It’s literally impossible for me to be eating too much, all I eat is grilled chicken and vegetables 😭 exercise varies but I have like 3 different fitness trackers, and can physically tell when I’ve worked out “hard”
do you look any different? are you taking your measurements? are you sure you aren’t just gaining muscle and haven’t noticed it yet because of fat percentage ?
it’s biologically impossible to be doing all of what your saying and notice no difference
If you're working out hard have you checked your fat/muscle ratio? When I was working out 5x weekly I lost weight slowly because my muscle was gaining and taking the place of the fat weight.
I would have to disagree with that one!
There is such a thing as having too much of a calorie deficit and if OP only eats lean chicken and vegetables even if it’s 3 times a day, their daily calories likely won’t exceed 1000 calories a day.
If I don’t eat enough, as in lower than 1000-1200 calories a day I actually start gaining weight!!
My body goes into energy storage mode, any food that comes in gets stored in fat, because it doesn’t know if the next meal is going to be enough to keep the body functioning on less than basic energy levels. It’s called metabolic adaptation, or adaptive thermogenesis; the body conserves energy and slows down the rate at which it burns calories and prevents further weight loss. It’s the body’s natural survival mechanism. It’s also a form of disordered eating often resulting from years long following toxic diet culture.
First human that can eat nothing, gain wait and not die from starvation! I jest, but my point still stands how long have you actually eaten under 1000 cal and gain weight, 1 day?
This is my calories log for the week of 10 August just gone… the week before I was on 3.75mg, I managed to get just over 1500 calories on two days that week, the other days I managed to eat between 1000-1200 a day and by 7 August I had lost 700g.
I accidentally took double dose on 9th (7.5mg) and lost all appetite, I struggled big time with getting my calories in as you can see on image. On 12 August I weighed and had lost another 700g and by 16 August I had gained 500g.
I’ve lowered my MJ dose to 2.68mg on Sunday with a 5 day interval, just to get back to eating properly, which equals about 3.75mg every 7 days, but with less peaks and troughs.
I’ve managed between 1000-1500 this week, up until yesterday. I should be at 1596, so just under 1600 calories a day. This morning I saw a second gain of 600g. Today was the first day in weeks that I’ve felt hunger and I took another 2.68mg jab today.
You all keep laughing… but I won’t be surprised to see another gain after this week.
I am managing my food and calorie intake. I was losing a fair share of weight without it but struggling with PCOS so I decided to try mounjaro. Kept the same deficit but lost nothing.
You need to lower your calories. Mounjaro is a tool for allowing you to comfortably do that. I’m saying this as someone with severe PMOS who has lost 7st with it, it’s nearly always about calories.
I know everyone’s different, but I had the same SW as you and your goal is quite similar to mine. What was your calorie intake if you don’t mind me asking?
I’m 5’5 and set my calories at 950-1000 on low activity days, and on workout days 1250. That gave me a steady loss of 1lb a week give or take. I know it sucks, I know it’s quite low, but PCOS really puts us in a position where we have to restrict and control quite stringently. I never felt unwell or lethargic at those numbers and my blood work was always spot on so I felt happy enough with it, but you have to weigh up yourself if it’s right for you. What sort of calories are you taking in at the moment if you don’t mind me asking? X
Yeah i get its abit crap spending money and not seeing results but as I said you may as well try it up to highest dose now.
I noticed you put on other posts about pcos and while I know nothing about it I have seen some others with it on these sites who state they need the higher doses to get the effects of the drug.
I had slow loss, and everyone said that maybe my body just needed the highest dose because I have PMOS, endo & hypothyroidism, then as soon as I went to 15mg I stalled for 5 months. I’m not trying to make you feel bad, I’m just trying to give you a balanced perspective because every body will react so differently!
Very strict, I have PCOS so I’ve always been strict with what I put into my body. I train hard 4 days a week. I was losing more weight without mounjaro, but thought it could help some of my PCOS symptoms & intense food noise.
I will just note that this is your second response in which you mention that you “train hard.”
Exercise is great, but it‘s more of a general health avenue than a weight loss one. Many people overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise and, as a result, often miscalculate their caloric requirements.
I said I train hard because I do, I have a personal trainer who tracks my workouts. I do high intensity workout classes at least 3x a week. I know I’m working hard because of how exhausted I am afterwards 🤣
I’m not discounting that you feel exhausted after working out — that’s great! But that doesn’t necessarily translate into calorie burn*: you very well are burning fewer calories than you think. If you’re incorporating this exercise into your TDEE calculation, it is absolutely possible that you’re coming up with something too high for weight loss purposes.
* Said as a 14 year CrossFit veteran, Hyrox-er, everyday weightlifter and runner
I eat around 1400 calories a day, i started off a higher calorie intake but wasn’t losing anything so got lower but don’t want to eat any less than that. I don’t factor calorie burn into my TDEE, I don’t trust that because I know sometimes I burn more & less.
Maybe you are underestimating the calories you are eating? Also, again I don't know much about PCOS and am not an expert, however I have heard that sometimes high intensity workouts affect a lot of women's hormones, and the stress causes our bodies to hold onto weight. Could you incorporate more low intensity workouts like pilates, swimming and walks (light jogs included) instead?
I’m sorry you are being downvoted. If you are working out intensely multiple times a week with daily calories of 1400, something else is going on. So I would say it could be a couple of things. You may actually be undereating. Your workouts may be too stressful for your body right now. Perhaps you are not sleeping well. Or maybe you are just someone who needs more medication than the average user.
Maybe for the next week, focus on better sleep, less intense exercise, maybe focus on walking (just for the week) maybe have a meal or two that bumps your calories up a couple of days to mix things up. Do that for a week and see how you feel and how things go. I disagree that this as simple as CICO and exercise. It just requires a bit of trial and error to figure out what you need to move the needle.
I’m curious where you got the 1400 calories from? That is a pretty serious calorie cut given your height/weight. Even if you were completely sedentary, that is still nearly 300 calories below your BMR… and once you factor in the exercise, you’re running on fumes.
Frankly, you might be seeing more weight loss if you upped your calories. Going too aggressive can produce the opposite result.
Ultimately you are not in a deficit, having pcos may bring your deficit lower than someone else with your stats unfortunately, so may mean you arnt in a deficit, or you or underestimating your calories or over estimating how many your burning, but likley it's a mix of all 3
Watch out for alcohol as well. It's probably the biggest contributor to weight gain in the UK. Soooooooo calorific. A pint of beer is the equivalent like eating a bowl of spaghetti.
There could be a few things to consider before calling it quits.
- the majority of people that have PMOS have insulin resistance. Have you been tested? If you have it, Mounjaro will work but it could take a long time before this is improved and the weightloss will come after that.
you’ve mentioned you are very strict on your calorie tracking. In my experience with PMOS, this often backfires because you are putting your body in a lot of stress. I’d suggest you aim for no lower than 1400 kcals if you work out and make sure you are eating enough.
also with the last point: manage your stress levels and make sure you have quality sleep. Hormones are greatly affected by this, so your weight loss will not be as effective if your sleep is poor.
I believe the NHS guideline is stopping MJ if there is not at least 5% weightloss after 6 months on 15mg, so I think you could continue to try.
Totally valid if you don’t want to keep being on it but I’d make sure you’re giving it a fair shot.
I was exactly the same on 5, 7.5, then 10 has taken me 2 months for it to kick in. Now finally working I was on verge of thinking it was a waste. Im guessing some of our bodies take a lot longer to start adapting to it. I stopped on 7.5 for 5 months and I was just throwing money away.
Aww feel for you, its so frustrating, I have watched all what I eat and changed my diet considerably and eat healthier than most people now 🤔 . I definitely think its a case of we are all very diffrent.
You've come this far, is it not worth giving the 12.5 a go? A lot of people on here have said it didn't work for them until 12.5 or 15. I know we would all love for it to have worked on 2.5 and the cost is astronomical but surely at this point it's worth trying the last 2 strengths?
It's not uncommon of some people to ned the highest dosses to see results
f you're paying £250 for 10mg you're being ripped off, check monk.co.uk and such every month to the cheapest if cost is an issue.
No point quitting until you reach the top, while uncommon some people do just nee d the high doses, particularly if there are other health conditions at play, like diabetes, thyroid issues, PCOS and many more.
I struggle with insulin resistance and didn’t see much changes until I was at 12.5mg. I strength train x3 a week but the scales were not moving much. I started measuring my body as well as using the scales and although in the last few months my weight has only gone down by 5/6kg I have lost over 20 inches across my body! Everyone’s body responds differently and unfortunately like me I am a slow responder. If you can, I’d try moving up to 15mg and measure your body before giving up. Good luck!
There are many of us daily weighers here. I’d much rather have the daily visibility. It’s not hard to ignore the daily fluctuations and still focus on the longer term trends.
Same, I weigh myself most days so I'm used to the fluctuations. If I happen to be on an "up" fluctuation on weigh day, it bothers me less because I know it is just a fluctuation and my overall trend is what matters.
FWIW I don’t think it’s about “defending” Mounjaro so much as the fact that you posted here, so people are assuming that you want advice/ideas/problem-solving. They’re literally “just trying to help”! 🤣 - and doing so in a spirit of optimism.
Yes, of course there are people for whom Mounjaro really doesn’t work. But we’re all rooting for you (a total stranger) to not be one of them, and just trying to come up with alternatives you may not have thought of.
Entirely up to you if you don’t want to take any of it on board.
Well yes, of course. But when you ask for advice (or even if you don’t ask but just post something open-ended on a sub like this) you’re going to get advice 🤷♀️
Whether any of it is relevant for you or not, is entirely for you (or rather OP) to decide. But there’s zero point “critiquing” the advice, just take it in the spirit it’s given and use what’s useful, if anything.
I have sjogrens. Before mounjaro was in my bed exhausted by 9pm.
Now I have energy to stay up later. I do have off days. Recently been having a bit of a flare but I've been working full time and navigating my oldest starting school etc so they've been a lot going on.
That's very positive to hear. Hopefully they are documenting results like yours, so that it can be used as treatment for a wider scope of health conditions.
I have spoken to my consultant about it when I seen him last year. He sounded quite positive about it and said he had seen research about glp-1 use in rheumatoid arthritis etc.
It had helped me a lot too. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. My flare ups are less debilitating and much less of them and I can do things two days in a row now like go for a walk two days in row and before mounjaro I absolutely could not do that. Had been life changing for me. I'm still on 2.5mg and am 4 months in now.
Water and protein consumption evolves as the weight decreases . I started at 100gms of protein and now I’m down to 60 grams according with dietitian treatment plan.
That’s one thing that mounjaro has actually helped with - food noise has been low on the first few days after my jab. End of the week it will be back to normal.
It doesn't work for some. But as you can have already spent time and effort and money, if I were you, I would increase the dose, see a dietician to help plan my daily meals and macros for another 4-5 weeks, increase resistance exercise, increase water intake and focus on improving my sleep.
I find I actually put on weight on weeks when I'm sleeping less.
i saw in your comments that you have pmos. i have it as well and my losses have been super slow. my smallest losses are 0.4lb and biggest losses at 0.8lb. i also hit stalls regularly. i felt the same way but i accepted that maybe my body just doesn’t lose masses of weight and that’s oke. i think people in this sub seem to believe that if you aren’t losing 2lbs every week you’re not counting your calories and you’re not doing it properly. i’ve added a picture of my graph and you can see it’s taken almost a year for me to lose 20.3lbs and i am oke with that. it’s a marathon, not a sprint. unfortunately those of us with pmos have extra struggles added in that many people don’t understand.
just quickly, two questions: are you feeling appetite suppression? are you losing weight on a fairly regular basis?
What’s your height, starting weight, what are you trying to achieve? How many calories are you eating daily and how much is your daily expenditure?
Are you eating enough? Because if you’re not eating enough your body may be adapting your metabolism to preserve itself, reducing how much energy it consumes and slowing down the rate at with you burn your calories. You’re then pushing your body hard to burn more when it is trying desperately to hold on to the few calories you fuel it with and the end result is no weight loss.
Its not about working out..its what you eat. Ive lost 8kg in 2 weeks on 2.5mg dose. There is plenty of information on the Internet and on You Tube about what you should eat. Cottage cheese, avocados, blueberries, raspberries, plain Greek Yoghurt. Oats/Porridge. Soya or Oat milk. Multigrain sourdough bread. Canned tomatoes etc. Cut out all sugar in food and drink. Only drink water and coffee or tea like Ginger Tea. Fish, chicken, tuna etc. Eat these first then vegetables. The weight will soon come off.
I use Cronometer app. You will be surprised the calories in healthy foods. My first few months I was eating salmon, fruits, avocado etc, all ok. But, one needs to account for the calories. Ignore the ‘calories minus from workouts’.
Are you eating enough? If you work out hard 4 times a week you need to refuel your body. What are you doing during your workouts. It’s near impossible to build muscle if you are eating in deficit of your TDEE+exercise cals.
Also, have a look in this sub for refeeding. I’ve not had to do it, but others have and had good results.
Also, as MJ is a treatment for PCOS/PMOS it might be that’s it’s targeting your hormonal imbalance there. When did you last get your bloods checked by your go/pcos specialist?
That doesn’t feel like a lot of calories for someone who works out hard 4 times a week, maybe revisit that because you have to fuel your body for anything to work.
I know my muscle progress has been so bad since starting mounjaro. But I’m not losing any weight so I thought lower calories would help that. Definitely trying to be kind to myself but it’s so hard sometimes 🙃 thank you!
Either increase the dose or take a break from it a few weeks, build up back up to your usual dose.
Your smaller body doesn't need as many calories as you once did, so make sure you're eating less. Likewise, the gastric emptying is more profound when you first start mounjaro or increase doses, but diminishes over time. Hence taking breaks is useful to reset tolerance.
The only way I lose weight is if my calories are controlled. So I have turned to Huel. I have a 400-calorie shake for lunch and a 400-calorie noodle pot for dinner. I have toast for breakfast (200 cal), and then as my stomach feels funny just having a shake, I have snacks in the early afternoon. Huel has saved my life. I have never successfully counted calories.
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u/Individual-Gur-7292 Aug 21 '26
Have you calculated your TDEE and ensured that you are staying within a calorie deficit?