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I think you might be able to get it on the NHS if you go through all their other options/weigh loss programs first, but whether you could then chose mounjaro over the others available or get what you're given I don't know.
It would seem the majority of people are getting it private and off setting the cost with less food/takeaways bought and doing extra work.
I'm paying just around £220 a pen from Superdrug online pharmacy , there are other suppliers and at cheaper prices if you shop around, but I was happy to stay with them as a known entity. I'm hoping I'll not be getting it for more than 5/6 months. We can't really afford it, but I can't not afford it as (apart from general health ) I need to get my BMI down enough to get a re-referral to orthopedics for my likely knee replacement.
A pen can actually last 5 weeks as there is an extra dose in it that you can't access unless you force the pen mechanism with pliers, or use another syringe and needle in it to extract and use it. Obviously people paying £200 are not about to throw a 'free' dose in the bin.
is this the stuff Sharon Osbourne is on?
I thought she had a gastric band fitted......? She was proper fat before becoming a stalwart of BGT.
I think the problem is modern diet and life has killed normal satiety for a lot of people, add in some work frustrations, family stress and money worries and eating healthily can be a problem that can be hard to cope with on those peoples day to day priorities.
It's not.... gluttony is the problem.
If you have an active job or lifestyle you needn't feel guilty whilst eating your full English/Scotch breakfast or steak and ale pie (or Schweinsbraten mit Weißbier). If you're a desk jockey commuting by car or train and eating the the above you're going to get fat.
I'll drink a bottle of wine and/or have a couple of beers during the day/evening.
For example today I drank two Weißbier, a bottle of wine and ate a mortadella di Campotosto salami* and a plate of pasta.
I went for a three hour walk.
I'll admit, my diet is shit. I eat what I want, drink too much, but I move daily. Whether that be cycling or going for a stroll. Currently have enough time that I can choose to be active.
When I didn't have a much free time and wasn't working (carpenter so generally quite active) I put on weight despite not being quite so greedy.
I'm 41, 5'7" and 70kg..... Was recently feeling great at 68kg,but a few months over winter spent eating and drinking more than I should have saw me fatten up to 75kg. Been working on losing the fat for the past few months.
Eating more than necessary will see that you get fat.
* https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortadella_di_Campotosto?wprov=sfla1
If you have an active job or lifestyle
There's much research showing that you'll even out your energy use regardless of the job or lifestyle you have. If you are doing a job that's active, your body saves energy in other ways, by becoming more efficient or slowing down other processes, or making you tired. You can't expect to eat a lot of food and hope to exercise it off. One day of a few beers, and wine and some fatty food isn't going to make a difference, do that for months at a time, and regardless of your job or exercise habits, you're going to put on weight - as you discovered.
But this thread isn't about diet, it's about @longdog experience of taking weight loss drugs.
If you are doing a job that’s active, your body saves energy in other ways, by becoming more efficient or slowing down other processes, or making you tired
The same seems to be true after talking drugs long term.... The effects wear of and your body adapts. Be that alcohol, MDMA, or seemingly weightloss drugs.
Oh dear. Can't people just concentrate on the thread title and subject matter, without the need to get on horses and ride them on high.
As said this is not a debate about how to lose weight, it is a thread about one persons journey on his chosen path to do so.
It could also be about a second person as I too am not taking Mounjaro, and have just started my 3rd week on the small dose. So far I have had no side effects other than not wanting to buy half the supermarket when shopping.
I'm combining it with more cycling than I've done for years, back in the gym for 3 heavy sessions a week and general trying to look after myself.
After many years of not being able to eat sensibly (25), I am now on a great path thanks to the drug.
What happens will ultimately be down to me. My belief is that it will help me break habits and stop cravings for sweet and sickly terrible foods.
We'll see in the log run but so far so good.
That said, I'm not looking forwards to thunderpants, so hopefully it was an isolated case 🤣
Good luck
If the OP’s about, any update on this? Interested to hear how it’s going
Only just noticed this thread and thought I would throw my hat into the ring.
Started on Mounjaro 2 weeks ago and I have to say for me it proving to be good news so far.
My interest in food has decidedly dropped and my hunger has largely gone away.
Lost a poo load of weight so far but fully appreciate that much of this will be water loss.
Had no side effects so far.
I have struggled over the years to control my weight and started at 20st 8lb. To me this feels like a game changer.
This is the nail on the head for me! I honestly cannot remember a time in all my 54 years when I have not had thoughts of food at the forefront of my mind all the time along with non stop cravings. I’ve hated it and hated myself because of it. Only as an adult on my late 20s did I suddenly realise that when someone puts a plate of biscuits out they’re are just a selection for if you want one, not something that you need to finish off or even eat at all. I’ve hated buffets or if I had to go to an all you can eat place with people for years because I know I just cannot get a sensible plate of food and leave it. I can’t stand wasted and left over food and would be that bin that dealt with it.
Unless this is you, you just simply cannot understand it.
With this injection the cravings have gone, the ‘food noise’ has gone, other than because of me thinking about food to plan ahead so that I can eat sensibly and healthy. This is that window of time where the noise has gone and I can hopefully retrain my mind to lose those life long ingrained habits so that I can lose the weight I need, and then keep it off with a total shift in my relationship to food.
To save me some writing, longdogs post from three months ago pretty much echoes my experience and food relationship.
I've always been overweight. I'm also fit as a fiddle, strong, and motivated enough to make a good living self employed. Eat less, move more is the simplest of concepts but extremely hard to execute for a great many people.
Look around, the majority of people are now overweight to some degree. How many of them would like to be slim? All of them, save for a tiny number of mentally unwell folks perhaps. Being fat sucks in so many ways.
I did my rEsEARch! and decided to start Mounjaro a month ago. Apart from having to pay about £35 a week for it, I have only positive feedback to give. So far, it is truly a game changer.
Any negatives you read about these peptides are almost entirely because people are using them to starve. Extremely rapid weight loss will lead to bad health outcomes, whether it's facilitated with chemical help or not.
I use kettlebells for my resistance training several times a week. I have a benchmark YouTube workout I return to regularly to check my progress, and I've been getting steadily a little stronger over the past four years. In my late forties, I'm happy with maintenance or slight improvement in fitness and strength. I did that workout on Friday and pushed the weight up a little, using a 32kg for part of it where I'd previously used 24. It left me pretty burst but wasn't a problem to complete.
I'll continue to keep an eye on strength while losing weight. I'm down about 2.5 lbs per week over the past month. I'm aiming to get away with the lowest dose I can to maintain that sort of rate.
.
Good luck with it @Bedmaker, it's been great for me. I've gained muscle while using it as well as losing fat with increases in all my lifts, so no I'm not a saggy wasted away bag of lose skin and bones despite what some on here think it will do.
I'm just about to finish it after dropping 23kg in body weight. Well, I've got a week left from my current 10mg pen, and then ordered another one to use to titrate down. Though i cant see any thing saying you need titrate down it seems a good idea to hopefully avoid any savage appetite racing back.
I'd get yourself some insulin needles off Amazon or somewhere (super cheap) as you'll find there's an extra dose in each pen that you can't get out otherwise as the plunger isn't long enough, so you can get 5 weeks instead of 4 weeks from each one. Also useful if you decide to titrate up at any point to avoid side effects. IIRC when I went to 7.5mg I had some bad stomach issues, but splitting my dose into half a dose every 3 days for a bit resolved that. To get to no1 on the pen is 60 clicks, so half a dose is 30, quarter 15, etc easy to figure out.
Thanks @longdog I've taken the fifth dose of my first pen. I bought a pack of tips to fit the pen rather than syringes. The last dose comes out fine but the top is harder to turn out, it just needs forced.
I'm intending to split the 5mg dose, as it seems that side effects are most common moving to that dose from 2.5.
Ah, I tried that as I had spare screw on tips, but despite being able to turn the dial right out it wouldn't push in far enough to get to the end of the syringe.
Yeh it might have been the jump to 5mg right enough as you are doubling the dose.
Anyway good luck, it sounds like you know what you're doing 🙂
I’m just about to finish it after dropping 23kg in body weight.
That's a tremendous effort in such a short time-frame, well done. You must be chuffed.
This stuff sounds awesome, wish I could afford it.
This stuff sounds awesome, wish I could afford it.
Affordability will depend on how long term you need to be on these drugs, and whether a short term course can re-set metabolic thresholds.
If it's the latter, and you're an actual unit, then you can't not afford to try them imho. You've probably seen stories of glp1 agonists curing all sorts of ills - this is not entirely made up as so many illnesses and problems lie downstream of obesity.
Cheers NickC 🙂
I got mine from Super Drug online GPs, more expensive than most, but a source I felt happy with and the service has been great.
The cost has become unsustainable for us with limited income and other commitments, but it's done it's job re. my BMI for orthopedic referral and also helped with changing life long bad habits that caught up with me. Hopefully I can keep my better relationship with food going.
You're very unlikely to get it through your NHS GP, but itd be great if you did. There isn't even a NHS program to go through where I am before they'd consider you for it, which they won't here.
Anyone buying it cheap from health spas, nail bars and Botox places as I saw on TV are just asking for bother; seems dumb to me.
So I spoke to my GP today. While she agrees that it’s something that I would likely benefit from she is unable to prescribe it. For that I have to go to a weight loss specialist with a 2 year waiting list.
Its crap @Doomanic isn't it :'(
I know someone else (England ) who's got on weight loss program with a view to getting one of the weight loss drugs, but not sure if that will actually materialise. As I said the only one that was running here hasn't for sometime, my GP didn't offer any support at all when I'd been knocked back by orthopedics due to my BMI.
What happens will ultimately be down to me. My belief is that it will help me break habits and stop cravings for sweet and sickly terrible foods.
I think this is the key thing. without lifestyle change when you stop taking the drugs then the weight will go back on
These drugs are interesting and I shall try to find out more
The Docs who lift podcast is a good source of info. They've done a whole series delving into the various iterations of these medications.
I hope in time they will be more easily availble with better control and education in the UK. I'm also on a FB group and the level of ignorance and downright dangerous behaviour is staggering. The drugs will be / are being blamed for lots of ills which are due to starvation.
I know a few people who've used these drugs and the results tend to be pretty spectacular. More so than the normal 'eat less cakes, exercise a bit' people seem to believe is the equivalent.
The lifestyle change is interesting. Many people eat out of habit, ingrained over a lifetime. If you take a drug that removes your desire to eat for 6 months, that will potentially have a long lasting effect by retraining you
Update for anyone interested. I've been steadily losing just over 2lbs per week, now down to 14st 4lbs. Heaviest was 17st 5, and started the jab at 16st 10.
Waist is down 3-4 inches. Negative side effects have continued to be very mild, almost negligible really.
Upper body strength feells same as ever doing my benchmark KB workout. I suspect I've lost a little strength in my legs as squats don''t feel 15KG easier. Unsurprising I suppose, as they aren't getting resistance trained all day every day like before - my job is quite physical.
Biking wise, the difference uphill isn't as amazing as I'd have imagined. Downhill has surprised me with how different it feels, much floatier and easy to stop/ slow down in the winter slop! Need to think about a new coil soon too.
Highly recommended!
I was on it for a few months, lost about 10kg but couldn't afford to keep it up. I kind of got a bit used to it, in the final month it sort of felt it was as much my willpower as the drug, and that has been born out after the fact. I haven't lost any more weight afterwards but my weight has been stable, and I do feel more in control and able to say to myself "you know what, I have had enough now I don't need to eat any more".
I also hurt my back just as I was coming off it, which means my activity levels have been very low, I was barely able to walk for a couple of months or even clean house, I was working from home a lot, and basically my main activity was moving between my bed, settee and desk. So with such a low activity level I was quite happy to keep my weight stable. I am hoping that now my activity levels are increasing again I will start slowly shifting some more weight.
So for me I feel it was very worthwhile in shifting my relationship with food even just using it for a relatively short period, but that was my plan all along in using it, I never went into it expecting to use it until I developed a six pack, it was always intended as an aid to change my own mentality. I hope I can keep the new mentality up long term, I feel quite confident I can at the moment.
Nice update. Hopefully the drugs are becoming more accepted to the general populous, or rather the people taking it are.
Since starting on Mounjaro in May I've gone from people turning their noses up at me 'cheating' to mostly genuine interest in how much weight I've lost. For me, it has helped mainly by limiting my desire to crap food stuffs and portion size.
If I do feel the need to eat something bad, I don't fight it and have said food stuffs. This is very rare - perhaps once a fortnight - and when I eat the star bar or whatever I then feel full half way through it. Allowing myself to eat it seems to work as the feeling I then get from being full and slightly sickly means I have very rarely craved the same thing more than twice.
Health wise, I'm down from 127Kg to 105Kg, my lowest for 20 years. Still less than half way there but it feels great so far.
All my blood stats are now normal and I'm no longer pre diabetic.
So for me it is working very well. Not the dramatic 'lose 10 kg in a week' type internet story, but a steady 1Kg average loss, no side effects and better health.
No downsides, apart from £200 a month.
Lilly's "bet the farm" head-to-head study of Semaglutide (GLP1, Novo) vs. Tirzepatide (GLP1/GIP dual, Lilly) published in the New England Journal yesterday (and probably at a conference somewhere in the US). Basically, in non-diabetics (57% had prediabetes), in an open-label study. where subjects knew what they were taking, whatever response one sees with Wegovy, add a half on for Mountjarro. That's an impressive incremental response. A 14% loss in weight for Wegovy and 20% for Montjarro. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2416394
I think it's behind a paywall, but the abstract is all you need to read. Dual pharmacology works better than single pharmacology. I call these studies "bet the farm studies" because it is VERY unusual for two novel medicines to go head-to-head because clinical differences can be modest and you can end up worse numerically (in fact there is a 50% chance if the two are identical). You have to be very sure you are going to win before starting the trial!
From people I know who have taken these, I've seen impressive responses after years of struggle. If there is Type 2 diabetes in the family, these medicines are game changing (and it's what they were developed for). Lilly will move the needle still further with their oral drug that has just completed a positive Phase 3 in T2DM https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-oral-glp-1-orforglipron-demonstrated-statistically.
BTW it's not in the abstract, but one thing I find striking about the trial is that 948 subjects were screened and 751 randomised to treatment. That's an 80% acceptance rate. Anyone who has been involved in a clinical trial will know that this is a very high rate of acceptance. Subjects probably thought they'd won the lottery as they would all get a active weight loss treatment.
@multi21 I'm getting on good thanks. I'm coming back down the dosage now. My weight seems to have more or less settled at 12 st 7 (80kg)
Needless to say, from someone who was always around 17st, it feels pretty good!
Side effects still minimal.
I've had the same work belt for 20+ years and I've punched new holes as I reduced in size. My waist circumference is down by 155mm.
I lost quite a bit of weight, but it left me so lethargic and due to the cost I quit before reaching my goal. I have kept my weight stable since quitting, and am not eating as much as before. I think it is important to realise before starting that using Mounjaro (or the others) is just the starting phase, it isn't a cure it is dealing with the symptoms but there is still work to do after stopping the drug, although I feel it has actually helped bring my hunger down even after stopping, I know that I have to be careful not to return to old habbits and recreate the hormone imbalance I had before.
It might have been been better to suffer the lethargy and meet my goals, but given the costs and how I felt it is debatable.
I started on Mounjaro back in early January (was 110kg, now 90kg), along with making an effort to get back on the bike & eat more healthily (but I knew from past experience I'd probably soon give the latter two up without a noticeable drop in weight to aid motivation).
I didn't really have any side effects, other than my stomach just feeling a bit "meh" at times (no idea if there's any truth in it but for me it seemed more like my brain was just confused why it wasn't getting hunger signals rather than feeling nauseous). It started working very quickly though (like a day after the first injection) and hunger pangs initially were still there occasionally but didn't get worse if I ignored them and soon pretty much stopped altogether. These days I still occasionally feel a bit hungry (if I haven't eaten for 8+ hours) but never to the point where I absolutely have to eat then and there (just a very mild sensation) but also once I do start eating I feel full almost immediately. It took a couple of weeks initially before I realised I really need to reduce my portion size otherwise eating was a chore (and could even feel mildly sick, like you've over-indulged) if I ate too much (but that would be my previous portion size).
It is expensive (about £190 a month inc. delivery) but that's partially offset for me by a reduced Deliveroo bill + I'm only occasionally eating ready meals (vs them being the majority of my meals before) so that's a bit cheaper. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it anyway though, it def should be available more widely on the NHS for others IMO. I only just qualified for the 30 BMI threshold when I signed up (privately online) but even after losing 20kg I'm still over-weight (and want to lose another 10-15kg). I am a bit concerned that when I stop in a couple of months if my weight starts climbing again and I can't get my motivation sorted I might not be able to restart it until I'm obese again (obviously plan A is to have a sustainable diet and exercise level where I don't regain weight...).
Not too sure yet how it impacts my cycling as I'd been off the bike for several years so I need to regain a lot of fitness and my biggest issue at the moment on rides is muscle fatigue rather than running out of energy. That said I'm starting to do 40+ mile road rides now so do need to be more conscious of fueling (both before and during) as I think my natural state on Mounjaro is probably a bit glycogen depleted and eating on rides I never really used to do properly and now without an appetite it's even harder. I do find drinking is fine though so I'm using energy drink to try and make sure I'm getting enough carbs per hour (aiming for 40-50g as just doing Z2 mostly).
How are these drugs working inside you to make you lose weight?
Semaglutide is a mimicking GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) a hormone your gut produces to tell the brain receptors you're stuffed, and not even room for a "wafer thin mint". Makes you think you're full and switches your appetite off.
Makes you think you're full and switches your appetite off.
I would word it a little different, in that it normalises your appetite.
Normalise? I don't think I'd use that word either.
wifes about to start this (mounjaro, paying herself) and ive pointed her in the direction of this thread for info.
she's asked what sort of foods youre eating or feel like eating. she was on the verge of buying some weigh****chers meals, but then again she may not feel like eating them if no appetite so is holding off.
i believe that what she does need to eat needs to be high protein, is that right? so small meat-based meals, or fish, eggs, beans etc yep?
thanks
EDIT: wow, thats a keen bit of censoring 😀
I decided to try Mounjaro now the prices have dropped and am currently just over 3 weeks in. I'm basically just eating what I was before but less of it as I feel full much quicker. My appetite is still there but noticeably reduced.
Wifes been on the Mounjaro for around 12 months and done really well on it, lost a lot of weight (6st) and is feeling and looking healthier, though needs to actually exercise more now though IMO as the bone density thing worries me. No side effects AFAIK apart from the odd bout of 'eggy burps' as she descibes it.
I hate the eggy burps. Glad it's not only me.
I eat normal stuff on Mounjaro, just less of it and I rarely snack (if I do that usually ends up being a meal). I've been asked if I enjoy food etc. these days, ofc I do - food doesn't taste any different, you just want less of it. OK without cravings either maybe you don't look forward to a meal as much as get a dopamine hit or whatever off that but otherwise it's just the same tasting food.
I'm starting to wean off it now as I'm at a healthy weight and it does actually have a negative effect if you're trying to do even a moderate amount of endurance exercise (I have to remember to eat properly the day before a big ride and fueling on the bike is a bit harder, I rely on energy drink a lot more as solid food feels more of a chore. Don't hate me but sometimes I only have a coffee at a cafe stop mid-ride!).
I've used an online private prescription, it's been fine but I could have used more info up front about how much weight you're allowed to lose whilst staying on it. When I started (January this year) I was 17st 2lb and only just qualified (BMI of 30) so I was worried that after losing say a stone they'd say I didn't qualify for it anymore and cut me off so I started under-reporting my weight loss each month when re-ordering. Last month was the first time since the initial consultation that I'd been asked to send updated pictures (I think possibly as I forgot the weight I reported the previous month and might have been more honest on the next reorder...). Anyway, a bit stupid I know but I'm being sensible otherwise and don't have body dysmorphia or anything but I can see why some people could end up with problems if they under report their weight loss for similar reasons.
Glad I found this thread. Read through all of it (ignoring the off topic diet bits) and it has given me a few answers of my own experience. I have been feeling really lethargic of late and had blaming it on the purchase of an ebike and reduction of exercise due to holidays, injury, etc. But I think it is caused by Mounjaro after doing a lot of Googling and reading here. I am on 7.5mg now and have had a few exploding underpant moments along with mild nausea, but the biggest thing for me is the lack of energy and possible dehydration. Echoing a number of others on here, it has been a revelation for me in terms of switching off my food drive. The downside is that my ability or my desire to down a pint of water first thing in the morning and then consume another 2 pints throughout the day, has also gone. Need to watch out for that and get used to sipping.
I have a feeling I have lost some muscle as well due to starting the injections at a time where my weekly exercise dropped off significantly. I am getting that back on track this week but the lethergy is making that more of a chore than it should be. The other side effect that I didn't see mentioned so far is hangovers. My tolerance for alchol has reduced significantly over the past 20yrs (53 now) but this has been enhanced even more with the introduction of Mounjaro. 3 beers now feels absolutley horrid the following day and wine is even worse. So as much as I am making this sound like a bad thing, it is, as we all know, a good thing as it is reducing my booze intake as well as food.
Well this is my journey so far. Not sure how much I have lost as I don't weigh that often (stupid thing with my head is that if I see even a slight increase or plateau I give up) so I have just been going by how my clothes feel. If I took a stab at weight loss I would say 1 stone has gone over 3 months but some of that I would say was muscle and I am a bit pissed at that. My fault, you live and learn. Weights and intervals are back on the cards for this week.
Interested to know how others fair regarding the lethergy. Is it just dehydration and not ensuring the right number of cals go in becasue we just don't feel hungry, or is it something else?
The weight loss jabs certainly have their pros. However I seem to be surrounded by women taking them for cosmetic reasons instead of their intended health reasons.
One particular woman I hadn't seen for a few weeks has been using it. Having not seen her few awhile, and being at the end of a 12hr shift so focus on something else, I asked had she lost weight.
Previously I'd assumed she was maybe 5 or so years younger than me - she looked about 10yrs older than me now with her gaunt face.
For health reasons as OP it's a great tool. But the longevity of weight loss requires a lot more and basically a lifestyle change of more exercise and better diet. Recent study shows within 8 weeks of stopping the injections the weight is going back on - within 20 weeks it's all back on, often with a little extra too.
Interested to know how others fair regarding the lethergy. Is it just dehydration and not ensuring the right number of cals go in because we just don't feel hungry, or is it something else?
I've not really noticed being any more lethargic but then I started exercising again (after 5 years of doing nothing) the same time I started on Mounjaro so maybe that balanced it out. I've always been crap at drinking enough water to so although dehydration is a common issue when taking Mounjaro I don't think mine's any worse than it was. I generally always used to have a can of diet Pepsi with an evening meal but now I drink water instead (as otherwise the bubbles would fill me up before I'd eaten enough) so maybe that's helping my hydration a bit to.
Previously I'd assumed she was maybe 5 or so years younger than me - she looked about 10yrs older than me now with her gaunt face.
A relative who I hadn't seen for a couple of months asked me when I was going to stop taking Mounjaro as I looked old and gaunt... She wasn't wrong (if a little blunt :p ), my cheeks definitely look a bit hollow and overall I look like I've aged a bit but my BMI is 23 now so still towards the upper end of healthy (although granted BMI isn't a great tool), so I think it's more just it looking over-exaggerated as you're used to someone looking fatter.
A relative who I hadn't seen for a couple of months asked me when I was going to stop taking Mounjaro as I looked old and gaunt...
Yup, I am expecting some similar comments when I see the extended family this weekend. Problem is that the weight goes off the easy places first like the face, and leaves the problem areas like the belly until last. Very annoying, especially when people start saying things like "You are taking it too far" "You are starting to look unwell" Why do you need to lose any more" When met with this I think I am going to deploy the belly from under the shirt to shut them up
I've lost about 14kg since Christmas. I'm actually not really taking it for weight loss. My doc told me I was type 2 diabetic all of a sudden, and I have long standing liver issues plus slightly high blood pressure.All of which can be helped by Mounjaro. I don't eat sweets or drink anything other than water (mainly), and the very occasional pint of milk.
I do calorie count as I am hefty and have found I need to be in a calorie deficit of about 400-600 a day compared to what my Garmin says I've burned just to stay level.
With the health issues, I've had lethargy problems for a long time. Mounjaro doesn't seem to make that particularly worse though. When not crocked, I do about 6 hours of biking a week plus Pilates every day, but still can't keep a sensible weight normally.
My problem has always been spacing food out. I tend to eat very little during the day and have one big meal at night. Not at all ideal, but I find eating more during the day leads me to feeling very lethargic.
I reckon I'll be one of those poor sods on Mounjaro for a long time, but if it helps the other stuff and saves my knees, why the heck not?
Main side effects have generally been nausea for a couple of days after the injection, acid reflux if I eat too much, eggy burps (yuck). Currently on 10mg a week.
thanks all, some interesting experiences. wife starts on friday so ill be sure to report back on how she gets on.
cheers
I've been struggling with my weight for a while now. Have been overweight for most of my adult life to varying degrees. I have successfully lost a lot of weight a couple of times, once when I got married and once when I stopped drinking for 6 months. I've always been pretty active but I do over eat and also most probably drink too much not that I've ever felt it was a problem.
Since an operation a couple of years ago though I piled on the weight as I wasn't able to exercise but kept the eating and drinking at the same levels as when I'd be riding 3-4 times a week. Even when I got back to riding it was incredibly difficult to shift the weight. Managed to lose around 10kgs since but it kind of plateaued for the last 12 months. At the time of the op they noticed my BP was on the high side so ended up getting put on Ramipril which has just about kept it below 140/90 . I also have sleep apnoea so was referred to a weight management service which was good, but the wait is around 12+ months, so after watching some of Mark Lewis's videos and reading this thread, I just thought **** it and ordered Mounjaro from an online pharmacy for £115.
I've been on 2.5mg of Mounjaro for a week now, and the change in mindset is absolutely insane. In that week I've barely given food a thought other than, "oh I don't think I've had anything to eat yet" or "I better have something to eat as I'm out on my bike later" before it would be a case of feeling hungry as soon as I got up and trying to postpone breakfast by drinking loads of tea or coffee, then the same to lunch and so on. Even if I wasn't actually feeling hungry I'd find myself thinking "there's some cake in the cupboard, I think I'll have a slice"
Started at 128.8kg, week 1 weigh in was 122kg so over a stone in a week (sorry for mixing imperial and metric), I know it'll be mostly water weight but it's a great start and obviously way more than I was expecting. The thing I'm really most happy about is that my BP was hovering just below the 140/90 mark and monitoring over the last week has steadily dropped averaging around 120/70 and this morning was 111/59
I've contacted the GP and asked if I should start taking less Ramipril and have to monitor everyday for the next week.
One tip I would have for anyone thinking of doing it. You really have to think about your food intake. I've been out on my real bike a couple of times in the last week and nearly bonked, luckily I had a bar or gels in my bag which has got me home. Even on the ebike you can feel a bit lousy, so I've bought some more gels to stash in the pack for emergencies and now try and have a bit of flapjack or similar before I leave.
Sorry for the essay, but needed the outlet as I don't want to tell family or friends about it just yet and thought some of it might be useful to anyone who was in a similar position to me a couple of weeks ago.
A fellow who works for my team has the wegoovy jab once a week, he is trying to loose weight for a knee op.
He has done very well with and lost about 11stone, he is down to 17st now and waiting on a date for the operation.
One down side when they change the dosage he gets very bad stomach cramps for half a day and the brown river runs bad for a day or so but it settles down
wifes been on 2.5g for a week now and lost 5lb. not earth shattering but softly softly and all that.....
she says she feels more tired, a lack of energy and is forcing herself to eat something when maybe she isnt too hungry as she's read that you need to still eat a bit more than you feel like or it wont work. so no reports of 2 stone in a week here 🙂
still eating less than she did tho, and we're drinking less alcohol per week so im getting a positive knock-on effect too 🙂
I found in the first few days my emotions were all over the place, one minute I felt euphoric and the next I'd find myself choking up to She's leaving home by the beatles 😀
One thing I forgot to mention which has been a big bonus, is that I haven't had the urge to pop to the shop and buy a few beers of an evening. I'm happy enough stopping at the pub after the ride for a few pints but haven't yet felt the need to stop off at the garage on the way home to grab a couple of bottles either.
She's leaving home by the beatles
I cant listen to that song.... 😪
I'm starting to wean off it now (after 6 months on), I'm not really expecting to completely stop but will hopefully find a low dose I get a bit of an appetite back but still easily controllable. Right now I'm slipping back into bad habits in terms of what I eat (mostly ready meals) as I don't really feel hungry so eat something small but high calorie just to make sure I have energy for bike rides. I did a 30 mile evening ride on Wednesday with just a small breakfast and a protein yoghurt when I got home, I know I can't sustain that (nor do I want to).
I'm hoping as I wean off it I'll start eating bigger but healthier meals again, would still recommend it to anyone struggling to lose weight though but for sure you can't just treat it like a magic pill and not change anything else with your lifestyle.
Right now I'm slipping back into bad habits in terms of what I eat (mostly ready meals)
Ultra processed anti nutrient laden crap full of seed oils and unpronounceable chemicals.
Keep it simple; fatty red meat from ruminant animals, eggs, salt and water is what the body requires for optimum health.
Carbs (sugars) are not needed at all, ever. Consuming carbs will cause insulin spikes (and will trigger fat storing). The more often you eat carbs the more spikes, the more fat storing occurs. Grazing on small amounts of carbs especially those laden with ultra processed junk is just asking for trouble
One to two meals a day is a good way to go. Intermittent fasting is advantageous. 16/8 is a reliable ratio although the longer you fast the better the results.
This changes the landscape somewhat: Cost of weight loss drug Mounjaro may rise significantly - BBC News
Keep it simple; fatty red meat from ruminant animals, eggs, salt and water is what the body requires for optimum health.
Carbs (sugars) are not needed at all, ever.
Some of what you say is good/correct advice but this is total BS...
Keep it simple; fatty red meat from ruminant animals, eggs, salt and water is what the body requires for optimum health.
Carbs (sugars) are not needed at all, ever.
Some of what you say is good/correct advice but this is total BS...
Fuzzy. I know it sounds absolutely bat shit I agree. However I don’t say this stuff flippantly at all. I’ve been interested in nutrition science for years. Have looked into and tried various ways of eating with varying results. Keto worked really well for me apart from my arthritis got worse, turns out that was from eating leafy greens, nuts and berries which are full of oxalates. Getting deeper into the weeds I came across carnivore. 18 months into that way of eating my arthritis has all but gone. I feel really fit and healthy, brain fog gone, sleeping like a baby, never get any indigestion or wind.
If you suffer from inflammation or have weight issues or even depression it is definitely worth looking into to.
The body needs fuel, it gets that from carbohydrates (in whatever form it can finbd them).
When it needs energy, it takes carbs first (the ones that are available already), then starts breaking down long term storage (hence the 'bonk'), than breaks down fats, then protein.
Your body _needs_ carbs. It does not need excess carbs, but some excess is necessary. I'm not a dietician, but I do know that the body is designed to work with all types of food, not just meat. If we were carnivores from the start, we'd have evolved to have different teeth.
The body needs fuel, it gets that from carbohydrates (in whatever form it can finbd them).
When it needs energy, it takes carbs first (the ones that are available already), then starts breaking down long term storage (hence the 'bonk'), than breaks down fats, then protein.
Your body _needs_ carbs. It does not need excess carbs, but some excess is necessary. I'm not a dietician, but I do know that the body is designed to work with all types of food, not just meat. If we were carnivores from the start, we'd have evolved to have different teeth.
Willard, that is what we are led to believe. However it is not true. Honestly, I’m not trying to hoodwink anyone or sell anything or attempting to subvert or harm. It’s just what I have discovered by spending a lot of time reading, listening, watching and talking directly to people be it those with multiple masters degrees in nutrition science, sports nutrition and phlebotomy or those who have successfully improved their quality of life by going carnivore.
If you are interested Google Stephen Thomas or Richard Smith. These are both British guys with backgrounds in sport and fitness, both with amazing journeys of transformation and discovery. I mention these two as they aren’t American! American nutritionists often seem over zealous and a bit snake oil salesman even if what they say is spot on. Stephen and Richard are just normal blokes who could quite easily be mountain bikers, roadies etc.
Well, that beats my BSc in Biochemistry. And to think, I spent four years learning things like the Krebs TCA cycle and how cells process energy.... Sorry, I am still short of coffee today, but the fact remains, humans have evolved to eat everything*, not just meat.
But... If doing what you do works for _you_ do it. I'm not a nutritionist, or an influencer, or even a biochemist any more (and I liked immunology and radiobiology better than cell biochemistry anyway), so do what works for you to achieve your goals.
Well, that beats my BSc in Biochemistry. And to think, I spent four years learning things like the Krebs TCA cycle and how cells process energy.... Sorry, I am still short of coffee today, but the fact remains, humans have evolved to eat everything*, not just meat.
But... If doing what you do works for _you_ do it. I'm not a nutritionist, or an influencer, or even a biochemist any more (and I liked immunology and radiobiology better than cell biochemistry anyway), so do what works for you to achieve your goals.
Just because humans can eat everything* doesn’t mean they should!
I hear you though, everyone is on their own journey and should do what they believe is best. However it is frustrating that there is so much misinformation around including from those in the mainstream medical world such as the NHS. Just look at any hospital menu to see what they consider to be healthy, nutritious ‘food’. No wonder people have to resort to taking fat loss drugs to lose weight.
But where are your amino acids, vitamins and nutrients required for good (and diverse) gut health coming from? No way you're getting all you need for those in your short list of items needed for "optimal health". If you're saying everything else you need can come from supplements or a more diverse diet then OK but that makes your point a bit moot doesn't it?
What about scurvy? Seriously
to go back to the orginal point. I read recently that these injections ( like all "diets") have a rebound effect ie when you stop the jabs you regain the weight unless you have adopted a more healthy approach to eating in the meantime. I am highly cynical about them anyway and see them as a way for drug companies to make money not as a health aid as many folk will end up on these injections for life
multiple masters degrees in nutrition science, sports nutrition and phlebotomy or those who have successfully improved their quality of life by going carnivore.
Woowoo and irrelevant you mean.
What about scurvy? Seriously
There is vitamin C in red meat. If no carbs are consumed the amount of Vit C is more than adequate to be very healthy indeed. There are many, many carnivores that have been eating this way for years with no signs of scurvy.
Not totally true. Candian trappers died of scurvy in the winter because rabbit meat (their main/only source of food in the winter) contains no vitamin C. Same with sailors that had salted meats and nothing else.
I think you will also find that a lot of other animals can synthesis Vit C themselves from other amino acids, something that humans (and guinea pigs) cannot.
Like I said, you do you. I'll stick with eating a balanced diet.
to go back to the orginal point. I read recently that these injections ( like all "diets") have a rebound effect ie when you stop the jabs you regain the weight unless you have adopted a more healthy approach to eating in the meantime. I am highly cynical about them anyway and see them as a way for drug companies to make money not as a health aid as many folk will end up on these injections for life
That shouldn't be news to anyone that's taking them though, the drug companies have never claimed they're a permanent 'cure' for obesity and how they work is clearly and extensively documented. If someone believes the appetite suppressing effect persists once they stop the injections they've either been misled or have misunderstood how they work.
You're right in that they're not a simple fix and drug companies will be making billions from them as likely only a minority of people will change their lifestyle enough to never need to use them again once they reach their weight goal. Unless some terrible long-term side effect is discovered though I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, obesity has a lot of associated health issues. Sure, a large number of people living unhealthy lifestyles but taking weight-loss jabs isn't great either but it's got to be better than them also being obese.
I'd say I'm half-way between, I'm doing a lot more exercise now so have changed my lifestyle significantly as a result of starting weight loss jabs. I do still suck at the eating healthily part though (although I do generally eat a bit better, not just less of the crap stuff). I'm hoping as I reduce my dosage and get more appetite back my motivation to spend time preparing food goes up a bit (I'm lazy anyway so spending time preparing a healthy meal that I don't really want to eat isn't something I want to do). That might even mean I can come off it completely but I'm expecting I'll probably end up on a low dose for years and still eating not particularly healthily...
Not totally true. Candian trappers died of scurvy in the winter because rabbit meat (their main/only source of food in the winter) contains no vitamin C. Same with sailors that had salted meats and nothing else.
I think you will also find that a lot of other animals can synthesis Vit C themselves from other amino acids, something that humans (and guinea pigs) cannot.
Like I said, you do you. I'll stick with eating a balanced diet.
Im not surprised they got scurvy as Rabbit is a very lean meat. The sailors were probably eating dry crackers and drinking rum too which aren’t exactly nutrient dense.
However I should have said fatty red meat which does contain all the required nutrients for a healthy existence. Look at the Inuit people. They live and thrive on seal, whale and fish.
Google suggests they eat kelp?
However I should have said fatty red meat which does contain all the required nutrients for a healthy existence.
No it does not. Look I get you are evangelical about this but please - learn some things. vit C?
However I should have said fatty red meat which does contain all the required nutrients for a healthy existence.
No it does not. Look I get you are evangelical about this but please - learn some things. vit C?
Okay TJ, if you say so. Seeing as you know everything I must be wrong, obviously. Red meat doesn’t contain vitamin C and I have scurvy, as do all other people practicing a carnivore way of eating of which there are a lot.
I covered with a bariatric surgeon recently, and the conversation of these injections came up. His thought was that now Mounjaro is set to triple in price - the competition will no doubt do so too - there will be a lot of people priced out from privately buying them. His thoughts are that there will be an even bigger incentive for surgery once the weight goes on from these people.
His rather blunt suggestion to a recently slimmed down colleague, regarding her friend who receives the injection, that spending £100 on a set of trainers rather than £150 a month on injections being more beneficial does hold a lot of truth.
"Look at the Inuit people. They live and thrive on seal, whale and fish"
A quick google suggests there is little vit c in red meat and that "Most of the Vitamin C in a carnivore diet comes from organ meats like spleen, thymus, and lung, or from seafood"
Okay TJ, if you say so. Seeing as you know everything I must be wrong, obviously. Red meat doesn’t contain vitamin C and I have scurvy, as do all other people practicing a carnivore way of eating of which there are a lot.
yes you are wrong and almost certainly deficient in a whole range of vitamins, and other micro nutrients. Its also an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle and one our bodies are not adapted for
I don't know everything but this is very basic stuff
Back on track, this price rise is outrageous - fortunately not passed onto the NHS, but wow. There will be people getting into major debt to fund the treatment.