It primarily changes your sensation of satiety, meaning it impacts the signals in your brain telling you that you are hungry. It also delays gastric emptying, causing you to feel full for longer. Those are the primary actions of the drug leading to weight loss. People lose weight due to decreased food intake, simple as that. There is no magic fat dissolving properties to the drug.

You can achieve exactly the same thing through behavior modification. Most people find it significantly more challenging, but absolutely can be done.

I’m on Mounjaro and as others have shared, it’s more than appetite suppression.

Also anecdotally, you can 100% get terrible side effects from eating the foods listed. I really think the whole “trigger foods” thing is mostly just people continuing to shame themselves and each other and making it their “fault.” But I’ve had side effects eating very clean and very small portions. If it’s happening, it’s happening.

I’ve been on it a month & half and have lost 12 lbs. I got a compounded version for $299 a month bc I’m not obese and don’t have health conditions. I just need to drop 40 lbs. So far I highly recommend it. You hear horror stories about people feeling sick, going to ER on it but I think as long as you eat what youre supposed to, you would be fine. At least that’s been my experience. I eat 3 meals a day and a snack, protein with every meal and no sugar, refined carbs or anything greasy. meals today as an example: greek plain yogurt with almonds, flaxseed & fruit; lunch - salad with salmon, dinner — small amount of whole wheat pasta with zucchini noodles with shrimp, lemon, olive oil & asparagus. snack: sunflower seeds, apple. I really dont think I would have been able to start eating like this without the medication kicking me in the ass. I literally know I can’t eat certain things bc I’ll feel unwell. I’ve been told that once I lose the weight, i can to to every other week shots as a transition and then try going off it (as long as I maintain new routines). One added benefit is I’ve totally stopped drinking wine & coffee. I recommend giving it a try. I used Bliv Wellness for rx & Red Rock pharmacy.By the way, I was very afraid of giving myself an injection but Insulin needles dont hurt. good luck.

Based on my personal experience, there is more than appetite suppression going on. I am actually in a clinical trial, so I don’t know precisely what drug I am taking, but it doesn’t seem like I’m getting a placebo, so I am either getting the drug in Wegovy, a mix of Wegovy and another drug, or just the other drug.
I started at the 0.25 dosage and within 48 hours my body started shedding water weight in a big way. I peed like I have never peed before, and lost 6 pounds in the first week. I no longer retain any water. Never puffy in the morning, no candles after a humid day. 11 weeks in, I have lost 25lbs. While I definitely eat less than I did before, there is no way I am eating so little that I should have lost 25 lbs. And I’ve had no diarrhea at all— in fact, constipation is my side effect.
So I feel like there is more going on for me. I have classic PCOS and insulin resistance, which leads me to wonder if it works on that , which in turn leads my body to shed fat it used to build as part of my insulin resistance.

I don’t know, and I’m not sure they know.

Having done it both ways, I can lose weight on Ozempic eating all sorts of foods I couldn’t eat losing without it, like ice cream and sandwiches. But I can’t know how much those things just stimulated my appetite too much in the past, so I had to avoid them or ended up eating more calories vs the foods themselves. Probably the former.

I think they’re still learning about some if its magic. Definitely, if you eat dieting calories, you will lose weight. But not everyone has the same hunger signals and leptin levels. So eating dieting calories consistently enough to lose 30 pounds is pretty hard for a lot of people. This kills your hunger so you become one of those people who “forgot to eat”. Eating for entertainment is a thing of the past. It frees you from rigid calorie counting. You still need to exercise for general heath and you should eat protein to maintain muscle. Or at least, this is what I’m seeing with friends and experiencing myself. On WW and macros I’d be out of points/calories by 2:00. On this, I typically haven’t had more than coffee with collagen and a yogurt at 2:00. So much easier to adhere to the calorie restriction.

Anonymous wrote:Does ozempic weight loss only work thru appetite suppression or is something else happening metabolically? In other words, if I just get my diet under control could I have the same success? I don’t think I can go on it. For one thing my insurance won’t cover because I’m not diabetic. I also don’t want to be on medication for the rest of my life. I am willing to make lifestyle modifications for the rest of my life. I need to lose 30 pounds. Prior to middle age I never had a weight issue.

Good question, thanks for posting. I’m curious to hear people’s responses.

Anonymous wrote:It only suppresses your appetite. Many people also report losing interest in alcohol, drugs and smoking. It basically eliminates cravings.


You can do it on your own via calorie tracking but we all know how that goes.

FWIW I lost 60lbs on ozempic and have been off it for a year and haven’t gained the weight back. However I track every calorie that goes into my mouth.

This.

Naltrexone sorta does the same thing, if you want to try that treatment instead (usually paired with Wellbutrin).

It only suppresses your appetite. Many people also report losing interest in alcohol, drugs and smoking. It basically eliminates cravings.


You can do it on your own via calorie tracking but we all know how that goes.

FWIW I lost 60lbs on ozempic and have been off it for a year and haven’t gained the weight back. However I track every calorie that goes into my mouth.

Does ozempic weight loss only work thru appetite suppression or is something else happening metabolically? In other words, if I just get my diet under control could I have the same success? I don’t think I can go on it. For one thing my insurance won’t cover because I’m not diabetic. I also don’t want to be on medication for the rest of my life. I am willing to make lifestyle modifications for the rest of my life. I need to lose 30 pounds. Prior to middle age I never had a weight issue.