Ozempic is one of the biggest beauty breakthroughs of 2024. From Oprah to Sharon and Kelly Osbourne, Hollywood is coming clean about weight loss pills. But would you? Fiona Golfer there is – this is her story, one year later.
The last diet? A deep dive into the Ozempic experience
“So how long are you going to be at it?” It’s a question I’ve gotten used to hearing over the past year. It is almost always accompanied by a raised eyebrow. I have been on weight loss medication for a year. It has changed my body, my mental health and my life. My answer to this question is, never; I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.
When I first heard about the ‘miracle’ drug Ozempic – designed for type 2 diabetes – which works by mimicking the action of a natural hormone, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), to slow down the digestive process and thus manages hunger, I was curious to know if this could work for me, someone who has struggled with weight issues for years, especially after menopause.
I was hearing from friends that people were seeing amazing results with it, but I didn’t think it was something I could even take until I talked to my gynecologist, who confirmed that he thought it was a great drug for women struggling with menopause. weight gain.
I wasn’t fat, but I easily carried 15 to 20 pounds more than I should have. I had worked for a fashion magazine for years and I loved clothes and had to make decisions about what to wear based on what suited me rather than what I wanted. I felt heavy and sluggish; my thighs rubbed, I had rear breasts and wide hips, chubby arms, and my face was puffy. Clothing had become a minefield. However, I didn’t get rid of any of my clothes because I held on to the dream of one day going back on the diet. I am 62 years old and although I live in the age of body positivity, I saw nothing to celebrate about my extra pounds. I couldn’t feel myself in my bloated body.
Oprah is one of the Hollywood stars who have taken Ozempic for weight loss reasons (c) Shutterstock
I started the course in December 2022, injecting the ‘pen’ into the stomach once a week as directed (at first I was so nervous that I didn’t remove the plastic nozzle from the tip of the small needle and missed a dose). I took 0.25mg and worked my way up to 1mg over a few months, increasing the dose very slowly. I had considered the side effects—nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation—and the potential health risks, but my reasoning was that they were risks worth taking. I made sure I was taking a good probiotic, Symprove, and magnesium citrate, which takes good care of my gut. Sometimes I had a little nausea, but it came in waves and wasn’t violent and passed like mild motion sickness. my appetite decreased; I ate the same foods but in smaller amounts. I stopped thinking about controlling my food all the time.
I had a mixed reaction from my friends about the weight loss. Some were excited for me, knowing it’s always been a struggle. Some were very prejudiced because of shortages and the much-discussed difficulty for diabetics to obtain it. Others gleefully listed the potential health risks. I often wonder why they suddenly felt the need to become health experts. Sometimes I think there was a touch of jealousy. But really, most of the raised eyebrows were about the idea that losing weight was something I wasn’t disciplined enough to do without sticking a (albeit small) needle in myself. I cannot deny the truth in this. But it wasn’t for lack of trying every diet on the planet over the years. Peer group judgment is something I have no problem with – I can laugh – but I have friends who take Ozempic and keep it a secret.
One morning, I was sitting in bed and my husband said, ‘Oh my God! Your back has lost so much weight. Your waist is back!’ He is trained never to comment on my weight and I could tell he was excited for me – his judgment came from the heart.
What about the pounds I’ve lost? I never weigh myself. It’s the road to madness. However, I let my clothes tell me how I was doing and they gave me a resounding ‘Welcome back’ as I slipped into the pencil skirts I bought in the early 2000s.
Ozempic melts muscle as well as fat, and it is highly recommended to add weights to your workouts. I adapted my exercise to include more high-intensity resistance, which paid off because, as I got leaner, my body started to look defined. My self-esteem sent me walking into the gym with a spring in my step that was never the case before. My diet is basically Mediterranean, including lots of meat, fish and fiber-rich vegetables. I didn’t become a healthy eater overnight. I still crave the foods I love – Chinese and Thai – but I eat much smaller portions.
Sugar was the biggest obstacle. I really enjoyed it and heard from other ‘Ozempic’ friends that they did too. It took me a year to finally quit; I am amazed that after ten days without it I felt much clearer in my head.
People warned me that ‘Osemic face’ is a thing. It is. I lost a lot of volume in mine and saw my esthetician, Dr Maryam Zamani, who put gentle amounts of dermal fillers into my cheeks, which had hollowed me out and made me look a little thin. “I’ve also seen a loss of volume in the face from patients who are on Ozempic,” she says. “I tend to use gentle fillers like hyaluronic acid along with biostimulation that helps the skin regenerate. Dr Zamani also sometimes uses lasers to tighten the skin. The results of the mild amount of filler she used on me were amazing, and I’ll have it refilled about once a year.
I did see some slight skin loosening on my thighs, breasts and underarms, but at my age, honestly, that’s the skin thing and I’ll take it. There are options, but they involve surgery and I don’t want that.
Taking Ozempic has freed me from constant anxiety about my weight and given my health a boost. I have a lot more energy and have regular blood tests to make sure everything is working well – yes.
I think much less about things I can do to make myself feel better. I dress less, work out more, and shop less since I’m getting such a kick out of wearing all my old favorites. I got a new pair of hips last year and started dancing again, slipping into a pair of leggings and a black tank top and going to a class where I could bear to look at myself in the mirror. All these things I would never have dreamed of doing before.
Studies show that if you stop taking Ozempic, then you are likely to regain some of the weight. I think this happens with any of the gazillion diets I’ve been on. But even though I’m not losing any more pounds, I’m down to a weight I’m happy with and plan to stay that way. If that means staying on what I consider to be a wonderful drug, I will. I no longer worry about the judgment of others.
#Ozempic #long #term
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