Studying about all of the doable advantages and dangers of GLP-1 medicine like semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) will put together you should you plan to make use of one among these medicines. Right here, three individuals who have been taking them speak concerning the execs and cons, and what to know earlier than taking GLP-1s for weight reduction.
1. Cravings Will Be Curbed, Meals Noise Will Go Silent
Kisha Pickford, DNP, struggled together with her weight for years. As a nurse practitioner, she was very conversant in weight reduction strategies and had tried nearly all of them — together with wholesome consuming and exercise boot camps — with out success. In 2021, she began taking a GLP-1 drug.
“What shocked me most was how shortly my relationship with meals started to vary,” she says of the medicine’s results. “I seen decreased cravings and a capability to pause and really take heed to my physique’s starvation cues, one thing I hadn’t skilled in years. It wasn’t simply the quantity on the dimensions; it was the sense of management I felt returning.”
For Mary Joye, a psychological well being counselor, one among her struggles was coping with “meals noise” — fixed, intrusive ideas about meals. She had grown up in a house the place meals was an enormous a part of life, and it made ideas of consuming onerous to suppress. Plus, years spent within the leisure business took a toll on Joye’s weight. “I had destroyed my metabolism by ravenous myself, and my physique would hold onto each ounce of fats, actually for expensive life,” she says. As soon as she reached her sixties, she discovered it nearly unimaginable to lose the additional 30 kilos (lb) she’d gained. Zepbound quieted the meals noise and helped Joye attain her objective weight.
2. Consuming Might Grow to be Troublesome
When the registered dietitian and licensed diabetes care and schooling specialist Jennifer Lynn-Pullman, CDCES, RD, reached 200 lb, she knew that her weight and household historical past of sort 2 diabetes was setting her up for a diabetes prognosis. To assist her lose the burden, Lynn-Pullman began taking Wegovy in Might 2023.
The drug had a bigger-than-expected impact on her urge for food. “I knew that semaglutide would assist me refill quicker and reduce my parts, however what shocked me was how shortly I responded and simply how little I used to be consuming,” she says. “I couldn’t end a meal. I might barely eat half a sandwich. I had no want to snack between meals. I didn’t need meals normally.”
Consuming much less is useful for weight reduction, however after about two months on the drug, Lynn-Pullman realized that she wasn’t consuming sufficient to satisfy her physique’s wants. “I used to be barely hitting 800 energy, which is not sufficient energy for a kid! [My] protein consumption was not ample to satisfy the wants of the burden coaching I used to be doing,” she says.
3. There’s Stigma Round Utilizing GLP-1s for Weight Loss
Simply as there’s stigma surrounding chubby and weight problems, GLP-1 medicine include their very own stigma. Some individuals who go on these medicines are shamed or accused of taking the “lazy” strategy to reducing weight, or of dishonest — neither of which is correct.
“We’d by no means inform a [person with diabetes] that they’re dishonest as a result of they take insulin. In case your physique is sending you alerts which are detrimental to your well being and there are drugs to appropriate it, then it is not dishonest. It’s a profit to well being,” Joye says.
4. You’ll Need to Handle Facet Results
Nausea and vomiting had been the principle negative effects that Pickford and Lynn-Pullman skilled within the early days of therapy. They shortly found work-arounds. “I discovered to eat smaller parts, chew completely, and keep hydrated with electrolyte-balanced water or inexperienced tea,” Pickford says.
Lynn-Pullman relied on easy-to-digest meals like crackers, applesauce, and dry cereal to fight nausea. She additionally chewed ginger gum and wore an anti-nausea band round her wrist. As a result of the nausea hit quickly after every GLP-1 injection, she switched to taking the drugs at night time earlier than mattress. “I used to be sleeping for a lot of the time and did not discover the nausea,” she says.
5. Weight Loss Is Not the Solely Profit
Lynn-Pullman has not solely misplaced 60 lb and maintained that weight reduction for over a 12 months, however “my ldl cholesterol is now regular and my A1C dropped, as nicely,” she says.
6. GLP-1 Medicine Aren’t a Fast Repair
GLP-1 medicines aren’t magic. To see outcomes nonetheless requires some effort. “Do not go into it anticipating the medicine to do all of the work. Consider it as a device, not an answer,” Pickford says. “Construct wholesome consuming habits, keep energetic, and get assist for the emotional aspect of weight reduction.”
The Takeaway
- GLP-1 agonists are medicines that assist folks with chubby or weight problems lose 10 to twenty p.c or extra of their physique weight.
- These medicine drown out “meals noise,” make it easier to really feel fuller quicker, and stop overeating.
- Unwanted side effects like nausea and vomiting trigger some folks to cease taking their GLP-1 drug, however there are methods to assist make them extra manageable.
- GLP-1 drugs are supposed to be taken long-term. Going off them prematurely could lead on you to regain the burden you misplaced.
