Ozempic, GLP-1 and other modern diabetes / weight loss medications

[MJ29]

One person's (mine) first hand account of two months on Tirzepatide:

- The food noise disappeared immediately. I cannot overstate how big of a deal this is. Most people have NO IDEA what this is, but it sabotages nearly every effort to eat better and lose weight permanently and more often leads to weight gain.
- I can now make rational, logical decisions regarding my meals. This is a new experience for me.
- In the first month, my cholesterol dropped from borderline high (even while taking Atorvastatin) to right in the middle of the acceptable range.
- weight loss
- My mind seems clearer most of the time...no fog...and greater focus
- Side effects have been limited to mild constipation and occasional excessive burping.
- Inflammation seems to have been reduced (less back and joint pain, mostly).
- My general mood has improved. This is probably an indirect effect from experiencing all of the positive effects listed above.

One of the strangest things I didn't expect was the need to count calories. It is something I have tried in the past to lose weight, but it was always a major psychological problem for me. It always led to even more fixation on food than I already have. No...I've had to count calories some days to make sure that I am getting ENOUGH nutrition so that I'm not starving myself. I have never in my life had perfectly normal days where food never crosses my mind and I don't feel hungry. This is now a common experience for me and has taken some real adjusting to.

I hesitate to say it's a miracle drug, but it has been a game changer for me and many people.

I count calories and macros now, but I could not have done it 10-15 years ago when I was going through bouts of disordered eating and body dysmorphia. I have a much healthier relationship with food and my body now than I did then. But it was a journey.

Food noise is VERY real and definitely something I battle. I've been doing it without medication, but I understand some people need a little help.

I've never heard someone mention mood and clearer mind with the tirzepatide. Definitely a few bonuses!!

Bottom line -- there is no one formula that works for everyone.

 

[brianhos]

America needs to have a big conversation about calorie tracking and deficits. It’s too hard to change the food system, so the thinking and technology should be the focus. I would pay big money for an extremely accurate wearable that incorporates calorie tracking and fitness. Like a company that works with ME for a year and builds a device just for ME.

The biggest bonus to Tirzepitide is it turns your brain off from the food cravings, it's not the fullness that helps the most, it's that you don't think about food 24x7. That is the downfall in most overweight people.

 

[CloniesForLife]

Also there is the fact that even losing 5-15 lbs for a lot of people isn’t visibly noticeable or still doesn’t have them looking the way they feel they should with the effort they feel they are putting in.

If you’re losing 1lb a week rough math has you in a 500kcal deficit every day, even adjusting to hit that deficit as your metabolism changes. So even a dedicated person will drop 10 pounds in about 2.5 months and that’s without and slip ups from holidays/vacations/life that gets in the way. If those factors come out then you’re looking at a 10 pound loss in closer to 4+ months min.

For most people that little of an effect isn’t enough to keep them focused, you just have to hope that they feel so much better that they maintain, problem is the foods that will throw people the most off track are the ones that also make you feel amazing as well so it’s very easy to fall off.

People absolutely need to adjust their time horizon on weight loss and muscle gain. It will always start off quick and easy but the key is consistency over a long period of time.

 

[CloniesForLife]

I count calories and macros now, but I could not have done it 10-15 years ago when I was going through bouts of disordered eating and body dysmorphia. I have a much healthier relationship with food and my body now than I did then. But it was a journey.

Food noise is VERY real and definitely something I battle. I've been doing it without medication, but I understand some people need a little help.

I've never heard someone mention mood and clearer mind with the tirzepatide. Definitely a few bonuses!!

Bottom line -- there is no one formula that works for everyone.

I occasionally count calories as almost a recalibration on portion sizes but I can't do it. I'm trying to improve my relationship with food but I still have work to do. I become way to obsessive thinking about food when I count. I'm a bit of an obsessive planner by nature so when I count calories I think about it all the time. Right now I just try and eat a ton of veggies, protein and lots of fiber and I have been losing weight. Also really focusing on limiting my alcohol. But I like craft beer too much to cut it out completely

 

[alarson]

The concept is pretty simple. Actually having the time, energy and resources to do it is very hard

Edit: I should add reasonable expectations too. Chris Evans as Captain America or Chris Hemsworth as Thor isn't an attainable or sustainable physique for people. And if people are getting into fitness and nutrition for solely that reason they will burn out

Those movie actors are all on various drugs (and certainly more than simple glp1s) to help get that way as well, as well as dehydrating themselves for a couple days before key scenes that show off that physique. Its not healthy for them and even less so for the average person without a team behind them helping them get that way

 

[jcf817]

The biggest bonus to Tirzepitide is it turns your brain off from the food cravings, it's not the fullness that helps the most, it's that you don't think about food 24x7. That is the downfall in most overweight people.

Honest to God, I wish more people could understand food noise. I've gotten blank stares when I mention it to people who've never experienced it. I feel like a different person.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Honest to God, I wish more people could understand food noise. I've gotten blank stares when I mention it to people who've never experienced it. I feel like a different person.

It’s like trying to explain anxiety or depression, if you haven’t experienced it you won’t ever really understand

 

[besserheimerphat]

It takes a lot of effort but that can be done by tracking cals and watching the scale. Im a big believer that everyone should track cals/weight at least once just for the knowledge gained. Consistency always wins, both with deficits and surplus. A 100 cal per day surplus is hardly anything but its still over 10 pounds per year.

Except that the 3500cal/pound is an average. Studies have shown that identical twins given the same diet and exercise program to maintain the same caloric deficit have different amounts of weightloss. That's identical twins with identical deficits. (ETA this was in a clinical setting so researchers provided the food and tracked exercise to confirm the deficits were really and equal. Not just food journalling) Now apply the variability of all people and all calorie deficit strategies, and it's clearly not a one-deficit-fits-all scenario. It works the same with building muscle, improving cardio, etc etc

When two people do the same thing and experience very different results, it's a huge demotivator for the unlucky person who makes little-to-no progress. And it's less than helpful when the successful person says "you just have to..." Whether that's weightloss, career/money, athletic success, whatever.

 

[CloniesForLife]

Honest to God, I wish more people could understand food noise. I've gotten blank stares when I mention it to people who've never experienced it. I feel like a different person.

I didn't realize I had that until food noise became popularized with GLP 1s but it definitely clicked for me when I heard people talking about it.

 

[st8cydr]

Here's my experience. I started Zepbound about a year ago. I'm down over 80 lbs, from around 280 down to 197 this morning. I went from a size 38-40 waist down to 32. I want to get to 180-185 and stay there. Cholesterol is way down, blood pressure is way down and off medication, no more CPAP. A little constipation, but my wife say's I've always been full of sh!t. It's helped immensely with cravings and given me a window to change my habits and eat healthier though I struggle with vegetables-never been a fan. I turn 60 later this month and honestly have been having a hard time dealing with that. My dad died at 74, so a part of me realized my time may be short. The changes that have occurred with the help of Zepbound, both physically and mentally, are life altering.

 

[NorthCyd]

Except that the 3500cal/pound is an average. Studies have shown that identical twins given the same diet and exercise program to maintain the same caloric deficit have different amounts of weightloss. That's identical twins with identical deficits. (ETA this was in a clinical setting so researchers provided the food and tracked exercise to confirm the deficits were really and equal. Not just food journalling) Now apply the variability of all people and all calorie deficit strategies, and it's clearly not a one-deficit-fits-all scenario. It works the same with building muscle, improving cardio, etc etc

When two people do the same thing and experience very different results, it's a huge demotivator for the unlucky person who makes little-to-no progress. And it's less than helpful when the successful person says "you just have to..." Whether that's weightloss, career/money, athletic success, whatever.

This is just my experience, but there was a time in my life that I very diligently counted calories and did a daily calorie budget in excel and tracked along with my weight loss and it was incredible how closely my weight loss matched that 3500 calorie number over time. There were fluctuations on a daily and even weekly basis, but over months it was incredibly close to that number.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I occasionally count calories as almost a recalibration on portion sizes but I can't do it. I'm trying to improve my relationship with food but I still have work to do. I become way to obsessive thinking about food when I count. I'm a bit of an obsessive planner by nature so when I count calories I think about it all the time. Right now I just try and eat a ton of veggies, protein and lots of fiber and I have been losing weight. Also really focusing on limiting my alcohol. But I like craft beer too much to cut it out completely

To each their own on the alcohol, but that’s another conversation that nobody wants to have.

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

Except that the 3500cal/pound is an average. Studies have shown that identical twins given the same diet and exercise program to maintain the same caloric deficit have different amounts of weightloss. That's identical twins with identical deficits. (ETA this was in a clinical setting so researchers provided the food and tracked exercise to confirm the deficits were really and equal. Not just food journalling) Now apply the variability of all people and all calorie deficit strategies, and it's clearly not a one-deficit-fits-all scenario. It works the same with building muscle, improving cardio, etc etc

When two people do the same thing and experience very different results, it's a huge demotivator for the unlucky person who makes little-to-no progress. And it's less than helpful when the successful person says "you just have to..." Whether that's weightloss, career/money, athletic success, whatever.

I know I'm oversimplifying here, I was just trying to say that basal metabolic rate can be approximated by tracking cals/weight over a period of time. 3500 is a nice round number to approximate, not the gospel. CICO is pretty well studied, that doesn't mean I'm ignoring the biological/psychological/environmental component.
From a recomp standpoint thats probably why most programs don't call for a change in diet (from a calorie standpoint) until data can be collected and then evaluated for future goals. The knowledge/understanding component is huge, even if it is a giant mentle burden for a lot of people. Tracking daily, forever is impossible for most people, myself included.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Except that the 3500cal/pound is an average. Studies have shown that identical twins given the same diet and exercise program to maintain the same caloric deficit have different amounts of weightloss. That's identical twins with identical deficits. (ETA this was in a clinical setting so researchers provided the food and tracked exercise to confirm the deficits were really and equal. Not just food journalling) Now apply the variability of all people and all calorie deficit strategies, and it's clearly not a one-deficit-fits-all scenario. It works the same with building muscle, improving cardio, etc etc

When two people do the same thing and experience very different results, it's a huge demotivator for the unlucky person who makes little-to-no progress. And it's less than helpful when the successful person says "you just have to..." Whether that's weightloss, career/money, athletic success, whatever.

That’s also due to the fact that identical twins are not identical by the time they conduct these studies and environmental factors play a role as well as lifestyle before studies.

3,500 is pretty average but the thing that people forget is that as you lose weight your metabolism changes and will slow. The more you cut the more diet/exercises change to keep you at that 3,500 number. It’s the reason why as far as exercise goes strength training is far superior to cardio

 

[CloniesForLife]

To each their own on the alcohol, but that’s another conversation that nobody wants to have.

I'm aware it's bad for me but I like it and going to breweries is a hobby so I'm not going to completely cut it out. I do limit it a lot more now though

 

[ISUTex]

You really can’t tailor it any more than you normally could without that information though, that’s my point.

Body fat% is no more of a motivator then a number on a scale, or BP, or cholesterol. If it was then the population would be far more “motivated”

When I was in college I weighed about 200 to 210. I lifted several times a week and played a lot of pick up basketball. Went to the doctor and their chart said I was "obese". 6'3 210 is obese?

 

[1SEIACLONE]

When I was in college I weighed about 200 to 210. I lifted several times a week and played a lot of pick up basketball. Went to the doctor and their chart said I was "obese". 6'3 210 is obese?

Those types of charts are correct for most of the world, but not America. Our food sucks here, we love large portion sizes and as a whole we do not get enough exercise. In Europe they tend to walk more as their cities are older and were made to walk, while here, most of the cities are made to drive around in. I would not call that height and weight obese, but compared to the rest of the world many would.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

When I was in college I weighed about 200 to 210. I lifted several times a week and played a lot of pick up basketball. Went to the doctor and their chart said I was "obese". 6'3 210 is obese?

You read the chat wrong, that’s barely in the “overweight” catagory not close to obese. Also the chat is just a simple calculation, doesn’t take into account muscle vs fat

 

[brianhos]

Those types of charts are correct for most of the world, but not America. Our food sucks here, we love large portion sizes and as a whole we do not get enough exercise. In Europe they tend to walk more as their cities are older and were made to walk, while here, most of the cities are made to drive around in. I would not call that height and weight obese, but compared to the rest of the world many would.

BMI is a stupid measurement, I have lost 50 lbs since thanksgiving last year, and at my goal weight and I am still listed as overweight. 6 foot 190 being overweight is nuts. I would have to saw off a leg to be in the normal category.

 

[alarson]

You read the chat wrong, that’s barely in the “overweight” catagory not close to obese. Also the chat is just a simple calculation, doesn’t take into account muscle vs fat

Its great for analyzing large populations, because it fits for most people in broad strokes (and the outliers at either end cancel each other out a bit), but any individual needs to look at more than that to judge their overall health