The rise of the trend of GLP-1 and the pressure it brings?

[PiriPiriMenopause]

First of all I just want to say I have nothing against the choice people make for the injections at all, I think they’re great and they obviously work for people who need them! I totally get why someone would want to take it, and it really is transforming lives.

But I worry about the pressure this is bringing so the it. I’m a size 14 and pretty normal. At the moment I don’t have trouble buying clothes or getting stuff to fit. My BMI is about 26 which yes is higher than the recommended but not massively so.

So many people I know are on this drug! Honestly, in my normal every day life, I know of at least 15 people who are taking it. It’s working brilliantly and the results are fantastic they’re happy and it’s great, I love seeing how their confidence has turned on a sixpence. Some of the women were larger than me some were not that much larger than me or the same size.

I’m not sure if my experience is a reflection of what’s going on country wide or not. But AIBU to worry about the knock on effect this will have moving forward. I worry that a size 14 will soon become almost obsolete in the shops because people are no longer requiring larger sizes, I worry about the knock on pressure this will bring to those of us who can’t afford to take it or simply don’t want to or can’t take it. I worry about it becoming a culture for people of my daughter’s age and what it means for their confidence in future.

I’m just interested to see if I’m just being paranoid or if this is something other people worry about. There’s always been a massive pressure on women in particular with their size and appearance but this is the first time I’ve ever really felt it so extreme!

See, this is the thing ... I really CAN eat whatever I want now, because what I want is healthy food, just don't fancy much in the way of rubbish at all. I always cooked and ate healthy food, but I no longer eat far too big a portion. I still eat treats, but much less frequently and less of it, instead of eating 'treats' several times a day.

It really is difficult to understand for those who haven't experienced it, but from the first jab it was like magic.

And yet it's evidently gone back on. Meaning it can't have worked that well for you.

I think Kelly Osbourne has had her jawline shaved down. It's what some men do when they want to present as female. Can't think of any other explanation, as her bone structure has changed completely.

This picking over a young woman’s aappearance is heinous.

This!
Im old enough to remember the 60’s and 70’s and generally people had a short illness then died.
Nowadays we keep people alive year after year after year, often in a pitiful state. They are in and out of hospital on numerous medications and having constant medical appointments.
I think the nhs will be even worse in 20 years when there are even more old people to care for.

I don't think this is entirely related to general public weight loss, when you are talking about the very extreme levels that some celebrities are demonstrating.

Is it heinous, or is it more heinous not to discuss that some people in the public eye are clearly extremely unhealthy and that level of weight loss is dangerous and nothing to be admired?

She's in her 40s, but that's a side issue. Under normal circumstances I'd agree, but when you've made such drastic changes that you look like you've had a head transplant, sorry, but this is what you've got to expect. You don't do something that extreme unless you want people to notice.

I get what the OP is saying. It's all very well saying 'there is no reason to be overweight any more' but for those of us who are slightly overweight, like food and don't have any health problems so don't qualify for the jabs, we're stuck with the misery of restricting what we eat if we want to lose weight because we can't just have the magic jab that turns off our interest in food.

And it’s always been this way,

I very much doubt it will get to the point 14s aren't sold in a shop. Botox and filler have been around a long time, there are still many, many women not using it. There's still a huge market for anti-aging cream and still lots of women who have lines and wrinkles. Similarly to weight loss injections there are people who couldn't afford it, people who are scared of needles, people who don't want to inject chemicals into their body and people who just aren't interested.

@Bjorkdidit people on WLI aren't stuffing their faces. You still have to restrict what you eat. I eat 1300 calories a day to maintain my weight loss.

@AugustMounjaroTeam I am on Mounjaro, so I know what it's like. By "eating whatever she wants" the poster I was referring to was clearly describing someone eating large amounts of calorific food and thinking that they could do so on Mounjaro and somehow magically stay slim. You still need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, whether on Mounjaro or not, as you know. For many people, me included, the types of food I want to eat has changed. I no longer want to eat crisps, processed carbs and so on. I prefer low fat protein and fresh veg/fruit. But I still need to be in a calorie deficit on that kind of food in order to lose weight.

I did wonder about the comparison with the likes of Botox and fillers etc…but I think you’re more immediately deemed less worthy if you’re seen as overweight rather than wrinkly? It’s a different pressure.

Out of interest, how many calories do you have to stick to to maintain?

Sorry, I should have also said congratulations, that is an amazing achievement!

How does it actually make you change what you want to eat?

When I've commented on various threads on weight, with people asking healthy-weight individuals how they remain so, it's always met with disbelief that I much prefer healthy foods and do not crave chocolates and crisps, etc, and believed people simply deny themselves, etc. But it seems that the jabs switch something within you, and people may now understand this?

It seems to be due to blood sugar management and correct insulin response, people no longer crave anything sugary, so it reduces appetite or desire to eat anything sugary, and that can be anything from drinks to even breads, also you seem not to desire fatty foods, but this is probably as everyone on it is on a diet, and retraining their eating habits and if you have too much fat it can make you a bit nauseous.

what I’ve learned on social media, is the drugs seem to work well when the reason for obesity is one that is physical, ie metabolic issues, high cortisol, poor insulin response etc, but when the reason for obesity is primarily psychological, then they tend not to work, as you can easily push through and just keep eating.

@FableLies here is the science behind it:

Centrally, GLP-1 modulate brain regions controlling appetite, influencing neurotransmitter and peptide release to regulate hunger and energy expenditure. Peripherally, GLP-1 RAs improve glycaemic control by enhancing insulin secretion, reducing glucagon release, delaying gastric emptying, and regulating gut hormones.

So, they help break the reward centre cycle that people get trapped in when they overconsume high fat, high sugar foods.

@FableLies I don't know the science, but I know that Mounjaro stabilises your blood sugars and acts on the GLP-1 and GIP receptors in your brain, which control hunger, appetite and so on. I don't get the big sugar highs and then the subsequent crashes, and I am just indifferent to high sugar, high fat, carby food as a result. I used to have a long term relationship with Haagen Daz, but now I don't care about ice cream in the slightest now. I don't think about buying it, I don't think about eating it. You could put an open tub with a spoon in, in front of me, and I would just put it back in the freezer!

Do hormones impact this at all? When I am due on, the desire to eat starchy carbs is incredibly high and I eat what I feel I need, then it disappears. Wondered if hormones affect blood sugar, insulin response etc.

Thank you. Very interesting. This is how I feel without the jabs. My SIL is on them, and I am so happy for her. Decades of nothing working.

Could be more a comfort thing, sorry to expand, as said earlier If the reason for over eating is psychological then people can push through, the desire to eat that flow of food is stronger than the med, so like Pavlovian dog, a learned habit of self soothing, it maybe why you want to eat more of those things,

In my experience, my stomach can be rumbling….but the thought of food is not appealing and I don’t want to eat.

It’s a strange sensation and one that I imagine could be dangerous if not using the drugs responsibly.

I am on Wegovy and this really only happened to me when I increased from the introductory dose to 0.5 and this strong suppression soon tailed off meaning I could eat more normally, but without the cravings and desire to overat.

the low dose of 0.5 worked for me so I stayed on it as opposed to increasing the dose.

edited to add: on those occasions with rumbling tummy but no desire to eat, if it was evening I would just go to bed without eating anything further. If during the day I would hve a protein shake. However, this stage did not last long before I began eating more normally again.

@FableLies I was overweight then obese as a child and teenager, and I think that this may change your response to food compared to someone who was a healthy weight as a child, teen and young adult. Essentially, once you have become obese, it is much harder to fight back to a healthy weight and to stay there. Especially if you have been so since childhood.

Depends on your height. At 5'10" when I'm a size 14 my BMI is around 23-24. Someone a foot shorter could be obese at a size 14.

I totally share your concern. It's the same for cosmetic procedures - once they become the norm, the people who look normal look odd.