Yes!! Thank you! I have never been officially overweight, but I struggled with disordered eating as a teenager. Then, over the past five years in my mid-40s, I gained 30 pounds due to perimenopause. I have thought about food constantly for most of my adult life, and i obsessed about the weight gain. When I went on semaglutide- the ingredient common to all of the Ozempic medications that I got from a medical spa - my life changed, as you described. The internal dialogue in my brain entirely went away. I have been on it for 18 months, am now on a minimum maintenance dose that costs me about $250 a month, and I will be in it for the foreseeable future. It has been been one of the greatest gifts of my adult life.
I also gained a quick 30 due to perimeopause and none of the traditional means for losing weight have worked. Last year, my endocrinologist and I briefly discussed an Ozempic family med and passed due to potentially exacerbating a low-level gastrointestinal issue I already have. But now, a year later, after unsuccessfully spending the last 16 months very deliberately doing all of the "right" things to bring the number on the scale down (as opposed to the prior 16 months of haphazardly doing the "right" things), I am more than ready to give it a try.
Yes, I have always admired other animals for just being, while we, the self proclaimed intelligent species have really done a number on ourselves and others.
This made me emotional for reasons I can only guess are seeing lives change for the better. We are going to be seeing miracles with more gene editing soon too. See Crispr technology and all it is bringing us. There truly is light out there. Loved your article!
So many thoughts going through my mind…as I sit here 80 pounds over the top recommended weight for my height and age, struggling with uncontrollable asthma and sleep problems even though I was tested for apnea and I don’t have it…high cholesterol, tired constantly, pre-diabetic, wheezing...basically I’m a complete mess just waiting to die before my 70th birthday. I’ve seen every specialist there is and NO ONE suggested ozempic for weight loss, which could be the cause of most of my health issues. Calling my doctor now, tired of being tired, sick of being sick.
This topic has been on my mind for years. My doctor always struggled with weight, has a family history of obesity and had great success with Ozempic. She shared her story with me as I struggled to lose weight in menopause. The cost was a hurdle for me and insurance being difficult despite trying other alternatives- I wasn’t overweight enough. Both my kids are dyslexic and require low level accommodations after many years of private Orton Gillingham tutoring. The Ozempic argument feels similar to the pushback about accommodations. kids who have them are somehow getting a break other kids aren’t who are wired differently. Pushbacks for both topics seem related that some are getting advantages or easier path despite the outcome being something we all want educated children and healthy humans.
Yes to all of this. I am so glad you are the vital thinker and oberver you are. I have faith that your words help people reframe so many small-human-thinking thoughts and help turn them toward big-human-thinking thoughts. I get teary at the possibility that we could all dwell in love and compassion and vulnerability together versus being always siloed in our self-interest reflexes. Love you!
A friend with an auto immune disorder loves it. Loosing the weight gain that has come with trying different meds has been nice, but the real win for her is that it has lowered inflammation and thus pain better than anything else.
Thank you for this. I have someone really close to me who has been on Ozempic the past few months and she was almost too ashamed to tell me. I have seen her struggles over the years and when she told me I felt relief; she is someone I care about and seeing her in pain hurt me.
Although she’s not had the best side effects she is 30 pounds lighter and in a much better place than she has been in years. She’s much happier and less insecure and anxious. She’s a joy to be around. It often reminds me of my own struggles with cystic acne; my parents refused to let me try Accutane when I was a teen because they didn’t like the possible psychological effects. I had painful acne along my jawline and down my chest and back. For 20 years I tried absolutely everything and spilled thousands of dollars on skincare to try and fix this. Finally, after I stopped nursing my last baby, I went to the dermatologist and got a prescription, one that cost $5 a month (without insurance). I took it for 2 years and have been off of it for over a year now and my skin is still clear. I have never had more confidence in myself! I never realized I slouched so much to try and hide the acne on my chest or how I always wore my hair down so no one could see it on my shoulders. I avoided swimming (something that I loved as a child) because I was so afraid of showing my skin. If Ozempic can make someone as happy as I am after taking Accutane, then I say go for it, no judgment.
Fascinating & insightful essay. I hadn't really given any thought to Ozempic-skipped the articles & hoopla to date. Thought-provoking piece, you might consider getting published to wider audience.
I really appreciate the empathetic and thoughtful approach to how you're sharing your thinking about this medication. I've taken Ozempic and now Mounjaro after struggling with weight my whole life. Some of that struggle is almost certainly because of social pressure to be thin. But, after developing gestational diabetes with my second pregnancy and not being able to lose weight after, in spite of eating well and getting good exercise, I approached my doctor to learn about these medications. Like your office hours client, I have been incredibly surprised and pleased that the food-related noise in my head is just gone. I eat. I stop when I'm not hungry. Sometimes I eat a treat or a snack because it looks delicious, but I can stop when I feel full or done. I don't obsess. I have so much more brain space now that I'm not obsessing.
I also have anxiety and OCD, and both have been helped by this medication. I dropped down to a lower dose at one point and noticed how much it had been helping me emotionally.
People who don't struggle with the food noise cannot understand the absolute miracle that this stuff is. My one regret is that my doctor didn't warn me up front about muscle loss with weight loss, so I've been working to regain muscle because middle age.
When people comment on my weight loss I'm very open about taking medication, because we do have this moral weirdness as a society that somehow medically assisted weight management isn't Puritanical and self-denying enough. Fuck that. It's an actual miracle.
I love how you always think “sideways” and see the world with an entirely new and positive perspective. I’ve struggled with weight my whole life and had a mother who made me feel very less-than for not being able to lose weight. I’ve never been married. I’ve had terrible relationships with men and a lot of it is about my weight and how it makes me feel about myself. Not an ideal way to live this one precious life.
I actually have an appointment to see my doctor today about Ozempic and if it’s right for me, I’ve been really nervous about it and didn’t want to tell anybody, but then your newsletter popped up in my feed this morning which seems very serendipitous. Thank you so much, Gabrielle, it was just what I needed to hear. And I agree that you should take this to your larger platform. I think it’s a very valuable point of view. xx
I appreciate your comment so much and I hope your appointment went well. I also appreciate the encouragement to make this post available to my wider audience. I'm going to do that.
Thanks, Gabrielle. The appointment went well and the doctor seemed very concerned we did this right. He took a blood panel to confirm I’m a good candidate for a Semaglutide.
For anyone curious he said the most important thing is to eat three small meals a day and not to skip meals even if you don’t feel hungry. He recommends a Mediterranean diet and walking daily. He also said the weight loss varies for everyone, but he thought a 30 pound weight loss was a good goal for me. And it’s a once a week shot at their offices.
As some others have shared, I am in my late 40s and my body suddenly just doesn’t respond to my mostly healthy eating and exercise habits. I was gaining weight without any changes to my lifestyle and it was so frustrating. A friend suggested Tirzepatide and it’s changed my whole life. Not being guided by food truly has freed up my brain for all kinds of other things! I keep imagining a world where drugs like this could exist for people who struggle with all kinds of addictions. I’m grateful for it, I hope it becomes available more widely and that people can knock off the judgement around it.
Thank you. I am a 67 year old woman who can not remember a time that I did not feel overweight. (A comment from my ballet teacher about my large tush when I was about 7 is one that sits inside me to this day.) I am 5' 1" and at my wedding I weighed 123 pounds and I remember wishing I was thin like my friends. It has always amazed and saddened and confused me that I, a woman who is in charge of her life in all other areas, is unable to be "in control" in this one area. 5 days ago, at 215 pounds, I took my first dose of Ozempic. I am generally cautious about taking medications but after listening to someone describe the change prompted by a weight loss drug I was all in. I came to the belief that our brains are all wired differently. My wiring causes me to experience depression more than the average person. And my wiring causes me to think about food more than the average person. And perhaps my wiring causes me to gain weight more easily than the average person. In 5 days I already see a shift in my thoughts and actions around food and have lost 4 pounds. Of course it could be a placebo affect but, I am guessing (and hoping) that is not the case.
We are an extremely judgemental society. When my mom died of lung cancer some 12 years ago, I felt the need to always mention that she was a non-smoker. As if I deserved less compassion from others over my loss if she had been a smoker. The marvelous thing about reaching the age of 67 is I care a whole lot less what others think. At this point in my life I want to lose the weight because I will physically feel better (carrying around an extra 70 pounds has not been easy), and I want as much time as an active grandmother as possible.
Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful words.
I think about this all the time! We have so many moral judgements around behaviours that I truly believe are often just the way we are hard wired-I am a night owl and used to feel deep shame that I couldn't make myself be a morning person, I happened to get the wiring that makes it easy for me to keep a clean house but I know that is absolutely not something everyone got, for some people it's easy to go to the gym, some people can easily control spending-the trick of life is to understand that the things YOU find easy might not come so easily to others and to shut the eff up about it. If we can create medication that helps to ease that playing field, it seems like we should all be celebrating! I'm happy for you that you are seeing a change in how you think, what a gift!
Of course, you would be the one to tackle this topic in an educated and non judgmental way. I’ve struggled for 30 years with weight gain, now realizing it all had to do with menopause and not because my will is weak. I tried every diet know to woman without any results. I had given up hope until I started reading about the drugs my daughter had told me about. I thought, maybe this is my hope. My new primary doctor is very excited about this treatment and has been prescribing them since their very early days. It’s been a month and I’ve lost three pounds - a huge win for me, believe it or not. I have cardio vascular disease, and other co morbidities including pre diabetes. I feel that semaglutide (which I get through a compounding pharmacy for $200 a month), is a drug I will take the rest of my life, and perhaps these other health conditions will no longer require the medications I currently take. The thought of this changing society is an extremely exciting prospect. Thank you.
Thank you so much for setting your big brain on this topic, and doing it in such an expansive and non-judgmental way. But where you ended up is NOT the direction I thought you were going! When you said ...
"Because the Ozempic podcast was still fresh in my mind, I couldn’t help notice how many products would no longer make it into the grocery carts of someone using Ozempic. There are whole aisles dedicated to specific weight-loss diets — low-carb sections, low-fat sections, high-protein sections, sugar-free sections, keto sections, zero-calorie sections, etc. Beyond those aisles, I noticed more aisles filled with snack products, products specifically marketed to eat between meals."
... I thought you were going to dig into the systemic brokenness of food in American society: the industrial manufacture and marketing of processed foods, the capitalism driving our unconscious food choices, the emptiness in our lives that we try to fill in with carbs, fats, and sweets.
I agree that drugs like Ozempic could radically "free" many of us from the tyranny of food, but isn't that just further burdening each individual with choosing (and affording) the "solution" to their weight "problem"? What if, instead, we banned certain unhealthy foods, regulated dieting messages on social media (as TikTok did recently), encouraged doctors to prescribe exercise, and incentivized workplaces to support health-related benefits? Have we given up on living in a society where we invest in wellness, and don't allow food and drug companies to manipulate our choices?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the differences between the US and France, for example, and how you think the norms and practices around food and culture might impact both countries' obesity rates and their willingness to assign responsibility to individuals vs. corporations and government.
Thank you for sharing! This is such an important perspective that I didn’t consider.
Yes!! Thank you! I have never been officially overweight, but I struggled with disordered eating as a teenager. Then, over the past five years in my mid-40s, I gained 30 pounds due to perimenopause. I have thought about food constantly for most of my adult life, and i obsessed about the weight gain. When I went on semaglutide- the ingredient common to all of the Ozempic medications that I got from a medical spa - my life changed, as you described. The internal dialogue in my brain entirely went away. I have been on it for 18 months, am now on a minimum maintenance dose that costs me about $250 a month, and I will be in it for the foreseeable future. It has been been one of the greatest gifts of my adult life.
I also gained a quick 30 due to perimeopause and none of the traditional means for losing weight have worked. Last year, my endocrinologist and I briefly discussed an Ozempic family med and passed due to potentially exacerbating a low-level gastrointestinal issue I already have. But now, a year later, after unsuccessfully spending the last 16 months very deliberately doing all of the "right" things to bring the number on the scale down (as opposed to the prior 16 months of haphazardly doing the "right" things), I am more than ready to give it a try.
Yes, I have always admired other animals for just being, while we, the self proclaimed intelligent species have really done a number on ourselves and others.
This made me emotional for reasons I can only guess are seeing lives change for the better. We are going to be seeing miracles with more gene editing soon too. See Crispr technology and all it is bringing us. There truly is light out there. Loved your article!
So many thoughts going through my mind…as I sit here 80 pounds over the top recommended weight for my height and age, struggling with uncontrollable asthma and sleep problems even though I was tested for apnea and I don’t have it…high cholesterol, tired constantly, pre-diabetic, wheezing...basically I’m a complete mess just waiting to die before my 70th birthday. I’ve seen every specialist there is and NO ONE suggested ozempic for weight loss, which could be the cause of most of my health issues. Calling my doctor now, tired of being tired, sick of being sick.
I am so glad that you're doing this for yourself, Andrea, and will be cheering you along!
I would think your doctors would consider it if you are pre-diabetic. I hope you are able to try it to see if it works for you.
This topic has been on my mind for years. My doctor always struggled with weight, has a family history of obesity and had great success with Ozempic. She shared her story with me as I struggled to lose weight in menopause. The cost was a hurdle for me and insurance being difficult despite trying other alternatives- I wasn’t overweight enough. Both my kids are dyslexic and require low level accommodations after many years of private Orton Gillingham tutoring. The Ozempic argument feels similar to the pushback about accommodations. kids who have them are somehow getting a break other kids aren’t who are wired differently. Pushbacks for both topics seem related that some are getting advantages or easier path despite the outcome being something we all want educated children and healthy humans.
Yes to all of this. I am so glad you are the vital thinker and oberver you are. I have faith that your words help people reframe so many small-human-thinking thoughts and help turn them toward big-human-thinking thoughts. I get teary at the possibility that we could all dwell in love and compassion and vulnerability together versus being always siloed in our self-interest reflexes. Love you!
A friend with an auto immune disorder loves it. Loosing the weight gain that has come with trying different meds has been nice, but the real win for her is that it has lowered inflammation and thus pain better than anything else.
Thank you for this. I have someone really close to me who has been on Ozempic the past few months and she was almost too ashamed to tell me. I have seen her struggles over the years and when she told me I felt relief; she is someone I care about and seeing her in pain hurt me.
Although she’s not had the best side effects she is 30 pounds lighter and in a much better place than she has been in years. She’s much happier and less insecure and anxious. She’s a joy to be around. It often reminds me of my own struggles with cystic acne; my parents refused to let me try Accutane when I was a teen because they didn’t like the possible psychological effects. I had painful acne along my jawline and down my chest and back. For 20 years I tried absolutely everything and spilled thousands of dollars on skincare to try and fix this. Finally, after I stopped nursing my last baby, I went to the dermatologist and got a prescription, one that cost $5 a month (without insurance). I took it for 2 years and have been off of it for over a year now and my skin is still clear. I have never had more confidence in myself! I never realized I slouched so much to try and hide the acne on my chest or how I always wore my hair down so no one could see it on my shoulders. I avoided swimming (something that I loved as a child) because I was so afraid of showing my skin. If Ozempic can make someone as happy as I am after taking Accutane, then I say go for it, no judgment.
Fascinating & insightful essay. I hadn't really given any thought to Ozempic-skipped the articles & hoopla to date. Thought-provoking piece, you might consider getting published to wider audience.
I really appreciate the empathetic and thoughtful approach to how you're sharing your thinking about this medication. I've taken Ozempic and now Mounjaro after struggling with weight my whole life. Some of that struggle is almost certainly because of social pressure to be thin. But, after developing gestational diabetes with my second pregnancy and not being able to lose weight after, in spite of eating well and getting good exercise, I approached my doctor to learn about these medications. Like your office hours client, I have been incredibly surprised and pleased that the food-related noise in my head is just gone. I eat. I stop when I'm not hungry. Sometimes I eat a treat or a snack because it looks delicious, but I can stop when I feel full or done. I don't obsess. I have so much more brain space now that I'm not obsessing.
I also have anxiety and OCD, and both have been helped by this medication. I dropped down to a lower dose at one point and noticed how much it had been helping me emotionally.
People who don't struggle with the food noise cannot understand the absolute miracle that this stuff is. My one regret is that my doctor didn't warn me up front about muscle loss with weight loss, so I've been working to regain muscle because middle age.
When people comment on my weight loss I'm very open about taking medication, because we do have this moral weirdness as a society that somehow medically assisted weight management isn't Puritanical and self-denying enough. Fuck that. It's an actual miracle.
I love how you always think “sideways” and see the world with an entirely new and positive perspective. I’ve struggled with weight my whole life and had a mother who made me feel very less-than for not being able to lose weight. I’ve never been married. I’ve had terrible relationships with men and a lot of it is about my weight and how it makes me feel about myself. Not an ideal way to live this one precious life.
I actually have an appointment to see my doctor today about Ozempic and if it’s right for me, I’ve been really nervous about it and didn’t want to tell anybody, but then your newsletter popped up in my feed this morning which seems very serendipitous. Thank you so much, Gabrielle, it was just what I needed to hear. And I agree that you should take this to your larger platform. I think it’s a very valuable point of view. xx
(Apropos of nothing—I love it when my favorite bloggers collide :)
❤️ we go way back!
I appreciate your comment so much and I hope your appointment went well. I also appreciate the encouragement to make this post available to my wider audience. I'm going to do that.
Thanks, Gabrielle. The appointment went well and the doctor seemed very concerned we did this right. He took a blood panel to confirm I’m a good candidate for a Semaglutide.
For anyone curious he said the most important thing is to eat three small meals a day and not to skip meals even if you don’t feel hungry. He recommends a Mediterranean diet and walking daily. He also said the weight loss varies for everyone, but he thought a 30 pound weight loss was a good goal for me. And it’s a once a week shot at their offices.
Hope that helps anyone curious about it.
x
As some others have shared, I am in my late 40s and my body suddenly just doesn’t respond to my mostly healthy eating and exercise habits. I was gaining weight without any changes to my lifestyle and it was so frustrating. A friend suggested Tirzepatide and it’s changed my whole life. Not being guided by food truly has freed up my brain for all kinds of other things! I keep imagining a world where drugs like this could exist for people who struggle with all kinds of addictions. I’m grateful for it, I hope it becomes available more widely and that people can knock off the judgement around it.
Thank you. I am a 67 year old woman who can not remember a time that I did not feel overweight. (A comment from my ballet teacher about my large tush when I was about 7 is one that sits inside me to this day.) I am 5' 1" and at my wedding I weighed 123 pounds and I remember wishing I was thin like my friends. It has always amazed and saddened and confused me that I, a woman who is in charge of her life in all other areas, is unable to be "in control" in this one area. 5 days ago, at 215 pounds, I took my first dose of Ozempic. I am generally cautious about taking medications but after listening to someone describe the change prompted by a weight loss drug I was all in. I came to the belief that our brains are all wired differently. My wiring causes me to experience depression more than the average person. And my wiring causes me to think about food more than the average person. And perhaps my wiring causes me to gain weight more easily than the average person. In 5 days I already see a shift in my thoughts and actions around food and have lost 4 pounds. Of course it could be a placebo affect but, I am guessing (and hoping) that is not the case.
We are an extremely judgemental society. When my mom died of lung cancer some 12 years ago, I felt the need to always mention that she was a non-smoker. As if I deserved less compassion from others over my loss if she had been a smoker. The marvelous thing about reaching the age of 67 is I care a whole lot less what others think. At this point in my life I want to lose the weight because I will physically feel better (carrying around an extra 70 pounds has not been easy), and I want as much time as an active grandmother as possible.
Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful words.
I think about this all the time! We have so many moral judgements around behaviours that I truly believe are often just the way we are hard wired-I am a night owl and used to feel deep shame that I couldn't make myself be a morning person, I happened to get the wiring that makes it easy for me to keep a clean house but I know that is absolutely not something everyone got, for some people it's easy to go to the gym, some people can easily control spending-the trick of life is to understand that the things YOU find easy might not come so easily to others and to shut the eff up about it. If we can create medication that helps to ease that playing field, it seems like we should all be celebrating! I'm happy for you that you are seeing a change in how you think, what a gift!
Of course, you would be the one to tackle this topic in an educated and non judgmental way. I’ve struggled for 30 years with weight gain, now realizing it all had to do with menopause and not because my will is weak. I tried every diet know to woman without any results. I had given up hope until I started reading about the drugs my daughter had told me about. I thought, maybe this is my hope. My new primary doctor is very excited about this treatment and has been prescribing them since their very early days. It’s been a month and I’ve lost three pounds - a huge win for me, believe it or not. I have cardio vascular disease, and other co morbidities including pre diabetes. I feel that semaglutide (which I get through a compounding pharmacy for $200 a month), is a drug I will take the rest of my life, and perhaps these other health conditions will no longer require the medications I currently take. The thought of this changing society is an extremely exciting prospect. Thank you.
Thank you so much for setting your big brain on this topic, and doing it in such an expansive and non-judgmental way. But where you ended up is NOT the direction I thought you were going! When you said ...
"Because the Ozempic podcast was still fresh in my mind, I couldn’t help notice how many products would no longer make it into the grocery carts of someone using Ozempic. There are whole aisles dedicated to specific weight-loss diets — low-carb sections, low-fat sections, high-protein sections, sugar-free sections, keto sections, zero-calorie sections, etc. Beyond those aisles, I noticed more aisles filled with snack products, products specifically marketed to eat between meals."
... I thought you were going to dig into the systemic brokenness of food in American society: the industrial manufacture and marketing of processed foods, the capitalism driving our unconscious food choices, the emptiness in our lives that we try to fill in with carbs, fats, and sweets.
I agree that drugs like Ozempic could radically "free" many of us from the tyranny of food, but isn't that just further burdening each individual with choosing (and affording) the "solution" to their weight "problem"? What if, instead, we banned certain unhealthy foods, regulated dieting messages on social media (as TikTok did recently), encouraged doctors to prescribe exercise, and incentivized workplaces to support health-related benefits? Have we given up on living in a society where we invest in wellness, and don't allow food and drug companies to manipulate our choices?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the differences between the US and France, for example, and how you think the norms and practices around food and culture might impact both countries' obesity rates and their willingness to assign responsibility to individuals vs. corporations and government.