Disgusted with what I look like.

[Keepingtimer]

I've just seen a video of myself and just honestly can't believe how awful I look.
Im four stones overweight with high cholesterol, high blood sugar , pre diabetes . I've had years and years of stress and it shows in my face and body.
I've had a underactive thyroid for over thirty years.

Im about to go on a low calorie shake diet through the NHS at the end of the month.

im just so upset and horrified by what I look like. I look like I'm dying.

if this shake diet doesn't work I don't know where there is to go. I can't seem to stick to a diet for more than about three weeks myself . I'm scared to take weight loss drugs.

I walk three or four miles several times a week and eat a healthy diet. It's just crept up on me over years.

Has anyone felt this desperate and turned it around?

Bloody hell, you’re not dying. You’re a bit over weight and have some pre diabetes symptoms. Go on Mounjaro - kill two birds with one stone. Don’t bother with bloody shakes.

Agree. Loving Jimberley as an aside 😁

Why aren't you taking mounjaro? At the beginning of the year I was 4st heavier, pre-diabetic and feeling low like you. I've spent pretty much every spare pound I have on mounjaro and now feel fantastic - I'm slim, healthy and happy (and skint of course but it's worth every penny).

Has your GP treated your thyroid problem? That's what I would look at first, if I had it.

Good question. I plucked up the courage to start after Xmas but was put off by someone who was horrified and telling me it was dangerous. It's still in my fridge. I am scared of side effects and worried I won't inject it properly. I know that sounds pathetic but it really makes me anxious. I wish I could do it under medical supervision.

I’m not really sure why these threads still exist where people ask ‘how do I lose weight’? I’ve always got Wegovny in the fridge.

Yes, I've been on treatment for over thirty years but in the last year the doctor has told
me to reduce my dose and I've put on a stone.

I don't want to rely on drugs and it seems many people stay on them even after losing weight.

OP, there are millions of people taking mounjaro without medical supervision. I'm sure you are no less capable than those people (including me). You are an adult woman who no doubt manages to run her own life reasonably competently. Stop being silly and start taking the medication you've been prescribed. You will not regret it. Good luck.

That's ok, plenty of people are on various medications for life

Is there a reason why you can’t actually exercise rather just walking a few miles, is there a reason you can’t go swimming for example? Or do something that raises your heart rate and burns some calories and makes you feel good?

And? People stay on biologics when autoimmune diseases are in remission. Because it stops the disease coming back. People stay on contraception when they're not in a relationship. Because it stops full blown periods and hormone shifts coming back.

The needles used for the injections are tiny - nothing like the ones used for biologics or DMARDs - they're so tiny that most people barely even feel them and they don't go more than a few mm under the skin; you'd feel more discomfort from clipping a toenail a bit short.

If you've got the VLC shakes coming at the end of the month, you could try using one pen for the time coming up to that - if you have any side effects, you can just stop.

Or you can hope that a bunch of probably horrid tasting shakes do the trick and you don't end up on exactly the same (safe, extensively tested and well tolerated) medication for diabetes. That sounds like a total waste of your time and effort and won't make you feel any better about yourself.

Many do, many don’t.

Take the jabs as the opportunity to change your diet into a new one that you can maintain after you stop the jabs. The jabs will suppress your appetite and allow you to develop new habits.

Doing shakes isn’t teaching you anything, you’ll have to go back to real food and potentially the habits you’ve got with it that led to your weight gain.

4 stone can be done in 6 months or less (I’m at 4 after 21 weeks despite being on holiday for 4 weeks). Try not to beat yourself up about it, the gain has happened, hating yourself won’t help, get started tomorrow and you’ll soon love yourself again.

In the meantime, find someone to do your jab if you don’t think you can, and look into counselling for your health anxiety as it can make a massive difference.

I don't think shakes are the way to go.

if you don’t fancy injecting yourself, go for the pills. Life changing in so many positive ways.

Really, there is a solution for all this in one medication. Better on Wegovy (for example) for life than meds for diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol and whatever else.

I don’t think weight loss drugs are the way to go either. It’s your body OP. Don’t be bullied, shamed or pressured into taking them if you have any doubts or concerns.

Have you tried w watchers? It’s very easy to follow, I joined online for 10 pounds per month, you can download the app, it will tell you how many points you can eat etc.

I can understand you not wanting to take the drugs as it ruins your face. Losing that much weight too quickly seems to cause people's faces to collapse in and down. That old saying, 'face or figure' was never truer. I know seven women who were all pretty large but didn't have the ability to lose the weight themselves and it worked well for them. They would all admit that the downside is serious aging of their faces though. So don't feel pressured. Make small changes and lose it slowly. Losing 1-2 lbs a week is the most you are meant to lose healthily. Any more than that is muscle mass loss and will cause sagging and a lack of energy. You want to feel healthier so extreme weight loss on these pills may not achieve that. I'm sure you're not as bad as you think anyway.

Oh my god - please try it! I started in late April 25 and it has changed my life!
I'm back into a healthy BMI. I look a million times better. For me it is a miracle drug.
I know not everyone responds quite as well - but the majority do. Give it a try, you can always stop taking it if you have side effects.
Don't listen to silly scare stories - I know 5 other women on it, and it been a success for us all.

Just to add, I was scared too. I put it off for over a year, I wish I hadn't!

Because not everyone can afford WLI?!

God forbid your face looks slightly older vs the life saving benefits of not being obese 😒

OP I’ve lost 7 stone on Mounjaro. I have probably added several years onto my life and solved multiple weight related health concerns. As an aside I am constantly being told I look flipping fantastic, but I wouldn’t give a shit if I didn’t if it meant I got a shot at spending a longer more active life with my kids and future grandkids.

However most people aren't paying a small fortune for those medications

Tbf I spend about 1000 less a month now on alcohol, takeaway, meals out, and food in general (for the whole family not just me - I’m not that bad promise) so the jabs are more than offset by the cost savings.

My WL meds pay for themselves easily.

OP, don’t take the advice of anyone on this unless they too have been in your situation and when it comes to weightloss drugs, listen to what people who have actually been on them have to say, not some rando who has probably never had weight issues and has no idea what it is like to b GLP-1 deficient.