This is what weight loss shots have done

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 12:46 pm

For years weightloss was something people worked on and worked hard on. When you met someone who lost weight or was working on it there was a comraderie and respect for their efforts. Everyone knows how hard it is to eat healthy and exercise, some people were skinny without it but now weightloss has all become about the shots.

If you can afford it, get the magic shots, you can be skinny without changing your lifestyle or without any willpower or discipline. It's so tempting and there is hardly any pushback about them. I have not heard of a single doctor or nutritionist telling people not to take them. I've watched tens of people lose lots of weight and fast just by taking the shots and now any attempt to discuss weightless is met with just take the shots. The whole "fake" losing weight for health or just be healthy campaigning is gone. I guess it never really was about healthy lifestyle, it's actually all about the weight.

The diet industry is freaking out because they make money on people regaining their weight and claiming to be the solution but if everyone can just get meds for it, they aren't needed.

I feel like the biggest loser because I'm not taking the shots and I'm obese. I'm working on my habits and it's hard and very slow. I think I'm doing the right thing but I am met with zero support. Everyone is telling me, oh just take the shots. Some people who noticed I lost some weight even said, oh are you on the shots? Um no, I am working hard to change my lifestyle thank you very much. And then they tell me oh you can just get the shots, this doctor or that doctor would for sure prescribe it.

I am hesitant for three reasons:
1) it's extremely expensive, I cannot afford it on an ongoing basis.
2) I can't imagine there is no long term side affects.
3) I have a hard time letting go of the idea that healthy eating/exercising is what a body needs, not more drugs.

Am I crazy??????

Disclaimer: yes there are people who have tried everything to lose weight and their bodies don't lose the weight of people with serious diseases that losing weight will reverse. I am not referring to these exceptions. I am talking about every Yom d!ck and Harry on weightloss shots.

justforfun87

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 12:55 pm

I am not obese but I am overweight. Actually I guess I am obese according to my BMI. Regardless, I was completely opposed to the shots because we have gone down this road before. Miracle drugs that end up with horrible long term side effects such as Fen-phen in the 70's or that nausea drug that produced children with deformities. That being said, recently I have seen more and more people rave about Ozempics and it is very very tempting.

amother

Ghostwhite ↓

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:02 pm

I'm on the fence. I can get shots covered. I'm pre-diabetic and have a high enough bmi. I'm certainly not one of those people trying to lose a quick 30 lbs for a Simcha. The thing is, good old fashioned diet and exercise HAVEN'T worked (and no, I'm not going to list everything I've done, so don't bother trying to suggest anything here). My doctor isn't pushing and understands the hesitation. But realistically, there isn't much left for me to try. And no, the shots are not a replacement for lifestyle changes. I was advised to mostly keep to the changes (at best, I can be a little less strict). Most people I know who do take them are the same. They are not sitting sedentary and eating whatever they want willy nilly. They are doing those things too, but now are finally seeing results. And not just with weight but with improved blood work. Yes, there are risks, and people need to think harder before starting. But plenty of us are thinking hard and are not at all looking for a way out.

amother

Hibiscus ↓

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:06 pm

I am staying far away from the shots for the next couple of years until we can see how much weight people regain and what the long term effects are. I could care less if everyone else is getting super skinny from them, get back to me in a few years.

If someone is morbidly obese and nothing else is working I hear it, but otherwise why take the risk? I have relatives who died from long term complications from the stomach surgeries that were so popular some years back.

amother

Molasses

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:08 pm

I don’t know what world you live in with not one “nutritionist “ or doctor telling people not to use it. I am a Registered Dietitian and my specialties are Diabetes and kidney disease. I a part of a network of 7 other dietitians and 14 MDs (a combination of endocrinologists and nephrologists) and I do not know a single one who takes these injections lightly or recommends them as anything but a temporary last resort. We have had patients leave some of the practices because they aren’t given the meds. We all suspect that in the next 5-10 years there will be a class action lawsuit. (But then maybe people can be skinny and rich! Not healthy but maybe to some that is secondary).

amother

Slateblue

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:15 pm

My doctor said the shots do require hard work, otherwise you get really bad side effects.
If you don't exercise, you will rapidly lose all your muscle. You will feel and eventually look terrible.

If you don't meal plan and eat healthily, you will be nutrient deficient quickly. Because on the shots you crave fewer calories. So if you normally overeat, chances are that at least some of your calories will come from healthy foods. If you are taking in far fewer calories, but aren't careful about health, it's possible to miss out on important vitamins and minerals and face life long problems.

Going on the the shots make those lifestyle changes more doable because your efforts are rewarded and you are more motivated when you see how your body is improving. Also, it takes away a lot of the cravings.

I'm shocked that doctors would prescribe shots without warning about lifestyle changes being essential.

amother

Pear

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:30 pm

There’s no moral superiority to losing weight without shots… You’re not a better person if you lose weight with hard work, self control, the good old fashioned way, or using any other weight loss cliches. In reality, those cliches are more myths than reality because losing weight is so much more complex than “just eat less”.

I agree that shots should never replace a healthy lifestyle, same as any other diet and that there might be risks to it, etc. But that’s on the person who’s taking it… I don’t see why you care if other people choose the shots, just because they’re losing weight faster than you. Their weight loss literally has nothing to do with you any more than those people whose pounds just melt off of them.

(No, I haven’t taken the shots, but I’m close to someone who did after years of struggling and I’m happy for her that it’s an option.)

amother

Periwinkle

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:39 pm

You’re not crazy. All your reasons are valid. It’s similar to growth hormones. Should every short person take it in hope of being a few inches taller? Many people will not do it for similar reasons. Why not try the hard way first and see where it gets you. Maybe after you’ve tried literally everything and nothing works, then you can think about it. I can’t imagine that there are no side effects. I also wonder if you need to be on the shot forever. Do people get off the shot and keep the weight off?

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 1:41 pm

I've been in OA for several years, doing the hard work (diet and emotional, spiritual work). And yes, there is something to say about doing the hard internal work to live a more healthy lifestyle

The habits we have formed as part of our culture (fast food, processed food and the Jewish culture of every occasions being marked with excessive and unhealthy food) will filter down to our kids and next generations. There are already studies coming out linking ozempic to increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Anyone who blinds themselves to these possibilities and think it's a miracle drug are truly burying their heads in the sand. Is it possible those risks outweigh the benefits of losing weight when you're so obese? Possibly, but to say they're without risk?!?! Our entire society is fooling themselves.

amother

Chocolate ↓

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 2:00 pm

When I was around 12-13 years old I had a neighbor who got married. She was a fun and happy person and we were all so happy for her. Right after her wedding she started not to feel well. Long story short, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She was all of 20 years old and was only married for a few weeks. We watched her father carrying her into the house after getting treatments for many months. A year later she died. It was heartbreaking. Turns out that her mother took an anti nausea drug when she was pregnant with her. The side effect was unknown at the time but it caused the fetus to be develop uterine cancer 20 years later. No one knew that when they were taking the drug.
That story is what keeps me away from taking the shots. How do I know what could happen to me in 20 years? Even the doctors don’t know.
I want to lose weight more than anything. I’m sitting here with a sliced tomato and a bag of lettuce. It’s hard!!!! Of course I want the easy way out but I’m scared.

amother

↑ Hibiscus

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 2:02 pm

amother Chocolate wrote:

How do you know those shots caused her to have uterine cancer?

Not that I am pro these shots at all...just wondering how that was known

amother

Watermelon

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 2:10 pm

Everyone can make their own choices when it comes to these weight loss meds.

Personally, I am at a point where my next option is surgery. So meds are a less risky option to try. Unfortunately they don't work well for me. I don't have bad side effects (hardly any side effects at all) but I don't feel a massive effect on my hunger. They do *something * but not enough.

And about the moral superiority regarding the "old fashioned way", I am so sick of hearing about this. As if it's a real option. I have lost and gained 70+ pounds 3x over my lifetime. I doubt that has done any good for my body. I don't believe constant, intense restriction (which is what dieting the old fashioned way is) is good for anyone's mental health. It hasn't been good for mine.

amother

Fern

Mon, Mar 11 2024, 2:12 pm

For those willing to try shots
Why are you not willing to try HCG shots first.
Truly less side effects than Ozempic or the like
And if done correctly long lasting Weightloss

Ppl are hung up with it not being approved by the FDA for Weightloss

Did you know those that take metformin are protected from cancer by a high percentage. In some countries it’s given as an anti-cancer drug. Yet the FDA does not approve it for anti-cancer. But that doesn’t mean it’s not approved for some things (diabetes). It’s just not approved for cancer. Same thing for certain malaria medications.

If you want to know the science behind it
Look up Pounds and Inches by Dr.Simeons