If you're taking Ozempic to lose a bit of weight doesn't this make you feel guilty?

[QueenieMe]

The Weight Loss Chat board feels like it's been taken over by Ozempic threads at the moment, with everyone and their aunt spending a fortune on injections to lose weight. Yet I've just seen Diabetes UK has issued a warning saying that diabetic patients are struggling to get supplies because of the demand. For them, taking the drug is not a lifestyle choice! I do appreciate there are those on the WLC board who are clinically obese and are taking it because their weight is impacting their health, but when I see women with normal BMIs saying they're taking it to lose that last stubborn stone I do despair. Knowing patients were struggling for supplies so I could fit in a bikini make me feel so guilty that I just couldn't do it. I'd love to hear their justification.

https://inews.co.uk/news/ozempic-diabetic-weight-loss-patients-drug-demand-2342119

Exactly. It is easy to say that poor people can make food from scratch, but that's ignorant at best. Most poor people are working so much they can't afford to sit and cook for hours. Healthy convenience food is so expensive. Outdoor activities are often reserved for the rich. Lack of bike storage, parks filled with
druggies or rubbish, no local affordable leisure facilities. I could go on and on

That really paints some picture of victimhood @Dodgeitornot Everyone who works can still find ten minutes to knock up some soup/sandwiches/salad or grill some chops. No one is sitting cooking for hours! And a walk at whatever pace suits you is entirely free. By all means defend a product you believe in but don't make out it's the only answer to losing weight.

Also with ketosis as with Ozempic, mileage varies. I never got over keto flu nor did it actually help with my cravings for food even after 2 weeks or more.

For me the only thing that works is fasting in the morning (despite studies showing statistically eating more in the morning is supposed to be better for weight loss) and dairy - which sucks as I want to go vegan. And even once you find what works physically, habits and triggers for people who struggle with emotional or binge eating can still be really hard to learn to control. I know people who do low carb high fat diet and successfully lose loads of weight, and people who do high carb low fat and have the same results.

I think more resources need to go into educating people on how seriously damaging ultra processed foods can be to one's relationship with food. Obesity statistics are serious enough to warrant it.

I have no idea where you get your information from but it is mostly incorrect.

Part of being metabolically healthy is that you can switch between ketosis and 'glucose burning'. Most people, especially those with insulin resistance and leptin /guerlin resistance, are almost never in ketosis and that is part of the problem. Ozempic is basically mimicking what should be happening in metabolically healthy people by manipulating hormones like gherlin.

If you genuinely think that insatiable cravings are a natural state for humans, then you have not done your research. No one should be craving food every few hours, you should be able to go without food for pretty long stretches, and if you can't, you are not fueling your body in the right way. Do you think humans evolved to have to eat every few hours?!?

Gallstones are a potential side effect of any substantial weightloss - the two worst cases I've seen were from slimming world type diets. Some people are more susceptible than others though and even mild weightloss (or no weightloss in certain cases) can trigger them in some people.

You started on 72 kg. I was 142.7kg and had a BMI of 60 so I was almost double your weight at my heaviest. The way it works is to slow down digestion so you feel fuller. It also stabilizes your blood sugar so you don't have big dips when you feel really hungry. It also suppresses your appetite so you don't feel so hungry. I inject on a Wednesday. From Thursday until Monday I'm not hungry so just eat small healthy meals each day, but on Tuesday and especially Wednesday I feel my appetite coming back and I have to plan things to do, go for a walk etc so I don't give in and eat too much. Next Wednesday I'm moving up to a 1.0 dose so I should feel less hungry. You start on low 0.25 dose. Then after a month go up to 0.50 then after a further month it's 1.0 dose. I've lost 11.7kg in 7 weeks. I'm already feeling healthier. My back pain is getting less and I'm able to walk further now without getting breathless. Ozempic is giving me back my life. If I have to take a small dose 0.25 to stop me putting the weight back I'm fine with that. My weight ballooned when my thyroid became very underactive. Before that I was a size 12. My eating did not increase but my weight piled on. I really don't need judgement as I know I've made the right choice for me.

I didn't know that! My NDN has gallstones and she's been a SW follower for years.

I'm not sure why you are getting at me. I was reply to the person who said a low carb diet which induces ketosis will do the same as ozempic. It both will and won't and being in an almost constant state of ketosis has downsides as well.

Of course humans aren't supposed to have insatiable cravings, where did I say they were?

I would argue that incorrect fueling of your body is the only cause for being unable to go long stretches without eating though - it's much more complicated than that and there's many more causes, the majority being hormonal.

Some people on here are so judgemental about people getting help to lose weight. But there are people out there that need a bit of help and I’m one of them. From March 2020 to December 2020 I lost 10 pound and I totally had a calorie deficit during that time. I was terrified of catching covid as the news was full of obese people dying so the idea of cheating on a diet that might save my life was an absolute no. Bars and restaurants not open to tempt me, no holidays to go on, eating totally healthy and in calorie deficit and it took a full ten months to lose ten pounds. It was soul destroying and highlighted the fact that WW didn’t work for me nor Slimming World (I put on weight) and the PCOS and insulin resistance were working against me always.
I’m not taking Ozempic but I’m taking Saxenda, I’ve lost 12 pounds in 9 weeks, not only am I not hungry the drug is helping me to process food better as my insulin response is better. For me this isn’t vanity it’s health and trying to avoid type two diabetes. I’m hoping to lose enough so that exercise is easier and then I can develop a plan to continue to lose weight without the drug and keep it off. No matter what I’ve tried in the past I’ve never even dropped a dress size so the incentive to diet hasn’t been there. For the first time in years I feel optimistic

I think more resources need to go into educating people on how seriously damaging ultra processed foods can be to one's relationship with food.

I think most people know to be honest. Yet the ubiquitous marketing and social pressure to partake remains. I'm talking myself into thinking legal regulation is the only answer.

I would argue that incorrect fueling of your body is the only cause for being unable to go long stretches without eating though - it's much more complicated than that and there's many more causes, the majority being hormonal.

But Ozempic is manipulating hormones - that is exactly what it does. The hormones that control appetite and satiety in particular.

You can achieve this naturally, and part of that is getting your body to be able to go into ketosis as well as glucose burning - aka being metabolically healthy. You don't need to be in ketosis all the time, just have to have a body that is able to get into ketosis without severe hanger and cravings. You may need to train your body / force your body to go into ketosis to start with if you have never 'let' it do that before (i.e. the keto diet), but it is a myth that you have to be in ketosis all the time forever - i.e. you can occasionally have biscuits if you chose to, but it is wise to only do that when you are metabolically healthy / have healed your body / are fat adapted

I am type 2 diabetic, and despite eating a low carb, calorie controlled diet intermittent fasting and exercising regularly, my diabetes has slowly gotten worse over the last year. I was prescribed ozempic 2 weeks ago and have been unable to get it from any of the 10+ pharmacys i have tried....

I can see why comments must seem judgemental against overweight people taking this but I really don't think it's that. It's concern that this is a fairly new drug that has quite a serious side effect profile and those least in need of it, with a stone or two to lose, are jumping at it as a quick fix.

I had a read of the NICE rationale for Ozempic. Really surprised that the Patient Experts were noted as saying obesity was a life long condition and that continued treatment was important for maintaining weight loss. If that is the case, they are basically saying what others on here have said, stop taking it and re-gain weight. Not good at all!

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta875/resources/semaglutide-for-managing-overweight-and-obesity-pdf-82613674831813

I know what ozempic is doing, though I think mimic is more accurate than manipulating.

I agree that a healthy body will go through states of ketosis and glucose burning, I'm not disagreeing with that. The problem comes when you infer that everyone can get from a metabolically unhealthy state to a metabolically healthy one naturally by having period of being on a ketosis inducing diet. Yes, it will work for some people, but certainly not for all, or even most. And until you 'reset' your metabolic health, eating non-keto friendly foods will send most obese people in to a binge.

I do think people understand that they are unhealthy as in not good for you, but I wonder how many people realise just how seriously addictive that any food that causes blood sugar spikes and crashes can be, or the more complicated havoc they wreak on your body in terms of fullness and hunger signals. People aren't just fat because they like unhealthy food - looking at the way some very big people eat and never ever seem to be not hungry, it's deeper than that and unless you are really overweight yourself you genuinely might not realise just how bad it is and how the industry completely sets you up to fail.

Oh my god we are talking about severely obese people. Keto diet is ridiculously restrictive then there's the side effects which are horrendous. Insomnia, keto flu , constipation, bad breathe. It's incredibly difficult to do and horrible.

If you genuinely think that insatiable cravings are a natural state for humans, then you have not done your research. No one should be craving food every few hours

This is 100% true.

I would say that ketosis is not the only way to curb cravings, but the crux of weight loss for most people (like long term, healthy weight loss and weight maintenance) is recognising how unhealthy and unnatural their habits are.

No one (bar rare disorders) is gaining huge amounts of weight and feeling constantly hungry on minimally processed food if that is all they eat.

And no lentils, pulses, wholegrains. I think keto is madly unhealthy

Very good point!

This is it. I'm formerly obese I always felt hungry, I tried keto it was very difficult and my binging got worse!!! My appetite now is gone after having wls I'm over two years out and I still don't get very hungry.

Yes, I think it's useful to view it as obesity as a disease, of which being overweight is a symptom. Losing weight does not 'cure' obesity or stop someone from having obesity, it simply takes away the most noticeable symptom. If you stop the treatment (whether a specific type of diet, a medication, an exercise plan) then the main symptom will return.

The causes of obesity are multifaceted - metabolic/ hormonal, psychological, cultural and many were still investigating - there isn't a one size fits all solution or treatment.

Oh my god we are talking about severely obese people. Keto diet is ridiculously restrictive then there's the side effects which are horrendous. Insomnia, keto flu , constipation, bad breathe. It's incredibly difficult to do and horrible.

LOLs.
'Horrendous side effects' include losing weight and being more metabolically healthy. Oh and maybe a week or two of discomfort while your body heals and gets used to being fueled properly (people do not have insomnia, keto flu or constipation long-term, only in the transition period)

But perish the thought, I forgot we don't do 'difficult'. I forgot where I was for a moment then.

What is the solution you have for severely obese people? Is it really a pill?

I'm so sorry to hear this. This is exactly my concern about the misuse of Ozempic, that the people who really need it are struggling to get it. I hope you get some soon.

Sorry I missed a sentence off my last post - It should say, nobody who eats only minimally processed food is going to be overweight, regardless of the macronutrient composition.

One of my favourite weight loss youtubers follows a high carb low fat vegan diet, the effects for her were effective and she has maintained a healthy weight for years. For me it does not work, nor does keto, there is some research backing what works for me but it's certainly not a popular diet nor is it consider a "diet" at all like keto, low carb, etc.

Being obese is a paradox the bigger you get the more hungry you are but the harder it is to move around. When you are alreeady slim it's so much easier to lose weight. Being obese damages your metabolism

Exactly. Well said.