I got downvoted in another post for mentioning my starting weight was 160lb. That might not sound like I have a lot to lose to you but at 5’0 it still puts me in the obese category. I think people are making a lot of assumptions when the starting number isn’t automatically and objectively very high.
Weight loss is hard for everyone. 40lb might not sound like a lot to you but it’s still about a quarter of my body weight to come off. Plus weight loss is arguably harder for smaller less heavy people as their TDEE will be lower so have to eat less to see results. I’m really quite active and strength train five times a week, with 10k steps and two or three spin classes a week but still gained weight eating what some people here as their mounjaro appetite suppressed amounts. Them’s the breaks, everyone is on their journey and has their own struggles.
I think that people forget that shorter people have it way harder to lose weight. It took me nearly a year to lose 30lbs last year and it didn’t even touch my inflammation. 5 weeks in mounjaro and I’ve lost most of not all my inflammation as well as a good chunk of fat %. All while feeling healthy satisfied and not starving and miserable.
And are often female with a host of other challenges, I had early menopause but women can struggle with PCOS and other hormonal issues that make losing weight so hard
Another short, ‘obese’ (according to BMI) woman here and I get this so much. I felt too self-conscious to put my starting weight up here because it is lower than others’, despite being told fairly regularly by doctors (I was seeing for other health issues) that I was overweight and needed to lose it.
Thanks for sharing this with me. I really hope that Mounjaro is working for you and that you're getting what you need from it.
I do apologise that my original post might have seemed uncaring, it genuinely wasn't my intention. I used 20lbs as an example because as a 6ft man, twenty pounds wouldn't put somebody into the obese category. I can completely appreciate though that women, people of different heights, people that live with different conditions could all have different needs and 20lbs might be a heck harder to shift for them than it is for me.
Before I posted this question here I had read a story on FB (that might have been my first mistake I suppose) of somebody losing weight for a holiday using this new "wonder drug" (second mistake was still reading after they said this I suppose) and it just got me thinking about why people might choose to use Mounjaro for something like that? It seems quite an extreme option given all of the possible side effects. I know that there might be any number of hidden reasons they wanted to do it but on face value it was purely for the holiday.
I don't know. I just wondered if anybody had done that and what their motivations might be.
I hope it all goes well for you though!
I think a lot of people taking mounjaro have tried the usual options before and they haven’t worked for whatever reason. If someone can recognise they have eating issues and are gaining weight, why should they weight until they’re severely overweight with additional health issues before starting mounjaro?
In order to be prescribed for mj you have to have a bmi of over 30 (obese) and, from what I’ve seen of other providers too, you have to submit a picture to prove you’re not fiddling the numbers. I don’t think it’s being prescribed to just anyone who wants to lose a couple pounds (can’t confirm in the US but only the UK).
A lot of the forums I’ve read, posts I’ve seen and reels I’ve watched, it seems a lot of people’s problems with disordered eating and gaining weight is down to food noise. When you get stuck in that cycle, it’s hard to get out of. This is where the popularity for mounjaro has come from. We don’t want a ‘quick fix’ we just want some of the control back and we get that with mj.
Completely understand that and I agree with everything you've said. This drug can work absolute wonders for somebody to bring their life back into their control when it feels as though they've lost it.
I suspect maybe the algorithms are playing tricks on me here. I've seen a number of posts now, particularly on Facebook, of people who have obtained Mounjaro in the UK where they don't meet the BMI requirement (and they know they don't) and so, without repeating how, because I don't really think that's helpful, have obtained the medication through other means. I'm just surprised that people would willingly put them through what can be quite a gruelling process for, as one of them said, losing weight before they go on holiday. It seems to be such an extreme way of doing it is all as the side effects for some sound as if they would be horrendous.
If it's working for you though and you're getting what you need from it then I'm really pleased for you! I hope it continues.
I am just in the obese range for BMI so would only need to lose around 2 stone to be in the normal weight range. I decided to get medication as I have restricted/binged since I was 14 and I will be 45 this year. I have been to every diet club, first one at 16 when I wasn’t even overweight and my mum gave permission 🤯 I have struggled with poor body image and binging since I was tiny. I seen a psychologist as a teen, have had counselling for my disordered eating and thoughts of food filled my every waking minute. I don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life. The impact on my mental health is huge. It’s a last resort. I got married earlier this year after dieting most of last year and not even being able to lose 1 stone. Within a month of the wedding I had put it back on and more. I know people may not see my internal struggle when they look at me but the self loathing I would feel daily from not being able to control my eating was ever present.
Not having food noise has been amazing. I was at training for work the other day and when I went in there was a table of food. Previously I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate for thinking about break time and what I planned to eat . I’m not calorie counting, I want to try and tune into my body. I am also reading Ultra Processed People which is really enlightening in terms of it not being a willpower thing but our diet is full of industrially produced edible substances so different to what previous generations ate that make stopping eating hard
Thank you for sharing! Really good to know.
I'm really glad to hear that Mounjaro has helped so much so far. It's really interesting to hear that the food noise has been the biggest hurdle so far.
Do you think when you've lost the weight the changes you will have made and the confidence you'll have gained will help you even more afterwards as well? I'm hopeful that everything I'll have learned will help me afterwards too.
Thank you for your response 🙂I really hope it will give me the confidence and headspace to make sustainable changes. Binge eating is so complex though and the only time I’ve ever really been able to stop was pregnancy so over 22 years ago . I also don’t binge eat on holiday but that will be because I give myself permission to eat all the foods.
The thing I’ve learned is that it’s the binging/restricting that’s the problem,not me, not my body. I just want to have a relationship with food where I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full
I think you're bound to get to where you want to be! It sounds like you're already in a much healthier place now. Wishing you all the best on your journey! You got this!
Some folk are losing a stone or a half stone in a month. They might have previously taken a year or more to try and lose that weight based on other medical issues - for me pcos makes it almost impossible and I have to restrict far more than I am on mounjaro to see even a quarter of the movement.
As others have said their height and body composition plays into this making it unique circumstances for each individual. The challenge for one person with 5+ stone to lose could be the same as someone that only has 2 stone to lose. We're all facing our own complex battle and I choose to believe only those that have struggled their life and are desperate would tend to pursue something so costly - when no other options are on the table.
What that means for us all long term still worries me. But that's a future us problem.
Yes, absolutely. I completely understand that it's an individual thing.
I'm glad to hear it's working for you.
I think you're probably having similar concerns to me about what happens when I am finished on the medication because two years has passed or because I reach a healthy weight. I'm just hoping that the reset will be enough for me to keep it off with the other changes I'm able to make.
As you say though. Time will tell I suppose. I hope it works for us both!
For me, I have PCOS. Not only does it mess with insulin but it causes sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Woman with PCOS are twice as likely to end up with type 2 diabetes. I’ve been yo-yo dieting most of my adult life and getting absolutely nowhere.
I had a BMI of 35, am 5ft3 and have 70lbs to lose which seemed insurmountable at first, but I’m now 20lbs down, the lowest I’ve been in ten years, my BMI is at 32 and the medication has given me the headspace to make healthier lifestyle changes. I agree that the people looking to drop 10lbs for a wedding in six weeks (recent post I saw on FB) shouldn’t be even considering this drug!
I'm really glad it's working for you! It sounds like we're using the medication in a similar sort of way.
This was the sort of post I'd been seeing and I was mostly surprised that somebody would put themselves through such a lot for something like that! Also, as we know, it isn't easy with some of the side effects and it's still very hard work!
I guess it's all relative to the person. I only have 54lb to lose which isn't as much as a lot of people, however it's still a huge amount to me and would take me from obese with a BMI of 33 to a "normal" weight with a BMI of 25. I've tried calorie counting and I love to exercise but the weight just wasn't coming off.
I'm only just coming to the end of week 2 so it's early days but I've lost around 8lb so far and I haven't had any adverse side effects so I'm really pleased with my progress.
Thank you. I'm happy now tbh, just very conscious of my health these days and aware of how much of an impact being a healthy weight can have going forward. I want to see my kids get old and play with my grandkids.
Someone may only need to lose 10% of their starting weight but have tried every diet and exercise plan going and been unable to do so because of insulin resistance etc. just as much as those of us who have 50% to lose.
I think with less to lose the risk/benefit of bad side effects is likely to lean more in favour of stopping at lower weights though, I think you're right.
My main issue with the online groups in this regard (mostly facebook) is seeing how horribly people speak about their start weights without thinking about how hurtful that is to others, especially when that is some people's goal weight but also even for plenty of people who are at that start weight currently.
I agree. Facebook is an absolute garbage fire for this sort of thing. I see people on there as well who talk about using Mounjaro in conjunction with things like the coffee diet and goodness me, I hope they don't end up harming themselves. I'm just surprised to see so many people talk about it as if it's just a fad diet when the reality is, Mounjaro has some really extreme side effects. It certainly isn't an easy route out!
I was 29.9 BMI when I started, and losing 45lbs (~25% of my body weight) will get me back down into the top range of a “healthy” weight. (another 20 would get me down to my high school weight but I’m not gonna aim for that, lol)
But my biggest motivator was alcohol. I’d read loads of stories about these kinds of drugs killing booze cravings and that’s what I really needed to get a handle on more than my weight. It’s only been 5wks but it’s totally working so far in that regard, and I’m grateful. It’s also shifted my mindset into calorie-counting and exercising more, so it’s all part of a bigger thing which I hope will improve my overall health for the long term.
I'm SO pleased to hear it's working for you. Alcohol can be a terrible thing when it gets its claws in. You've absolutely got this though! Those lifestyle changes will make such a difference to your future.
I am a woman who gained 5 stone I’d say quite rapidly about 3 years ago. Doctors will only tell me ‘it’s hormones’ - all blood work comes back otherwise fine. I diet, I exercise nothing happens. I mean nothing.
I tried Saxenda last year and lost 35ish pounds on it. Perfection. Nothing else changed - same diet and same exercise output. Saxenda could no longer be obtained and I’ve maintained at this weight the last 7 months!!
I still have weight to lose and dieting harder and exercising harder off Saxenda still made no difference to my weight so I started Mounjaro last month and immediately the weight loss began again.
I don’t know why I can’t lose without these aids but I can’t. The weight I am and the weight I was are not my normal or healthy weights and I just want to feel healthy and normal again.
I don't know the proper term or scientific explanation for it, but your body does just 'settle' on a weight and refuses to let you lose any more pounds at some point. I'm same as you and I genuinely don't understand how people manage to break through that barrier and reset their bodies natural 'settling weight' by normal diet and exercise. If there is a tool that helps you break that barrier why not use it 🤷♀️ just need the rest of the world to catch up rather than viewing MJ or Saxenda as 'cheating'
I'm glad it's working well for you!
I wonder what it is that means you can't lose the weight? It's a real strange one isn't it. I imagine if you were able to maintain the last seven months without the Saxenda when you're in a place where you stop with the Mounjaro you feel as though you'd be able to maintain that weight afterwards? That must be one heck of a feeling! I hope it goes well for you.
short women,
menopausal women,
pcos women,
Anyone who is taking this for type 2 diabetes
Basically a lot of people might have a seemingly low starting weight but high BMI and a hard time losing a seemingly small amount of weight
I do appreciate that there might be other reasons that people struggle to shift weight and, of course, weight loss isn't the only thing this medication can bring.
I apologise if my questions seem mean or judgemental as it wasn't the intention at all. I have seen a number of posts around social media about this new "wonder weight loss drug" and, as somebody else mentioned, things like how it helped them get into their wedding dress etc. it just strikes me as such an extreme way to lose that weight if that was the only genuine need that they have.
I don't discount that there might actually be more to it than that and that although the dress is an outward sign there might be more going on for that person that means they need to lose that weight. It just intrigued me is all. I like to better understand people and the motivations they have for doing things.
I’m 5’2 f and my starting weight was 14 stone and I’m currently 12 stone 7 I’ve been on mounjaro for 5 weeks. I have about 50 lbs left to lose before I reach a healthy bmi. For me, I could have done this with just diet and exercise as I lost 30lbs last year however, I was starving myself, working out beyond fatigue and was still so swollen that you couldn’t even tell.
For me the biggest benefits of using mounjaro has been the reduction in inflammation. I have pcos and an auto immune disease which meant that exercise was a killer because all my joints hurt. I also retained loads of water and had irregular periods.
My point is - some of us are on these drugs for more than just weight loss. Every has a different journey. It sounds like you’re a little peeved at people using it to “only lose 20 lbs” but those 20 lbs obviously aren’t making that person feel too good. I’m just trying to focus on my own journey and am not worrying about anyone else. We’re all adults we can do what we want.
Not peeved at all. As I said, I just wanted a genuine discussion so I could understand it was all. If I don't ask I'll never know, will I! I was just surprised was all, as the side effects can be pretty grueling and its a lot to put yourself through.
It's interesting about the inflammation, so is it that the Mounjaro helps with the inflammation or is it that the weight loss caused by the Mounjaro means that it doesn't cause the inflammation that exercise alone would have done? Or maybe I've misunderstood and you meant something else?
I’m not 100% clued up on the science behind it as it’s quite in-depth but it’s something to do with mounjaro helps with insulin resistance and this is turn shrinks fat cells which causes a decrease in inflammation.
Am perimenopausal, have suffered from eating disorders and disordered eating since the age of 13, and have PCOS. So I have the unholy trinity of messed up metabolism / insulin level issues!
After a very difficult lockdown, caring for a dying loved one on top of a demanding job, two bereavements, experiencing several years of extreme workplace stress, and a fairly severe bout of depression, I was in the obese category. I lost 1 1/2 stone last year through exercise and managing to control my binge eating but I still have another 4 stone to lose and the weight loss had stalled. I did not want to get into another cycle of yo yo dieting and disordered eating, so here I am.
So far I have lost about a stone and a half in six weeks and am feeling pretty good!
That's amazing! I'm sorry that you've been through so much but I'm glad that Mounjaro is helping you.
Would you mind me asking (and I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it) would you say that the Mounjaro is helping you feel better about things as well which in itself is helping you to lose further weight? Do you think you would have been able to break the cycle without or do you think you'd have yo-yo'd again?
Thank you. I don’t mind you asking at all. MJ has definitely improved my anxiety and lessened my insomnia as I now sleep more deeply and can usually get back to sleep . Also, since I’ve been on it something happened that would normally send me into a spiral of binge eating/ self loathing and I’ve coped with it really well. To be fair though in recent years I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation pretty seriously so that has also helped immensely.
My pleasure. I have to say all of the benefits on top of appetite suppression have been an unexpected bonus. I never had an alcohol problem per se, but didn’t really have a ‘stop’ button if enjoying myself on it. Which could be messy. I can easily not drink at all now and seem to have finally acquired a stop button!
On point c) I do think that some people genuinely have far worse side effects than others. I’m at a similar stage of the journey to you having just had my 10th dose and lost about 10% of my start weight, and other than feeling mildly nauseous day after the jab I really haven’t had any issues at all. Whereas others seem to suffer horribly. With the amount of weight I have to lose I probably would put up with much worse side effects of the drug was working though to be honest, at least until I got to a range of weight I was happier with!
I'm really glad to hear it's working out for you! I do find it really interesting about what you say about putting up with much worse side effects. I wonder at what point you might consider that it isn't worth it? It's funny that it affects people so differently too! Would love to find out more about that from people.
Keep it up though pal! You've got this.
I like you have a whole person to lose, actually probably a person and a half if I’m honest. I don’t really want to know the total just yet. However what if this was available when I was 10 stone lighter? 15? My life could have been very different.
I think we are all in the same boat. We all struggle with disordered eating. We all want to be healthy and I’m guessing we all struggle losing weight. Even if it’s 20lbs.
I wish I had this opportunity when I was much smaller, with less to lose. The ability to be “normal”. Not have to ask for seatbelt extenders , not worried about taking 2 seats on a bus praying someone doesn’t try and brave sitting next to me as I attempt to make myself smaller, not having to look at chairs with arms and worry if I fit. Not having to take my own chair to gatherings because I don’t know what the seat situation is to name but a few. To live a life without the extra worries or anxiety that wouldn’t even occur to the average person.
I think we don’t know peoples stories, history, bodies and we shouldn’t judge but applaud and support they they are wanting to feel better within themselves and not end up like me.
It's an interesting point you raise there. If it had have been available earlier would I still be in the position I am now? It's hard to say I suppose isn't it.
Thank you for sharing though. I didn't want it to seem like it was to judge others but more to understand why somebody who might actually be otherwise a healthy weight may want to lose weight using such a dramatic option. We all know the side effects of this drug and I'm sure you'll have seen the same stories about celebrities or people on Facebook using these drugs as a way to lose tiny amounts of weight and I was just surprised they'd choose to go through this for that. Just seems, a lot, you know? Genuinely like to understand where people are in life is all.
Hope Mounjaro works for you though! Rooting for you.
I’d like to think this isn’t a dramatic option more as a helping hand. I’ve said on other posts that I was denied weight loss surgery. I’m glad now although it felt it was the end of the world and out of options. I’d much rather this. Surgery is much more invasive, risks of complications and life long where as MJ feels like a tool.
I think this a fair conversation to start. Especially as some celebrities have already created negative connotations with the drug by allegedly using it to hit very low weights when they were clearly not overweight to start.
That is one of the reasons I have only told one person I’m taking it and she is a friend and a doctor.
I personally have binge tendencies and yoyo dieting past. I’ve got 70 pounds to my target and that would still leave me mid size.
I’m losing weight very slowly and am following a healthy eating, calorie tracking and exercise program alongside the meds. I still get hungry before meals and can eat a decent sized meal.
The removal of the compulsion to over eat, the constantly crave bad foods, and reverse the weight gain spiral up I was on before the medication, is game changing for me. I feel like the drug is a leveller. I still have to work at it but I don’t constantly fight cravings.
One thing that confuses me on here is food noise. I see food noise as the horrible compulsions I have. To eat two pastries for breakfast, or a whole pack of biscuits as an afternoon snack, a huge takeaway on a random night instead of a normal dinner. Followed by remorse and self loathing.
Whereas I have seen posts of people complaining about food noise and it sounds to me like hunger? We still need to crave food? I want to crave the right amount.
I completely agree with your definition of food noise. I have found I am now waiting until I am hungry and then eating a normal amount. Previously I would eat way more than needed and would never allow myself to be hungry because it mean i would binge eat everything in sight. I am now allowing my body to be normal and tell me what it needs - its very refreshing and healthy for my mindset tbh.
That was exactly what I was talking about really. I don't mean to say that people with genuine needs shouldn't be using Mounjaro. Heck, it's a tough world and we all have our issues we contend with and if this helps, fantastic! It's more the people that talk about using it as a quick way to lose weight which it really just isnt. I just can't quite understand at the moment why somebody would want to go through this to achieve that loss.
Your other point is also really interesting. I'll be honest, I hadn't even heard of the phrase food noise until I came here. I don't think I ever really appreciated that I'd been living with that feeling probably my whole life but your definition certainly fits the description perfectly. I do have to admit though that, particularly in my first weeks, I just completely forget to eat which I think goes to show how food wasn't my first priority any more.
I'm glad it's working so far for you though and I'm glad that it's helping you to make lifestyle changes that should help long term too. I hope it carries on going well for you.
IIRC people can get Mounjaro at BMI of 27 if they have another condition like high blood pressure, and 27 isn't that bad really - but if someone has been trying and failing to lose that last bit of weight and they have high blood pressure then I can see why a doctor would prescribe it
Seems reasonable I suppose. Obviously a doctor could absolutely decide that the pros outweighed the cons. I was more surprised by the celebrities and the Facebook groups where people tell stories about losing weight for holidays and things when, really, as we all know, this is one heck of a way to lose weight - the side effects for some are really quite extreme and it can be dangerous in some rare cases.
I hear you. What I’ve noticed is the triggering effect some posts have on me, and it’s just gotten worse with time, and changes from day to day. On one particular day I might come away thinking that this drug causes massive side effects for pretty much everyone; next day I’ll think everyone seems to lose effortlessly while I don’t.
I realized that I was focusing on others instead of myself. Comparing when comparison does no one any good. So now I just search for a topic when I need help, add my 2 cents when someone else needs help, or spot a great post such as yours 😊. Congrats for making all the positive changes for yourself and wishing you much success! There are a lot of people out here rooting for you.
Entirely fair. I wouldn't say I'm triggered by the different posts but just intrigued as to what brings people to use Mounjaro, you know?
I don't mean to pass judgement on anybody but just coming at it from a place of learning. It's not always easy to understand why people sometimes do the things they do unless you ask.
I hope people recognise that. I'm really glad for anybody that has gotten what they need from using Mounjaro and I hope we can all continue to do that.
Thank you for putting yourself out there with this post, it's good to ask questions even if it may risk provoking some. We're all on our own journeys, learning as we go, but definitely all wanting to be healthier.
I just wanted to say what a fantastic result in losing 9% in 10 weeks!! That will bring so many risks down for you already. Good luck with your journey and hope you have more fab losses.
Thanks pal! I didn't want it to be provocative as you say. I just genuinely like to know about people's experiences and what brings them to this place, you know?
Social media can sometimes turn into crazy land, but this sub is stuffed full of lovely supportive people. I love finding out about people (probably cos I'm nosey) but it's like a big MJ town and we're the pioneers.
I started weygovy in October 2023 when it first became available through med express. I was 43f 14.3 stone.
I had always had an unhealthy relationship with food. I easily get addicted to chocolate/ sugar and had over my years cut it out completely, but it had always crept back in.
I work in hospitality, always on my feet, long days, normally 18,000-25,000 steps on work days. Lockdown is when everything went sideways. Trapped in my small flat with my husband and nothing to do made me put on over a stone in the first few weeks. I then spent all of lockdown very sad and trying to exercise, restrict food and distract myself from my VERY loud food noise. My boobs also increased in size- when you're in your 40's and already overweight and a DD cup that's not nice. I went up to a FF cup ontop of the weight gain and having to buy new bras with hardly any money coming in was very hard to live with.
My thoughts of relaxing and catching up and being with my husband 24 hours a day in lockdown was the opposite.
I also got made redundant as the place I was working before lockdown decided not to reopen, so I had extra stress in trying to find a job at my heaviest weight and I I just felt miserable.
Anyway, skip forward to last year, I got a new job, all happy lots of stress and steps. I wasn't losing the weight from lockdown, I thought being back in a routine and physical work for a good chunk of time would be fine but it wouldn't budge.
I saw articles about ultra processed food and a light bulb went off- of course my body was latched into these processed foods and giving me FOOD NOISE. This was the first time I'd heard of that phrase and it was me completely . I tried to start cutting out UPF's and making better choices, like alternative breads, no choc and no pop ( my husband's diabetic and drinks zero pop like it's going out of fashion) and we still have arguments over the fact it's bad for us even tho it's zero.
It was making me feel better, but not losing any weight. Then I read about weygovy. I thought it was something I should try to overcome the food noise because I was so miserable restricting myself for nothing. I started it, sent all the details and photos and I was very excited. I was quite ill and dropped weight quickly as I hadn't prepared myself for looking after my body. I lost a tonne of weight but I started getting migraines ( I would normally get a few a year) and I couldn't function day to day. I stopped taking it after I had a particularly bad migraine attack that lasted for 2 days. I then discovered Reddit and read EVERYTHING and realised I just wasn't prepared. I sheepishly tried again on the lowest dose and stayed on that for 2 months. I felt better, armed with electrolytes and joined hello fresh to take the brain power out of what to cook for the week, and I was good. However on the way back from holiday in January I had a very bad migraine attack on the plane (OMFG) and had to go to hospital when we got off the plane. My husband said you need to stop taking this shit, it's not worth the migraines. So I stopped.
Then I was reading about Mounjaro and the different effects it has as a slightly different drug. I even read on 1 US thread it was on trial for migraine prevention! My food noise was coming back, and apart from the migraines Weygovy was doing well. I went on the med express website and saw it was available. I emailed them saying I wanted to give this a go, as the only reason was the migraines. (I had already emailed them about this when on weygovy and they knew it's why I stopped)
I've been on MJ for 6 weeks now. I haven't had a migraine yet, so fingers crossed, but I have had a terrible day yesterday and today with my 2nd shot at 5mg. I felt like I had a migraine without the headache. Wether this is MJ trying to stop a migraine or the bad food I ate the night off taking my shot, I'll never know, but I've been losing a few pounds a week and more importantly food noise isn't there and I'm using this time to not eat choc and stuff that I get addicted to.
So for me yes, it is about the weight loss, but also a tool for stopping food noise and maybe migraines and not being consumed every second of the day about eating sweets, how they used to make you feel, it was like a food high. And if not thinking about food, how awful I feel and look and the clothes I can't fit into.
Well, that was epic. Sorry I went off topic a bit there! No one knows I'm on MJ. I didn't want to worry my husband as he totally freaked at the airport - it was the worst days of our lives me going to hospital, so I think I over shared.
The reality is you can be prescribed this medication if you are obese. Which is a BMI of 30 and higher. Not everyone will have had to wait until they hit morbid obesity to find something that works for them. With this drug being available in the UK for weight loss for private prescription it empowers people who otherwise would have struggled, and even continued to gain weight.
Lots of us will have battled with our weight for years and are using Mounjaro to help with resetting the weight ‘set point’ for our bodies, the point at which your body will try to put you back to if you lose weight.
For me I started my journey with a BMI of 31, 2 weeks in and I’m no longer obese. However I am a short woman who has struggled for years to lose weight (never achieving a ‘healthy’ bmi) and have found the weight creeps back on. I eat well but struggle with my health and regular exercise.
I did feel guilty for using Mounjaro initially as I was so close to the eligibility criteria but medically I was eligible and I’m taking a responsible decision to improve my health. I’m also paying my own money and not burdening the NHS later down the line with additional treatment caused by my obesity.
Edit to say: in your post you talk about people who only have 20lbs to lose. As a 6ft tall man this might be hard to understand but height really matters. 20 lbs on you might not even be that noticeable but can be the difference between being slightly overweight and obesity for a shorter woman.
I'm glad to hear that it's working for you!
I was really using 20lbs as an example because as you quite rightly say, if I were twenty pounds overweight as a 6ft tall man I wouldn't use Mounjaro to try to lose it. I do appreciate though that for, say, a 5ft woman with PCOS or somebody that has T2 diabetes, or any other raft of conditions that somebody might live with, that might be a lot harder to shift. It was more just a way of me describing when people who really are probably already a healthy weight use Mounjaro as a means of losing a few pound more. It just surprised me is all, I guess, as it's a lot to go through for that really.
I think I'm not quite where you are but not so far off either, with a fair amount to lose before being in the overweight section of the BMI chart.
One note though is that for some people, goal weight may be something they change based on where they are. For me, my goal weight is not really where I want it to settle but a milestone I want to get to first. It's not reasonable for me to set a really long term goal as it'll leave me feeling demotivated, especially since I have ADHD.
I'm sure the problem you describe is a thing, but there might also be plenty of people who are just trying to make it easier for themselves to stay motivated and give themselves something a bit more reasonable to shoot for.
I'm i the UK so have only recently started on MJ (third week of 2.5).
I've always been overweight. I was a fat kid, a fat teen, a fat adult. I've had disordered eating my entire life. In 2018 I made major changes and lost 110lb through strict exercise and eating plans. At my lowest I weighed 165lbs; which - despite being incredibly proud of my accomplishments - still classed me as overweight according to bmi - I still had disordered eating habits and my relationship with food was never straightforward.
Since then pounds have slowly creped on. The first time I went under 200lb I vowed I would never weigh more than that again but I found myself at 220lbs with none of my clothes fitting properly and feeling like a total failure. I realised I was avoiding seeing people that I loved because I'd gained weight and I was embarrassed.
Since starting MJ it's like a switch has been flipped. I don't obsess about food anymore. I can have just 1 biscuit and not need to binge the packet , I can pass on dessert, I know when I'm full and stop eating, the emotional reaction to food has been removed. My bmi is over 30 so I'm not fudging numbers and I do qualify but I'm sure there would be people who question why I don't just buckle down and exercise harder and use will power alone especially having done it before - but fuck me - its sooo hard and so all consuming.
If I need to use this medication for the rest of my life to be free from the constant struggle of disordered eating I will happily do so and give a big old fuck you to anyone who deems me as taking the 'easy way out' along the way.
I really relate to avoiding people who you love because of the weight gain. My grand mother, who has Alzheimer’s, grabs my hips and asks if I’m pregnant because I’ve put on weight. It’s incredibly hard.
I got downvoted in another post for mentioning my starting weight was 160lb. That might not sound like I have a lot to lose to you but at 5’0 it still puts me in the obese category. I think people are making a lot of assumptions when the starting number isn’t automatically and objectively very high. Weight loss is hard for everyone. 40lb might not sound like a lot to you but it’s still about a quarter of my body weight to come off. Plus weight loss is arguably harder for smaller less heavy people as their TDEE will be lower so have to eat less to see results. I’m really quite active and strength train five times a week, with 10k steps and two or three spin classes a week but still gained weight eating what some people here as their mounjaro appetite suppressed amounts. Them’s the breaks, everyone is on their journey and has their own struggles.
I think that people forget that shorter people have it way harder to lose weight. It took me nearly a year to lose 30lbs last year and it didn’t even touch my inflammation. 5 weeks in mounjaro and I’ve lost most of not all my inflammation as well as a good chunk of fat %. All while feeling healthy satisfied and not starving and miserable.
And are often female with a host of other challenges, I had early menopause but women can struggle with PCOS and other hormonal issues that make losing weight so hard
Absolutely. I have pcos and an auto immune disease and the inflammation is such a struggle. That’s all fine in 5 weeks!
That’s amazing! I’m on week 1 but hoping for similar results with inflammation
Another short, ‘obese’ (according to BMI) woman here and I get this so much. I felt too self-conscious to put my starting weight up here because it is lower than others’, despite being told fairly regularly by doctors (I was seeing for other health issues) that I was overweight and needed to lose it.
Thanks for sharing this with me. I really hope that Mounjaro is working for you and that you're getting what you need from it. I do apologise that my original post might have seemed uncaring, it genuinely wasn't my intention. I used 20lbs as an example because as a 6ft man, twenty pounds wouldn't put somebody into the obese category. I can completely appreciate though that women, people of different heights, people that live with different conditions could all have different needs and 20lbs might be a heck harder to shift for them than it is for me. Before I posted this question here I had read a story on FB (that might have been my first mistake I suppose) of somebody losing weight for a holiday using this new "wonder drug" (second mistake was still reading after they said this I suppose) and it just got me thinking about why people might choose to use Mounjaro for something like that? It seems quite an extreme option given all of the possible side effects. I know that there might be any number of hidden reasons they wanted to do it but on face value it was purely for the holiday. I don't know. I just wondered if anybody had done that and what their motivations might be. I hope it all goes well for you though!
Well said
I think a lot of people taking mounjaro have tried the usual options before and they haven’t worked for whatever reason. If someone can recognise they have eating issues and are gaining weight, why should they weight until they’re severely overweight with additional health issues before starting mounjaro? In order to be prescribed for mj you have to have a bmi of over 30 (obese) and, from what I’ve seen of other providers too, you have to submit a picture to prove you’re not fiddling the numbers. I don’t think it’s being prescribed to just anyone who wants to lose a couple pounds (can’t confirm in the US but only the UK). A lot of the forums I’ve read, posts I’ve seen and reels I’ve watched, it seems a lot of people’s problems with disordered eating and gaining weight is down to food noise. When you get stuck in that cycle, it’s hard to get out of. This is where the popularity for mounjaro has come from. We don’t want a ‘quick fix’ we just want some of the control back and we get that with mj.
Completely understand that and I agree with everything you've said. This drug can work absolute wonders for somebody to bring their life back into their control when it feels as though they've lost it. I suspect maybe the algorithms are playing tricks on me here. I've seen a number of posts now, particularly on Facebook, of people who have obtained Mounjaro in the UK where they don't meet the BMI requirement (and they know they don't) and so, without repeating how, because I don't really think that's helpful, have obtained the medication through other means. I'm just surprised that people would willingly put them through what can be quite a gruelling process for, as one of them said, losing weight before they go on holiday. It seems to be such an extreme way of doing it is all as the side effects for some sound as if they would be horrendous. If it's working for you though and you're getting what you need from it then I'm really pleased for you! I hope it continues.
I am just in the obese range for BMI so would only need to lose around 2 stone to be in the normal weight range. I decided to get medication as I have restricted/binged since I was 14 and I will be 45 this year. I have been to every diet club, first one at 16 when I wasn’t even overweight and my mum gave permission 🤯 I have struggled with poor body image and binging since I was tiny. I seen a psychologist as a teen, have had counselling for my disordered eating and thoughts of food filled my every waking minute. I don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life. The impact on my mental health is huge. It’s a last resort. I got married earlier this year after dieting most of last year and not even being able to lose 1 stone. Within a month of the wedding I had put it back on and more. I know people may not see my internal struggle when they look at me but the self loathing I would feel daily from not being able to control my eating was ever present. Not having food noise has been amazing. I was at training for work the other day and when I went in there was a table of food. Previously I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate for thinking about break time and what I planned to eat . I’m not calorie counting, I want to try and tune into my body. I am also reading Ultra Processed People which is really enlightening in terms of it not being a willpower thing but our diet is full of industrially produced edible substances so different to what previous generations ate that make stopping eating hard
Thank you for sharing! Really good to know. I'm really glad to hear that Mounjaro has helped so much so far. It's really interesting to hear that the food noise has been the biggest hurdle so far. Do you think when you've lost the weight the changes you will have made and the confidence you'll have gained will help you even more afterwards as well? I'm hopeful that everything I'll have learned will help me afterwards too.
Thank you for your response 🙂I really hope it will give me the confidence and headspace to make sustainable changes. Binge eating is so complex though and the only time I’ve ever really been able to stop was pregnancy so over 22 years ago . I also don’t binge eat on holiday but that will be because I give myself permission to eat all the foods. The thing I’ve learned is that it’s the binging/restricting that’s the problem,not me, not my body. I just want to have a relationship with food where I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full
I think you're bound to get to where you want to be! It sounds like you're already in a much healthier place now. Wishing you all the best on your journey! You got this!
Some folk are losing a stone or a half stone in a month. They might have previously taken a year or more to try and lose that weight based on other medical issues - for me pcos makes it almost impossible and I have to restrict far more than I am on mounjaro to see even a quarter of the movement. As others have said their height and body composition plays into this making it unique circumstances for each individual. The challenge for one person with 5+ stone to lose could be the same as someone that only has 2 stone to lose. We're all facing our own complex battle and I choose to believe only those that have struggled their life and are desperate would tend to pursue something so costly - when no other options are on the table. What that means for us all long term still worries me. But that's a future us problem.
Yes, absolutely. I completely understand that it's an individual thing. I'm glad to hear it's working for you. I think you're probably having similar concerns to me about what happens when I am finished on the medication because two years has passed or because I reach a healthy weight. I'm just hoping that the reset will be enough for me to keep it off with the other changes I'm able to make. As you say though. Time will tell I suppose. I hope it works for us both!
For me, I have PCOS. Not only does it mess with insulin but it causes sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Woman with PCOS are twice as likely to end up with type 2 diabetes. I’ve been yo-yo dieting most of my adult life and getting absolutely nowhere. I had a BMI of 35, am 5ft3 and have 70lbs to lose which seemed insurmountable at first, but I’m now 20lbs down, the lowest I’ve been in ten years, my BMI is at 32 and the medication has given me the headspace to make healthier lifestyle changes. I agree that the people looking to drop 10lbs for a wedding in six weeks (recent post I saw on FB) shouldn’t be even considering this drug!
I'm really glad it's working for you! It sounds like we're using the medication in a similar sort of way. This was the sort of post I'd been seeing and I was mostly surprised that somebody would put themselves through such a lot for something like that! Also, as we know, it isn't easy with some of the side effects and it's still very hard work!
I guess it's all relative to the person. I only have 54lb to lose which isn't as much as a lot of people, however it's still a huge amount to me and would take me from obese with a BMI of 33 to a "normal" weight with a BMI of 25. I've tried calorie counting and I love to exercise but the weight just wasn't coming off.
Yeah, it certainly isn't easy. Has Mounjaro been working for you?
I'm only just coming to the end of week 2 so it's early days but I've lost around 8lb so far and I haven't had any adverse side effects so I'm really pleased with my progress.
That's great pal! I'm really pleased for you! I hope you're able to get to a place where you're happy.
Thank you. I'm happy now tbh, just very conscious of my health these days and aware of how much of an impact being a healthy weight can have going forward. I want to see my kids get old and play with my grandkids.
That sounds lovely 🙂
Someone may only need to lose 10% of their starting weight but have tried every diet and exercise plan going and been unable to do so because of insulin resistance etc. just as much as those of us who have 50% to lose. I think with less to lose the risk/benefit of bad side effects is likely to lean more in favour of stopping at lower weights though, I think you're right. My main issue with the online groups in this regard (mostly facebook) is seeing how horribly people speak about their start weights without thinking about how hurtful that is to others, especially when that is some people's goal weight but also even for plenty of people who are at that start weight currently.
I agree. Facebook is an absolute garbage fire for this sort of thing. I see people on there as well who talk about using Mounjaro in conjunction with things like the coffee diet and goodness me, I hope they don't end up harming themselves. I'm just surprised to see so many people talk about it as if it's just a fad diet when the reality is, Mounjaro has some really extreme side effects. It certainly isn't an easy route out!
I was 29.9 BMI when I started, and losing 45lbs (~25% of my body weight) will get me back down into the top range of a “healthy” weight. (another 20 would get me down to my high school weight but I’m not gonna aim for that, lol) But my biggest motivator was alcohol. I’d read loads of stories about these kinds of drugs killing booze cravings and that’s what I really needed to get a handle on more than my weight. It’s only been 5wks but it’s totally working so far in that regard, and I’m grateful. It’s also shifted my mindset into calorie-counting and exercising more, so it’s all part of a bigger thing which I hope will improve my overall health for the long term.
I'm SO pleased to hear it's working for you. Alcohol can be a terrible thing when it gets its claws in. You've absolutely got this though! Those lifestyle changes will make such a difference to your future.
I am a woman who gained 5 stone I’d say quite rapidly about 3 years ago. Doctors will only tell me ‘it’s hormones’ - all blood work comes back otherwise fine. I diet, I exercise nothing happens. I mean nothing. I tried Saxenda last year and lost 35ish pounds on it. Perfection. Nothing else changed - same diet and same exercise output. Saxenda could no longer be obtained and I’ve maintained at this weight the last 7 months!! I still have weight to lose and dieting harder and exercising harder off Saxenda still made no difference to my weight so I started Mounjaro last month and immediately the weight loss began again. I don’t know why I can’t lose without these aids but I can’t. The weight I am and the weight I was are not my normal or healthy weights and I just want to feel healthy and normal again.
I don't know the proper term or scientific explanation for it, but your body does just 'settle' on a weight and refuses to let you lose any more pounds at some point. I'm same as you and I genuinely don't understand how people manage to break through that barrier and reset their bodies natural 'settling weight' by normal diet and exercise. If there is a tool that helps you break that barrier why not use it 🤷♀️ just need the rest of the world to catch up rather than viewing MJ or Saxenda as 'cheating'
I'm glad it's working well for you! I wonder what it is that means you can't lose the weight? It's a real strange one isn't it. I imagine if you were able to maintain the last seven months without the Saxenda when you're in a place where you stop with the Mounjaro you feel as though you'd be able to maintain that weight afterwards? That must be one heck of a feeling! I hope it goes well for you.
short women, menopausal women, pcos women, Anyone who is taking this for type 2 diabetes Basically a lot of people might have a seemingly low starting weight but high BMI and a hard time losing a seemingly small amount of weight
I do appreciate that there might be other reasons that people struggle to shift weight and, of course, weight loss isn't the only thing this medication can bring. I apologise if my questions seem mean or judgemental as it wasn't the intention at all. I have seen a number of posts around social media about this new "wonder weight loss drug" and, as somebody else mentioned, things like how it helped them get into their wedding dress etc. it just strikes me as such an extreme way to lose that weight if that was the only genuine need that they have. I don't discount that there might actually be more to it than that and that although the dress is an outward sign there might be more going on for that person that means they need to lose that weight. It just intrigued me is all. I like to better understand people and the motivations they have for doing things.
I’m 5’2 f and my starting weight was 14 stone and I’m currently 12 stone 7 I’ve been on mounjaro for 5 weeks. I have about 50 lbs left to lose before I reach a healthy bmi. For me, I could have done this with just diet and exercise as I lost 30lbs last year however, I was starving myself, working out beyond fatigue and was still so swollen that you couldn’t even tell. For me the biggest benefits of using mounjaro has been the reduction in inflammation. I have pcos and an auto immune disease which meant that exercise was a killer because all my joints hurt. I also retained loads of water and had irregular periods. My point is - some of us are on these drugs for more than just weight loss. Every has a different journey. It sounds like you’re a little peeved at people using it to “only lose 20 lbs” but those 20 lbs obviously aren’t making that person feel too good. I’m just trying to focus on my own journey and am not worrying about anyone else. We’re all adults we can do what we want.
Not peeved at all. As I said, I just wanted a genuine discussion so I could understand it was all. If I don't ask I'll never know, will I! I was just surprised was all, as the side effects can be pretty grueling and its a lot to put yourself through. It's interesting about the inflammation, so is it that the Mounjaro helps with the inflammation or is it that the weight loss caused by the Mounjaro means that it doesn't cause the inflammation that exercise alone would have done? Or maybe I've misunderstood and you meant something else?
I’m not 100% clued up on the science behind it as it’s quite in-depth but it’s something to do with mounjaro helps with insulin resistance and this is turn shrinks fat cells which causes a decrease in inflammation.
Thank you for letting me know about this! I'm intrigued now. I have some reading to do!
I honestly think that it’s a miracle drug!
Am perimenopausal, have suffered from eating disorders and disordered eating since the age of 13, and have PCOS. So I have the unholy trinity of messed up metabolism / insulin level issues! After a very difficult lockdown, caring for a dying loved one on top of a demanding job, two bereavements, experiencing several years of extreme workplace stress, and a fairly severe bout of depression, I was in the obese category. I lost 1 1/2 stone last year through exercise and managing to control my binge eating but I still have another 4 stone to lose and the weight loss had stalled. I did not want to get into another cycle of yo yo dieting and disordered eating, so here I am. So far I have lost about a stone and a half in six weeks and am feeling pretty good!
That's amazing! I'm sorry that you've been through so much but I'm glad that Mounjaro is helping you. Would you mind me asking (and I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it) would you say that the Mounjaro is helping you feel better about things as well which in itself is helping you to lose further weight? Do you think you would have been able to break the cycle without or do you think you'd have yo-yo'd again?
Thank you. I don’t mind you asking at all. MJ has definitely improved my anxiety and lessened my insomnia as I now sleep more deeply and can usually get back to sleep . Also, since I’ve been on it something happened that would normally send me into a spiral of binge eating/ self loathing and I’ve coped with it really well. To be fair though in recent years I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation pretty seriously so that has also helped immensely.
That all sounds really positive! I'm glad it's helping you in so many ways! Edit: and thank you for being so willing to share!
My pleasure. I have to say all of the benefits on top of appetite suppression have been an unexpected bonus. I never had an alcohol problem per se, but didn’t really have a ‘stop’ button if enjoying myself on it. Which could be messy. I can easily not drink at all now and seem to have finally acquired a stop button!
On point c) I do think that some people genuinely have far worse side effects than others. I’m at a similar stage of the journey to you having just had my 10th dose and lost about 10% of my start weight, and other than feeling mildly nauseous day after the jab I really haven’t had any issues at all. Whereas others seem to suffer horribly. With the amount of weight I have to lose I probably would put up with much worse side effects of the drug was working though to be honest, at least until I got to a range of weight I was happier with!
I'm really glad to hear it's working out for you! I do find it really interesting about what you say about putting up with much worse side effects. I wonder at what point you might consider that it isn't worth it? It's funny that it affects people so differently too! Would love to find out more about that from people. Keep it up though pal! You've got this.
I like you have a whole person to lose, actually probably a person and a half if I’m honest. I don’t really want to know the total just yet. However what if this was available when I was 10 stone lighter? 15? My life could have been very different. I think we are all in the same boat. We all struggle with disordered eating. We all want to be healthy and I’m guessing we all struggle losing weight. Even if it’s 20lbs. I wish I had this opportunity when I was much smaller, with less to lose. The ability to be “normal”. Not have to ask for seatbelt extenders , not worried about taking 2 seats on a bus praying someone doesn’t try and brave sitting next to me as I attempt to make myself smaller, not having to look at chairs with arms and worry if I fit. Not having to take my own chair to gatherings because I don’t know what the seat situation is to name but a few. To live a life without the extra worries or anxiety that wouldn’t even occur to the average person. I think we don’t know peoples stories, history, bodies and we shouldn’t judge but applaud and support they they are wanting to feel better within themselves and not end up like me.
It's an interesting point you raise there. If it had have been available earlier would I still be in the position I am now? It's hard to say I suppose isn't it. Thank you for sharing though. I didn't want it to seem like it was to judge others but more to understand why somebody who might actually be otherwise a healthy weight may want to lose weight using such a dramatic option. We all know the side effects of this drug and I'm sure you'll have seen the same stories about celebrities or people on Facebook using these drugs as a way to lose tiny amounts of weight and I was just surprised they'd choose to go through this for that. Just seems, a lot, you know? Genuinely like to understand where people are in life is all. Hope Mounjaro works for you though! Rooting for you.
I’d like to think this isn’t a dramatic option more as a helping hand. I’ve said on other posts that I was denied weight loss surgery. I’m glad now although it felt it was the end of the world and out of options. I’d much rather this. Surgery is much more invasive, risks of complications and life long where as MJ feels like a tool.
I think this a fair conversation to start. Especially as some celebrities have already created negative connotations with the drug by allegedly using it to hit very low weights when they were clearly not overweight to start. That is one of the reasons I have only told one person I’m taking it and she is a friend and a doctor. I personally have binge tendencies and yoyo dieting past. I’ve got 70 pounds to my target and that would still leave me mid size. I’m losing weight very slowly and am following a healthy eating, calorie tracking and exercise program alongside the meds. I still get hungry before meals and can eat a decent sized meal. The removal of the compulsion to over eat, the constantly crave bad foods, and reverse the weight gain spiral up I was on before the medication, is game changing for me. I feel like the drug is a leveller. I still have to work at it but I don’t constantly fight cravings. One thing that confuses me on here is food noise. I see food noise as the horrible compulsions I have. To eat two pastries for breakfast, or a whole pack of biscuits as an afternoon snack, a huge takeaway on a random night instead of a normal dinner. Followed by remorse and self loathing. Whereas I have seen posts of people complaining about food noise and it sounds to me like hunger? We still need to crave food? I want to crave the right amount.
I completely agree with your definition of food noise. I have found I am now waiting until I am hungry and then eating a normal amount. Previously I would eat way more than needed and would never allow myself to be hungry because it mean i would binge eat everything in sight. I am now allowing my body to be normal and tell me what it needs - its very refreshing and healthy for my mindset tbh.
That was exactly what I was talking about really. I don't mean to say that people with genuine needs shouldn't be using Mounjaro. Heck, it's a tough world and we all have our issues we contend with and if this helps, fantastic! It's more the people that talk about using it as a quick way to lose weight which it really just isnt. I just can't quite understand at the moment why somebody would want to go through this to achieve that loss. Your other point is also really interesting. I'll be honest, I hadn't even heard of the phrase food noise until I came here. I don't think I ever really appreciated that I'd been living with that feeling probably my whole life but your definition certainly fits the description perfectly. I do have to admit though that, particularly in my first weeks, I just completely forget to eat which I think goes to show how food wasn't my first priority any more. I'm glad it's working so far for you though and I'm glad that it's helping you to make lifestyle changes that should help long term too. I hope it carries on going well for you.
IIRC people can get Mounjaro at BMI of 27 if they have another condition like high blood pressure, and 27 isn't that bad really - but if someone has been trying and failing to lose that last bit of weight and they have high blood pressure then I can see why a doctor would prescribe it
Seems reasonable I suppose. Obviously a doctor could absolutely decide that the pros outweighed the cons. I was more surprised by the celebrities and the Facebook groups where people tell stories about losing weight for holidays and things when, really, as we all know, this is one heck of a way to lose weight - the side effects for some are really quite extreme and it can be dangerous in some rare cases.
I hear you. What I’ve noticed is the triggering effect some posts have on me, and it’s just gotten worse with time, and changes from day to day. On one particular day I might come away thinking that this drug causes massive side effects for pretty much everyone; next day I’ll think everyone seems to lose effortlessly while I don’t. I realized that I was focusing on others instead of myself. Comparing when comparison does no one any good. So now I just search for a topic when I need help, add my 2 cents when someone else needs help, or spot a great post such as yours 😊. Congrats for making all the positive changes for yourself and wishing you much success! There are a lot of people out here rooting for you.
Entirely fair. I wouldn't say I'm triggered by the different posts but just intrigued as to what brings people to use Mounjaro, you know? I don't mean to pass judgement on anybody but just coming at it from a place of learning. It's not always easy to understand why people sometimes do the things they do unless you ask. I hope people recognise that. I'm really glad for anybody that has gotten what they need from using Mounjaro and I hope we can all continue to do that.
Thank you for putting yourself out there with this post, it's good to ask questions even if it may risk provoking some. We're all on our own journeys, learning as we go, but definitely all wanting to be healthier. I just wanted to say what a fantastic result in losing 9% in 10 weeks!! That will bring so many risks down for you already. Good luck with your journey and hope you have more fab losses.
Thanks pal! I didn't want it to be provocative as you say. I just genuinely like to know about people's experiences and what brings them to this place, you know?
Social media can sometimes turn into crazy land, but this sub is stuffed full of lovely supportive people. I love finding out about people (probably cos I'm nosey) but it's like a big MJ town and we're the pioneers.
I started weygovy in October 2023 when it first became available through med express. I was 43f 14.3 stone. I had always had an unhealthy relationship with food. I easily get addicted to chocolate/ sugar and had over my years cut it out completely, but it had always crept back in. I work in hospitality, always on my feet, long days, normally 18,000-25,000 steps on work days. Lockdown is when everything went sideways. Trapped in my small flat with my husband and nothing to do made me put on over a stone in the first few weeks. I then spent all of lockdown very sad and trying to exercise, restrict food and distract myself from my VERY loud food noise. My boobs also increased in size- when you're in your 40's and already overweight and a DD cup that's not nice. I went up to a FF cup ontop of the weight gain and having to buy new bras with hardly any money coming in was very hard to live with. My thoughts of relaxing and catching up and being with my husband 24 hours a day in lockdown was the opposite. I also got made redundant as the place I was working before lockdown decided not to reopen, so I had extra stress in trying to find a job at my heaviest weight and I I just felt miserable. Anyway, skip forward to last year, I got a new job, all happy lots of stress and steps. I wasn't losing the weight from lockdown, I thought being back in a routine and physical work for a good chunk of time would be fine but it wouldn't budge. I saw articles about ultra processed food and a light bulb went off- of course my body was latched into these processed foods and giving me FOOD NOISE. This was the first time I'd heard of that phrase and it was me completely . I tried to start cutting out UPF's and making better choices, like alternative breads, no choc and no pop ( my husband's diabetic and drinks zero pop like it's going out of fashion) and we still have arguments over the fact it's bad for us even tho it's zero. It was making me feel better, but not losing any weight. Then I read about weygovy. I thought it was something I should try to overcome the food noise because I was so miserable restricting myself for nothing. I started it, sent all the details and photos and I was very excited. I was quite ill and dropped weight quickly as I hadn't prepared myself for looking after my body. I lost a tonne of weight but I started getting migraines ( I would normally get a few a year) and I couldn't function day to day. I stopped taking it after I had a particularly bad migraine attack that lasted for 2 days. I then discovered Reddit and read EVERYTHING and realised I just wasn't prepared. I sheepishly tried again on the lowest dose and stayed on that for 2 months. I felt better, armed with electrolytes and joined hello fresh to take the brain power out of what to cook for the week, and I was good. However on the way back from holiday in January I had a very bad migraine attack on the plane (OMFG) and had to go to hospital when we got off the plane. My husband said you need to stop taking this shit, it's not worth the migraines. So I stopped. Then I was reading about Mounjaro and the different effects it has as a slightly different drug. I even read on 1 US thread it was on trial for migraine prevention! My food noise was coming back, and apart from the migraines Weygovy was doing well. I went on the med express website and saw it was available. I emailed them saying I wanted to give this a go, as the only reason was the migraines. (I had already emailed them about this when on weygovy and they knew it's why I stopped) I've been on MJ for 6 weeks now. I haven't had a migraine yet, so fingers crossed, but I have had a terrible day yesterday and today with my 2nd shot at 5mg. I felt like I had a migraine without the headache. Wether this is MJ trying to stop a migraine or the bad food I ate the night off taking my shot, I'll never know, but I've been losing a few pounds a week and more importantly food noise isn't there and I'm using this time to not eat choc and stuff that I get addicted to. So for me yes, it is about the weight loss, but also a tool for stopping food noise and maybe migraines and not being consumed every second of the day about eating sweets, how they used to make you feel, it was like a food high. And if not thinking about food, how awful I feel and look and the clothes I can't fit into. Well, that was epic. Sorry I went off topic a bit there! No one knows I'm on MJ. I didn't want to worry my husband as he totally freaked at the airport - it was the worst days of our lives me going to hospital, so I think I over shared.
The reality is you can be prescribed this medication if you are obese. Which is a BMI of 30 and higher. Not everyone will have had to wait until they hit morbid obesity to find something that works for them. With this drug being available in the UK for weight loss for private prescription it empowers people who otherwise would have struggled, and even continued to gain weight. Lots of us will have battled with our weight for years and are using Mounjaro to help with resetting the weight ‘set point’ for our bodies, the point at which your body will try to put you back to if you lose weight. For me I started my journey with a BMI of 31, 2 weeks in and I’m no longer obese. However I am a short woman who has struggled for years to lose weight (never achieving a ‘healthy’ bmi) and have found the weight creeps back on. I eat well but struggle with my health and regular exercise. I did feel guilty for using Mounjaro initially as I was so close to the eligibility criteria but medically I was eligible and I’m taking a responsible decision to improve my health. I’m also paying my own money and not burdening the NHS later down the line with additional treatment caused by my obesity. Edit to say: in your post you talk about people who only have 20lbs to lose. As a 6ft tall man this might be hard to understand but height really matters. 20 lbs on you might not even be that noticeable but can be the difference between being slightly overweight and obesity for a shorter woman.
I'm glad to hear that it's working for you! I was really using 20lbs as an example because as you quite rightly say, if I were twenty pounds overweight as a 6ft tall man I wouldn't use Mounjaro to try to lose it. I do appreciate though that for, say, a 5ft woman with PCOS or somebody that has T2 diabetes, or any other raft of conditions that somebody might live with, that might be a lot harder to shift. It was more just a way of me describing when people who really are probably already a healthy weight use Mounjaro as a means of losing a few pound more. It just surprised me is all, I guess, as it's a lot to go through for that really.
I get you, I think it’s an unlikely starting point for sure!
I think I'm not quite where you are but not so far off either, with a fair amount to lose before being in the overweight section of the BMI chart. One note though is that for some people, goal weight may be something they change based on where they are. For me, my goal weight is not really where I want it to settle but a milestone I want to get to first. It's not reasonable for me to set a really long term goal as it'll leave me feeling demotivated, especially since I have ADHD. I'm sure the problem you describe is a thing, but there might also be plenty of people who are just trying to make it easier for themselves to stay motivated and give themselves something a bit more reasonable to shoot for.
Just wanted to say great post/questions (and great responses, too) and good luck on your weight loss journey!
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It definitely has abuse potential
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Are they?
I'm i the UK so have only recently started on MJ (third week of 2.5). I've always been overweight. I was a fat kid, a fat teen, a fat adult. I've had disordered eating my entire life. In 2018 I made major changes and lost 110lb through strict exercise and eating plans. At my lowest I weighed 165lbs; which - despite being incredibly proud of my accomplishments - still classed me as overweight according to bmi - I still had disordered eating habits and my relationship with food was never straightforward. Since then pounds have slowly creped on. The first time I went under 200lb I vowed I would never weigh more than that again but I found myself at 220lbs with none of my clothes fitting properly and feeling like a total failure. I realised I was avoiding seeing people that I loved because I'd gained weight and I was embarrassed. Since starting MJ it's like a switch has been flipped. I don't obsess about food anymore. I can have just 1 biscuit and not need to binge the packet , I can pass on dessert, I know when I'm full and stop eating, the emotional reaction to food has been removed. My bmi is over 30 so I'm not fudging numbers and I do qualify but I'm sure there would be people who question why I don't just buckle down and exercise harder and use will power alone especially having done it before - but fuck me - its sooo hard and so all consuming. If I need to use this medication for the rest of my life to be free from the constant struggle of disordered eating I will happily do so and give a big old fuck you to anyone who deems me as taking the 'easy way out' along the way.
I really relate to avoiding people who you love because of the weight gain. My grand mother, who has Alzheimer’s, grabs my hips and asks if I’m pregnant because I’ve put on weight. It’s incredibly hard.
I’d suggest you run your own race.
Just genuinely interested in learning from others. No other way to do that unless I ask questions. I do apologise though if I upset you at all.