Not losing weight on Ozempic

[Anonymous]

My mom is diabetic and has been on a low dose of Ozempic for about 6 months now but has not lost any weight at all. According to her it has helped control her diabetes - which is why she started taking it - but I am just surprised she hasn’t lost a single pound.

According to her, you have to “try” to lose weight, but that seems completely opposite to how the news portrays the drug, right?

My mom is 5’2” and weighs around 180 lbs - so she has weight to lose. She doesn’t eat healthy, but she really doesn’t eat a lot at all in terms of volume. Her weakness is definitely sweets.

Could it be her dose? Are there people who just don’t lose weight on it?

[Anonymous]

She has to eat less, it's not automatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has to eat less, it's not automatic.

+1

It's a tool to quiet the "food noise" and reduce appetite, but it's not a magic cure no matter the dose.

If she is not focused on food choices, calories, and exercise then she won't lose weight.

[Anonymous]

The therapeutic dose is 1.0 or 2.0mg. You step up the dosage:

0.25 for 4 weeks
0.5 for 2 weeks
You then can move to 1.0 and stay on that dose for a while. If you can tolerate the side effects you can move up to 2.0.

Two things might be happening:
Your mother is not taking the medication properly and is still at 0.25 which is not doing much.
And she’s continuing to eat poorly. It’s not a miracle drug that allows you to eat whatever you want. The weight comes off because you are eating less. It’s not some fat burner. And you need to exercise.

[Anonymous]

She needs to titer up the dose is she wants to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She has to eat less, it's not automatic.

+1

It's a tool to quiet the "food noise" and reduce appetite, but it's not a magic cure no matter the dose.

If she is not focused on food choices, calories, and exercise then she won't lose weight.

This.

It may be touted as a magic cure but it's not. It's an aid, which can be very effective with those who use it to their advantage.

[Anonymous]

My weight is similar to your mom's. I have been taking Oz since February but haven't focused on changing my diet or losing weight. I do log my weight every few days -- just checked and I have lost 12 pounds in five months with zero effort. My main focus has been on controlling blood sugar, and it is working for that. So, your mom may lose weight slowly without intending it -- it does make it harder to eat overall.

[Anonymous]

^^PP here, I should add that I have titred up to the 2.0 dose during the five months. If your mom is taking anything under 1.0mg weekly, that could be part of the issue.

[Anonymous]

I've been on it for 6 months and only lose when I try. As a pp noted, it's a tool but doesn't magically subtract pounds, at least not for some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is diabetic and has been on a low dose of Ozempic for about 6 months now but has not lost any weight at all. According to her it has helped control her diabetes - which is why she started taking it - but I am just surprised she hasn’t lost a single pound.

According to her, you have to “try” to lose weight, but that seems completely opposite to how the news portrays the drug, right?

My mom is 5’2” and weighs around 180 lbs - so she has weight to lose. She doesn’t eat healthy, but she really doesn’t eat a lot at all in terms of volume. Her weakness is definitely sweets.

Could it be her dose? Are there people who just don’t lose weight on it?

She is eating a ton of carbs and sweets resulting in her insulin being chronically too high. This means she has no access to burn her body fat and may also even be storing the carbs she consumes as fat before she can even use it. She needs to stop the sweets for sure and probably also all the grains and fruits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The therapeutic dose is 1.0 or 2.0mg. You step up the dosage:

0.25 for 4 weeks
0.5 for 2 weeks
You then can move to 1.0 and stay on that dose for a while. If you can tolerate the side effects you can move up to 2.0.

Two things might be happening:
Your mother is not taking the medication properly and is still at 0.25 which is not doing much.
And she’s continuing to eat poorly. It’s not a miracle drug that allows you to eat whatever you want. The weight comes off because you are eating less. It’s not some fat burner. And you need to exercise.

The most important thing you said is exercise, which MUST BE IN THE FORM OF RESISTANCE TRAINING. She also MUST eat lots of protein. When people lose weight with Ozempic, they lose a lot of lean mass with the fat. That is terrible. Eating a lot of protein and doing resistance training can help prevent that loss of lean mass.

[Anonymous]

Until my mom titer-d up to 2.0, she felt nothing from Ozempic. She started the low doses in January, and just took her 3rd shot of 2.0 Tuesday. Over 6 months, she lost 0 lbs. The last week, she lost 5.

[Anonymous]

On .25, it quiets my food noise and it makes it much, much easier for me to make healthy choices. But I’m still able to overeat if I wanted to. It’s not “automatic” weight loss but it’s a huge boost.

On .5, I get horribly sick and I can’t eat anything. It’s miserable.

Other people don’t feel anything till they get to 1 or 2.

So I think the dosing really varies.

[Anonymous]

I lost weight (and reduced blood sugar) on the low dose but I was also very motivated and ate much less and exercised. I have lost 25 lbs in 4.5 months, with a month at .25, 2 months at .5, one month at .75 and the last month at 1.0. It has slowed down recently but I am okay with that as I am only looking to lose another 5-10 lbs.

I am early 60s and have to say I am shocked at how little I can eat to be able to lose weight compared to even 10 eyars ago. So part of your mother's issue may be adjusting to lower caloric needs just for the baseline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The therapeutic dose is 1.0 or 2.0mg. You step up the dosage:

0.25 for 4 weeks
0.5 for 2 weeks
You then can move to 1.0 and stay on that dose for a while. If you can tolerate the side effects you can move up to 2.0.

Two things might be happening:
Your mother is not taking the medication properly and is still at 0.25 which is not doing much.
And she’s continuing to eat poorly. It’s not a miracle drug that allows you to eat whatever you want. The weight comes off because you are eating less. It’s not some fat burner. And you need to exercise.

The most important thing you said is exercise, which MUST BE IN THE FORM OF RESISTANCE TRAINING. She also MUST eat lots of protein. When people lose weight with Ozempic, they lose a lot of lean mass with the fat. That is terrible. Eating a lot of protein and doing resistance training can help prevent that loss of lean mass.

Having lost a lot of weight both ways, I notice no difference. Strength training is important for everyone’s help but I don’t think the idea that weight loss on Ozempic somehow increases muscle loss is supported by evidence.