Weight Loss Meds (Wegovy, etc)

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by .RJ

The downside is that there's a real lack of energy and fatigue and exercise is much more difficult and endurance or intense exercise is very much off the table - makes sense as glucose stores aren't being emptied as fast.

this is one of my biggest concerns to be honest.. well, this and the nausea doesn't sound any fun either..

Thank you for your input, I appreciate hearing of the experience.

also, 100% agree on your reply to Angry.. I'm giving him a bit of "benefit of the doubt" that his replies aren't 100% coming through as intended..

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by fourflys

this is one of my biggest concerns to be honest.. well, this and the nausea doesn't sound any fun either..

I've heard of a lot of side effects from nausea to GI issues, but, it didnt seem like that was an issue here.

But good luck, and I assume you've already run a full panel of blood work to check things like testosterone (not just total, but all of it) and endocrine functions... and sometimes your body just gives you the finger.

[deluz]

I am 67 years old, 5'8"
I have never really been overweight.
Last year my weight got up to 145 lbs as I was not able to exercise due to health problems.
I have always had a carb heavy diet as I like pizza, pasta and burritos.
In the past few years my A1C drifted up to the pre-diabetes zone.
My doctors advised my to eat fewer carbohydrates and I am also using a Freestyle Libre 3 to monitor my blood glucose which has been very helpful as I can now see what causes glucose spikes. I am now targeting to eat no more than 45mg carbohydrates per meal and I add protein if needed.
I was able to pretty quickly drop my weight to 136 lbs.
I found consuming carbs before or during a ride does not really cause a glucose spike. I think a lot of people just eat more carbs and calories that are necessary. It takes effort and discipline to do this which i am sure some people are not able to do.

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by deluz

..... It takes effort and discipline to do this which i am sure some people are not able to do.

Agree.
So what do we say to the people who have tried over and over and just can't do it? "Too bad, it is what it is, hopefully you don't die young"? Or do we let them use medication that could be life saving to them?

Should we start treating blood pressure meds the same way? Unless someone has tried becoming a vegetarian and dropping x amount of pounds, no BP meds for them!! Same for diabetes meds.

[CAAD]

Gotta fix the underlying cause first. The way you think about food, stress, plus other factors. A therapist can help with a lot of that. Also have to put in the work, track calories, eat clean. People taking these weight loss drugs just pack it back on once they get off of it because they never treated the underlying issues. They just go back to their old ways.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by CAAD

Gotta fix the underlying cause first. The way you think about food, stress, plus other factors. A therapist can help with a lot of that. Also have to put in the work, track calories, eat clean. People taking these weight loss drugs just pack it back on once they get off of it because they never treated the underlying issues. They just go back to their old ways.

The most common way people become obese is gradually. 2-3 lbs per year over 20 years adds up to a lot. If the drugs help someone drop 50 lbs, even if they resume "their old ways" that still leaves them at a significantly healthier weight than they otherwise would have been.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by prototoast

The most common way people become obese is gradually. 2-3 lbs per year over 20 years adds up to a lot. If the drugs help someone drop 50 lbs, even if they resume "their old ways" that still leaves them at a significantly healthier weight than they otherwise would have been.

They can hopefully then not be like my uncle who recently passed away in his 60s, who was obese most his life, but lost it all with pills the last few years…he died of cancer that they said was tied to his past health. one of the last things he told his sister, my mother, was I should’ve listen to the doctors more over the years to watch my diet so I could be there with my grandkids a few more years.

[mhespenheide]

I don't have any personal, anecdotal, or "common wisdom" experience with any of the modern weight loss meds.

But a number of commenters here seem to be starting from a bias assuming a functional body and/or a relatively "healthy" starting point. That makes sense; this forum is basically predicated on the idea that the members are physically active if not outright athletes.

In my twenties and into my early thirties, I would have said that weight loss is simple; you just have to look at calories and and calories out. And on a certain level, that's still true. But with more experience, it's not nearly that simple. Two examples: my wife eats consistently less than I do, works out more than I do (and across a wider variety of types of exercise), and her weight is still creeping upwards. Personally, as I age, my basal metabolic rate is dropping and while I snack less and eat fewer sweets than I used to, my BMR is dropping more quickly than I'm developing the mental strength to pass on the plate of twinkies. My weight is creeping upwards.

This also leaves aside the idea that, for example, I'm a really efficient cyclist and runner at this point; an hour with either of those modes of exercise burns fewer calories for me than it might for an intermediate or beginner. So, like I said, calories in and calories out are not as simple as they appear.

If I switch and start thinking about a larger society, particularly the United States, we haven't addressed food deserts and the likely change in micronutrients due to industrial agriculture. Anecdotally, a friend of mine moved to Italy (Tuscany) for a year's sabbatical and actually lost weight following similar patterns of eating and exercise. He credits the change to whole foods, shorter supply chains, and easy access to local produce (obviously this is not a rigorously proven point).

A study published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those 20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise: https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...71403X15001210.

There's lots of things to discuss here, so please let's not shoot down the potentially-interesting discussion with the claims that weight gain is solely a failure of willpower.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by CAAD

They just go back to their old ways.

And if they make lifestyle changes?

[EB]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I don't have any personal, anecdotal, or "common wisdom" experience with any of the modern weight loss meds.

But a number of commenters here seem to be starting from a bias assuming a functional body and/or a relatively "healthy" starting point. That makes sense; this forum is basically predicated on the idea that the members are physically active if not outright athletes.

In my twenties and into my early thirties, I would have said that weight loss is simple; you just have to look at calories and and calories out. And on a certain level, that's still true. But with more experience, it's not nearly that simple. Two examples: my wife eats consistently less than I do, works out more than I do (and across a wider variety of types of exercise), and her weight is still creeping upwards. Personally, as I age, my basal metabolic rate is dropping and while I snack less and eat fewer sweets than I used to, my BMR is dropping more quickly than I'm developing the mental strength to pass on the plate of twinkies. My weight is creeping upwards.

This also leaves aside the idea that, for example, I'm a really efficient cyclist and runner at this point; an hour with either of those modes of exercise burns fewer calories for me than it might for an intermediate or beginner. So, like I said, calories in and calories out are not as simple as they appear.

If I switch and start thinking about a larger society, particularly the United States, we haven't addressed food deserts and the likely change in micronutrients due to industrial agriculture. Anecdotally, a friend of mine moved to Italy (Tuscany) for a year's sabbatical and actually lost weight following similar patterns of eating and exercise. He credits the change to whole foods, shorter supply chains, and easy access to local produce (obviously this is not a rigorously proven point).

A study published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those 20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise: https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...71403X15001210.

There's lots of things to discuss here, so please let's not shoot down the potentially-interesting discussion with the claims that weight gain is solely a failure of willpower.

Thank you.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by prototoast

The most common way people become obese is gradually. 2-3 lbs per year over 20 years adds up to a lot. If the drugs help someone drop 50 lbs, even if they resume "their old ways" that still leaves them at a significantly healthier weight than they otherwise would have been.

^^This!!!

whether I go on the meds or not, folks who have battled obesity for years now have a chance to lose a significant amount of weight.. and IF they gain it back over the next 5-10 yrs, that's still 5-10 yrs at a healthier weight..

and for CAAD specifically, that's painting with an awful broad brush there my friend.. just curious, have you personally known anyone that used the meds, stopped and then gained a lot of weight back? I'm certain some folks do exactly as you describe, but I'm thinking not all (maybe not even most?)..

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

There's lots of things to discuss here, so please let's not shoot down the potentially-interesting discussion with the claims that weight gain is solely a failure of willpower.

thanks for the insights Mark, I appreciate it.. and we need to get together for a ride for sure (the fact we haven't is solely on me)

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

I don't have any personal, anecdotal, or "common wisdom" experience with any of the modern weight loss meds.

But a number of commenters here seem to be starting from a bias assuming a functional body and/or a relatively "healthy" starting point. That makes sense; this forum is basically predicated on the idea that the members are physically active if not outright athletes.

In my twenties and into my early thirties, I would have said that weight loss is simple; you just have to look at calories and and calories out. And on a certain level, that's still true. But with more experience, it's not nearly that simple. Two examples: my wife eats consistently less than I do, works out more than I do (and across a wider variety of types of exercise), and her weight is still creeping upwards. Personally, as I age, my basal metabolic rate is dropping and while I snack less and eat fewer sweets than I used to, my BMR is dropping more quickly than I'm developing the mental strength to pass on the plate of twinkies. My weight is creeping upwards.

This also leaves aside the idea that, for example, I'm a really efficient cyclist and runner at this point; an hour with either of those modes of exercise burns fewer calories for me than it might for an intermediate or beginner. So, like I said, calories in and calories out are not as simple as they appear.

If I switch and start thinking about a larger society, particularly the United States, we haven't addressed food deserts and the likely change in micronutrients due to industrial agriculture. Anecdotally, a friend of mine moved to Italy (Tuscany) for a year's sabbatical and actually lost weight following similar patterns of eating and exercise. He credits the change to whole foods, shorter supply chains, and easy access to local produce (obviously this is not a rigorously proven point).

A study published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice found that it’s harder for adults today to maintain the same weight as those 20 to 30 years ago did, even at the same levels of food intake and exercise: https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...71403X15001210.

There's lots of things to discuss here, so please let's not shoot down the potentially-interesting discussion with the claims that weight gain is solely a failure of willpower.

Don’t forget walking. Most older European cities were developed around the pedestrian, not the car.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by .RJ

So, I'll drop in with some relevant info. My wife's sister, and later my wife (they use the same doctor) have tried these as they were both struggling with getting baby weight off, and had very good success with it, despite diet and exercise and some lifestyle changes in our house.

The downside is that there's a real lack of energy and fatigue and exercise is much more difficult and endurance or intense exercise is very much off the table - makes sense as glucose stores arent being emptied as fast.

So there's a very real trade off for cyclists/runners/etc, and it may make sense in the short term to get some weight off and make those other life changes and come back to a training plan in a better place with some rebuilding ahead.



That also doesnt mean its a moral failing, either, and its not fair and awful short sighted to paint everyone in that boat with a broad brush. Or it could be tied to other endocrine, health or mental health issues.

This is the most relevant response yet. Real life example. Why did person X take it, and what were the ramifications.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Don’t forget walking. Most older European cities were developed around the pedestrian, not the car.

Good point, I'm taking him at his word that his exercise was similar, but he might have been walking a lot more than he did/does in the US.