The Ozempic Trend: Busting the Ozempic Myths

The latest Hollywood trend: Ozempic. Since it was discovered that it has a handy little side effect of weight loss, the diabetes-prescribed shot has taken off in demand more than it can fill supply. The stars take it, the ordinary person wants it, but there are so many rumours around it. The stars disappear and reappear months later with a trim waist as though it’s the hottest red carpet accessory – like a Gucci bag.

We sat down to discuss the chat around Ozempic and to bust some myths that are floating around the subject.

How did you come to have Ozempic on your radar?

So Ozempic is a drug, that disrupts the hormone that feeds into hunger, and so that’s where it suppresses your appetite. I was asked to be part of the HEAL technology.

HEAL is an online company and they’re delivered, they deliver their support or their medical services through pharmacies. And what they do is they’re completely digital, but you can walk into a pharmacy, you can have all the checks done and that understanding from a pharmacist and then he’ll have the clinicians behind all that to make sure that the patients then get the right information. I was asked to come on board as a coach to support people with weight loss because of the experience and the knowledge that I have. So when somebody purchases a particular program, they also get me as a coach to say This is what you do.

What do you need to do while taking the Ozempic shot?

I’m always going to recommend exercise comes in predominantly from that health perspective. So, when you lose weight, you want to lose body fat, and if you’re exercising as well, you maintain the healthy tissue and the healthy muscle mass that is going to burn your calories at rest. It brings in that habit.

So you want to do it on a long term basis because it makes you feel good and what have you, but it increases your muscle and it increases your bone density as well. So for women, 100%, I know men like to generally do it, but I’m going to recommend for both. You really need to do that resistance work to get the bone density as well as muscle mass.

So then you’re burning those calories at rest, and you get into that habit when you start with the drug and you see both benefits.

It’s not just “oh I have to take the shot and be done”. You understand what it’s about, and that’s where I’m at with people when I’m guiding them through the three or six month program they might have with me and they’re on the medication. It’s that understanding what the medication is going to do and managing expectations with it as well.

What expectations should you have?

You’re not losing a stone by next week. It’s only going to be two pounds and you might think I can do that without, but it just suppresses your appetite enough to be able to sustain that over a long period of time.

Is there anything that worries you about the popularity of Ozempic and the fact that all these celebrities are doing it and, it’s going viral on the internet?

Yeah, there’s a couple of things that worry me. There is the fact that, you maybe not see the celebrity for a while and then they pop out and, oh, they’ve lost six stone or what have you. Great, I’m really pleased for them, but from our perspective it only seems like last week since we saw them and then all of a sudden and so we get that false impression and then, there’s potentially that advertising of lose it really quickly. You do not want to lose any kind of body weight quickly. It’s not good for your body. But also it’s not good for your mind in terms of, if you’re expecting it to happen and it doesn’t happen, where are you and what have you.

And the other side to that as well is because it’s in demand, because other people see it, they might find it available without that medical guidance, and so that really concerns me as well because you do not know what’s going on inside your body.

Are there any side effects that disturb you?

One of the main side effects is nausea. And apparently I’m told, I’ve not tried the drug, but I’m told it’s a bit like morning sickness. So you may have that morning sickness feeling or you may actually vomit with it. There could be some diarrhoea, it could be some constipation or hyperglycaemia, which is a high sugar level.

These are some of the side effects, dizziness, tiredness, insomnia with it. So there are side effects that may, they may not affect you permanently. Sometimes we can take a Nurofen, it’ll have all the side effects on it and you go, yeah, that’s not my experience, but it is somebody else’s.

What happens when you finish the shot?

So the evidence shows that people, once they come off the drug, yes, they increase their weight afterwards, but not to the extent of where they were to the starting point. So for example, if you maybe lose a stone you might put three or four, five pounds back on and it’s all relative in that respect.

But that’s my point with regards to it’s not a wonder drug where it’s all just going to disappear and everything will be fine at the end of it. You still have to put in the work along the way to be able to get you to that point where I’ve had enough now that I’ve reached where I want to go, but how do you sustain that?

So if you learn through taking the Ozempic, what it is that keeps you at that weight then you’re more likely to keep that in a way. Because it, all it is an appetite suppressant, and in that appetite suppressant, what they found is that your desire for high fat, high sugar, high salt foods isn’t there. They almost repulse you. So you want to eat the healthy food. That’s where your nutrition is guided towards.

Would you say Ozempic is a net good for society or a net bad?

That’s a good question. It is definitely a drug that will benefit society. So it was initially identified as a drug to support people with diabetes, manage their condition and potentially I think they, the side effect was weight loss. It wasn’t an intentional weight loss drug to start with. But clearly as a result of what is happening, it is suppressing appetite.

And for some people they are losing weight and so it is a game changer for many people who struggle to achieve weight loss. I think for society as a whole, like any drug, I would be very cautious of going, “Oh yeah, anybody can use it because it’s, it is not like that. It will have a side effect”. Any drug will have a side effect.

It is essential that you know that your body can take it, first of all, because there will be side effects. If you were, if tomorrow the NHS said, yeah, here, have some Ozempic is there anything you’d caution against before jumping in there? Absolutely. You really have to look at where your body is at right now.

Is there any coronary issues? Are you diabetic? Do you have any kind of other weaknesses in the body? It could be renal, it could be gastrointestinal, mental health issues even. It is not a yes, everybody can take this kind of drug. You really need that guidance at the moment. If you’re cleared of all the contraindications and the medical profession are quite happy for you to take it, then clearly, yes, go ahead.

Final thoughts?

All I’m going to say is that it’s not a miracle cure. You need, still need to put your diet and exercise in alongside that and that’s perhaps where you need that professional. It’s not something, I can just take that and it’ll happen.