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This is my issue. I have lost 40-60lb many times in the past 15 years, but I always gain it back because the root cause is not fixable. I always have a lingering hunger, and I don't want to spend my entire life hungry.

It seems like there's growing medical acceptance of the idea that everyone has a natural weight that they seem to plateau at (which in some cases is overweight.) 1mg of semaglutide reset my natural plateau from 225 to 180. You are exactly right though - being overweight is either a daily physical battle or an hour by hour mental battle if you are trying to restrict calories.

I had that issue and solved it with high-satiety-low-calorie foods like mashed potatoes and rolled oats. 1 cup/80 grams of rolled oats is only 300 calories and is very filling. 3 cups a day would only be 900 calories and be extremely filling.

I assume you are also on weekly doses. How does it work for you?

I feel like I go through cycles of:

Day 1: no change

Day 2: can go whole day without eating, a bit nauseous

Day 3-5: feeling bloated, food doesn’t digest fast, not eating much, biggest weight loss

Day 6-7: Slowly getting back to eating reasonable portions

I feel like I have an almost optimal reaction to the drug, which I kind of feel bad about, given all the side effects other people seem to have. My experience mostly matches yours, except without bloating or nausea. I do have a slight urge to drink on day 6 and 7 -- well not an urge, more like an acceptance of it -- kind of hard to explain. I don't even think about alcohol on the other days.

I am injecting the Hims formulation of semaglutide. I had no side effects on my first two injections, so my next two (which were supposed to be the same as the first two) I increased the dosage slightly. I am pretty happy with how I feel so I'm not sure how aggressively I'll ramp up to the full dose.

I’m on Zepbound and I had no side effects for my 2.5mg and 5mg doses. It’s starting to be more prevalent with 7.5mg - and I haven’t moved to higher dose yet.

Ah, ok so my experience parallels yours.

Are you eating "healthier"? What I've found is I prefer "simpler" meals to more complex/layered/richer dishes. I forgo pasta dishes or sandwiches for simple meals like eggs + a vegetable + fruit. I've actually had to throw out a bunch of ingredients that went bad that I never would have had to before. I've had to adjust my grocery shopping quite a bit, including frequency.

Yes, simpler is better. More specifically, I no longer can do Thai food. To spicy now.

I'm on 1mg of compounded semaglutide, where I've been for the past 4 months. I have a similar arc in terms of days 2-5 being the strongest effect, but I haven't experienced any nausea (except the smallest bit during the first couple of weeks at 0.5mg.) I was briefly at 1.5mg but was brought down because I started losing weight faster than needed. My weight has been rock steady since coming back to 1mg.

That's usually how it works for me too. I find that days 2-5 I start feeling not very good. I wouldn't say bloated, but almost weird blood sugar levels.

Usually about 6pm in the evening is when I start feeling terrible. Kinda makes me want to eat less.

It works much better, in my experience, to cut the dose in half and take it twice a week. I do Sunday and Thursday, 2.5mg of tirzepatide per injection.

>If you want to know what I feel like without a GLP-1, try not eating until your mind is constantly nagging you to do so - then try staying like that forever. That's what a lot of people propose to anyone who has a problem with their weight.

Ironically- not eating- is what solved this issue for me. I imagine it is what people on GLP-1 feel like all the time.

I spent a long time food fixated, frequently nagged by hunger, until I started practicing going without. Now I can go 2-3 days without eating and have to force myself to eat something.

I encourage most people to try going 2-3 days without food and seeing how it changes their relationship to it.

Going days without eating for nonreligious reasons is a Hallmark indicator of an eating disorder.

I'm sure it is in some cases, but overall I think having self control over when and how much one eats is a good thing.

I would be more concerned about unrestrained compulsive eating disorders.

It is interesting that compulsive eating to the point of exhaustion, obesity, loss of mobility, and organ failure is normal, but skipping a few meals is considered strange.

The former is a leading cause of death, while the later is perfectly safe and may even have a number of benefits.

Indicator, not proof. If you're an illegal spy (no diplomatic cover), paranoia isn't a maladaptive behavior. If you're overweight, going days without eating isn't necessarily a sign that you have swapped one bad relationship with food for another - it could just be a way to lose weight. Effective weight loss methods absolutely depend on reining in hunger. Fasting happens do that for some people.

If you weigh 40 kg as an adult and you don't eat for days, you probably have an eating disorder. If you weigh 140 kg as an adult and you don't eat for days, meh?

bingo. As I understand it, disorder is characterized by harm and lack of control. spending time lifting weights for health is usually OK, staying up all night throwing things at invisible monsters is not.

My mom was taking Semaglutide for diabetes and it reduced her appetite to the point where she could barely walk from her car in the parking lot to the store. She stopped taking it and she could actually eat enough food to have energy.

You’ve been eating the wrong things all your life. Animals aren’t obese in the wild, nor would you be if you didn’t eat slop.

What an insightful and additive point of view that I've never considered before.

Humans aren’t obese in the wild, either.