All these weight loss drugs... surely we are heading towards disaster?

[shellswirl]

So as we all know there are various weight loss drugs that have become very popular in recent months.

It seems like the whole of Hollywood is using it.

Even regular people are spending huge amounts of money on it from online pharmacies.

I get that these drugs might be useful for certain people with real medical conditions, but really a lot of people are using it as a quick fix to be thin.

With no consideration to side effects or future health. And without thinking about what happens when you stop it?

Surely the best way to lose weight involves no drugs. No fad diets. But exercising more, moving more, eating a balanced diet. Retraining your brain and finding food and exercise you enjoy.

I say this as an overweight person too! Surely there are other ways.

If every other person is taking these drugs won't there be a huge pool of people to monitor side effects etc?

Aibu to say the whole thing makes me feel very uneasy.

I went into my local Tesco Express recently, and I'd estimate that 60% of shelf space is dedicated to junk food. It's horrendous.

We only have one other shop in town, but it's incredibly expensive, and the next nearest supermarket is a 22 minute drive away.

But despite the enormous social pressure and personal desire to be slim, it’s extremely rare for someone who is obese to actually lose the weight. Statistically most obese people are still obese year after year. Clearly it is incredibly hard to lose weight and the reality is these people will just become more and more unhealthy before they become disabled or die prematurely.

Wow that's fantastic. I'm guessing still really hard work?

Do it, it’ll change your life!

I keep wondering what it will do to the wider environment: won't it seep into sewage/water?

I'm not shaming anyone. I'm overweight myself but that said taking drugs makes me nervous when there is another option out there with zero side effects.

If I can I'd rather limit the processed food and make exercise a larger part of my life,

There are not just two options for me I would hope;

Be fat forever
Or
Take this medicine

I've not given up hope on education, exercise, reevaluating diet etc can work

If they save lives I can only view that as a positive.

100 years ago people worked from dawn to dusk, got everywhere they went under their own steam, had no central heating and ate a much healthier diet.

Most of us today live a much more comfortable, easy lifestyle. We’re all conditioned to eat too much and do too little.

Surely the best way to lose weight involves no drugs. No fad diets. But exercising more, moving more, eating a balanced diet. Retraining your brain and finding food and exercise you enjoy.

No shit Sherlock. I think most fat people are aware of that, the issue is it's fucking hard to do those things sometimes and some people really, really struggle with it. Guess what semaglutide does? It retrains your brain. Literally liquid willpower.

I've lost 6 stone with semaglutide after years of trying to do all of the above and failing. Admitting I was suffering with disordered eating and not just being greedy made it much easier to realise that drugs were the best way for me. They're the best way for most people who have spent years trying and failing to lose weight the "proper" way. I've watched yo-yo dieting friends finally hit their goals and stick to them - it's not just about being thin it's about being healthy, and these drugs are a tool towards that.

I've been off the drug for a year now and kept the weight off too. It's now easy for me to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly because everything has shifted in me. My risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other obesity related illness has plummeted, my mental health has vastly improved, I'm no longer using NHS mental health services so someone else now can. My chances of costing the NHS a fortune in future have decreased hugely and it's only cost me about a grand. Absolutely worth it.

If it makes you "uneasy" just don't take them. Stick to diet and exercise and willpower alone, more power to you if you can do it. These aren't untested drugs, we know the side effects, most of us just consider it a worthwhile sacrifice.

This is the thing, there’s so much money to be made in obesity.
They make money by selling us the shite food which makes us fat then pharmaceuticals make money selling us the drugs to make us thin.

They want you fat!! 💰 💰 💰

Hmm… yes, in that I cook from scratch every day to make sure I get enough protein and good fats and avoid carbs. But things like saying no to cake or whatever are a million trillion times easier than before I took Saxenda. When I dieted before that sort of thing was so, so hard. Now it’s pretty easy.

I did regain a stone and a half last year when I slipped back into more “normal” eating habits – I still wasn’t overeating really but I went back to having lunch, having bread etc and my body just can’t handle that, I don’t know if it’s from years of dieting or because I have PCOS or what, but I have learned that I cannot eat carbs or eat more than 1200 calories a day without gaining weight. But I lost that stone and a half again once I went back to OMAD.

If I can I'd rather limit the processed food and make exercise a larger part of my life,

Even I know that you still have to do all of the exercise and make good food choices when you're on this medicines, but it sounds like they give you some extra willpower or a metabolic filip of some sort (or both?)

I've been paying attention to see what the "against" argument is in case I get to the point where I need help myself, but most objections seem quite nebulous or else weirdly moralistic.

Why is it "better" to fix a problem without help? And if that improves impossible surely the wise person always takes the help?

Also, what is this "disaster" you're worried about OP?

There never seem to details from the naysayers, just catastrophic hyperbole.

But why are you only eating one meal a day? That is disordered eating like any other and is not considered to be safe. I think it's really worrying that people take these drugs and go from one extreme to another.

@Usernameisnotavailable0
My daughter is prescribed them for diabetes and I'm seeing my specialist next week for the same.
We have tried other diabetic medication.. our BMI was also very high .. so it was decided this is the best medication for us. Kill two birds with one stone.

Why worry about a disaster before it's happened?

I've not given up hope on education, exercise, reevaluating diet etc can work

But statistics overwhelmingly show that those things don’t work.

@TabithaTimeTurner

Yes I think that is what makes me uneasy.

Everyone knows the processed food and stupid diets are a cause of this crisis. Yet because of financial reasons we can't tackle that... instead they sell us drugs to "fix" it.

Why can't we fix the cause... I guess money is the answer

Surely they are meant for People who are very/morbidly obese and not those who need to lose a stone or two or who don’t need to lose weight but want to stay slim. Using them for the latter is abusing them. The same as obtaining drugs for underactive thyroid when you don’t need them is.

Hmm… yes, in that I cook from scratch every day to make sure I get enough protein and good fats and avoid carbs. But things like saying no to cake or whatever are a million trillion times easier than before I took Saxenda. When I dieted before that sort of thing was so, so hard. Now it’s pretty easy.

I did regain a stone and a half last year when I slipped back into more “normal” eating habits – I still wasn’t overeating really but I went back to having lunch, having bread etc and my body just can’t handle that, I don’t know if it’s from years of dieting or because I have PCOS or what, but I have learned that I cannot eat carbs or eat more than 1200 calories a day without gaining weight. But I lost that stone and a half again once I went back to OMAD.

Thanks for taking the time to explain.

It sounds like a correction to the metabolic effects of a modern diet, if anything. But I suppose until you take it, you can't really understand. Fascinating, though and I'm sure it's a good thing.

@KimberleyClark

Completely agree. If my dr prescribed it for diabetes/heart issues, sure that's fine but some celeb using it to drop to a size 8 from a 10 seems really really wrong on so many levels

So it's the prescribing guidelines/enforcement that need tightening then?

I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole, but each to their own and I can see they may be particularly useful if someone’s life is at significant risk.

I’m overweight but have lost 4 stones over the last 3 years through upping my activity levels and changing the type of food I eat, and the way I eat it. I’m never hungry and don’t think I’m missing out on anything.

I’m only eating one meal a day because it’s the only way I can lose weight and keep it off. It’s as simple as that. That meal is carefully balanced to make sure I’m getting everything I need. Studies have shown that fasting is beneficial and it certainly has been for me.

I’m not a slave to it – if I’m genuinely hungry I’ll have some fruit and yoghurt or whatever – but honestly, I don’t need to eat more now. I listen to my body and eat when I’m hungry. Mostly that’s once a day.

It sounds like a correction to the metabolic effects of a modern diet, if anything.

yes I think there is definitely something to this. I was an overweight child and have been dieting on and off since I was 11. I went from a size 14 to a 22 in 6 months after surgery on my ovaries. I have no doubt that I fucked my metabolism through my own stupidity!

People are the answer, not money.

We're living in an 'I want it now' society.

People want cheap food, fast and in plentiful portions and they'll want to lose weight fast too, with as little effort as possible.