Why I Won’t Tell Anyone How Much Weight I Lost On Ozempic
I think we have a very unhealthy way of looking at weight and health and people's bodies in our culture. I am not volunteering to be a lightning rod for these conversations. No way.
Ozempic is a semaglutide medication that works by slowing digestion. It has seen incredible success in treating diabetes and obesity. It’s also pretty controversial, as everyone seems to have an opinion on whether it is “right” or “wrong” to take this medication.
People who are against Ozempic cite concerns around the side effects like digestive issues, increased risk of pancreatitis, potential thyroid issues and vision problems. To be fair, you can’t compare the side effects of a medication to just existing as a healthy person. You have to compare them to the side effects of the disease they are treating. Diabetes is the #7 cause of death in the U.S.
Another reason people are against Ozempic is because it is a lifelong medication. But again, what is the alternative? Diet and exercise is also a lifelong medication in that if you stop doing it, you stop seeing the health benefits of doing it. Diabetics who take insulin are also expected to take it for the rest of their lives.
Personally, Ozempic has been a great medication for me. Having an extensive family history of diabetes, when I exercised more and worked on eating a balanced, low-sugar diet, my A1C just slowly continued to climb. But taking Ozempic quickly lowered my A1C from the diabetic range to the non-diabetic range. I’m no longer diabetic.
As someone who has always struggled with binge-eating and my weight, it’s also helped me lose a substantial amount of weight. People in my life have noticed and commented on my weight loss and many want to know the specific amount of pounds I’ve lost. I have no interest in telling them.
The worst part of being overweight is that you can’t hide it. Everyone has areas in their life they struggle with, that they aren’t proud of, or that leave them vulnerable to the judgement of others. For overweight people, this is on display to everyone immediately when you meet them. I felt like an open target everywhere I went because you never know when someone is going to bring it up. I could never relax.
As I lost weight, people commented on it. They wanted to know what I’m doing. This is hard for me because I like being helpful and I value being pretty honest and transparent with how I live my life. However, I don’t want to introduce a controversial medication to a casual conversation. If I tell people I am taking Ozempic, I become associated with the medication in their minds. When they see a news story about Ozempic, they’ll think of me. They’ll probably even use me as an anecdote when talking about the medication with others.
And, god forbid, if i gain weight in the future for whatever reason, they’ll be confused because of what I’ve disclosed. They’ll make conclusions about the medication, whether I’m still on it or not, and share that with others. None of this speculation is welcome. I would like people to please not pay attention to my body. I am not trying to be the poster lady for a controversial medication. I would like to just be a person, please.
I think we have a very unhealthy way of looking at weight and health and people’s bodies in our culture. I am not volunteering to be a lightning rod for these conversations. No way.
And numbers seem to make people extra crazy. If I tell people how much weight I’ve lost, the number overwhelms the rest of the story. It takes on a life of its own. Weight loss numbers conjure images in my mind of decades of magazine articles about people losing weight or like, The Biggest Loser scale. It feels like a dated concept to me. It feels shallow and gross. The number is something that’s helpful for my doctor to know, but not something I personally care to think about that much.
The truth is I just don’t trust people with knowing this information about me. I don’t want to give them extra reasons to think about my weight and my body. I don’t believe it is any of their business. It’s weird to care about my body so much and I’m not enabling that.
If Ozempic has given me a superpower, it is the superpower to blend in and not have my body be a topic of conversation for others. Why would I mess that up by advertising information that makes people belligerent? I deserve to be allowed to be left alone. So leave me alone.
