This is not the sexiest health/fitness topic but I needed to share a disturbing trend now sweeping through Malaysia.
… arriving from Hollywood to Malaysia : people using the diabetes drug Ozempic to lose weight.
If you’ve been scrolling fitness content on your socials… you’re probably seeing what I’m seeing too – Ozempic… Wegovy.. Saxenda pushed by doctors with questionable fitness/exercise and weightloss experience … seemingly selling these meds like it’s candy.
Some clinics are even allowing you to purchase them online with a quick simple online consultation.
What is Ozempic, Saxenda and how does it help with weight loss?
Ozempic is a once-weekly injectable medication to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar.
Ozempic helps with weight loss in a number of ways, from how full you feel to what you feel like eating… it also slows down digestion, keeping food in your stomach for longer, also makes you feel full sooner, so your appetite decreases and you eat less food.
Ozempic might also interact with your brain’s food reward system: in addition to telling your brain that you feel full, Ozempic may affect how you feel about different foods, such as reducing your enjoyment of high-fat foods.
Imagine losing the desire to eat your fav greasy, carb-loaded treat… would that be a good or bad thing for you?
Although not officially a weight loss drug, people who take Ozempic may lose modest amounts of weight while on the medication.
Due to a Wegovy shortage coupled with Ozempic’s weight loss effects going viral on social media, people without type 2 diabetes have begun using Ozempic off-label for weight loss.
Now combine this with us Asians and our obsession with slimming centers, slimming massages, SlimDoc, Fat freezing etc… we are suckers for anything that promises easy and ‘effortless’ weightloss… you can already imagine how many people are already on these.. and hopefully doing it correctly.
Is this cheating?
Now whether getting help via meds is right or wrong, I’m not here to judge. I do know that there are people out there who’s only option to bring their weight down is this… and they’ve dropped their weight significantly and improved their health – WIN!
At the same time… there’s also perfectly healthy adults who take it purely for vanity reasons, lazy to make lifestyle changes and prefer a quick-fix approach. Questionable.
Ozempic and weightloss – the missing link
Either way… so many are doing these meds without considering the importance of exercise in the equation.
Maintaining and building muscle mass while taking Ozempic is SUPER-important!! This is where resistance training comes in because the weight loss promoted by Ozempic takes an aggressive hit to your lean muscle mass.
In any sensible weightloss program… the goal is to lose bodyfat and preserve as much lean muscle mass as possible. (strength training signals your body to hold on to your precious muscle).
Skipping the exercise component altogether will likely lead to loss of muscle mass at the same or greater rate than fat mass, which has scary consequences for your health and longevity.
And you can’t really blame your doctor.. because majority (not all) doctors don’t have the knowledge to start you on a fitness / resistance training program.
If you (or someone you know) are on these meds and need help finding a program that supports your goals, my team can help you.
Meds or no meds, always cheering you on!
Noel
Team Lead @ DailyMuscle
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