u/Rah345

SW: 220 lbs

Weight on stopping: 154 lbs

CW: 166 lbs

This week marks one year since I decided not to take my next Mounjaro injection. I'd titrated down from 10 mg to 5 mg over 3 months.

Over the previous 12 months, I'd lost around 1.5 lbs a week, for a total weight loss of around 70 lbs. During that time, I completely changed my lifestyle. I switched to mostly unprocessed, high-protein meals (around 100-120g of protein a day), increased my fibre intake to about 30g daily, and went from being largely sedentary to walking at least 10,000 steps every day, plus an all-day hike every Sunday. Most of my wardrobe ended up in charity shops as I replaced XL clothes with medium-sized ones.

After stopping Mounjaro, I carried on with the same diet and exercise habits, resisting the wave of hunger that hit me about 6 weeks later. My appetite subsided to normal levels after a few weeks. Three months on, my doctor was able to take me off blood pressure medication completely, and all of my blood test results were in the normal range.

I also had a DEXA scan, which showed that although my body fat levels were good, I'd lost 8 lbs of lean mass during the year I was losing weight, and my bone density wasn't great either. I increased my protein intake to 120-150g a day, started resistance training at home several times a week, and began running three evenings a week using the NHS Couch to 5K programme. On New Year's Day, I completed my first parkrun 5K which I now try and do every Saturday.

Earlier this week, I had another DEXA scan. It showed that I've gained 12 lbs since last year, which initially sounds disappointing. But digging into the results, 8 lbs of that gain was lean mass, meaning I've now regained all of the muscle I'd previously lost. The trade-off is that I've also gained 4 lbs of fat. My plan is to keep pushing the resistance training and spend a few months tracking calories again to see if I can gradually lose those extra pounds while maintaining, or hopefully continuing to build, muscle.

Overall, I'm dead pleased with where I've ended up a year after coming off Mounjaro. My appetite is stable, my weight remains under control, my health markers are good, and I've managed to rebuild the lean mass I lost along the way. I'm happy, optimistic about the future, and feeling comfortable in my own skin.

Clinical studies showing that people regain weight quickly after stopping a GLP-1 can feel daunting. But for some of us, long-term maintenance is possible when we use our time on the medication to build meaningful, lasting changes to our habits, routines, and mindset.

For the past 6 months or so, my weight has remained steady at 156 pounds (BMI 23), just 5 pounds above my lowest weight. My appetite and weight both now feel stable, predictable, and manageable, and life is good.

In a couple of months, it’ll be a full year since I came off Mounjaro. At that point I’ll repeat my DEXA scans and blood tests to make sure that my muscle mass, metabolic health, and other key markers are still on track.