Break through food noise?

[krsct]

I lost the weight I needed to lose and have been maintaining on a GLP-1 for 2-1/2 years. Every now and then, very rarely, I have a bad day where I stop by a fast food location as a fourth meal during the day, or a late evening meal. Something I did before GLP-1 all too often but very rarely now. Anyone else experienced this? Fortunately, it has not impacted my overall weight loss.

 

[Estarossa19]

Congrats on making it to your goal weight and maintaining! I would say if it's not happening every day and not hindering your progress, live a little!

 

[lessthanhalf]

You should specify which drug , it is not necessary to use code names for them on this forum. My guess is , if you are maintaining the weight loss, does it matter? Keeping weight off long term, which it sounds like you are doing, is really much harder than losing it . And it comes down in the end to livability, as in is it possible to stick to eating foods and amounts of food long term, that maintain the weight loss without distress or constant herculean effort. Occasionally eating not so healthy foods or more food is not really a problem if it is occasional and does not spiral into out of control eating or gaining weight.

I guess it depends a bit on how you see these lapses, if it feels like a loss of control over eating, then it could feel problematic, but it still amounts to the mildest possible version of binge eating disorder at worst and maybe not even that if it does not cause problems. Depends a bit on how much of an issue this was for you before losing the weight. If there are no side effects and you are not on maximum doses and losing a couple of extra kilos is not a problem, then you could try slightly higher doses to see if it helps, but it sounds to be more of an issue of the psychology of it.

 

[Glpsince2021]

I’ve (61 y/o F) been on GLP since 2021, reached goal in 2022 (BMI 22) and have been maintaining since (currently on 2.5 mg Sema/1 mg Cagri).

Yes, there are times my appetite is higher and I eat more than I intended but overall I’m maintaining. When I first started meds the appetite suppression was so magical I felt like I could live off air. Eat? Who needed food? Not me! Eventually that settled down and appetite entered the chat again, although at vastly lower levels than life pre-GLP. So sometimes I just have to have a sit down with myself and get my butt back in line.

Reality: naturally thin folks have times when they eat more too. So rare dietary lapses are not problematic until they lead to regain. Monitor yourself. Are you regaining? Are they getting more frequent? Are they beyond your ability to control? If so, what can you do to correct that? Would a medication bump help?

The meds will do most of the heavy lifting for you but sometimes appetite breaks through.

 

[K2UGA]

Yes this happens to me too. I try not to be too hard on myself but there is that fear of going back to my old self and losing control. That is also why I haven't let alcohol touch my lips since starting tirz. Alcohol triggered food and food triggered alcohol in one giant vicious merry-go-round

 

[Glpsince2021]

Also wanted to add there are some weeks where I feel like all of a sudden the meds are much less effective, like I injected water. This happened even when I was on brand name. Then a week later, suppression was back. When this first happened I got so frightened thinking that was it - it was all over. The meds stopped working. Then it just corrected itself.

Now I don’t get so frightened by it. I know the meds didn’t stop, it’s just the nature of things and I do what I can to mitigate it. AFAIK, there are no reports of people who gained back all their weight while remaining on the meds so I take heart in that.

 

[hoobz]

Also wanted to add there are some weeks where I feel like all of a sudden the meds are much less effective, like I injected water. This happened even when I was on brand name. Then a week later, suppression was back. When this first happened I got so frightened thinking that was it - it was all over. The meds stopped working. Then it just corrected itself.

Now I don’t get so frightened by it. I know the meds didn’t stop, it’s just the nature of things and I do what I can to mitigate it. AFAIK, there are no reports of people who gained back all their weight while remaining on the meds so I take heart in that.

That's literally how I feel today after the 3rd injection of Tirz. After 1st and 2nd the food noise and hunger was gone just like that. I took a 3rd shoot today and I feel like yesterday (mild food noise, I ate a bit more throughout the day and I'm feeling like I could eat something sweet). I was literally questioning myself if I did my shot correctly. I'm on 2.5mg of course (just starting week 3 like I said).

 

[Grogu]

I guess it depends a bit on how you see these lapses, if it feels like a loss of control over eating, then it could feel problematic, but it still amounts to the mildest possible version of binge eating disorder at worst and maybe not even that if it does not cause problems. Depends a bit on how much of an issue this was for you before losing the weight. If there are no side effects and you are not on maximum doses and losing a couple of extra kilos is not a problem, then you could try slightly higher doses to see if it helps, but it sounds to be more of an issue of the psychology of it.

My first thought after reading the OP's post was mild BED and if they suffered from that or another eating disorder because it sounds psychological. But, I also think old habits can return, even on tirzepatide. I also think that fast food is okay in moderation too. The OP's "bad day" and then turning to an old coping mechanism is probably psychological rather than the medication not working.