Let’s talk frankly about Ozempic and Wegovy. A recent Telegraph article entitled “Half The Men I Know Are Using Ozempic To LoseWeight” and had the quote “I’d estimate that at least 50 percent of the over-45’s I know are on Ozempic, Wegovy or Rybelsus.
Anecdotally at least then, brands of semaglutide which mimics the hormone GLP-1 are now popular with midlife men (and celebrities) for losing weight.I’m not surprised, and I see the attraction. Fork out some money, jab yourself, your appetite suppresses, you lose weigh without needing to actively diet, do exercise or alter anything else in your lifestyle.
Trials have shown semaglutide to be effective for weight loss, in one Wegovy trial respondents lost around two stone on average in 15 months, without having to do anything but take the drug.
Boozy lunches? No problem.
Weekend of over indulgence? No problem.
No need for the gym? Great!
There are side-effects but they’re “minor,” but if you can live with nausea, daytime sleepiness, diarrhoea, constipation then you’re all good. Or are you?There is a problem and it’s not being talked about enough… yet.
These drugs work by reducing appetite and stimulating insulin, their original application was to support those with diabetes, and/or those who are clinically obese in losing weight.
The first problem is this, studies show that once respondents stop taking the drug, as there haven’t been any other behavioural interventions (like starting to exercise say, or being more careful about what you eat), the weight comes back…
Necessitating another course of the drug, and again, anecdotally, this is what is already happening. The pounds come back one, time to order more.So, problem one, you’re locking yourself into a lifetime of drug usage and fluctuating weight.
Then there’s the issue of what’s been termed “Ozempic Face”. When weight is lost rapidly we also lose collagen and elastin, resulting in a gaunt visage. Users are already turning to fillers (see the start of the slippery slope here?) to rebalance their looks.
Here’s the biggest problem though. Users lose fat, but they also lose muscle. Now, men at midlife are already losing muscle. In fact you want to be doing everything you can to preserve it, not potentially accelerate it’s loss.
Less muscle means a lower metabolic rate, it means you’re weaker, it means you just don’t look as good.
Yay, you’re thin (maybe – it’s worth noting semaglutide does not work for everyone and some find the side effects to hard to deal with), but your muscle mass is down. And this repeats every time you do another round of jabs.
This is why the approach we take with clients is focused firmly on fat loss with muscle gain – it’s vital at midlife and beyond for our future quality of life.
If you’re tempted by the jab (and I get why you would be) just ask yourself what your longer term goal is beyond weight loss.
Do you want to be strong? Do you want to actually build a better relationship with food and drink? Do you want to know your own body? Do you want a sense of pride about what you’ve achieved?
Or do you want to be dependent on a jab for the rest of your life?
The decision is yours.