It’s suddenly everywhere in the last 6 months…Your aunt lost crazy amounts of weight super quickly with little effort - it’s a miracle drug, right?? Well, for diabetics needing control of their insulin - it’s great! For non-diabetic weight loss - we will have to wait and see the long-term effects on a larger population.

Does it aid in weight loss? Absolutely! BUT, something people aren’t talking about…Your body is INCREDIBLY SMART and ADAPTIVE.

When someone drastically decreases the amount of calories that they’re consuming because of the appetite suppressant effects of this medication, their body WILL ADAPT to become efficient at surviving on that amount of calories. So let’s say someone is taking Ozempic for a year eating 800-900 calories a day most of the time. When they stop the medication, their body is now used to surviving on minimal calories, but now their appetite has returned to how it was previously and they have not learned any lifestyle changes, therefore they will resort to eating the way they did before. Their body is also used to getting a shot to help with their insulin production, which they will no longer have. The long-term side effects of disrupting the natural production of insulin in a person without diabetes is still unknown, but could potentially cause problems with insulin production down the road.

Research has found that when people stop using medications like Ozempic, weight rebound occurs. After one year off of the medication, people regain 2/3 of their weight and the majority of the cardiometabolic benefits disappear, such as high blood pressure, excess body fat, and high cholesterol and triglycerides. Experts say this is because the medication is not a cure to the underlying issues that led to weight gain to begin with, and does not prevent the metabolic adaptation that occurs during weight loss. Metabolic adaptation occurs when eating in a significant calorie deficit, your body wants to protect itself from starvation by slowing down your metabolism. Studies suggest that even after resuming a diet with adequate calories, your body can still experience this for many years, making weight regain very likely.

I cannot say this enough, when there is ANY MEDICAL INTERVENTION DONE FOR WEIGHT LOSS/FAT LOSS, THERE MUST BE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION - meaning, YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE!

This goes for all of these shots, liposuction, lap band, gastric bypass - ALL OF IT. Lifestyle changes can be overwhelming, but why in the world would you put yourself at risk of the numerous potential side effects and complications of these interventions without changing your lifestyle? If you are willing to risk your life or experiment with your health in the name of weight loss, be willing to change your LIFESTYLE!