Ozempic, or semaglutide, mimics a hormone called GLP-1, which your body naturally produces after eating. Patients come to me having started on these weight loss medications expecting them to work, yet they are consuming processed food, not given any strength training plan and sent out the door with their weekly injection.
This not only leads to failure to thrive but sabotages the potential benefits that could come from using a drug that makes it easier to improve food habits, since appetite is suppressed.
Ozempic, Zepbound, Mounjaro are household names and 31 million Americans have used these drugs—they are touted as the easy way to weight loss and blood sugar regulation.
But here’s the real question: if you don’t transform your food routine or exercise habits, will these medications still work?
Ozempic, or semaglutide, mimics a hormone called GLP-1, which your body naturally produces after eating.
GLP-1’s role in the body is to:
- Slow gastric emptying – Food stays in your stomach longer, making you feel fuller for longer.
- Reduces appetite – It works on brain receptors to reduce hunger and cravings.
- Boosts insulin production – Helps clear glucose from blood faster.
- Suppresses glucagon – so less stored glucose in the form of glycogen is triggered to be released by the liver in the bloodstream.
What happens if you take Ozempic, but don’t change your diet or activity levels?
- Will you lose weight? No. Weight loss happens from a suppressed appetite. If you decrease your overall calorie intake because of the appetite suppression, then weight loss would happen. But that would require a change in your food routine.
- Blood sugar control? Yes, (well sort of) initially there will be some benefit to blood sugar since glucagon is being suppressed and insulin secretion is increased. This will be short lived however, as the body will compensate for this in an effort to survive.
- Muscle loss will be aggressive, like up to 40% of your weight loss. That is a recipe for aging way faster than any of us want to.
- Is it sustainable long term? It is just another yo-yo diet, loaded with broken promises and more squandered life vitality. There’s no point in taking these medications, without an adjustment in your food routine and physical activity level.
If your blood sugar is out of control or you are morbidly obese these medications can definitely help, but recognize, the true power is your lifestyle.
If you can lock your lifestyle in, you do not need these drugs to get your health back.
However, if you are using them, I cannot overemphasize the necessity of giving yourself the ultimatum that strength training is the new normal for you and whole foods, consisting of 1 gram of protein per pound of your desired body weight is a non-negotiable.
For a healthier but effective approach to weight loss, check out this post – Lower Your Insulin | Transform Your Body Composition.
There is no way around it. Accumulating health via your lifestyle is the real medicine.
