Really stupid question about Ozempic and other similar drugs

[Anonymous]

Is the purpose and function of Ozempic and similar drugs literally just appetite suppression? Meaning it works by simply making you not want to eat, but has no other benefits such as boosting the metabolism or helping your body to digest more efficiently?

Thank you, sorry to ask a dumb question.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s mostly appetite suppression, but it also makes you burn more calories

[Anonymous]

You couldn't google this? Really???

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/13901-glp-1-agonists

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-does-ozempic-work-understanding-glp-1s-for-diabetes-weight-loss-and-beyond

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You couldn't google this? Really???

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/13901-glp-1-agonists

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-does-ozempic-work-understanding-glp-1s-for-diabetes-weight-loss-and-beyond

Why not just answer the question instead of posting a snarky response with links to lengthy articles? It was simple. Do GLP-1s help you lose weight because you're eating less, or do they also help you burn more calories and speed up metabolism?

[Anonymous]

Not one or the other. Both.

[Anonymous]

They make you feel full in a variety of ways - hormones and slower digestion, mostly - so that you eat less. That is the primary effect.
The hormonal piece may also help some people with emotional eating.

I have not heard they speed up metabolism.

[Anonymous]

Overwhelmingly, i works by reducing your appetite. It also made me uninterested in foods I ate before.

I have zero interest in eating Reece's peanut butter cups now. It's not that they taste like dirt, it's just I have no interest in eating them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the purpose and function of Ozempic and similar drugs literally just appetite suppression? Meaning it works by simply making you not want to eat, but has no other benefits such as boosting the metabolism or helping your body to digest more efficiently?

Thank you, sorry to ask a dumb question.

It mimics GLP-1 by increasing release of insulin when you eat, shuttling more glucose into fat cells and muscle cells. This also slows digestion and stomach emptying, so you feel full for longer after eating and not able to eat as much at once as fast.

It also increases the release of the catabolic hormone glucagon, which increases blood glucose and triglyceride levels in the blood stream, allowing insulin to shuttle more of them around. Glucagon being a catabolic hormone, will cause weight loss from reducing fat and muscle cell size.

This results in a more stabilized blood sugar level, with less spikes after eating, when taking the drug. It's good for diabetics who have health issues and cannot exercise much.

[Anonymous]

Are these meds for life?

What if you’ve already lost a tremendous amount of weight?

What happens when or if you stop?

[Anonymous]

Also does the weight loss include bone density and or muscle loss?

I know someone who supposedly took this to balance her menopausal weight gain and hormonal shift but is now skeletal and frail looking with deep facial lines, deflated-looking skin around waistline (now wears crop tops) and probably a women’s size 2.

This can’t be healthy.

[Anonymous]

It acts on reward pathways in the brain so that the things like food and alcohol that are normally very rewarding are less so, so people eat less and drink less. It also affects some people’s sex drive so they have no interest.

[Anonymous]

For me it definitely did more than just suppress my appetite. I lost weight pretty quickly— much more quickly than I should have just by not eating. And it had some effects within the first 5-7 lbs of weight loss that are typically seen after much larger losses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also does the weight loss include bone density and or muscle loss?

I know someone who supposedly took this to balance her menopausal weight gain and hormonal shift but is now skeletal and frail looking with deep facial lines, deflated-looking skin around waistline (now wears crop tops) and probably a women’s size 2.

This can’t be healthy.

Yes starvation causes muscle loss.

[Anonymous]

I recently passed 1 year since taking my last dose of a GLP-1 and after losing 52 lbs over about 15 months. I have regained about 15 lbs in that year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently passed 1 year since taking my last dose of a GLP-1 and after losing 52 lbs over about 15 months. I have regained about 15 lbs in that year.

Can you share how your body changed? Do you have loose skin and if so where? How has your face/neck changed? Are your energy levels better? Sleep? Cholesterol? Other health improvements? Muscle loss?