How do you lose weight without using up all your willpower?

[Metalcat]

..... While I've only been on it for a month, Mounjaro is the only one that has turned down my appetite.  Actually, it's more like it's turned off the previous pinging of "notifications" from my brain that there's something tasty in the pantry, fridge, or freezer.  I feel...normal.

I never understood how my DH could ask me to make cookies and then forgot to eat them, or have his favorite candy on his desk for weeks, eating a piece every few days at best.  Now I get it. It's not willpower so much as disinterest. 

I hope the effect sticks around.

Wow, this is a great description that really crystallizes my experience around food.
Even when I know I'm not hungry, just ate a good meal, whatever, the notifications ping about what's in the house or the grocery store that's down the street and closing in an hour.
Thanks, @geekette The new way of looking at it may help me process it differently.

This is interesting. I definitely crave junk even after a nice meal, but only if I’m still hungry. Also, the grocery store is too far away to make me crave things though I might add an item to buy next shopping trip. Finally, if your husband has his favorite candy, isn’t he eventually hungry enough to eat it?  Or are healthy meals more interesting than candy. He may just not like sweets, I didn’t for maybe 40 years. Or maybe he liked that candy once but it’s not his favorite today - my Mom is forever pushing what she thinks is my favorite food from my youth.

Hunger is more a product of a pattern of eating, not an actual need for food.

I do intermittent fasting, I only get hungry if I start eating. The sensation that most people interpret as "hunger" is actually more the body getting prepared for food that it's expecting.

So if someone normally eats sugary snacks after a meal, their body will prepare for this and they will feel particularly hungry for sugary snacks after their meal at whatever time they normally eat them.

I can have my favourite treat in the house for weeks and never be specifically hungry for it. I'll enjoy it if I eat it, but I don't get hungry for it because it's not something I typically eat.

I do crave food, but I crave raw vegetables and hummus, because that's what I most consistently eat.

I have two types of birthday cake in the fridge at this very moment and I could take them or leave them. I've thrown out or given away many bakes goods leftovers because they will go bad unless I eat them, and I just don't want to eat that much sugar.

It's not that I don't like it, or don't enjoy it, or that veggies and hummus tastes better. I'm perfectly able to fully, profoundly enjoy red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, it's my favourite. But I feel no compulsion to eat it, and more time doesn't make me want to eat it more.

But back when I ate sweets every evening??? No, sweets wouldn't last more than 24hrs around me. I couldn't resist them. The same thing will happen if I eat sweets every evening for just a few days in a row. My body will detect the pattern and that's it, I'll be hungry for sweets in the evening.

So I don't do that.

I'll have sweets whenever I want, but never two days in a row and never more than twice a week. That keeps my body from ever expecting sweets, and as long as I do that, I can take them or leave them. Enjoy them or just shrug and say "no thanks"

[EscapeVelocity2020]

That was my 'strategy' also, especially to be very strict on added sugars.  I was a very regimented eater these last few years, to the point that salad became pretty darn exciting because that was one of the most varied things I ate.

But now that I'm at my target weight, I've experimented a bit more with my diet.  The most amazing thing about these GLP-1 drugs is that things that I would have eaten compulsively - chips, snacks, sweets - I can have one bite or chip and not think about more.  The whole reward circuit thing going crazy is gone.  Sure, I enjoy the flavor and variety when I have that first bite, but I don't get fixated on needing more.  I could be eating a brownie or eating celery, in terms of craving level.

I think that's why these drugs also seem to help with overconsumption of alcohol or other addictions.  You just feel 'full' and satisfied, but never overly high on a 'sugar rush' or dopamine spike.  You kinda miss it a bit, but there are always tradeoffs.

[geekette]

Lots of strategies, but there’s no one size fits all.

All the GLP-1 drugs have been great for me for bg control, but, also for me, the added GIP receptor agonist in Mounjaro is key to normalizing my attitude toward food.

[Metalcat]

That was my 'strategy' also, especially to be very strict on added sugars.  I was a very regimented eater these last few years, to the point that salad became pretty darn exciting because that was one of the most varied things I ate.

But now that I'm at my target weight, I've experimented a bit more with my diet.  The most amazing thing about these GLP-1 drugs is that things that I would have eaten compulsively - chips, snacks, sweets - I can have one bite or chip and not think about more.  The whole reward circuit thing going crazy is gone.  Sure, I enjoy the flavor and variety when I have that first bite, but I don't get fixated on needing more.  I could be eating a brownie or eating celery, in terms of craving level.

I think that's why these drugs also seem to help with overconsumption of alcohol or other addictions.  You just feel 'full' and satisfied, but never overly high on a 'sugar rush' or dopamine spike.  You kinda miss it a bit, but there are always tradeoffs.

It reminds me a lot of naltrexone.

I was on low dose naltrexone for nerve pain (didn't work) a few years back, and it made a lot of addictive things uninteresting, which I did not like because I don't have any unhealthy addictions and have a lot of very healthy addictions that I've intentionally cultivated.

[Runrooster]

Lots of strategies, but there’s no one size fits all.

Thank you for saying it for me.  I have Metalcat on ignore but clicked the response anyway.  Her experience bears dim correlation to mine, but she assumes she can reduce an entire field of obesity research to a simplistic theory of hunger.  I should know better by now...

I'd been okay if she mitigated her sentences with "for me".  I'm happy she found a tactic that works for her.  I'm pretty sure that if "just eat less regularly and you'll crave less" was a universal truth, we'd have noticed it by now.  It isn't.  I can eat leftover cake every day for a week and not crave sweets again til the next cake two months later.  Hunger (as evidenced by my food logs of decades) are directly correlated to whether I exercised more or less recently - be it through sickness or just being too busy to exercise.  There's also a correlation with hormones and TOM.  Not true for her? Fine, but don't assume everyone else who's noticed these trends in their hunger is crazy or stupid. 

Finally, if it WAS that simple people would go off drugs/diet and not be impacted - 2 weeks of eating minimally would just domino forward into not wanting food.  Instead, people experience ravenous hunger as the body tries to return to it's set point. 

[Metalcat]

Lots of strategies, but there’s no one size fits all.

Thank you for saying it for me.  I have Metalcat on ignore but clicked the response anyway.  Her experience bears dim correlation to mine, but she assumes she can reduce an entire field of obesity research to a simplistic theory of hunger.  I should know better by now...

I'd been okay if she mitigated her sentences with "for me".  I'm happy she found a tactic that works for her.  I'm pretty sure that if "just eat less regularly and you'll crave less" was a universal truth, we'd have noticed it by now.  It isn't.  I can eat leftover cake every day for a week and not crave sweets again til the next cake two months later.  Hunger (as evidenced by my food logs of decades) are directly correlated to whether I exercised more or less recently - be it through sickness or just being too busy to exercise.  There's also a correlation with hormones and TOM.  Not true for her? Fine, but don't assume everyone else who's noticed these trends in their hunger is crazy or stupid. 

Finally, if it WAS that simple people would go off drugs/diet and not be impacted - 2 weeks of eating minimally would just domino forward into not wanting food.  Instead, people experience ravenous hunger as the body tries to return to it's set point.

Sorry, yes, I should have specified more that my personal experience is what is personal to me.

Instead I blended my personal experience with what I've read in textbooks about how the experience of hunger is preparation of the body for food, which is something I found fascinating.

Someone said they couldn't understand why a person wouldn't eventually get hungry for sweets, so I tried to explain how that could happen.

But obesity is way more complex than just understanding that the pattern of stomach sensations can be altered. I don't find it easy to lose weight even though I don't crave sweets. I used to find it easy, but my metabolism likes to drop into the toilet sometimes, and as soon as I seem to find a solution for it, it does another dive.

It would be awesome if just getting rid of sugar cravings solved all weight problems, but it doesn't.

But I thought I would share how I kicked sugar cravings and include the scientific explanation as to why on earth that has worked for me. It's a strategy that has helped a lot of other people get rid of powerful sugar cravings as well, including a lot of my patients, so I wanted to share.

[Lalalauren]

This video has some great info on hunger https://youtu.be/0fvfOyiSWnY

I just watched it last night & was blown away by all the points he made. Regarding hunger, it’s in the latter half of the presentation - find where he starts to show the slides talking about “toxic hunger” and then back it up a bit so that you can hear him talking about where hunger sensations actually are felt in the body.

[StarBright]

I've been wary of posting a success lest it not be real - but I believe I have officially lost one pound! My range seems to have consistently shifted down a pound.

At this rate it will take me approximately 3 years to lose 10 pounds :) But I am also pretty committed to not eating less than 1200 calories a day so I'll take it.

[Louise]

Finally, if it WAS that simple people would go off drugs/diet and not be impacted - 2 weeks of eating minimally would just domino forward into not wanting food.  Instead, people experience ravenous hunger as the body tries to return to it's set point.

Interesting you mention set point. I totally believe in the concept. I'm kind of experiencing that phenomenon now. Since my pregnancies almost 16 years ago (I was a normal weight until my mid-30s), my weight seems to fluctuate between a peak and a valley. I can happily maintain at the peak (too bad it's not remotely close to a healthy weight!) and then I'll diet down to the valley. It doesn't seem to matter how I get to the valley (I've tried CICO, ADF/IF, extended fasting, LCHF), but I soon as I reach that valley weight I seem to get major cravings and lose all resolve to get to a healthy weight. Did I mention I'm at the valley now lol? I got here by trying various forms of IF and watching my calories. For some reason food has started occupying my thoughts in the past few weeks. I find myself scouring recipe sites when I haven't done that in a year. I swear it has to be hormonal. It's been a tough few weeks though since I feel like willpower and white knuckling is the only keeping me from rebounding!

[Moustachienne]

Lots of strategies, but there’s no one size fits all.

Thank you for saying it for me.  I have Metalcat on ignore but clicked the response anyway.  Her experience bears dim correlation to mine, but she assumes she can reduce an entire field of obesity research to a simplistic theory of hunger.  I should know better by now...

I'd been okay if she mitigated her sentences with "for me".  I'm happy she found a tactic that works for her.  I'm pretty sure that if "just eat less regularly and you'll crave less" was a universal truth, we'd have noticed it by now.  It isn't.  I can eat leftover cake every day for a week and not crave sweets again til the next cake two months later.  Hunger (as evidenced by my food logs of decades) are directly correlated to whether I exercised more or less recently - be it through sickness or just being too busy to exercise.  There's also a correlation with hormones and TOM.  Not true for her? Fine, but don't assume everyone else who's noticed these trends in their hunger is crazy or stupid. 

Finally, if it WAS that simple people would go off drugs/diet and not be impacted - 2 weeks of eating minimally would just domino forward into not wanting food.  Instead, people experience ravenous hunger as the body tries to return to it's set point.

Sorry, yes, I should have specified more that my personal experience is what is personal to me.

Instead I blended my personal experience with what I've read in textbooks about how the experience of hunger is preparation of the body for food, which is something I found fascinating.

Someone said they couldn't understand why a person wouldn't eventually get hungry for sweets, so I tried to explain how that could happen.

But obesity is way more complex than just understanding that the pattern of stomach sensations can be altered. I don't find it easy to lose weight even though I don't crave sweets. I used to find it easy, but my metabolism likes to drop into the toilet sometimes, and as soon as I seem to find a solution for it, it does another dive.

It would be awesome if just getting rid of sugar cravings solved all weight problems, but it doesn't.

But I thought I would share how I kicked sugar cravings and include the scientific explanation as to why on earth that has worked for me. It's a strategy that has helped a lot of other people get rid of powerful sugar cravings as well, including a lot of my patients, so I wanted to share.

Thanks for this. The scientific explanation is very interesting! My experience is similar. Hunger, or more specifically strong cravings, is definitely a product of my eating patterns.  I'm a "No-S Diet" fan and optimally eat 3 solid meals a day with no snacks or sweets except (rarely) on S days (Saturday, Sunday or Special). When I stick to this pattern I can eat the occasional treat without triggering my sweet tooth and can even have sweet treats in the house waiting for special occasions. I maintained a loss of 20 pounds painlessly for 6 years with this approach. BUT when I get complacent and increase the frequency of treats, I'm right back down the slippery slope to strong cravings and very little control. Treats can easily become habits with frequency. Finding our own optimal frequency is an interesting exercise.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Week 15 of Mounjaro for me. 6 weeks on 2.5, then 9 weeks on 5mg.

(me) -16.8% Body Weight, 2-3 pant sizes, 1 shirt size
(wife) -15.3% Body Weight

Trying to do everything right, eating, cardio, strength training, changing habits, groceries etc.  We are saving a fortune on reduced groceries + take out :)

BP + Glucose + Cholesterol + CRP + other labs are all amazing.  Huge improvements.
Have been doing DEXA Scans, showing no significant loss in muscle/bone. 

Planning to cycle off now, and get a sense of what stopping will feel / be like.  Will then likely restart after 8-12 weeks to lose the final ~30 lbs. 
Goal is a BMI of 26, including adding much more muscle.

The drug is amazing - I can absolutely see it becoming a 50-100B/yr drug for $LLY.  Even now, so few people have heard of it.
I expected shortages for years as this craze continues.

Have been paying OOP as insurance will not cover.  The latest Savings Card drops the price for $457/mo (walmart).  Which given how effective it is and how much folks spend on various fad-diets that simply don't work.... IMO it is absolutely worth the cost.

@bryan995  - sending out the bat signal, how's it going?

[eav]

Posting an update on this thread since posting in April for those who are interested.

Currently doing the following (have lost 10 lbs since March 9th (Update: now down 26 lbs) with the goal of 10-15 more) Female/29 y/o 5'7"

Use the Lose It! app for calorie counting on the Flexible Weekender budget.
M-Th Calories are 1400
Fr-Sun Calories are 1600
*More days than not I am ~200 under budget for the day due to tracking exercise in the app.

Coffee 8a with (switched to sugar free) creamer ; Breakfast 10-11a ; Lunch 2p ; Dinner 6p
Weekend budget allows for a snack/one alcoholic beverage

At Home Workout Schedule Cycle
Day 1: 20 min floor Pilates to warmup followed by 40 minutes weight lifting (20 lower/20 upper, dumbbells/kettlebells only using Caroline Girvan on YouTube)
Day 2: 30 min Tabata style HIIT (Caroline Girvan on YouTube)
Day 3: No workout
Repeat! I am an avid gardener April-October so that adds to my activity as well as long walks.
Update: I no longer do many home work outs at all. I may run a few times a week since there's a pesky 5k coming up that I wanted to be able to run completely (will not be). Life and gardening has kept me fairly fit. I will pick up the workouts again when things slow down.

We went to Milwaukee for a week with no tracking and a lot of drinking, and came back about 1 lb heavier and has since been lost. I'm beyond my weight loss goal now and am continuing to track to enforce good habits. I could see myself eating this way indefinitely as it has not felt like deprivation at all. I will plan on gaining ~5 lbs over winter and pick back up my weight lifting to gain some muscle before trimming down again the following Spring.

[bryan995]

Week 15 of Mounjaro for me. 7 weeks on 2.5, then 8 weeks on 5mg.

(me) -16.8% Body Weight, 2-3 pant sizes, 1 shirt size
(wife) -15.3% Body Weight

Trying to do everything right, eating, cardio, strength training, changing habits, groceries etc.  We are saving a fortune on reduced groceries + take out :)

BP + Glucose + Cholesterol + CRP + other labs are all amazing.  Huge improvements.
Have been doing DEXA Scans, showing no significant loss in muscle/bone. 

Planning to cycle off now, and get a sense of what stopping will feel / be like.  Will then likely restart after 8-12 weeks to lose the final ~30 lbs. 
Goal is a BMI of 26, including adding much more muscle.

The drug is amazing - I can absolutely see it becoming a 50-100B/yr drug for $LLY.  Even now, so few people have heard of it.
I expected shortages for years as this craze continues.

Have been paying OOP as insurance will not cover.  The latest Savings Card drops the price for $457/mo (walmart).  Which given how effective it is and how much folks spend on various fad-diets that simply don't work.... IMO it is absolutely worth the cost.

@bryan995  - sending out the bat signal, how's it going?

Decided to stay on it instead of cycling off.  Moved up to 7.5mg now.  The first ~3 weeks after moving to new dosage are quite strong.
New plan is to titrate off if/when I hit a longer stall, rather than try to power through.

Week 18 for me, -20.20%.  Still feel good, no major side effects.  Reading about reverse dieting strategies now to hopefully raise my caloric intake back up without major weight regain (after being in a deficit for so long).

2.5mg - 7 weeks - -22.8 lbs
5mg - 8 weeks - -14.7 lbs
7.5mg - 6 weeks - 14.0 lbs

Still paying the cash OOP price at $457.  Have been able to fill every 21 days, so have a healthy surplus in our new "medical fridge" :).  Mainly doing so to buffer through the shortages and around the potential of the coupon/savings card abruptly ending (or the price dramatically changing).

Had one lucky month of $350, but can't seem to get that again.

How's it going with you?

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Week 15 of Mounjaro for me. 7 weeks on 2.5, then 8 weeks on 5mg.

(me) -16.8% Body Weight, 2-3 pant sizes, 1 shirt size
(wife) -15.3% Body Weight

Trying to do everything right, eating, cardio, strength training, changing habits, groceries etc.  We are saving a fortune on reduced groceries + take out :)

BP + Glucose + Cholesterol + CRP + other labs are all amazing.  Huge improvements.
Have been doing DEXA Scans, showing no significant loss in muscle/bone. 

Planning to cycle off now, and get a sense of what stopping will feel / be like.  Will then likely restart after 8-12 weeks to lose the final ~30 lbs. 
Goal is a BMI of 26, including adding much more muscle.

The drug is amazing - I can absolutely see it becoming a 50-100B/yr drug for $LLY.  Even now, so few people have heard of it.
I expected shortages for years as this craze continues.

Have been paying OOP as insurance will not cover.  The latest Savings Card drops the price for $457/mo (walmart).  Which given how effective it is and how much folks spend on various fad-diets that simply don't work.... IMO it is absolutely worth the cost.

@bryan995  - sending out the bat signal, how's it going?

Decided to stay on it instead of cycling off.  Moved up to 7.5mg now.  The first ~3 weeks after moving to new dosage are quite strong.
New plan is to titrate off if/when I hit a longer stall, rather than try to power through.

Week 18 for me, -20.20%.  Still feel good, no major side effects.  Reading about reverse dieting strategies now to hopefully raise my caloric intake back up without major weight regain (after being in a deficit for so long).

2.5mg - 7 weeks - -22.8 lbs
5mg - 8 weeks - -14.7 lbs
7.5mg - 6 weeks - 14.0 lbs

Still paying the cash OOP price at $457.  Have been able to fill every 21 days, so have a healthy surplus in our new "medical fridge" :).  Mainly doing so to buffer through the shortages and around the potential of the coupon/savings card abruptly ending (or the price dramatically changing).

Had one lucky month of $350, but can't seem to get that again.

How's it going with you?

I'm steady around 25 BMI and fiddling with reduced dosage to extend supply and fill the prescription less frequently...  I've had vacations and been off schedule with no obvious negative effects, but I'm nowhere near ready to stop completely, especially since my exercise is restricted during the summer months here in Houston.  My first trial to wean off completely will be November, which is why I was interested if you'd tried...  It feels very strange to reduce my exercise and still maintain 25 BMI, first time that has happened in years and it is so liberating!  Not living on an insanely restrictive diet either.

[Kris]

Just read this report from the Washington Post about these new drugs.

Once again... please be careful out there, folks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/08/weight-loss-drugs-side-effects-wegovy-ozempic/

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Just read this report from the Washington Post about these new drugs.

Once again... please be careful out there, folks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/08/08/weight-loss-drugs-side-effects-wegovy-ozempic/

Not bashing the sharing of information, but many sensational articles and videos all boil down to anecdotes.  The comments section is just about as informative as the article itself in terms of actionable information, but I do understand how persuasive personal stories can be.

More worthwhile to me are the scientific studies and FDA approval that this drug is safe and effective.  For example, there was also this news today that was likely drowned out by the sensationalist anectdotes - Novo's Wegovy shows heart benefit alongside weight loss in trial

Novo said the eagerly-awaited study results, which have not been peer reviewed, showed that patients on Wegovy had a 20% lower incidence of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease compared to those on a placebo. That is significantly better than the 15-17% expected by investors and analysts.

The study, called SELECT, involved 17,500 overweight or obese people with a history of heart disease aged 45 years or older with no prior history of diabetes. It started almost five years ago to test if the weekly injection has medical benefits.

I'm certainly not telling anyone what they should or should not do with their body, but also don't get caught up in the misleading way sensationalist coverage can make it seem like these drugs are too good to be true.  They actually are safe and effective, probably much more safe and effective than my 'over-exercise and under-eat' weight management strategy alone was.

With that said, I am also a strong proponent of only using the minimum effective dose.  My prescription had me going to a much higher dose which might be why some people run in to negative side effects and I didn't.   

[bryan995]

Week 15 of Mounjaro for me. 7 weeks on 2.5, then 8 weeks on 5mg.

(me) -16.8% Body Weight, 2-3 pant sizes, 1 shirt size
(wife) -15.3% Body Weight

Trying to do everything right, eating, cardio, strength training, changing habits, groceries etc.  We are saving a fortune on reduced groceries + take out :)

BP + Glucose + Cholesterol + CRP + other labs are all amazing.  Huge improvements.
Have been doing DEXA Scans, showing no significant loss in muscle/bone. 

Planning to cycle off now, and get a sense of what stopping will feel / be like.  Will then likely restart after 8-12 weeks to lose the final ~30 lbs. 
Goal is a BMI of 26, including adding much more muscle.

The drug is amazing - I can absolutely see it becoming a 50-100B/yr drug for $LLY.  Even now, so few people have heard of it.
I expected shortages for years as this craze continues.

Have been paying OOP as insurance will not cover.  The latest Savings Card drops the price for $457/mo (walmart).  Which given how effective it is and how much folks spend on various fad-diets that simply don't work.... IMO it is absolutely worth the cost.

@bryan995  - sending out the bat signal, how's it going?

Decided to stay on it instead of cycling off.  Moved up to 7.5mg now.  The first ~3 weeks after moving to new dosage are quite strong.
New plan is to titrate off if/when I hit a longer stall, rather than try to power through.

Week 18 for me, -20.20%.  Still feel good, no major side effects.  Reading about reverse dieting strategies now to hopefully raise my caloric intake back up without major weight regain (after being in a deficit for so long).

2.5mg - 7 weeks - -22.8 lbs
5mg - 8 weeks - -14.7 lbs
7.5mg - 6 weeks - 14.0 lbs

Still paying the cash OOP price at $457.  Have been able to fill every 21 days, so have a healthy surplus in our new "medical fridge" :).  Mainly doing so to buffer through the shortages and around the potential of the coupon/savings card abruptly ending (or the price dramatically changing).

Had one lucky month of $350, but can't seem to get that again.

How's it going with you?

I'm steady around 25 BMI and fiddling with reduced dosage to extend supply and fill the prescription less frequently...  I've had vacations and been off schedule with no obvious negative effects, but I'm nowhere near ready to stop completely, especially since my exercise is restricted during the summer months here in Houston.  My first trial to wean off completely will be November, which is why I was interested if you'd tried...  It feels very strange to reduce my exercise and still maintain 25 BMI, first time that has happened in years and it is so liberating!  Not living on an insanely restrictive diet either.

Amazing!  I am at 29 BMI.  So almost there ;)  Was planning to stop at 27 ish. 

That is my plan as well.  Titrate back down slowly, then extend doses out all while leaning heavily into my new routines / habits / etc and then ultimately stopping. Maintaining a desired weight for 6 months (with or without the drug) may also be beneficial so that your body creates a new set-point and maximizes long term success.

I've been playing the dose-splitting game.  Not for everyone.  But is an easy way to stretch 15mg ;).  The sterility should not be a major concern if you follow proper procedures. The bigger concern IMO is folks doing the math wrong and injecting who knows how much. 

Also following $LLY?  Another huge earnings day.  Have already almost 2x'd my initial investment - which more than covers the entire cost of this drug many fold over.

[ixtap]

I'm certainly not telling anyone what they should or should not do with their body, but also don't get caught up in the misleading way sensationalist coverage can make it seem like these drugs are too good to be true.  They actually are safe and effective, probably much more safe and effective than my 'over-exercise and under-eat' weight management strategy alone was.

Although anecdotal, my experience was that I very much was undereating on a fairly minimal dosage. Actually, I was thinking yesterday that the only difference between Ozempic and COVID has been the sinus symptoms. In fact, I have probably been more active with COVID because while food is mostly unappetizing and I am weakened by the illness and the low calorie intake, at least I don't have wet burps burning my esophagus whenever I try to exercise.

I think it is worth trying, but when I hear that people who have similar or worse symptoms than I did determined to continue, that reeks of developing a new eating disorder.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

With the massive demand and promise of these new weight loss drugs, I'm certain more easily administered and better tolerated options will become available in the near future.  The holy grail for one of these drugs is for insurance to begin to cover it, possibly if heart disease and stroke medical savings associated with lower BMI can pay for themselves...  We would certainly be a healthier country if obesity were 'cured'!

With just my limited and non-scientific fiddling with dosage, diet, and exercise, I truly believe that the GLP-1 actively breaks a pathway of gaining weight.  With a higher dosage of Semaglutide, I can burn less calories exercising (as confirmed by my FitBit) and maintain weight, keeping diet, sleep, etc. constant.  More frustrating is that, on too low a dose of Semaglutide, I can burn even an additional 1,000 calories a day and still gain back weight!  Like I said, I don't have definitive data, it could be water retention or any number of things, but I'm certain that my weight would creep back up to 27 or higher BMI without the drug, unless I revert back to my intermittent fasting, extra cardio, 100% no sugar, etc. lifestyle and manage to maintain it religiously.

[geekette]

Ozempic Settles the Obesity Debate:  It's Biology over Willpower

I'm sure some will disagree, but it matches my experience.

[bryan995]

Ozempic Settles the Obesity Debate:  It's Biology over Willpower

I'm sure some will disagree, but it matches my experience.

Do you have a WSJ sub?  If so can you gift the article?  I refuse to pay for news :)

[geekette]

Ozempic Settles the Obesity Debate:  It's Biology over Willpower

I'm sure some will disagree, but it matches my experience.

Do you have a WSJ sub?  If so can you gift the article?  I refuse to pay for news :)

I just googled "Biology over Willpower" and got a MSN link, I thought.  I re-entered it, so maybe it'll work now?

I subscribe to WaPo, but can't support all the outlets.

[bryan995]

Ozempic Settles the Obesity Debate:  It's Biology over Willpower

I'm sure some will disagree, but it matches my experience.

Do you have a WSJ sub?  If so can you gift the article?  I refuse to pay for news :)

Cool found it , thanks
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/weightloss/ozempic-settles-the-obesity-debate-it-s-biology-over-willpower/ar-AA1fflWy
I just googled "Biology over Willpower" and got a MSN link, I thought.  I re-entered it, so maybe it'll work now?

I subscribe to WaPo, but can't support all the outlets.

[Cassie]

Geekette, I think all the additives, etc that the US is putting into our food that Europe doesn’t allow is making people fat.  It’s probably also increasing people’s appetite. I think changing that is the answer instead of weight loss drugs because you have to stay on them for life and the side affects can cause lifelong health problems.

 25 years ago after a bunch of people took one drug young people developed heart problems and some died. I read the article and it was interesting. Of course all of these things are not within an individual’s control. It sucks that big corporations are helping to create this problem.

[Prairie Gal]

Thanks for the article, it was very interesting. I also agree with what it is saying. We are just at the tip of the iceberg in understanding what causes obesity, and how to manage it. One thing that I really believe is that it is a complex, chronic disease and we need to remove the stigma. It's a complete paradox change from what we have been told forever. Eat less and move more is not the answer.

I also agree that the standard north american diet consisting of a lot of processed food is a lot of the root cause. Along with genetics, and a host of other things. Like I said, it is very complicated.

When I started on Ozempic six months ago, almost immediately the food noise stopped. It was very strange to me. I wondered if this was what it is like for normal people, not to have constant thoughts of food looping in your brain? By day six or seven after my shot it sometimes starts to creep back in and I am reminded of what it used to be like.

My health has improved tremendously on Ozempic. My A1C, blood pressure and weight are all down. I expect to be on it, or something similar that comes along, for life.

[StarBright]

Geekette, I think all the additives, etc that the US is putting into our food that Europe doesn’t allow is making people fat.  It’s probably also increasing people’s appetite.

I think there is something to this ^. Every time I go to Europe I lose a couple of pounds within a couple of days and I always feel less puffy. I know most people say that you walk more in Europe, but I've lived in walkable areas almost my entire adult life, so the real difference is the food.

And I even cook a lot, so it's not like comparing McDonald's to a homecooked meal. I'm generally comparing homecooked meals in the States to restaurant meals in Europe. Our ingredients are messed up.

[mm1970]

With the massive demand and promise of these new weight loss drugs, I'm certain more easily administered and better tolerated options will become available in the near future.  The holy grail for one of these drugs is for insurance to begin to cover it, possibly if heart disease and stroke medical savings associated with lower BMI can pay for themselves...  We would certainly be a healthier country if obesity were 'cured'!

With just my limited and non-scientific fiddling with dosage, diet, and exercise, I truly believe that the GLP-1 actively breaks a pathway of gaining weight. With a higher dosage of Semaglutide, I can burn less calories exercising (as confirmed by my FitBit) and maintain weight, keeping diet, sleep, etc. constant.  More frustrating is that, on too low a dose of Semaglutide, I can burn even an additional 1,000 calories a day and still gain back weight!  Like I said, I don't have definitive data, it could be water retention or any number of things, but I'm certain that my weight would creep back up to 27 or higher BMI without the drug, unless I revert back to my intermittent fasting, extra cardio, 100% no sugar, etc. lifestyle and manage to maintain it religiously.

So, is this everything else being equal? Same intake of calories and all that?  I've read that the drug reduces "food noise", and slows digestion so that you feel fuller longer (and so you eat less).  But I hadn't read that it causes you to burn more calories.  It's pretty fascinating stuff.

I recently finished the book Burn by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism.  It's fascinating what we are learning about it all.  One thing that I took out of it WRT obesity: it's a feature not a bug.  It's literally how the body works - to return you to your highest weight.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

With the massive demand and promise of these new weight loss drugs, I'm certain more easily administered and better tolerated options will become available in the near future.  The holy grail for one of these drugs is for insurance to begin to cover it, possibly if heart disease and stroke medical savings associated with lower BMI can pay for themselves...  We would certainly be a healthier country if obesity were 'cured'!

With just my limited and non-scientific fiddling with dosage, diet, and exercise, I truly believe that the GLP-1 actively breaks a pathway of gaining weight. With a higher dosage of Semaglutide, I can burn less calories exercising (as confirmed by my FitBit) and maintain weight, keeping diet, sleep, etc. constant.  More frustrating is that, on too low a dose of Semaglutide, I can burn even an additional 1,000 calories a day and still gain back weight!  Like I said, I don't have definitive data, it could be water retention or any number of things, but I'm certain that my weight would creep back up to 27 or higher BMI without the drug, unless I revert back to my intermittent fasting, extra cardio, 100% no sugar, etc. lifestyle and manage to maintain it religiously.

So, is this everything else being equal? Same intake of calories and all that?  I've read that the drug reduces "food noise", and slows digestion so that you feel fuller longer (and so you eat less).  But I hadn't read that it causes you to burn more calories.  It's pretty fascinating stuff.

I recently finished the book Burn by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism.  It's fascinating what we are learning about it all.  One thing that I took out of it WRT obesity: it's a feature not a bug.  It's literally how the body works - to return you to your highest weight.

I know it seems impossible.  I'm not doing a scientific study by any means, so I'm sure everything else is not perfectly equal, but I am pretty repetitive in my M-Fri eating at work and home, exercising, and sleeping habits.  I have a suspicion that food absorption and higher insulin levels do more for weight loss then given credit.  I have no idea exactly how much Semaglutide is in my bloodstream as I change the dose, and my weight changes have a time delay correlated to my big calorie deficiency or excess days that I use to experiment.  Water retention / hydration is a wild card that I have no idea how to account for.  I also don't know how reliable a FitBit is when it comes to measuring calorie burn from running, walking, biking, and swimming, I haven't done anything special to calibrate it.

I don't think I get a higher calorie burn or change metabolism on Semaglutide though, I think it has more to do with digestion (there is a big difference in the bathroom but I don't want to gross people out with all those details, we can PM if you are interested) and blood glucose levels.  I should probably buy a blood glucose monitor if I start gaining weight and want to understand this better...

[Tyson]

I have 2 rules that have helped me to lose weight.

1. No snacking.  Eat your 3 (or 2) meals a day and never snack, not even on 'healthy' stuff.
2. No caloric (or sweet) drinks. 

That's it.  I'm down 3 belt holes since starting this a couple of months ago.

[mm1970]

I know it seems impossible.

I wouldn't say impossible at all.  If there's anything I've learned on my 53 years on this planet, having 2 kids in my 30s/40s and now in menopause, it's that there is a LOT that we don't know.  That whole calories in/ calories out "just eat less and move more" thing ignores the constrained energy model. 

Anyway, we don't know what we don't know.  I changed nothing about my exercise and eating habits, and in the space of 8 months last year I gained 15 pounds.  Menopause?  COVID? Stress? (I got a new boss and got COVID at the same time, and well, I'm in my 50s.)  So I TOTALLY understand that there can be something like this that would do the opposite.  I just want to know how it works!  It fascinates me.

[wenchsenior]

With the massive demand and promise of these new weight loss drugs, I'm certain more easily administered and better tolerated options will become available in the near future.  The holy grail for one of these drugs is for insurance to begin to cover it, possibly if heart disease and stroke medical savings associated with lower BMI can pay for themselves...  We would certainly be a healthier country if obesity were 'cured'!

With just my limited and non-scientific fiddling with dosage, diet, and exercise, I truly believe that the GLP-1 actively breaks a pathway of gaining weight. With a higher dosage of Semaglutide, I can burn less calories exercising (as confirmed by my FitBit) and maintain weight, keeping diet, sleep, etc. constant.  More frustrating is that, on too low a dose of Semaglutide, I can burn even an additional 1,000 calories a day and still gain back weight!  Like I said, I don't have definitive data, it could be water retention or any number of things, but I'm certain that my weight would creep back up to 27 or higher BMI without the drug, unless I revert back to my intermittent fasting, extra cardio, 100% no sugar, etc. lifestyle and manage to maintain it religiously.

So, is this everything else being equal? Same intake of calories and all that?  I've read that the drug reduces "food noise", and slows digestion so that you feel fuller longer (and so you eat less).  But I hadn't read that it causes you to burn more calories.  It's pretty fascinating stuff.

I recently finished the book Burn by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism.  It's fascinating what we are learning about it all.  One thing that I took out of it WRT obesity: it's a feature not a bug.  It's literally how the body works - to return you to your highest weight.

I know it seems impossible.  I'm not doing a scientific study by any means, so I'm sure everything else is not perfectly equal, but I am pretty repetitive in my M-Fri eating at work and home, exercising, and sleeping habits.  I have a suspicion that food absorption and higher insulin levels do more for weight loss then given credit.  I have no idea exactly how much Semaglutide is in my bloodstream as I change the dose, and my weight changes have a time delay correlated to my big calorie deficiency or excess days that I use to experiment.  Water retention / hydration is a wild card that I have no idea how to account for.  I also don't know how reliable a FitBit is when it comes to measuring calorie burn from running, walking, biking, and swimming, I haven't done anything special to calibrate it.

I don't think I get a higher calorie burn or change metabolism on Semaglutide though, I think it has more to do with digestion (there is a big difference in the bathroom but I don't want to gross people out with all those details, we can PM if you are interested) and blood glucose levels.  I should probably buy a blood glucose monitor if I start gaining weight and want to understand this better...

High insulin levels are well known to contribute to unusual weight gain or difficulty with weight loss. It's the main reason that women with PCOS often have weight gain as a symptom (insulin resistance is the most common underlying driver of PCOS, and managing IR is therefore foundational to improving PCOS symptoms in most cases). However, some people (like me) have IR (and PCOS) and never get the weight gain symptom (though god knows it gave me practically every other IR and PCOS symptom). Bodies are very mysterious.

ETA: I note several of you are describing constant 'food noise' and intrusive thoughts of food and hunger.

I've been on both ends of this spectrum.

When my IR was not managed (not diagnosed) I was either thinking of food or actively hungry ALL THE DAMN TIME, even within an hour of eating a meal (and, b/c of the way IR works, often the bigger the meal I'd recently eaten, the worst the subsequent hunger). 

Once my IR was diagnosed and managed, that gradually stopped. Now, after many decades of well managed IR, my experience is more like what you are all describing on these drugs like Ozempic... often indifferent to ideas of food unless I'm very hungry, and only rarely get very hungry.  So now intermittent fasting is mostly a breeze, whereas 20 years ago I literally could not have attempted that. It would have been so much brain noise and stress and hunger all the time.

[TheAnonOne]

I thought about this thread during a news segment on the companies racing to make pill to do what the injections of Ozempic has done for weight loss. On the list of items it said “must be taken with an empty stomach”. I immediately thought “hmm, if folks could get their stomachs empty for any length of time, they wouldn’t need this drug.” Thus willpower came to mind.

It’s insane to me that people want to take drugs on purpose. I fear every year that my doctor will find some reason to recommend a drug.

Simple, equate being obese with being horrendously sick, daily, and simply look at the odds of "curing" ones self with diet and exercise (nearly impossible for someone with a bmi of 35+).

Now, take a shot once a week and regain hobbies, clothes, energy, and frankly, brain space, within a few weeks-months.

Hard to see why anyone in that situation wouldn't want that.

--------------

On a personal note, I was never "super fat" at a bmi of 35, but I certainly noticed myself losing some energy with these last 20 covid pounds. My motorcycle gear didn't fit, that's a loss of hobby/ quality of life.
3-5 months in, I have lost 32lbs. I've never been this successful, even with a personal trainer. I just have to accept that my body likely has a shitty metabolism. It is what it is.

I am now down over 40lbs, 219 down from 260-270. I am the lowest weight I have been in nearly a decade, back when I had a personal trainer.

10mg of Tirzepatide weekly. I have switched to mostly ordering overseas and having the purity tested now. Prices doing it this way are extremely affordable, talking $400-$500 for 15+ weeks (almost 4 months) of this.

Life changing for sure.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Thanks for the update Anon and congratulations!

[Just Joe]

I have 2 rules that have helped me to lose weight.

1. No snacking.  Eat your 3 (or 2) meals a day and never snack, not even on 'healthy' stuff.
2. No caloric (or sweet) drinks. 

That's it.  I'm down 3 belt holes since starting this a couple of months ago.

I guess that's what I'm leaning towards. Design a food routine and just live with it. Repeat. Sort of like how MMM'ers talk about simplifying their wardrobe or auto-pay on their bills.

The drugs sound amazing but I'm still worried about an unknown gotcha at some point down the road. It works but long term... Something we aren't aware of yet.

Build a routine where on Tuesday I have a few possible menu choices (recipes) that I know are healthy and calorie safe. Get the snacks out of my daily routine as Metalcat mentioned. Hopefully that would manage the cravings better. Get more procesed food out of my daily routine.

i'm intermittently fasting now and that feels good. Right now I can spend all week losing weight and gain it all back in a day or two. Now, in the second half of my life, I see potential mobility problems in the future if I don't change things.

[geekette]

The T2s of the world would love it if fewer non diabetics would take Mounjaro, at least until supply is more robust.

There’s an interesting SciShow about GLP-1 agonists (specifically Ozempic) being effective for some to treat drug and alcohol addiction.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I have 2 rules that have helped me to lose weight.

1. No snacking.  Eat your 3 (or 2) meals a day and never snack, not even on 'healthy' stuff.
2. No caloric (or sweet) drinks. 

That's it.  I'm down 3 belt holes since starting this a couple of months ago.

I guess that's what I'm leaning towards. Design a food routine and just live with it. Repeat. Sort of like how MMM'ers talk about simplifying their wardrobe or auto-pay on their bills.

The drugs sound amazing but I'm still worried about an unknown gotcha at some point down the road. It works but long term... Something we aren't aware of yet.

Build a routine where on Tuesday I have a few possible menu choices (recipes) that I know are healthy and calorie safe. Get the snacks out of my daily routine as Metalcat mentioned. Hopefully that would manage the cravings better. Get more procesed food out of my daily routine.

i'm intermittently fasting now and that feels good. Right now I can spend all week losing weight and gain it all back in a day or two. Now, in the second half of my life, I see potential mobility problems in the future if I don't change things.

@Just Joe - what's helped me is something similar to what the previous poster had. I follow the "No S" diet, which is basically just common sense. No snacks, no sweets, & no second helpings, on days that don't start with S, or "Special occasions". It's been really easy, taken the decision making fatigue out of my choices, reduced my appetite, and I find it to be a long term sustainable plan I can follow, hopefully, for the rest of my life. I don't have a ton of weight to lose, but have lost 10 lbs since I started (early June) & have another 15 or so to go to get to my goal weight. When we have a long weekend trip or something, & I indulge a bit more than usual, I find it easy to get back on track again quickly.

[Just Joe]

Thank you MaybeBabyMustache. I think you are right. Its a good, simple, easy plan. I'll never stick with some complicated plan due to the irregularities of daily life.

[Dee_the_third]

So, I have a fun wrinkle in my own personal story.

I have gestational diabetes - or at least, my blood sugar numbers are so close to the cutoff as to be something I have to pay attention to.

Nothing like the prospect of protecting your kid's health to kick your motivation into gear.

To be clear, I know that eating to keep your blood sugar in range is NOT the same as eating in a calorie deficit, though there is a lot of overlap in the strategies - load up on protein and fiber, avoid getting TOO hungry or overstuffing yourself, etc.

One thing I'm interested in seeing is how I do mentally eating the same foods for lots of meals - since by necessity I'm probably going to end up eating a lot of the same meals once I've figured out what is 'safe' in terms of my blood sugar. I know that got mentioned way up thread as one of the key strategies folks employ. I've never really done it, since I like experimenting. But I'm going to have to for at least 2.5 months (and hopefully not a day longer, my hips are killing me already).

Anyways, I'll probably end up documenting some of my trajectory and/or food choices in my journal, if you want to follow along.

[Metalcat]

So, I have a fun wrinkle in my own personal story.

I have gestational diabetes - or at least, my blood sugar numbers are so close to the cutoff as to be something I have to pay attention to.

Nothing like the prospect of protecting your kid's health to kick your motivation into gear.

To be clear, I know that eating to keep your blood sugar in range is NOT the same as eating in a calorie deficit, though there is a lot of overlap in the strategies - load up on protein and fiber, avoid getting TOO hungry or overstuffing yourself, etc.

One thing I'm interested in seeing is how I do mentally eating the same foods for lots of meals - since by necessity I'm probably going to end up eating a lot of the same meals once I've figured out what is 'safe' in terms of my blood sugar. I know that got mentioned way up thread as one of the key strategies folks employ. I've never really done it, since I like experimenting. But I'm going to have to for at least 2.5 months (and hopefully not a day longer, my hips are killing me already).

Anyways, I'll probably end up documenting some of my trajectory and/or food choices in my journal, if you want to follow along.

There's pretty solid research that people eat less when they have less variety. Novel food makes people eat more, so the more repetition you have in your diet, the easier it can be to moderate your intake.

It takes some adjusting to, but I now conceptualize two types of eating:

(1) Food: meals I have on a day-to-day basis for nutrition purposes
(2) Entertainment: things I eat for fun

The food I eat day-to-day is very, very good, very tasty, but it's not exciting because I bulk cook for the week and eat it over and over again. I also make hummus, fresh bread, and hard boiled eggs every week and one of our go-to meals is those 3 plus raw veggies. It's a great cold meal, but we've had it literally hundreds of times, it's not fun, it's food.

Entertainment eating is special occasion stuff and has no rules.

For example, I only cook vegetarian food (and some seafood), but outside of the house I'll eat any meat. I don't keep sugary foods in the house, but have no problem buying pie and ice cream for a movie night.

I don't need my day-to-day food to be consistently fun, I need it to be consistently filling and nutritious. Again, it's REALLY good food, but after the 5th time having the same dish, it doesn't matter how good it is, I'm not craving seconds.

That said, I have an enormous collection of recipes (see page 1 of my journal for 150 of them, a lot of them diabetes-friendly), so I'm big on variety overall, just not day-to-day. I have recipes we'll eat for one week and then not have again for a year.

[bryan995]

The T2s of the world would love it if fewer non diabetics would take Mounjaro, at least until supply is more robust.

There’s an interesting SciShow about GLP-1 agonists (specifically Ozempic) being effective for some to treat drug and alcohol addiction.

There are no current Mounjaro supply chain issues.  Plus the "weight-management" indication has received "fast track" status for FDA approval.  Word on the street is that approval will come in October.  All documents/data were submitted a few months back.

Currently >4M US adults on GLP-1s at the moment.  And growing rapidly. 

https://imgur.com/DQTpdJD

[geekette]

The T2s of the world would love it if fewer non diabetics would take Mounjaro, at least until supply is more robust.

There’s an interesting SciShow about GLP-1 agonists (specifically Ozempic) being effective for some to treat drug and alcohol addiction.

There are no current Mounjaro supply chain issues.  Plus the "weight-management" indication has received "fast track" status for FDA approval.  Word on the street is that approval will come in October.  All documents/data were submitted a few months back.

Currently >4M US adults on GLP-1s at the moment.  And growing rapidly. 

https://imgur.com/DQTpdJD

Anecdotally, I read complaints online about difficulties getting Mounjaro, and my pharmacist has said it's hard to stock.  I personally haven't had any significant delays getting prescriptions filled. 

Apparently, that may change in October, huh.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Because I believe in 'a picture is worth a thousand words', I'm putting this out there.  I have made steady and almost effortless progress back to my goal of 25 BMI after years of bouncing uncontrollably around 27...  Looking at my records, I don't think I've been at 25 since my early 40's, so this is almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.  My eating and exercise were never quite enough, so I do credit Semaglutide with a majority of this success.

Follow up from my last post, so people know it wasn’t a yo-yo weight loss, here’s my latest…. (I don’t weigh myself as often as I used to, if you notice the dates)

[GuitarStv]

BMI is a terrible indicator of health - particularly if you're on a drug with a known history of significantly reducing skeletal muscle mass.  You would probably be much better off paying attention solely to body fat percentages.

[Kris]

BMI is a terrible indicator of health - particularly if you're on a drug with a known history of significantly reducing skeletal muscle mass.  You would probably be much better off paying attention solely to body fat percentages.

Truth. Even the inventor of BMI explicitly stated it was not in any way intended for use at an individual level. And even at a population level, it only has any real application for white men of western European origin. It is absurd the way it is used today.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

BMI is a terrible indicator of health - particularly if you're on a drug with a known history of significantly reducing skeletal muscle mass.  You would probably be much better off paying attention solely to body fat percentages.

Truth. Even the inventor of BMI explicitly stated it was not in any way intended for use at an individual level. And even at a population level, it only has any real application for white men of western European origin. It is absurd the way it is used today.

I'm only showing BMI because I don't want to give all of my personal details out and because weight would not tell you anything.  The scale I use has several ways of measuring body fat.  I can assure you that the results are consistent - I'm not losing muscle or skeletal weight (or temporary water weight, etc.)...  I am very pleased with the results, but to each their own.  I'm only posting this information to give people the details and provide real world data - you can do with it whatever you choose.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Some more details-

[GuitarStv]

Well, that looks very encouraging!

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Well, that looks very encouraging!

I'm also running faster consistently (under 8 minute miles again, which hadn't been possible consistently since 2020ish), which is my main day-to-day gauge of success.  I agree that using a drug without putting in the work to stay fit and eat healthy could have unpleasant consequences, I don't know the data on that, but I'm sure there are plenty of people going that route.

[Metalcat]

BMI is a terrible indicator of health - particularly if you're on a drug with a known history of significantly reducing skeletal muscle mass.  You would probably be much better off paying attention solely to body fat percentages.

Truth. Even the inventor of BMI explicitly stated it was not in any way intended for use at an individual level. And even at a population level, it only has any real application for white men of western European origin. It is absurd the way it is used today.

I'm only showing BMI because I don't want to give all of my personal details out and because weight would not tell you anything.  The scale I use has several ways of measuring body fat.  I can assure you that the results are consistent - I'm not losing muscle or skeletal weight (or temporary water weight, etc.)...  I am very pleased with the results, but to each their own.  I'm only posting this information to give people the details and provide real world data - you can do with it whatever you choose.

This is why I use BMI as well, especially since at-home fat % tools are notoriously inaccurate, and even caliper isn't accurate enough for tracking change over time unless that change is substantial.

Calipers would be useless for me because my body fat isn't likely to drop more than 5%, which is around the error rate for calipers. So unless I wanted to get dunked for a hydrostatic test regularly, I don't have much of a chance to monitor my body fat accurately.

For me, BMI is about the best number I have to communicate roughly what's going on with my body because it's a convenient shorthand for height and weight.

Where BMI is misapplied to individuals is to apply the cutoffs as indicating health or not, that's just silly. The cutoffs are essentially arbitrary, but the actual value is still useful as a shorthand for height and weight.

For example, I'm several inches taller than my BFF and she was telling me her weight goal, which in lbs sounded really lean to me until she stated it as BMI, which turned out to be my current BMI. I obviously knew shorter women weighed less than taller women of similar composition, but I didn't immediately grasp just how much less.

So I have no issue with people sharing their stats in BMI form. I think we're all generally informed enough to know that it's incomplete information that doesn't account for body composition and that the cutoffs don't magically indicate health or lack of health. But that doesn't make it useless info.

[geekette]

I continue to be very happy that my Endocrinologist recommended I switch from Ozempic to Mounjaro last June (T2 for 30+ years).  Since then I've been able to drop exogenous insulin, drop another diabetes med, cut my bp med in half, and my cholesterol med by 3/4, and I've lost about 4 pant sizes.  No wonder studies have shown it reduces heart disease and stroke! I'm not a "super responder" by any means, but slow is better, right?

I've been lucky that I've had little in the way of side effects except needing more fiber, but it has normalized my attitude toward food.  I eat reasonable meals, and at gatherings, I can eat 1 cookie, or a handful of Party Mix without my brain begging for more.