Mounjaro is the latest of the revolutionary new weight loss drugs reaching the market. Like its predecessors, Saxenda and Wegovy, Mounjaro is an injectable medication that was originally designed to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar. However, clinical trials showed great success in terms of weight loss and Mounjaro is now available for weight loss treatment through private prescription in the UK.
All of the injectable weight loss drugs are intended to be used in conjunction with diet and exercise to optimise their effects. Here, we explore a healthy Mounjaro diet and which foods to avoid.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is a new weekly injectable weight loss medication. It is also used to treat type 2 diabetes and currently is only available for this purpose in the UK. However, clinical trials have shown great promise for Mounjaro as a weight management drug and it has recently been approved for weight loss treatment through private prescription in the UK.
Mounjaro works in a similar way to other diabetes drugs that are now used for weight loss. It slows the emptying of your stomach so you are feeling fuller for longer. However, Mounjaro builds on these other repurposed diabetes medications and also acts on the brain to help you feel fuller.
Drugs such as Wegovy are called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists; they act on the same receptors as the hormones in your body which tell you when you are full, making you feel fuller even when you eat less. Mounjaro works on this same receptor, while also triggering the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor, which further these feelings of being full, and may make Mounjaro more effective for some patients.
If you want to try Mounjaro, UK patients still have a bit of a wait; Mounjaro has not yet been approved for use in weight loss in the UK. However, other similar drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda and Wegovy, have been approved, and it is likely that Mounjaro will follow soon.
Mounjaro Weight Loss Diet
Mounjaro is a new drug and the dietary advice has not yet been completely optimised, however, there are various sensible dietary changes that you can make.
A good place to start is by looking at the advice given to people participating in the Mounjaro clinical trials. Participants were asked to limit their calorie intake by 800-1000 calories per day. For men, this meant eating approximately 1500 calories and for women it was around 1200 calories daily. Reducing calories can be difficult so participants were also given strategies to manage their behaviour around food as well as the option to make use of calorie-controlled meal replacements (liquid meal replacements or prepackaged portion-controlled meals).
Losing weight is not easy and many people find it very difficult to cut down their calorie intake. Dieticians can advise you on the best way to make these changes and it may be helpful to get the support of community groups along the way.
It is also very important that you endeavour to lose weight healthily. Drastic low-calorie diets can cause a host of other health problems, so you are advised to try and maintain a balanced diet and to maximise the nutritional value of the foods you do eat in order to stay healthy. If you don’t optimise the nutritional benefits of your food intake, you leave yourself at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies which can have other impacts on your health and wellbeing.
Foods to Avoid On Mounjaro
Given that you need to maximise the nutritional impact of the calories you consume, it is a good idea to avoid foods with a high calorie content and poor nutritional value. This includes drinking alcohol, eating fried foods and foods high in sugar or salt.
Carbohydrates can also have a lot of calories, but replacing white bread and white rice with wholegrain alternatives improves the nutritional benefit. Foods with a high nutritional benefit include lean proteins (low-fat minced beef or chicken), low-fat dairy products (including skimmed milk), fruit and vegetables.
A lot of convenience foods and processed foods are high in fat, sugar and salt. This can make it difficult to cut these foods out. However, fruit and vegetables can also make good quick snacks with no or little preparation. If you tend to use convenience foods at meal times, getting used to batch cooking meals and freezing them in individual portions is a great way to substitute microwave ‘ready-meals’ which are often very high in fat, sugar and salt.
Don’t Forget Exercise
When you’re trying to lose weight, it is also important to try and increase your physical activity levels as well. In the clinical trials of Mounjaro, participants were asked to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. This is in line with NHS guidance which recommends that over a week you have multiple short exercise sessions totalling a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise.
Moderate-intensity exercise includes cycling, dancing, brisk walking and even pushing a lawnmower. Vigorous exercise includes team sports like football or netball, as well as running, swimming and running up stairs. Exercise helps to burn off calories and also improved your metabolism so you can burn calories more efficiently.
Conclusion
To maximise the effects of Mounjaro, it is important to maintain a healthy diet, whilst reducing the calories you consume. You should always try to optimise the nutritional value of the foods you eat when on a low-calorie diet. Exercise is also an important factor in your weight loss journey, helping you to burn calories more efficiently.
