All these people taking weight loss appetite suppressant drugs?!!

[OnHerSolidFoundations]

Is it me or is this a bit sinister?

💯…AFYI LONDONTOWN12 ….you do have to work at it ..my partner could not have it until he had lost 2 stone himself it also helps with type 2 diabetes

Have you got excess loose skin now from such extreme weight loss in such a short time?
Not judging at all just wondering.

I saw that video of Lana del Rey at Coachella and she's lost a huge amount of weight (rumoured to be Wegovy). She looks like she did at the start of her career.

Yes - I watched Dopesick and Painkiller.
about the Purdue pharmaceutical company. Really sad.

Completely agree

i think it’s alarming how many people are willing to take it - which isn’t risk free - when they aren’t even overweight but want to lose a few pounds before holiday. So many posts of people working out loopholes in acquiring it.

fatphobia is real

That comment doesn't even make sense.
Everything is made of chemicals and we all put unnecessary chemicals into or onto our bodies.

That is a worry but you can't fix stupid.

There are dubious practices and companies in every single industry, that doesn't mean the whole industry is bad. 😬

I bet this post is written by someone who has never had a weight issue in their life?

I use weight loss medication alongside a calorie controlled diet.. I have PTSD associated with childhood trauma and I never learned proper eating habits and a fear of starving again!

It helps me to control what I eat and I'm well on my way to a healthy BMI for the first time in my life..

And I pay for it myself... so no freebies for me

My concern with these medications is that they may be viewed as 'the answer' and deflect from wider questioning as to why the UK (and many other societies) are experiencing a rapidly increasing obesity crisis. This points to the issue being more than simply personal choice (though a lot of us do have a rubbish diet).

I share the concerns of a poster upthread who mentioned some people not doing any research and buying off dodgy suppliers online- this is so dangerous. I agree a lot of those using or considering these medications are drastically uninformed about side effects and risk of regaining the weight at the end. Though I think if taken properly with the right support they can offer benefits for some people.

There needs to be more focus at national and international governmental levels to look at this issue- I worry that flippant policies such as the 'sugar tax' aren't addressing the root causes of obesity.

There needs to be more research in to human metabolism generally as there are some significant variations between sexes, life stages and some outliers do seem to be more prone to weight gain/ eating like a horse and never putting on a pound.

I will also mention that having previously worked in this area, some people seriously underestimate how much they eat and overestimate their activity levels . There are some skewed ideas on what constitutes a healthy diet or healthy habits too

This I completely agree with.
It’s helping people to lose weight, but not in a truly sustainable way.
i am overweight, classed as obese. Went to doctor for something totally unrelated and she prescribed me Orlistat, no explanation or information. I haven’t taken them. What it has done is changed my mindset and since January I have lost 2st with a calorie deficit and slowly making healthier choices. It’s not been easy and there are days where I wobble, but following day I get back on it. Still got a lot more to go but I’m seeing progress, and more than anything I feel better, got so much more energy and I suppose you could say that is my drug of choice, feeling better and more confident x

Fatism. The last acceptable prejudice for the nasty minded.
Being overweight can stem from a number of psychological, physical and environmental causes so the just eat less viewpoint is never going to work for many seriously heavy people.
It is great that medical science is working on helping people in this position. The NHS is slowly lumbering along in the same direction.
What the hell is “sinister” about that?
Is it that you think fat people do not deserve medical help because clearly it is all their own fault so their lives should be blighted by the consequences of being very overweight so that they are properly shamed and punished for their failings?

Better not to let yourself get to the point of needing these ...
Yes it's hard, but not impossible.

This isn't true. You can't do this. You have to diet, eat healthily and exercise. The drug just makes the diet easier to stick to.

In my case I put on 3 and a half stone during perimenopause. My metabolism has changed so much that to lose any weight at all I can only eat 1000 calories. I found this impossible to do long term, but Ozempic made it possible.

I have never eaten rubbish food, I have always exercised and watched my weight. Turns out I now put weight on if I eat more than 1400 calories a day.

I don't like taking drugs but I was obese which brings a lot of health risks.

Or you could look at it as people paying for them privately, saving the NHS £150 a month in the short term and £££ in the long term.

It will be interesting to see where we are 3-5 years down the line, whether truly beneficial on an individual and society/££ level.

Wegovy, Saxenda, Ozempic and the like are being prescribed as weight loss injections in such numbers, that the diabetics who NEED these drugs are suffering a worldwide shortage of them

Not heard of this at all??

I meant that people would rather take a drug than eat healthily and exercise.

Some people go out of their way to avoid putting unnecessary chemicals.

I presume you have been obese and are speaking from first hand experience. Do share how you lost half your body weight, how long did it take you? How much veg did you eat and how much did you have to move to achieve that?

You have to eat healthily and exercise AND take the drug. The drug helps you to eat healthily.

It’s not anything sinister but it’s just one of the many diet fads that people do make money off.
I remember when Alli?? pills were the hot thing and people were going mad for them because they helped people lose weight.

I think anything that helps people lose weight is a good thing but this is like a very expensive placebo, which has many scary side effects and doesn’t get to the route of the problem/people put the weight back on.

I was tempted to go on it myself as I thought it did something to help you lose weight but after reading threads on here, it seems it’s just an appetite suppressant and so psychologically it’s not getting to the route of the problem and then as soon as you stop it you’re going to be twice as hungry.

I remember watching 1000lbs sisters and them listing all of the things they’ve tried to help them lose weight - pills, injections, fasting, fat freezing machine etc and some of it may have helped them lose weight temporarily (most did nothing) but they always put it back on and they only started losing weight when they changed their lifestyle and walked healthy and walked more.

It’s the message that we’ve been told for years eat less/more healthier and move more, yet there will always be companies who prey on people struggling and looking for quick fixes.

I commented on a post a while ago where someone was asking for advice on whether to take them, and I asked what alternatives the op had tried to lose weight, such as calorie counting, as I felt that resorting to substance use to manage weight was an extreme action. The replies I got were absolute madness, with people attacking me for suggesting alternatives, saying I didn’t understand the struggle of weight loss. It was like they’d been brain washed to think there was no alternative. Having lost 6 stone I’m pretty sure I understand the struggle of weight loss.

It’s also actually really hard to get them prescribed depending on your area.
in mine you have to be referred to Tier 3 weight management (3 year wait and no longer taking referrals) if you are obese but no other health conditions there is no funding so even after waiting no injection options. Not saying that’s right but equity of access isn’t the same everywhere.
cheapest I can see anything online is £200 a month which is out of many people budgets so they aren’t being handed out like sweets. And even though NICE guidelines now recommend them if your local ICB won’t fund them you don’t get them.

I took the mounjaro route after doing tons of research. I'm fully aware that I may need to stay on a maintenance dose for life.

I'm 50 years old and have been pushed into the obese range over the last 2 years. I have consistently worked out all my life and despite reducing calories, stacked on a stone over the last year. I love my food, probably eat too much, but have no history of binge eating or even disordered eating. But menopause has completely changed how my body responds to a 1700 calorie intake, which I think is a reasonable amount considering I'm active.

Being in the obese range (BMI 30) has made me miserable and worried about my health. It's no longer just about wanting to look good but about my joints, my energy levels, the risk factors for co-morbidities that come with obesity.

This is the only thing that has worked for me past the age of 45. I have lost 13pounds in 7 weeks by just eating when I'm hungry and I'm craving healthy foods because I don't get hangry/overtired/afternoon dips or hormone related sugar cravings. It feels like my factory settings have been restored. In fact, I hardly think about food at all and when I do, it's just fuel. It's extremely liberating and I now have hope that I can go into old age with far fewer risk factors. I'm aware this isn't a quick fix and that I may be on it for the long haul but it's absolutely worth it for me.

Wegovy helps by giving you a fullness sensation. So you eat less. From that p.o.v, yes, it is eating fewer calories than you use. It doesn’t speed up your metabolism or anything like that.

I wonder if enough people taking these drugs will have the effect of changing the obesogenic environment. I heard someone on the Dr. Mike podcast saying people need to stop blaming the food companies for making hyperpalatable food because consumers are driving the demand. Basically we just need to stop buying it and they'll stop selling it. I don't agree with him at all about blaming food companies (they're created foods in laboratories that change our stomach microbiome and mess with our satiety cues and some people find it very hard to stop eating them) but I wonder if you have enough people taking these drugs will the food companies stop creating the food. Or, another chilling thought, will they just create a line of food for people on these drugs? Smaller, super palatable bites? Ugh.

Also, apparently they are studying the use of the drugs for people with alcohol use disorder, because it does seem to work for many people to curb alcohol cravings.