Why Did I Decide to Start Taking Weight-Loss Injections?
The people (ahem) weigh in…
When I started talking about taking semaglutide injections – you can read parts one and two of my (vom) “journey” here – I was inundated with messages not just from people who were curious about why I was doing it, what it entailed and, most often, how I managed to get it prescribed, but also from people who were also taking weight-loss injections.
Those messages varied; some people wanted to tell me how they were getting on, while others simply wanted to share their experience, because they (at least 50% of those who messaged me) hadn’t told a single person in their life, because they were either ashamed of taking “the easy way out”, or because they feared the shame that would be piled on them from their loved ones. Not, I’m sure you’ll agree, a great place to be.
It’s also a really common experience; the general reaction to the news that weight-loss injections are growing in popularity, despite the fact that society has been telling us for years now that we shouldn’t be fat, is derisive. That we’re jumping to this “quick fix” simply proves the long-held theory that fat people are lazy; that we’re slovenly, and greedy, and simply can’t be arsed putting in the effort (you know, dIeT aNd ExErCiSe) that’s required to lose weight.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS, but let’s start with this: if you think people shouldn’t be fat, but you don’t think they should take medication to be thin, then you are ostensibly saying that they should be forced to suffer in order to achieve this forced goal of thinness.
Also: diets don’t work and, in fact, study after study has shown that intentional weight loss, and ensuing weight gain (more than 90% of people who lose weight will gain it back, and then some) is more closely associated with bad health outcomes than being fat in the first place. In other words, it is better for you to be fat and stay fat than it is for you to diet incessantly, over and over again, in an effort to achieve thinness.
But what really intrigues me about the rhetoric around all of this is the fact that it is not easy to get access to weight-loss injections; they’re prohibitively expensive, a lot of doctors won’t prescribe them (or, if they do, it’s only after a series of hoops you must jump through to prove you’re “worthy” of them), and even if you do manage to get your hands on them, a lot of people will find the associated negative side effects (gastric issues including vomiting, diarrhoea and/or constipation) are so bad that they simply can’t stay on them, long-term.
It seems as though deciding to take weight-loss injections is not really as simple and straightforward a “quick fix” as it seems (to the uneducated) – so I asked my followers what, exactly, made them decide to go down that road. Here’s what they said.
Fertility / PCOS
“I have PCOS and wasn’t ovulating. My gynaecologist recommended I try [weight-loss injections]. I’m seven stone down and still not ovulating – and while I’m happy to have lost the weight, I’m really fed up with doctors continuing to blame weight for everything. I’ve to get my BMI down to 30 in order to be entitled to a round of the public IVF. It’s only 2kg more but I’m really struggling to lose it and it’s stressing me out massively. The frustrating part is, I’ve been walking more, bulking up on fruit and veggies, but the extra weight isn’t shifting. I look and feel amazing, and I’m so so happy with my size, but the doctors are like, ‘okay, that’s great, but lose more weight or no baby for you’.”
”I just started this week. I have PCOS and have had a complete thyroidectomy and have been struggling with my weight ever since.”
”I have insulin-resistant PCOS so I’m taking Ozempic to help lose weight. Nothing else has worked.”
“Doctor prescribed [weight-loss injections] for PCOS and insulin resistance.”
“On the recommendation of my gynecologist.”
“[Because of] PCOS and other hormone issues caused by being on the contraceptive pill since I was 151 (due to symptoms of PCOS). I came off it 10 years ago but I’m still struggling with my weight. I don’t get periods and I suffer from anxiety.”
“My doctor suggested it to help with endometriosis and general excess weight.”
“I’m taking Saxenda since January – I have PCOS and haven’t been able to lose a pound in over 10 years…”
“I’m a type 2 diabetic and trying to get pregnant. I was told it might help with fertility.”
“To lose weight for IVF.”
“I wanted help trying for a baby and they won’t help until I lose 2.5 stone.”
Diabetes / health concerns
“I wanted to try to gain some control over my weight. My Mam and Nana are both diabetic and I needed to get ahead of that too.”
“I’ve tried everything. I was borderline diabetic and my mood was severely affected.”
“I’ve been overweight my entire adult life and am, honestly, very body neutral. All of my health markers have been fine, but a month ago, my eldest brother died of a stroke. He was very overweight and it made me address my own weight and potential issues from that. I’d like to lose some visceral fat and increase my likelihood of having a long life as much as I can.”
“I’m prediabetic, so I wanted help losing weight and improving my health. I just want help with the mental battle.”
“I’m overweight and can’t lose any of it. I got my bloods done and my insulin levels were double what’s considered normal.”
“I’ve been battling my weight since my 20s. I discovered my blood pressure was all over the place and I was pre-diabetic – all weight-related.”
“I’ve always struggled with my weight and was in health decline, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I lost weight initially but then slowly but surely that went back on. I also struggled with the side effects and had terrible fatigue. In the end I had bariatric surgery – I’m now at a healthy weight and my blood pressure, which was my main concern, is back to normal.”
Because nothing else works
“I couldn’t lose weight by myself. I literally failed every single time I tried.”
“I felt it was the last resort. I needed help and felt so hopeless.”
“I’ve always struggled with my weight and I was in
“I’m four stone overweight, perimenopausal and turning 40… having been yo-yo dieting for 24 years, I wanted some support.”
“I was sick of the Monday morning diets.”
“I’ve struggled with my weight since I was 14. I exercise and I’ve tried everything – I was just sick of being fat.”
“I’ve tried Slimming World, but once I had a baby, my hormones shifted and I also just had no time to devote to diet or exercise.”
“I was so sick of getting bigger and bigger and not being able to control it.”
“I’ve tried everything. Every diet. I have an underactive thyroid and all I did was put on weight.”
“I tried so hard to lose weight on my own; I’d done it before, but after my second baby, nothing was working.”
“I’ve tried literally everything else – I’ve been dieting since I was 15! This is the only thing that has worked for me.”
“I’ve carried weight my whole life, and tried all of the diets, exercise regimens etc…”
“I’ve been battling weight issues since childhood and I’m just just so tired (I’ll be 30 in May).”
“I’ve been diet cycling for years and I’m scared of the trajectory of weight gain.”
“I’ve felt out of control of my weight my whole life. I ate well, exercised and over the years, the weight just slowly kept coming on.”
“I’ve tried so many diets over the years and my weight is now higher than ever. So many injuries and I’m so physically uncomfortable in my body with all of the extra weight.”
“Nothing else worked and I have high cholesterol and a history in my family of heart disease.”
“I’ve dieted so many times – the time and energy it takes for me to lose weight is too hard.”
“I feel like I’ve been on a diet, or exercising, all my life and getting nowhere. And there’s huge pressure from my family to be what they deem ‘healthy’.”
“Since having babies I gained a large amount of weight. I tried everything to lose it but it was just a cycle of losing and regaining. Ozempic helped.”
“I had previously lost a lot of weight, but I piled it on over two years after two big bereavements and nothing I did would shift it. I was so worn down.”
“I’ve been fat all my life and nothing has worked.”
Disordered eating / lack of appetite control
“Turning down / off the food noise was the most important thing for me – even above losing weight.”
“I can lose weight all day long but I cannot maintain a weight loss. Years of yo-yo dieting and now I think I have binge-eating disorder. My GP is stopping my Ozempic prescription in August and I’m terrified the weight will go back on… and honestly, I know it will. I stopped for two weeks over Christmas and gained 7lbs. I’ve never told my GP I think I have BED, although I’ve mentioned my food obsession, bingeing, restricting and so on. She just suggests exercise.”
“I was beating myself up every night about the food I was eating and binges I was having.”
“Emotional eating2 escalated massively during Covid. I just could not get back on track.”
“I just wanted to lose weight and curb my huge appetite, but it went so wrong for me. I couldn’t sleep on it at all, and losing my interest in food made me depressed. After a month of not sleeping or enjoying food, I just started to think, what kind of life is this? I knew depression was beginning to sink in, so I came off it immediately.”
“I wanted to do something about my overeating, and the binge eating disorder I couldn’t get under control.”
“I heard it stops food noise and prevents you always thinking about food.”
“I emotionally eat and I just can’t stop. If I could feel a sense of fullness I could work on my head.”
“Most people can safely use hormonal contraceptives for many years, provided their doctor has recommended it… However, many long-term birth control methods contain hormones. This can cause problems depending on a person’s medical history, age, and overall health.” ‘What Are the Long-Term Side Effects of Birth Control?’ Medical News Today, updated Nov 29, 2023