SW: 209 lb - CW: 191 About five months ago my doctor put me on semgultide because I’ve spent years at pre-diabetes and was struggling to lose weight even with regular exercise. I have not found this drug to be a magic pill - I still need to track my CICO daily and exercise.
I pushed to stay on the lowest dose till I hit a two month plateau because I am leery of relying on just the medication to manage my diet. I am well aware of most people’s experiences with getting off the drug and gaining weight again, so I am trying to treat this like a push in the right direction but not a long term solution.
Anyhow I’m also just posting cause I forgot I subscribed to this group and I also want to see it active. If you’re in the US - happy Labor Day! I hope you’re off work today.
I’m on Ozempic. My doctor put me on it for diabetes and weight loss. I had gone from 285 to 235 on my own before the pandemic but got back up to 265. I’m now at 209. The initial couple of months were unpleasant until I figured out how to live with Ozempic. Now I’m doing well.
What do you mean by “how to live with” if you don’t mind me asking?
Ozempic slows the emptying of your stomach. You stay full for longer. If you over eat you will have that uncomfortable feeling of being over full for a long time. That sucks. It means that if you eat something that makes you gassy or that gives you heartburn you’re going to pay the price for many hours. I believe that the people who fail on Ozempic think that they can take it and continue to eat how they have always eaten and the weight will just fall off. That’s not how it works. If you go to bed with a full stomach you’re going to build up gas. That gas is going to force the contents of your stomach back up and give you reflux and often vomiting. I believe that the people who complain that Ozempic made them throw up continued to eat WAY too much and paid the price. I had to start taking an omeprazole (Prilosec) with sodium bicarbonate to help with heartburn. I eat a modest high protein, relatively low carb breakfast most days, often skip lunch because I’m not hungry, and try to eat supper between 4 and 5 to give my stomach time to work on my meal before I lie down.
You have to adapt how you eat to the reality of taking Ozempic. I really leaned in and the weight came off quickly. I have a couple of times where my weight stabilzed and I didn’t lose any weight for two or three or four weeks but then it started to come off again.
(I’ve had gastric bypass - 2001- and then a revision - 2021. Surgery never worked for me.)
I went from semaglutide to tirzepatide and now retatrutide.
I took retatrutide since last year. I’m currently on a maintenance dose to prevent regaining what I’ve lost since I’ve hit my goal.
ATH: 377 SW: 298 CW: 195 GW: 200
I thank the gods every day that I found these things and have access to them.
Been on variations for a couple years… So far the best I can tell you is to be willing to try the others before giving up.
I’d have progress with one, plateau, then bump to a variant and it would surge.
Careful planning with my doctor going really far with this!
The various GLP drugs all have different stats and some work better than others depending on your body.
Currently on ozempic. It’s moving slowly but seems consistent in effect… The loss isn’t very obvious yet (3 months) but I do note a substantial decrease in desire and capacity. While trulicity was effective to a degree, it leveled off early for me. Trulicity has done well for my girlfriend, and her A1C has dramatically improved.
My case is use in combination with getting out on a bicycle, then long term the bike will be my check once stopping the GLP.
Don’t fear the higher doses. As long as you are careful with your dose timing, the GI disruptions can be managed and they do settle down a bit. If you bump up and find too much issue, your doc should be good with dropping back a notch. Find the most effective one for you but don’t push for never hungry.
Most importantly, don’t run yourself crazy with this. Calorie tracking is less important. The better goal might be to just work at habit forming… Pay closer attention to the other sensations toward getting full and react sooner. The meds for me primarily amplify that moment between “that’s enough” and “ugh just a little too much”.
Some basic sense as to what is high caloric density vs portion will go much further than counting exact calories in the long run, unless you plan to obsess over calculators forever. It’s good to establish an understanding of what is in your foods, but you don’t need to know how many feet between Chicago and New York to drive there. Approximation and regular cues to monitor yourself are more practical.
I did a little Wegovy and then even less Zepbound and maybe they helped but also i think they messed up my gastrointestinal situation. Pay attention to that stuff, it’s not fun if things go wrong.