this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
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Not with the new weight loss drugs they won’t.
These have outcomes that may not be ideal and the results do not persist if you stop taking them.
If know a lot of people on these. A good percentage of them are using it as a cheat code to continue their existing patterns. A couple have used it to assist in behavior modification. They seem to have better outcomes.
We'll see how people are doing in the long run.
The recipe for weight loss is simple. Changing a lifetime of behavior is not. I speak from experience.
I think these drugs are the new gastric bypass surgery. For some they will see results but they will go back to their preferences before long. For a smaller group, long term behavior change will occur.
Fingers crossed that there are no longer term health problems from these because so many people I know are on them.
I think the next generation of these will be better...
I have a friend on ozempic (for diabetes). It really seems like it's impossible for him to just use it to continue his excessive eating habits, because it suppresses his appetite and he just doesn't eat much anymore. He still eats garbage, but much less.
That is my thing. As soon as they stop, the habit is still there but the inhibition will be gone (I say this as a lifelong person who has issues with over eating).
But that's wrong? The habit of eating garbage food is still there but the habit of overeating is gone.
I have an ileostomy (like a colostomy). When I first got it, I could only eat small amounts of food. I lost 60 lbs. If was wondeful. I'd eat small meals forever and reach my healthy weight.
Well, a few months later my body could easily tolerate more. And I ate more. Gradually at first then more. It wasn't more than six months before I was back to my weight before the operation.
A few months of imposed restriction did not alter a lifetime of habit.
I thought this was something I did wrong and researched it. Turns out it's how the majority of people behave.
Yep. If you are not willing to make the changes to your habits around eating and exercise as well as work on your mental well being then you will not see the long term changes you are looking for.
I think for many people it's no so much that they want to regain the weight, it's just they don't know how to make the changes that they need to make to lose the weight and keep it off. And I think the biggest change that people need to make is looking at their mental health and how that is contributing to their long term weight gain.
You are correct and I'm not aware of anyone I know on the drugs receiving this type of therapy. This is in stark contrast to gastric bypass surgery where in Canada you wait a year, receive counseling before and after the surgery and people still often end up back where they started a couple years later despite it probably being much harder on them physically than cessation of a drug. You can see why I am concerned.
It's only gone as long as they stay on the drug. Unless they make an effort to change their lifestyle and eating habits while they're on the drug, nothing will change. For people who have immediate health issues due to their weight, then a drug like that makes sense. But for fat people trying to lose weight, I don't think it's sustainable.
I'm fortunate to be of a healthy weight and I've never had to worry about obesity. However, I do consciously make choices to eat less even when my body begs me to eat more. I feel like it would be much harder to develop that "skill" if I was on a drug like ozembic. The point is to learn to say "no" when my body is begging me to say "yes".
Honestly though, that does not seem far away from most diets. That’s the thing, it’s somewhat easy to lose weight. But to stick it out long term? Close to impossible for most. An absurd amount gain all of it back sooner or later.
By far and the best way not to struggle with obesity is not to get obese. Because when you’re there, the rest of your life will be a struggle.
By 2030 we will know one way or the other. By then they’ll also be cheap and generic.