Now that Ozempic, a once-secret weight loss drug used by celebrities and the wealthy, has reached mainstream discourse, you may be wondering whether you could also benefit from this drug in your quest to lose weight. Dr. Lynne Ahn, a renowned gastroenterologist and functional medicine physician who specializes in metabolic and nutritional medicine, discusses what overweight and obese patients should know about this drug before making any big decisions.
What Is Semaglutide?
Ozempic’s primary ingredient is semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that imitates the same hormone that gets released in your body when you eat a meal. Effectively, it suppresses your appetite so that you eat fewer calories. It does this by working in the brain to make you not feel hungry and in the gut to delay gastric emptying.
This drug was originally designed as a diabetes medication to help patients with Type 2 diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels. However, when clinical trials revealed that patients taking the drug lost weight, some doctors began prescribing Ozempic to patients without diabetes for that purpose.
Since then, the FDA has approved Wegovy, a drug with a higher concentration of semaglutide for patients who are overweight or obese. This is an injectable drug that should be taken weekly and over an extended period to be effective. Additionally, related drugs such as tirzepatide have entered the market under the names Mounjaro and Zepbound, targeting obesity and diabetes, respectively.
Can Semaglutide Help Me to Lose Weight?
The research points to semaglutide/Wegovy being a useful tool for many (but not all) patients who are trying to lose weight. The thing you need to realize is that this weight does not fall off magically. Although semaglutide can help to stifle cravings and hunger pangs you normally experience while dieting, you must still modify your habits to see results on the scale. This means eating a nutritious, low-calorie diet and supporting these efforts with exercise. It is also extremely important to eat enough protein in your diet so that you do not lose muscle and to add resistance training to your exercise regimen.
Notably, many patients notice some significant gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation, especially when they start taking the drug. This can make the drug feel like more trouble than its worth. Gut health is a critical component of your mental and physical wellbeing, so these side effects should not be taken lightly.
Lose Weight with Help from a Metabolic Doctor
Throughout her career, Dr. Ahn has offered medically supervised weight loss plans to her patients in the Boston area. Strategies include personalized nutrition plans, lifestyle modifications, exercise regimens, and counseling. Whether or not you would like to use a drug to achieve your weight loss goals, a customized diet with vitamin supplements is an important component to ensure that your body is fully functional and healthy.
If you would like to maximize your weight loss results with help from Dr. Ahn, please schedule a consultation at Ahn Point Wellness in Wellesley by calling (781) 237-1600.
