You read that right. Let me be more specific: I gave Ozempic a shot at being transparent about how they achieve weight loss for the patients who use their product. I gave them a shot, whether in their commercials or their press releases, to be more open about how much of that weight loss is fat, and how much of that weight loss was precious muscle. I gave them a shot to be open about the fact that Ozempic, or semaglutide, was essentially training your body to become anorexic. As you can imagine, I'm still waiting for the transparency and probably should stop holding my breath!
The bottom line is that yes, semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist used to treat type-2 diabetes, can be effective in weight loss. It does this by altering an individual's appetite regulation and altering how an individual absorbs nutrients from their food. The massive downside is that the lost weight is typically upwards of 40% muscle mass, not fat. Muscle becomes more precious the older we get, and taking something that causes you to lose large amounts of lean muscle mass is not a winning formula for long-term success. Muscle mass is critical for a healthy metabolism, strength, and your ability to ward off diseases and illnesses. Dehydration and excessive diarrhea can also occur, which disrupts balances in electrolytes -- elements that are critical for total body health and functionality. Some patients have also suffered from acute kidney injury. Typically, those individuals were already at-risk for poor kidney function, but the outcome is still worth noting. I judge no one for trying Ozempic/semaglutide, but be sure to be on a balanced diet before you begin, and engage in regular, consistent resistance training or weight training to build muscle! Your overall health DEPENDS on it.
John,
the Everyday J.O.E.
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