science?leadid=c439021b-f302-44c1-8861-88b58815c410

ZOE is a science company working in partnership with doctors and scientists at Kings College Hospital. Lead researcher is Dr Tim Spector.

https://zoe.com/en-gb/faqs?leadid=c439021b-f302-44c1-8861-88b58815c410

I think Zoe started out with good intentions but quickly morphed into another capitalist venture. Their seed packs are criminally expensive.

So it’s basically paying for information that’s freely available? Apart from the tests of course, but the vast majority of people don’t need testing to know they should eat healthily, we know it, we just can’t do it. I can’t see from what you have said how signing up to Zoe makes a difference at all. There are loads of free apps that can track your intake and break it down for you,