Excellent NYT piece about shaming people to take Ozempic, etc for weight loss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im on Ozempic and this is truly the first time in my life I havent been controlled by food. I have always thought about food all of the time. What Im eating next, when Im eating. What I can eat to meet whatever calorie goal Im shooting for. I have been binging since elementary school. There was never a feeling of “full”. Diet pills of diff kinds would keep me from eating when I wanted to lose weight, but the obsession w food was always there.

But now, that noise is all gone. I can look at food as more of a bystander vs an addict and make healthy decisions. I can eat a normal amount and get full. I can (for example) eat one piece of candy vs the whole bag.

It is seriously life-changing and I envy those of you have never had a problem with food, and this think fat people just need to have willpower/not eat too much.

So happy for you!

[Anonymous]

And let me be clear - I still eat while on Mounjaro. I consume about 1600 calories a day but my diet is healthier and focused on protein and fiber. I no longer have cravings and I eat smaller portions than before.

I work out and it’s now more enjoyable. My labs have all improved and my resting HR and blood pressure have lowered to healthy numbers. I’ve lost almost 20% of my weight in 10 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And let me be clear - I still eat while on Mounjaro. I consume about 1600 calories a day but my diet is healthier and focused on protein and fiber. I no longer have cravings and I eat smaller portions than before.

I work out and it’s now more enjoyable. My labs have all improved and my resting HR and blood pressure have lowered to healthy numbers. I’ve lost almost 20% of my weight in 10 months.

This is awesome!

[Anonymous]

I’m excited to see if this helps with alcoholism.

I believe it’s in trials now but I can’t find any information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m excited to see if this helps with alcoholism.

I believe it’s in trials now but I can’t find any information.

There’s good anecdotal feedback about it helping with compulsive behaviors and addiction. People have shared in forums and on social media that they’ve had success with reducing alcohol consumption or gambling. Don’t believe there are studies yet though.

There are several clinical trials now for cardiovascular disease, obesity, and sleep apnea. Some of the medications in the pipeline are showing even higher efficacy than Ozempic and Mounjaro in terms of weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m excited to see if this helps with alcoholism.

I believe it’s in trials now but I can’t find any information.

I can tell you that since I have been on Wegovy, I have very little taste for alcohol, especially wine. At most, I have a glass, and I nurse it much longer than before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Im on Ozempic and this is truly the first time in my life I havent been controlled by food. I have always thought about food all of the time. What Im eating next, when Im eating. What I can eat to meet whatever calorie goal Im shooting for. I have been binging since elementary school. There was never a feeling of “full”. Diet pills of diff kinds would keep me from eating when I wanted to lose weight, but the obsession w food was always there.

But now, that noise is all gone. I can look at food as more of a bystander vs an addict and make healthy decisions. I can eat a normal amount and get full. I can (for example) eat one piece of candy vs the whole bag.

It is seriously life-changing and I envy those of you have never had a problem with food, and this think fat people just need to have willpower/not eat too much.

This. Also, for a lot of people, like me, you can't just eat whatever you want. I didn't start losing weight on Ozempic until I reduced carbs and sugar. It basically makes dieting easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Yes, some people are furious at the discovery that they aren’t thin because of their moral superiority. It is a blow to their sense of self.

They still haven’t truly accepted this. The drugs work by reducing disproportionate hunger that thinner people do not have. But they really believe it’s doing something else as some sort of cheat code.

It’s not that thinner people aren’t hungry, they just resist the hunger. I have nothing against people using Ozempic and don’t judge them for it, but doesn’t this just prove that it IS about willpower? There’s all this justification that has been used that obesity is due to genetics or hormones or some type of disorder, but a drug that is able to reduce hunger has basically cured all these issues. The problem all along, it seems, is that some people can’t resist the urge to eat. I do think a lot has to do with the American diet (e.g., eating a lot of simple carbs and not enough protein causes insulin crashes that makes people eat more, not enough protein and fiber to suppress hunger), but ultimately it’s all within a person’s control.

I agree, mostly. I think the majority of people fall on the bell curve of they need to (and it is within their capabilities) exercise some amount of discipline with both their diet and activity level to be at a heathy weight. But then on either side, there are people that just cannot have that control/discipline over what/how much they are eating and then those that it takes zero amount of effort and discipline to be a heathy weight. But most people fall somewhere in between the two extremes.

Either way- I’m glad there is an option for people that are unsuccessful at getting to or maintaining a heathy weight- whatever their reason is. It in no way takes away my sense of well being or accomplishment for staying in shape by eating well and exercising. That is my preferred option

So you are completing ignoring the metabolic components of obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic disorders, endocrine disorders? That there are mechanism we don't understand and that people react differently and more importantly, women- especially women- are less likely to be treated for any hormonal insufficiencies unless they cause death and even then, it takes 10-30 years to be diagnosed?
Again you talk about a spectrum of discipline but cant see to fathom that a level of X might be within the average/norm but person A can exist optimally with X and person B could be the complete opposite.

Majority of people aren’t born or develop a metabolic disorder that makes them guaranteed to be obese. Most people become obese over time, due to poor lifestyle and diet and as the pounds/excess fat accumulate the metabolic problems happen. 70% if the population doesn’t have a metabolic problem, they have an eating and lifestyle problem

Explain the twin studies where twins raised apart have the same issues with weight.

There was a pbs show about weight that was really depressing. In part of it they followed a contestant on the biggest loser who lost a ton of weight and after the show they followed him. They did all kinds of medical tests and it was clear, he was going to gain weight if he did not starve himself. After the show he began to gain weight on a very low calorie restricted diet. His body was over efficient at storing fat no matter the number of calories. This isn't someone with poor will power.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Im on Ozempic and this is truly the first time in my life I havent been controlled by food. I have always thought about food all of the time. What Im eating next, when Im eating. What I can eat to meet whatever calorie goal Im shooting for. I have been binging since elementary school. There was never a feeling of “full”. Diet pills of diff kinds would keep me from eating when I wanted to lose weight, but the obsession w food was always there.

But now, that noise is all gone. I can look at food as more of a bystander vs an addict and make healthy decisions. I can eat a normal amount and get full. I can (for example) eat one piece of candy vs the whole bag.

It is seriously life-changing and I envy those of you have never had a problem with food, and this think fat people just need to have willpower/not eat too much.

This. Also, for a lot of people, like me, you can't just eat whatever you want. I didn't start losing weight on Ozempic until I reduced carbs and sugar. It basically makes dieting easier.

Which is why Weight Watchers is getting into the business!

[Anonymous]

I’ve been steadily dropping pounds the last few months with a combination of improved diet, neurotic calorie tracking, and exercise. No drugs! But I do have a secret weapon that’s made all the difference: an inherited disorder that is steadily crowding my internal organs with cysts.

Turns out it’s a lot easier to lose weight when your stomach has have less room to expand. The food noise I’ve had my whole life has just disappeared, naturally. The clock and feeling faint are now my cues it’s time to eat.

Guess I’m just cheating since I’m not doing it on willpower alone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We will remain a deeply troubled society as long as we deny science and assert that ‘willpower’ and ‘character’ are actual things that are stronger than intricately evolved hormones functioning in a biological being.

Nova on PBS just did a couple of episodes on neuroscience called Your Brain. They are designed for non scientists to grasp and reveal the complexities of the human brain and the reality that so much of what we think we are is just not true.

The obesity epidemic is a biological response to a broken food system that is entirely predictable given what we already know about how the human body works, including the brain and gut. Thin people are accidents of genetics and quite often not healthy - weight is not determinative of health, all the research bears that out.

Folks here who settle on an attitude of superiority because they haven’t fallen victim to the obesity epidemic are just proving how ignorant they are of science and when they argue at the science they just prove that they are willfully ignorant which is about the worst ‘character’ a person can develop in life.

I agree there has to be something other than “willpower” involved. The current food system isn’t working for the vast majority of Americans. I hope this isn’t too much of a tangent, but I’ve seen pieces where American school lunches are compared to school lunches in other countries and it’s mind-boggling. School lunch is one of the few places where we could actually control what’s available to consume, and we still can’t get it done. I would love to see 100 percent free lunch for all students enrolled in public schools, and I would love for it to be healthy in type of food, variety, and portion-size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is even taking about this IRL? I could not care less how/why someone lost weight and I don’t ask and don’t want to hear about it. Why do you think thin people care how you lost weight? We don’t

Ok, do you not notice, with your eyes, your friend who has been fat for several decades, and now has lost 160 pounds???

From 2019-2021 I lost 200 pounds. When my doctor -- who would know if I were taking weight loss, or other, drugs and knows the only things I take are a daily multivitamin, Iron supplement, and Vitamin D supplement -- asked me how I did it, I had to shrug. I have been obese my entire life, have tried every single diet, and have been logging my food for over a decade (because food logging does tend to show long term results in terms of weight stabilization), engaged in regular exercise for multiple decades (because a strong, healthy body remains stronger and healthier as one ages, regardless of weight), yadayada. I had previously started taking daily Vitamin D and Iron supplements, due to significantly low levels of both, but he didn't think that could have had the "success" we were seeing with the weight loss. The only other thing I could point at is I had been working hard on improving my sleep, and had some minor success there with less waking throughout the night/better ability to go back to sleep when I woke up at night.

When people ask how I lost weight, because people think they're entitled to know, I tell them I worked on improving my sleep. So I'm sure you're convinced that I took drugs (had I known about them I would have!).

You're so, so, very wrong and judgmental. Most people who have lost noticeable weight have been overweight or obese for a long enough time that we have engaged in multiple activities to lose weight because "it's just CICO!" Which is bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Mounjaro is also helping with cholesterol for me. Everyone on my mother's side has high cholesterol. In 16 mos (only been on the drug for 8) my cholesterol ratio dropped from 5.8 to 5, the latter is the high end of normal and my triglycerides dropped from 100 to 60. My LDL is still elevated but finally below 190 and was reduced by 30 points, which is still great because that's the familial part. I have lost almost 40lbs and continue to lose 1lb per week on average BUT my cholesterol was elevated my entire life, even when I was a normal weight and lower bf.

While statins are way cheaper, they still have some ugly side effects.

I never really liked alcohol either but after taking this I have no interest in drinking. It makes me ill now. My migraines are less frequent and their severity/duration are reduced.

[Anonymous]

My wife started on semaglutide a couple of months ago. When the "food noise" went away, she was astounded. Kind of a "this is how it works for other people?!?" perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I ask is that these people be honest about taking drugs to lose the weight. Stop telling me that you lost 100 pounds in 8 weeks because you 'found yourself'.

If you want to lie, than don't complain when people call you out on it.

Nobody owes you an explanation about anything. And you shouldn’t be asking anyways.

Now, if the person in question is out loud acting like they found some miracle unrelated to these drugs - totally different story. I have seen no such example.

"Wow, you look amazing!"

--"Yeah, Ive lost about 100 pounds. I just decided that I needed to meditate and find myself"

"That's fantastic. So, you meditated your way to a 100 pound weight loss over 8 weeks?"

--"Yep! It was that easy."


Don't insult my intelligence. You don't owe me an explanation, but don't clutch your pearls when the entire world is talking about the fact that you are clearly on drugs to lose the weight.

Who's losing 100 lbs over 8 weeks??
That's just an ignorant comment.