Life After Mounjaro: When the Food Noise Comes Back
Just over a year ago, I jumped on the GLP-1 bandwagon. I was fat, lazy, and completely unmotivated. I felt like I’d exhausted traditional dieting — and believe me, I really had exhausted every fad diet going.
I’m not stupid; I understand the simple equation between consumption and output. But losing weight is far more mental than physical. If the mindset doesn’t click, you don’t stand a chance — and mine simply hadn’t.
At the time, my focus was on getting my business off the ground and paying the bills. A sedentary job, eating at my desk, and repeating the same cycle every day had become normal. Looking back, I think I was also slightly depressed — drinking far too much and generally in a bit of a funk when it came to my health.
Starting Mounjaro — and the Quieting of Food Noise
When I started Mounjaro in November 2024, I was excited to see if it would actually work — and of course, it did.
For anyone unfamiliar, medications like Mounjaro work by mimicking hormones that regulate appetite and blood sugar. In very simple terms, they slow digestion, reduce hunger signals, and dampen the brain’s reward response to food. What they don’t get talked about enough is how profoundly they affect food noise — the constant mental chatter around eating.
By the time I reached the mid-level doses, I was flying. No food thoughts to speak of. Interestingly, my drinking took a nosedive too. When the urge to consume quietens, it quietens across the board.
Weight Loss, Motivation, and Feeling Like Myself Again
As the weight started to come off, something shifted. I felt motivated — genuinely motivated — to move more. I joined a gym and took on a personal trainer. Exercise stopped feeling like punishment and started feeling like momentum.
By the time Christmas rolled around, I felt far more like myself again. Calmer. Clearer. Healthier — both mentally and physically.
Why I Came Off Mounjaro
But as many people are discovering, the cost of Mounjaro has risen sharply. By the time I was on the highest dose, it had gone from under £200 a month to £330.
Add that to a gym membership and the general cost of actually living, and something had to give.
I chose to sack off Mounjaro and keep the gym. In my mind, that felt more sustainable long term.
When the Food Noise Starts to Return
It took a while for the fridge-run urges to come back — but they have.
I’m now back in familiar territory: thinking about food far more often and feeling guilty when I think I’m overeating. And honestly, I’m not even sure anymore if I actually am.
When you eat very little on these meds, that level of intake becomes your new normal. So when you stop and those tiny portions no longer satiate you, it’s genuinely confusing. You’re left wondering whether the portion you now crave is excessive — or whether it’s just… normal.
Christmas, Cheeseboards, and Reality
I’ve been off the meds for over a month now, and my diet over Christmas was — let’s be honest — a bit of a disaster. One cheeseboard after the next and far too many Snowballs.
But isn’t that normal too? Don’t most of us do a bit of extra damage at Christmas?
The problem isn’t the food itself — it’s the panic that follows.
The Question I Didn’t Expect to Be Asking
What’s started to worry me is the thought creeping in: should I go back on it at a lower dose and start again?
That line of thinking alarms me, because it was only ever meant to be a tool — not something I’d rely on. And now I’m asking myself whether it’s actually feasible to take weight loss medication for… well… life.
Can I Maintain This Without Medication?
I’m genuinely curious whether other people are in this position too.
I’m petrified of putting the weight back on. I feel so much happier and healthier now — but can I really do this alone, with motivation, exercise, and self-discipline? Or am I going to circle back to medication eventually?
In some ways, I wish I’d lost the weight through a different journey. But I was at my wits’ end, and it was everywhere online. The dramatic results were incredibly tempting.
It’s disheartening to think I might not be able to maintain this on my own.
Are Weight Loss Drugs the Problem — or the Future?
Are weight loss drugs fuelling an unhealthy relationship with food? Or are they simply the future of maintaining a healthy weight in a world that makes doing so increasingly difficult?
I don’t have the answers.
But I am giving myself time to find out.
Come back in three months, and we can talk some more.
Joanne Brook-Smith is a writer and editor with two decades of publishing experience. She launched Crave Magazine during the Covid period to create a fresh, inspiring space for food, travel and lifestyle content.