Ozempic question

[missfliss]

Hello -
I know there is a long thread on Ozempic and I've been following quietly.

It's something I might consider in the future - but not now ( training for a big sports event and need to fuel properly).

My question is though - what happens when you stop taking it? Does your appetite return to normal ? Or does taking it for a long period help retrain your food / satiety mechanisms to support willpower / education?

I'm totally open to trying but want to understand that if that kind of investment is needed, what else you might need to do to ensure long term success.

I'm overweight by probably 2 stone, reasonable fit, main problems are sugar and emotional / boredom eating and portion sizes.

Any help or experiences welcome.

( successfully lost weight previously but tend to go back to old overeating again - I have a decent knowledge about what i need to eat / good nutrition but seem to lack the control or consistency to avoid overeating)

Because you put it back on as soon as you get off it. Make lifestyle changes. Discipline. Don’t take the cheat way out. No satisfaction. Be proud you done it the diet and exercise route. You can do it. I believe in you.

troublemaker?

@Alaldlccmemsjzja I work in geriatric eating disorders, if people like @Peridot1 start eating sensibly, I'm of of a job.

Honestly 50 years of the diet industry has destroyed the lives of many women plus their sisters and daughters. I'd love to be able to change it but almost every time I've managed to get a person on a healthy sustainable diet, with the input of an NHS dietician, it is sabotaged by the "I know how to lose weight" syndrome.

The diet industry has fucked over two generations of women, most of them don't want to change, they just seek the perpetual magic bullet. Sustaining morbid obesity is a form of self harm and requires a multi pronged approach to combat it. But if the client does not want to engage, they wont.

Ozempic is a tool, not a cure or magic bullet.

It is a tool and I am using it as such @AdventFridgeOfShame. I also have a plan for going forward.

@E30 some people just don't want to listen. I'm sure we'd all love a quick fix if we could afford it and it was guaranteed to stay off forever. Obesity is usually the result of binge eating disorder and needs tackling as such. Ozempic is indeed a band-aid for a deep rooted issue. People need help/a fuck tonne of therapy to get to the root of why they eat too much and how to stop doing it. Money would be better spent on therapy and a PT if funds allow or therapy first, PT after. Obesity is sadly often rooted in childhood sexual abuse and people subconsciously get fat and keep themselves fat in an attempt to make themselves unattractive. That's something that needs years of therapy to come to terms with. I had two friends in my early 20s for who this was the case. They were never defensive about it though. Only sad. It's all very complex but defensiveness or being rude to other posters is not going to help. Those against ozempic are against people being exploited and instead want to see people happy and healthy and taking a sensible and sustainable approach.

@Peridot1 from your posts you are probably the most sensible and realistic about it and that's admirable. I wish you luck.

@Peridot1 yep agree with all that.

The thing that most surprised me when getting into this field was that many people with BMIs of over 40 had deficiencies equivalent to malnutrition. Plus the PTSD and sexual abuse history. Lockdown and the restrictions on MH help did not help.

If we want to tackle obesity, there needs to be some big grown up conversations.

The root causes are myriad and wont be solved without very open discussion.

I can well imagine that about the malnutrition @AdventFridgeOfShame. I have said for a long time that often when people overeat it may be driven by the body crying out for actual nutrients. A diet high in processed foods and junk food doesn’t deliver nutrients. So people are hungry. Just not for what they think they crave. Few people over eat steak and broccoli.

What a ridiculous load of psychobabble. Most people (including myself) get fat because they like food too much, eat too much, lack self control around food. It’s as simple as that. I’m overweight but I don’t hate myself, have buried childhood trauma or want to look unattractive. Hence I am using Ozempic ( for a year or two) to kickstart my weight loss. It’s a weight loss tool, that is all. I know that I won’t take it long term so in the end it will be up to me to maintain the better eating habits I am now learning. Same as with any diet, there are never any guarantees the weight won’t return.

Agree @Twiglets1, largely complete fantasy. A full quarter of the population of the UK are obese. We aren't all self-hating abuse survivors.

And I dislike this moral spin on ways of losing weight - like somehow it is only real or commendable if you do it the natural way. It's just another value judgement on women's bodies. Same old, same old.

my problem isn’t about weight or weight loss; nor about women’s bodies or how they’re supposed to look. My issue is that these are drugs for a diabetics. There is a shortage of them in the US where actual diabetics are unable to obtain it because it’s being bought by rich people wanting to lose weight. To me, that is absolutely shameful.
its likely it will happen here too.
so no, I don’t accept your little quip about judgement of women’s weight because that has never been my point. if the OP was about lipo or a gastroband I’d not even have opened it.

I just asked OP's question on the other Ozempic thread and both @Twiglets1 and @Peridot1 were refreshingly honest about the pitfalls of taking it. And yes, @Alaldlccmemsjzja, this drug did start life as medicine for diabetics, but it was approved for weight loss when doctors realised how it was helping drive down cases of obesity. To me, that's not dissimilar to a drug that's developed for one particular cancer being found to effectively treat another - of course you'd repurpose it if it worked and helped take the pressure off medical services! It's just because it's for weight loss that critics assume it's being taken only for the superficial reason of improving appearance and are angry that diabetics are losing out. But reading the other boards, it's clear the vast majority of posters are taking it because they are desperate to stop their weight getting any further out of control and whose health is being impacted by being three or four or five stones overweight.

I've decided after doing lots of reading since the early hours this morning (when I woke up feeling miserable about my weight again) that it's not something I'd want to take – knowing my binge eating history, I won't risk the rebound weight gain (or 'Ozempic face', which is apparently a thing!), but it's not my place or anyone else's to denigrate those who do. Being obese is such a difficult, horrible health condition and it makes people desperate.

Obesity is sadly often rooted in childhood sexual abuse and people subconsciously get fat and keep themselves fat in an attempt to make themselves unattractive.

What a sweeping and dangerous generalisation! And absolute bollocks in the vast majority of cases. Obesity is often rooted in childhood but because of poor diet – it's no coincidence that obesity levels began to rise after the introduction of convenience junk food in the 1970s (Findus pancake anyone?) – or (as was my case) being made to clear your plate, meaning you lose the ability to know when you're full. To say it's often about CSA is really overreaching.

I really dislike the moral spin on ways of losing weight too! So judgemental, a bit reminiscent of all the judgement surrounding whether women choose to breastfeed or not. It is our bodies for God's sake so no one else's business. I could breastfeed and found it easy to do so but did not judge others because they couldn't or it wasn't convenient for them. But I heard a lot of general judgement around the issue - these tiresome people should just bore off.

The only thing I feel slightly bad about is that Ozempic is designed for diabetics, although there doesn't currently seem to be any shortage in the UK as I could have bought it from multiple sources when I started looking early January. Even so, I will feel happier switching to Wegovy when it becomes available in the UK as although it's the same product, it's primary use is as a weight loss medicine.

Haha - say it as it is @Inkpotlover

I totally agree with what you say and the mention of Findus pancakes has got me craving one. Even Ozempic is no match for the mighty Findus pancake!

But I don't live in the US, @Inkpotlover and there is no evidence that diabetics here in the UK cannot fill their scripts. No need to shame those taking it for weight loss, at all.

😂It also made me think of Findus Pizza slices that were so crunchy they'd strip the roof off your mouth, and Angel Delight!

Maybe actually read what people write. No sweeping generalisations. Nor any shaming of women's bodies. The same goes for men. So much defensiveness and bitterness and anger. Posters are worried that some people, some, not all, are believing it a magic solution and aren't addressing the underlying issues. But you carry on with your defensive, angry, blinkered, you're all so mean to us attitude. You don't like what is being said and that's fine but it's obvious why. The judgement is mainly coming from yourselves. I'm sorry you feel that way and hope you find peace, happiness and health

Exactly, and the situation in the US is more nuanced than being discussed on here because a lot of the reports I read this morning said diabetics are mainly struggling to get prescriptions because their health insurers have decided their policies will no longer cover it. I suspect that's big pharma putting pressure on the insurance companies because they know they'll make more money if people have to buy it privately.

Oh yummy 😋

I actually agree with you that Ozempic sounds too good to be true and I shall be following with interest the long-term effects of it, but that PP saying obesity is mainly caused by CSA is absolutely and inarguably a sweeping generalisation, and when outrageous statements like that are thrown into a debate it negates anything else they might be trying to say.

@AutisticLegoLover I'm confident in my decisions and not in the least defensive or angry. I'm happy as a clam and generally very content in life.

You seem to have got a bee under your bonnet about this issue and your posts come across as supercilious, condescending, and moralising.

I think the sexual abuse thing is true for some people but not for everyone who is obese.

It is simply because when I was obese I eat too much junk food and didn’t exercise enough. Junk food I think gives you a dopamine hit and this is what I think is driving it. Same reason people go on social media for dopamine fix. Same reason people eat chocolate.

In shocking news just in. Judgemental and condescending stranger on the internet spends time telling other people how they are deficient, and not as good as said judgemental condescending stranger.

Recipients of this message don't fall over themselves to thank judgemental condescending stranger.

Judgemental condescending stranger than accuses them of irrational anger.