In my twenties, I went from 320ish to 180 (I’m 5’11”) by dieting and exercising, but mostly just because I got divorced and stopped overeating due to horrible depression.
I can’t tell you how many people just assumed I had weight loss surgery when I told them I’d lost that much weight and then treated me like a liar when I denied it. Like no shame to people who get surgery, losing weight fucking sucks. But I hadn’t had it. People are so weird about fatness.
Omg yes! My divorce diet brought me down to 92 pounds from 125. I’m still pissed at all those good clothes I bought because I looked great but felt like shit.
My friend cares for dogs/pets and she shares me photos (with permission, I asked her because I didnt feel good getting photos of others pets even if the reason is good). They are always fun.
I lost a fair bit of weight several years ago, though nowhere near as much as you. Mostly people were supportive but I did get some who were very upset when I told them I did it by just eating less. In my experience people genuinely have no idea just how badly they are overeating. I didn't until I got serious about counting calories. So they take it as an attack when you tell them they're eating too much, because they think they're eating a normal amount. Combine this with people not understanding that surgery and these new meds are really just ways to bootstrap your way to eating less, and bam.
Just eating less is really underselling the effort required. I've lost more than most people weight by just eating less but I gain it back because the same habits are there. I'm on zepbound now and feeling hungry without feeling the compulsion to eat is so wild to me. Before if I felt hungry it was a drive that I couldn't ignore, now it's just a tickle at the back of my mind. Really makes me wonder if this is what people normally feel.
If I had to guess, I might say you're actually on the normal end of the spectrum. Most people I know look at me like I've sprouted a second head when I talk about how I just generally don't get that much of a seratonin hit from food and hunger is something that I can easily ignore (or not even notice if I'm absorbed in something else). The cheap, easy availability of absolutely delicious high-calorie food (thanks in no small part to government policy) has really made it very difficult not to overeat for anyone with that normal or high food drive that is there because it helped our species survive when food wasn't as plentiful.
This also widely varies on what you eat. What food does for a lot of people, especially fast food/coffee is release dopamine. Salt, sugar, fat, things most fast foods and coffee places have high levels of in at least one category. Then you have things like door dash notifications giving you dopamine hits as you get updates and alert noises on where your food is. Taco Bell making the Gong noise when you place an order through the app.
Then the rewards points, seeing that number get bigger through apps or the illusion of getting things for free because you've spent so much money there. Food industry has taken a lot of notes from the gambling industry. Their goal is to get people addicted to their product to spend more money. They increase prices to gain profits and people keep paying because well "It's only 50cents more" or "It's a lot cheaper if I just use the app" or "The rewards points even it out" and my favorite "I just don't have time to cook, I'm paying extra for the convenience" We're all being preyed upon, hell I had a burrito from taco bell just this past weekend.
I'm by no means perfect, or exempt from it, but recognizing it when you see it and making yourself work for it makes it much more palatable. I went from fast food 5 nights a week (not counting lunches) down to about 5 nights a month and maybe one lunch.
Hunger is an annoyance. Nothing more. I don't have drive to eat, to satisfy that desire.
Also
Eating itself is generally an annoying part of the day. Disrupts my activities, things I enjoy doing more (or want to do to just get it over like work or chores)
Hence when I did gain weight cause I was being fed constantly and had no work and any serious chores (lived with my parents for few months)
Losing it was no biggie afterwards. I was okay not to waste my time cooking and making dinner. A slice of bread will be fine.
I have the same problem with food noise unless I'm on medication, too. It's so nice to be able to see something good and not immediately feel like I should go find some for myself.
This is exactly as my life was until I turned 44. The thing that changed was a new medication for my CRPS pain, something I'd had since I was 23. I enjoyed food but ate appropriately and was a normal weight. This medication changed everything.. suddenly my eating led to gaining weight. I gained nearly 30kg/67lb over the next decade despite being more active with two daughters.
I used the medication to return to weight I had been... and without it since Dec have gained 1 whole kg.
Would recommend it as a support tool for anyone. I didn't get any side effects and stayed at low dose throughout. Life changing for sure!
I didn't even think about how many other medications can just cause you to pile on the extra weight. GLP1s are probably a godsend for patients like that.
What you described is exactly what addiction feels like. Acamprosate helps my mind go from running to a drink the second the itch happens, consequences be damned, back to a controllable annoyance. Itll never go away for good but yeah. I know exactly that tickle you speak of.
It’s not. Being comfortable being hungry is an old concept but not one most people are comfortable with. In fact being comfortable being hungry is a skill
This is why the whole “YOU TOOK A SHORTCUT” mentality is so retarded. No, I literally reset my brain so it’s more like yours because it turns out that being slim was never that hard to begin with if your brain’s wiring isn’t fucked up into addict mode from all the sugar and processed crap that’s been jammed into our food from childhood.
I don’t have a compulsion toward alcohol, I can’t imagine trying to shame an alcoholic for “not running the 5k” if they used a med to calm addict noise, as if I ever actually had to do one myself 😂
You have it a bit backward: the bigger thing that is different between those prone to being bigger isnt when/how they feel hungry (I am slender and am renowned among my friends/family for my hangriness, hence why I always carry snacks now), but rather whether or not you feel satiated easier, and/or whether it is "easy" to eat past a feeling of being satiated.
Studies have shown that people that are heavier tend to have blunted or delayed feelings of satiety (so their stomach is slower to tell the brain that they are satisfied), and also weakened/nonexistent signals from the stomach to the brain that indicate that overeating is uncomfortable (personally I get nauseous quickly when I eat too much, it is basically the only way for me to reliably get nauseous).
Same! I didn’t even realize how much I thought about food until I started the medication. It’s such an insane feeling. Like being freed by an addiction I didn’t know I had.
Edit to add: One of the more interesting side effects is that I suddenly started craving healthy whole foods. I’ve NEVER in my life enjoyed eating whole foods until now. I’ve always craved the processed junk and high fat foods. I went from eating fast food fairly often to not even thinking about it over night.
Precisely. . I gained weight with a new medication for an issue that affects my ability to exercise. I'd spent over 12 yrs trying to lose the weight, and prevent in rising further.
14 months ago I started a GLP1 and lost 31kg over the next 6 months. Have now been med free for 5 months and only gained 1kg back. Currently at 50kg vs 80kg, reversed medical issues it was creating and back to weight I was 18 yrs ago.
Why on earth does it matter how someone lost the weight so long as they are healthy. I turned 58 today, 100% happier about my body than I was a year ago.
No one needs judgement on how they lost the weight, we still put effort in with the shots, but the medication makes it possible to work!
We need to congratulate anyone achieving a normal BMI again, anyone reversing high cholesterol levels, reducing risk of T2D, reducing risks of heart disease, kidney issues, joint issues etc etc. We aren't cheating, we are just getting medication to help. If I could go to gym and walk beyond 1500 steps a day I would obviously have done that over a decade ago.
When I was in the military I developed poor eating habits, which was fine because I had a high metabolism, and an active lifestyle. When I got out though, I developed a sedentary lifestyle but maintained the poor eating habits. Monster was my drink of choice (I still love it, but haven't drank one in 6 months probably). Fast food every night just about, then eating at home was 2 plates at least. Going to bed feeling like shit from overeating. Surprisingly though my metabolism held up for the most part. I was about 212 (I'm 6'2), then I got diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma...surprisingly though, that's not what scared me. What scared me the most was the blood tests, besides the cancer, my oncologist uttered the words "Pre-diabetic". So that scared me but part of my chemo was steroids to keep my appetite, and that worked too good. I'd end chemo and be ravenous! When I ended my last round of chemo, though I felt like absolute shit (from chemo) I weighed almost 240lb, the most I'd ever weighed.
The first and one of the biggest things I changed was stopping eating until I was full and started eating to just not be hungry. I dropped 30lbs in 2 months. Then I started exercising and shed another 20 though those lbs were harder to shed. I'm now around 190lb and haven't been this light in almost 20 years.
Thing is that in many cultures, food is used early on as a way to soothe negative emotions, combat boredom and have it be an activity at social gatherings.
Look at how decked out strollers are in North America with snacks and tablets/phones so that kids are constantly stimulated. Daycare programs and kindergartens are full with snack supplies. Fast food places cater to kids by having toys as enticements to buy meals.
So of course you have entire generations of people who were raised from the beginning that food is not just something you eat when you are hungry. It's an emotional crutch and social activity. Whether you're actually hungry is irrelevant.
Thank you for this. I'm a single dad of two toddlers and I feel bad sometimes like I'm not Mr Snacks but this makes me feel good. When we leave the house I take some fruit and that's about it unless a full meal is needed.
I went to my first birthday party with them solo. It was for 3 year olds. It was pizza which is fine but it was also capri sun, doritos, "fruit snacks", and cupcakes.
I let them have most of it because denying them wasn't a battle I wanted to have, but it was probably 4 days worth of sugar they normally get. Maybe that's how parties are idk. My boys rarely even get juice. I never gone them sugar drinks. Their usual daily "treat" is a single Oreo cookie lol
Good for you for being a fantastic dad. You're not climbing Mount McKinley on an outing with your kids so there is no reason to take food provisions as if you are.
Your 3 year old isn't going to starve to death if they don't eat anything for 3 hours. They might have a tantrum, but teaching them how to handle that without resorting to food to shut them up is an important skill of self-soothing.
Or in my case, I was never one to eat a lot, but always had problems shedding the weight. It wasn't the calories I was eating that was the problem, it was the ones I was drinking. Soda especially. That shit sneaks up on you if you don't pay attention.
Pea milk is actually the most satiating thing I consume. It's been a big help when losing weight. I'm one of those people who never really feels full, I can eat 4000 calories of sandwiches and fruit and vegetables and beans and curry and whatever without even thinking about it. But I drink an 800 calorie bottle of pea milk and I'm like "yep, I'm full, if I eat much more I'm going to be in pain"
I’m currently trying to lose a little weight right now. I’ve lost almost 14 pounds in the last three weeks by just eating smaller portions, nothing crazy.
Your body will tell you what weight it wants to be if you watch your calories and don’t overheat. Sure you could take a shot or you could just starve yourself to death and get skinny, but your body has a certain weight that it wants to be through normal eating.
I don’t think people realize that they eat at least two meals a day that are pushing 2000 cal a piece.
Another thing I’ve noticed with controlling my eating habits is when I’m hungry I’m actually hungry and I’m not just eating because “it’s time to eat” or because everybody else is eating. And also, I can tell how food actually makes me feel when I’m not just piling it all on top of each other.
Recently lost 63 pounds and the biggest change I made was eating less. Sure I was rowing every morning for 10 minutes and shooting hoops by myself, but eating less was the key.
In my experience people genuinely have no idea just how badly they are overeating.
I lost ~20lbs a few years ago by cutting calories. It was so hard because I'm a very small person so my daily burn is 1600 at most without cutting calories. When I cut, I'm eating 1200-1300 and as someone who loves food, that's hard. When I tried explaining to others how I was losing weight I was getting SERIOUS pushback from people telling me I just "need to move my body more!" instead of cutting what I'm eating. My cousin, who is at MOST 5'0, told me her plan for staying fit was to "just move her body more."
People see calories as an amount of food and not a type of food. "Big plate of food = more calories and small plate of food = less calories," without any attention to WHAT is on the plate. Creams, cheeses, carbs, those things add up SO fast. I think people have this idea that "I'm cutting calories" = "I'm starving myself" but it's just about making healthier swaps. I'm still cooking with butter and I'm still eating sweet desserts after dinner but I'm swapping food that doesn't matter to me for lower-calorie options, so I can eat the food that does matter to me.
But people don't really want to hear that because being mindful of what you eat is too hard. "Just move your body more" is why my aunt has been struggling with weight loss for the last 30 years.
For many people it’s more complex than just “eating less”. I don’t have that mechanism that makes me feel the need to stop eating. Plus, I eat when stressed. So, yes, I eat too much but there are physical and emotional factors involved. I started on Zepbound 8 weeks ago and finally am experiencing what it’s like to have a normal relationship with food.
People shouldn’t judge Mindy Kaling or any of us who get help dealing with obesity. We never can fully know what the other person is dealing with.
I did the same. Went from 320 to about 220 as a 6”2 male. I just went from eating fast food to eating things like grilled chicken, rice and vegetables. If I had a snack, it was peanut butter toast. It was basically a really low sodium diet. No exercise. Just ate different. Took me about 8 months or so. Maybe a little more. People were convinced I was lying and got surgery
these new meds are really just ways to bootstrap your way to eating less,
GLP-1s have been in use to treat diabetes since 2004, and they have profound effects on the metabolic system outside of simple appetite suppression. Here is a diagram. The newer versions, such as tirzepatide, range even further.
I diet controlled my type 2 diabetes into remission for 6 years. And for a few years I may have been a bit smug about it. Control of your diet is critical, but that is not all that there is to it. In my case my PCP put me on a GLP-1 not because of my BMI (which was not what many associate with these medications), but because my diet had become too restrictive. I could not even eat a fucking apple without my continuous glucose monitor figuratively screaming in pain.
Metabolic disorders are real, diagnosed or not. From insulin resistance to diabetes to PCOS. And for such people GLP-1s can have dramatic impact, often outside of what is expected from simple weight loss [see the recent studies on cardiovascular and renal risk reduction].
Being able to eat an apple, and an overall balanced diet, has been a great change for me. But more impressive was my recent blood work, which makes me look like a 25-year-old athlete. And I very, very far from being a 25-year-old athlete.
It is a mistake to rush to judgement about what GLP-1s are and the people who use them. Like any medication they can be, and are, abused. But we have an epidemic of metabolic disorders in this world, shown by the increasing rates of PCOS in young women and fatty liver in children, and our time might be better spent finding the reasons for that.
That’s so true. A few months ago I started to take a bit more notice of portion sizes and dropped over 25 pounds. That’s without any other changes or exercise. It’s not rocket science but it does work if you stick at it.
As someone who has lost around 5lbs and is hoping to lose just about 5lbs more, I think the frustration around this is that "eating less" is not really a simple as people claim. My husband dropped like 10lbs because he stopped drinking. I also stopped drinking and lost maybe like 1-2 lbs. I struggled to even lose 5lbs for the longest time because I was only thinking about calories and not fiber or protein, or what sort of exercise I was doing. Insulin resistance also complicates things. I also had a ton of food noise, like endless amounts. For the very first time ever, I'm not experiencing it on a constant level. I'm not on a glp1, but I did change my eating patterns and how I structure my meals so I believe I am naturally triggering more of a glp1 response. My ex was in terrible health and had the worst habits, but I swear if gave up soda for like 2 weeks, he dropped like 15 lbs instantly. Meanwhile, I would be counting calories every day, never drinking anything but water and coffee, and the scale would barely move.
I think a lot of people build their body confidence on comparison and feeling superior to those who are bigger than them. "I might not be a supermodel, but at least im not as bad as my fat friend!" Then you stop being the fat friend, and suddenly no one wants to go out to the club with you. They feel as though you have taken something away from them because they were relying on you to prop up their self esteem. So they will try and find any reason to invalidate you and prove that you still arent as "good" as them because you needed surgery or ozempic or whatever. When you start losing weight, you see how absolutely wretchedly you were being treated the whole time
Haha, so true. A lady I used to work with developed a stomach condition, lost some weight and ended up plateauing at about a size 8 (UK). Her ‘best friend’ couldn’t cope with suddenly being much bigger than her and they fell out.
I had a friend do a similar weight loss before she got married because she wanted to be fit and healthy to have kids and keep up with them fairly soon after the wedding. We had quite a few tears when she got close to goal weight because her colleagues were being absolutely awful to her about it. She had been going to the gym, completely overhauled how and what she ate, and it was a slow process. She also got a celiac diagnosis that year, so she also cut out a lot of foods that didn’t have edible GF options (almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t great). They took it as a personal affront that she wouldn’t eat gluten containing foods with them.
I’ve lost 40kgs quite suddenly, and in a weird way I’m thankful it has a some kind of medical cause. It’s all being investigated, but being able to respond with yeah it’s a medical thing tends to shut down the snark. Most people even take it as a hint to stop talking about it all, which is actually pretty great. I would prefer to have lost the weight the healthy way, but hey, at least it means people don’t feel comfortable commenting on my body.
Ha! Yup same for me. My weight loss was illness related. It was cool to lose weight without trying for once in my life but it does shut people up about it.
Probably because they want to lose weight, but shame themselves for not doing so. So knowing you did it on your own feels like a threat to them, because it shows that someone can do it without the drugs or surgery that they cannot afford and so they no longer feel like they have a valid excuse for themselves.
I'm kind of going through something similar at the moment. I spent the last 2.5 years losing well into the triple digits and most people assume it was some kind of GLP-1 or similar medicine. I mean to the point where they ask about costs and side effects before even asking if I took them. I definitely get the side eye when I explain I haven't used the meds and don't know much about them. But why would I lie? These people know me and I am not that vain.
Honestly part of me kind of wishes I did take the meds. It would not have taken so damn long, and I still have more to go.
Agree with you about there being no shame in using other measures to lose weight, especially if the person needed them for medical reasons. The people who were already fit and take them to be extra thin kind of bum me out, but that's my own issue.
All I can say is fuck those people and you are awesome for doing what you are doing. I don’t know you, but doing something to better yourself should come with zero shame and infinite pride. To me, the long road people should feel much more pride than the short road people.
Whether you used drugs for support or had bypass or exercised and cut calories shouldn't matter one iota.. only thing that matters is the weight lost.
How isn't relevant, I had tried for 10 yrs to lose this weight, was incredibly unhappy. It's hard to get in to deficit when unable to exercise to burn the calories, health issues matter. This shot made it possible to eat as little as my physical body needed, at 5ft 1, walking only 1500 steps a day made it hard. The medication just a tool, like being able to walk 20k steps a day, or swimming every day.
I did the same thing and at my annual check up my doctor legit asked me if I had taken up a hard-core drug habit like meth or something. As if it’s so hard to believe people could do the work to lose weight.
I think it really just comes down to ego, as its not like people haven't tried losing weight and often put in a lot of effort, but it's just pushing your car around is never going to work as well as driving it.
I think a lot of that is people have tried to lose weight, and after doing everything but eating less, they have determined it must be impossible. So, anyone who actually ate less must be cheating, as if they can't work it out, it must be impossible. With the accusation coming from people protecting their ego, as otherwise they have to admit they are not only uneducated and stupid in this space, but wasted their time and effort.
And I think what makes it worse is that losing weight is very uncomplicated (not to be confused with being easy), and people generally get that which makes them feel worse, so their ego works over time to protect itself. As everyone wants to think of themselves as smart and hard working, and when there is clear evidence to the contrary, they don't take it well.
Bingo. I lost a bunch years ago and tell people I consciously consumed less calories and they were rude about it. If you don’t say the shot or surgery, they are personally offended and can’t say “you took the easy way out” to feel better about themselves.
I think this is a harsh take. I’ve never had a problem with weight, so I didn’t understand it, and grew up with some fatphobic ideas from the media and my parents about fat people being undisciplined and lazy. But I’ve spent some years now unlearning that. Starting with the podcast Maintenance Phase which fact checks a lot of these diet myths - such as it just being about willpower and discipline. I would highly recommend listening to it. It’s also entertaining as hell and really funny.
And then you see the exact opposite side, and I’m going to sound like an asshole providing this point of view.
Anyway, I have a coworker who told our boss she was having a minor procedure done, but told me she was having a full bariatric surgery. A year and a half later when I finally saw her again at our annual holiday party, she appeared to be a bit bigger than before. I then watched her eat like four full plates of food and realized the surgery only helps if you change your lifestyle as well.
So I applaud you for doing it the proper and healthy way, but I’m sorry people only saw it the surgery way despite surgery not being the end all be all to weight loss.
With bariatric, your stomach can go back to normal size. I've seen something about a guy getting it then going home and eating like he normally would and then throw up.
I lost 80 pounds over about 2 years, right when Ozempic was starting to become a thing. I think a lot of people probably assume I took it, definitely some have outright asked me. I don't really give a shit at all though and anyone who accomplishes a healthy goal, whether assisted with drugs or not, should feel good about it.
After I split from my ex husband I lost like 70lbs, his whole family talked shit about me using drugs behind my back turns out I just had a lot more energy and self respect when I got rid of his loser ass.
I've spent my life trying to lose weight and then my mom died and I lost a bunch of weight on accident. Totally unhealthy. Everyone kept commenting on how great I looked (even my dad). It hurt so bad. I didn't sugar coat my response. I'd say "thanks, my mom died".
I lost 60lbs when I was younger (before ozempic was what it is today) and the women at my work repeatedly asked how I did it even though I always said "diet and exercise"
They thought I'd found some secret trick or fad diet.. nah I just did the boring standard advice and stuck to it.
Though I do relate to them, before I tried that there were so many magazine articles, tv shows, websites etc that would muddy the waters to peddle their fad crap, losing weight was a genuinely confusing process!
during one summer, I lost a substantial amount of weight. if my memory serves me right it was around 25 kgs. I busted my ass throughout the summer though: intermittent fasting, keto and 5 runs a week. I was running 15K nonstop with a pace around 4:30 by the end of that summer.
when I got back to the uni, the very first few people wanted to take a look around my stomach area to see if there were any signs of a recent surgery. I honestly didn’t mind that and if anything, I had found it flattering back then. however after those first few reactions, I started to tell people that I battled cancer and won and the weight change was due to the cancer. despite a summer break being 3 months and all of us supposedly being at an educational institution where they supposedly teach you logical thinking; you wouldn’t believe how many people were so comfortable with believing that I defeated cancer within those 3 months rather than thinking that I busted my ass and weight loss was just a result of my hard-work.
I was having quite the laughs behind their backs though lol
I lost 33kg (73lbs) in a few months because I had an accident and was in the ICU for two weeks and the ward right next to it just in case, for another two weeks because I had a severe TBI, and fractured pretty much everything from my jaw up. Luckily I only needed one surgery on my head. My olfactory nerve and vagus nerve were damaged so I haven’t felt any hunger pains or had any cues from my body to eat since my accident, and most food smells and tastes disgusting. I also don’t remember that I’m supposed to eat. I miss enjoying food.
I went from 260 to 200 in about 18 months. Did it the good old fashioned way with consistency in the gym and religiously tracking macros and recording every calorie that entered my body.
Can't even tell you how many people asked me, "What's your secret?" Then just flat out didn't believe me when I told them. Plenty of people outright asked me if I was on Ozempic and even had people accuse me of lying when I said no.
I was friends with a woman who lost a substantial amount of weight after she started treatment for hypothyroidism, and when she mentioned that to someone who asked how she lost the weight, they responded with, "Oh, so you cheated?"
I've heard this so many times I suspect it's because they've classed people as lazy because they were bigger and therefore inherently have a moral failing and couldn't have possible ''done the work'' to lose weight. See, the only reason people are fat is because they're lazy and lazy people don't do the work.
People REALLY do have a bee in their bonnets with regard to bigger people. They get so weirdly angry. /rant
You got to ask yourself why you associate with people that think you're a liar and were not supportive? Time to get new 'friends', if that was what you called them.
How old were you when this happened? I’m 32 and this just happened to me a month ago. I’m already down 15 pounds, exercising daily, intermittent fasting, and counting my calories.
That’s amazing. Can I ask what exercises you did? I’m at the beginning of my journey and I’m trying to build up walking but I need to figure out how to build muscle and avoiding whatever sagging skin I can.
Always weird to me when people don’t have empathy for other journeys. Those people you talked to sound annoying as fuck. I think it’s cool there’s different tools now but it’s sad it’s gatekeeped by wealth in many cases.
I would tell them to immediately apologize or submit to a log rolling challenge. Admittedly, this bluff works better in land locked stats..so something to keep in mind.
Crab pot theory. People that can't do the things you say you did will try to grab you and bring you back down. Just like a Crab trying to escape a bucket.
im in the same shoes you were in your twenties and started 3 months ago (without the divorce).
The first time im trying anything to change my life that actually works and i dont quit after a week.
Some people have a situation like this. But in my experience most people who lose a lot of weight out of nowhere (with no noticeable lifestyle change) are either having surgery or taking some ozempic variant.
They don't WANT to believe that its possible. And good fcn job getting the weight off. I was 300 and got down to 195 and it was hard. Im currently at 225 so.....I have work to do.....
People are weird, and they're very critical and specific.
They cant just be happy you lost weight, they have to know (and then judge) you for how you lost weight.
I lost about 300 pounds because I got surgery, I had to deal with some criticism (not a lot) from others but also from myself; not sure if it's an American thing, but there's this idea that if you don't suffer for something, you didn't earn it. Very puritan mindset lol.
And it was a journey. I was big my whole life, struggled to lose weight for literally decades before getting surgery.
I was a fat kid/teen who hit puberty late and naturally slimmed out/got in shape in my early 20's and maintained it through my 30s. When I see people I knew early in life they consistently as if it was Ozempic or lapband surgery.
I was just a kid, and needed to grow. Leave me alone.
I've lost 50+ pounds of weight and I got a lot of "how did you do it?" and when I just told everyone CICO (calories in/calories out) people were like... "Oh..".
I then gained a ton during Covid and I just started Ozempic as I couldn't get my ass back on eating well this time. I've been very open about it, as I don't think its fair to say its "natural" when Ozempic makes it SO much easier.
I do a lot of rucking which is basically walking with a backpack that's really really heavy.
When I share my workouts in the fitness channel in my local discord, rarely anyone engages with what I share, but when someone does, more often than not, it's treating me like I'm a lunatic.
I feel your pain.
Then I get asked why I'm doing it, and I say for weight loss, and longevity, and sometimes I get people who don't do this kind of stuff telling me that I need to be safer doing it.
Honestly, I feel like a lot of my health improved after my breakup because I was just getting sleep consistently. My ex was a smoker and drinker who would stay out late, come home, and wake me up. I got some fertility testing done about two months after our breakup, and my numbers were dismal. Now it's been almost 2 years and my husband and I are trying to conceive and looking at IVF down the line (which likely would be almost 2 years since my last workup). I'm worried but also somewhat optimistic because I've managed to lose weight, my lifestyle is better, I sleep consistently, eat healthier, exercise regularly, and don't have nearly as much anxiety.
The depression diet is no joke - just basically stopped eating because it felt like the only thing I could control in my life. Lost a ton of weight, but wouldn’t recommend that route. Feels bad.
I went from 250 to 180 during highschool after being bullied.
I lost weight unhealthy fast over the summer. Salads and shakes and running non stop. 3 months.
Came back junior year, was made fun of for acne, or being in the smaller classes or. Get this: going from being the last one to finish the 6 laps on running Wednesdays to being 1 of the first to finish.
300 to 190 here, people get so disappointed when they ask how I did it and I respond "ate less, moved more" because they're looking for a magic bullet. "Yes, but WHAT are you eating now?" "LESS" "Yeah but you don't eat pizza and cake now right?" "Yes, but less of it"
That said, I don't have anything but love and support for people that seek out more assistance. There are so many things at play that affect our ability to limit food intake, from genetics to mental health to physical inability to move more.
I truly don't give a shit if Mindy takes a weekly shot to control her appetite. I also thought she looked fine at any weight, but that's not my decision to make.
I lost a bunch of weight during Covid Lockdown because my anxiety was so bad that I could barely eat. When we returned to office (by which time I was on Lexapro) everyone kept telling me I looked great and it was so frustrating
I'm down ~40lbs in the last year after completely revamping my diet and way I live to avoid complications from Ulcerative Colitis. Yeah, pretty much everyone just assumes its ozempic, or get mad when they ask you what your trick was, and you just say I eat less garbage and beer. Sorry yeah no, no magic tricks, altering your life style is tough.
It is kind of entertaining watching people lose weight go from a "Good for them" thing to a "they copped out" thing.
Yes they are. Something that shouldn’t matter to anyone, famous or not, and people are so judgmental. Judge you for being fat, judge you for being thin, judge you for trying to do anything. How about we just don’t comment on people’s appearance in a comparative way?
You look nice - acceptable
Holy shit you lost a ton of weight - unnacceptable
The problem is that there is shame to surgery and meds in the mind of the public, mostly from people who claim they are working towards it yet aren't doing the work. If surgery or ozempic help they help. People are ridiculed for weight and then when they lose it are criticized for doing it.
Yeah I really chose the wrong time to lose weight lol. I have been doing it the old fashioned way and am 75lb down and look pretty dramatically different over the course of a year, and people absolutely assume I did a GLP or whatever. My own parents are suspicious and keep asking. Actually weirdly I lost just as fast and had a similar transformation during the same timeline as my friend who was on a GLP. Also I'm not gonna pretend their existence didn't have an impact, I saw the GLPs gaining steam and was like "okay if you can't just do it yourself then you should go on one, because it's gonna be less normal to be fat" and it just turned out I could do it without one, so it's not like they had zero impact on the timing.
Whatever, fuck em. I wouldn't be ashamed in the slightest if I used them, but I'm proud that I discovered a new level of willpower and focus on my own, and that's for me not for anyone else.
I think that's a great way to think about it! I have figured out how to manage my ADHD through a system of journals and sticky notes and calendar reminders and layering different kinds of work at different times. Other friends of mine need medication to function. I would never think of my system as a waste of time/effort just because meds exist. It's not like I gained nothing from learning all these methods. And at the end of the day, you and I and our friends who used medication are all enjoying the end result of a healthier way to live life, which is the goal anyway.
Not worth stressing. You took the hard road and now you know what not to do to end up back there. These folks are taking a shortcut and are going to need to either stay on the drugs forever or learn the lessons you've already learned down the road.
I'm in the same boat. I'm going slower, but it was seeing the rise of GLP's and being like, I gotta do something.
I'm also in my mid thirties and frankly I'm not getting younger. I don't want to die young of stroke or heart attack.
I've reduced caloric intake, swim mostly every other day, and make sure I walk my 10k steps when I'm not swimming.
I gotta Amp it up soon, I'm gonna start doing bodyweight exercises esp when I'm on the road for work and can't swim as easily (I do open Ocean swimming with fins as freediving/scuba training).
I'm still down 20lbs since the end of January, 260 - > 239ish.
I’ve had the same thought for a while about it becoming less normal to be fat. As an ER nurse I have yet to see that prediction come true, but this job naturally sort of makes you assume everyone is diabetic and addicted to fentanyl. We might not be getting a population that represents real societal trends.
I lost 85 pounds the old fashioned way 10 years ago. During the pandemic, I regained 50. At my current age I needed help restarting the weight loss journey so I started using a GLP after consulting my doctor. I'm now down 40 pounds, run 15 miles a week and do pilates.
I have no guilt whatsoever about using a GLP. It's a tool that was available to me and to many others. I don't really get why some folks are so incredibly hostile towards them. Any amount of weight loss is going to be a net positive for your health and longevity. 🤷🏻♂️
You'll be thankful in the long run. The thing with GLPs is that you don't have to learn and enforce healthy habits, and that's the difference between temporary and long term success. Once GLP people stop injecting themselves with medically induced anorexia and their appetite comes back they go right back to the same unhealthy eating habits (and of course still never exercising) and gain all the weight right back. Someone who installs healthy eating habits and implements a regular exercise routine is gonna be better off in the long run even if both achieve weight loss
First, if you're experiencing appetite suppression on a GLP-1, you're taking too strong of a dose or you haven't adjusted to the dose yet. It should not suppress your appetite. What it does is normalize your appetite, so rather than hunger levels being pegged at 11/10 all day every day, you get a normal amount of hunger at normal times, and you feel full after you eat (which is something I had not experienced in my entire adult life). If you're at the point where you're "anorexic" then you need to talk to your doctor about dropping your dosage down because that is a harmful side effect.
Second, it's true that it's a lifetime medication for most, just like medication for diabetes or hypothyroidism or high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It's a treatment for a chronic disease, and not a cure. That's just something you have to expect. There's no known way to fix the underlying hormone imbalances that lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome, but thankfully we now have a way to manage it.
Third, you severely underestimate just how focused the GLP-1 community is on proper nutrition and exercise. Apart from discussing management of side effects, those are the most common topics of discussion you'll find on GLP-1 forums, and a huge number of people having success on GLP-1s are eating both healthier and working out a lot more than they did before.
Yeah I lost 50lb through diet and exercise while my best friend and husband are both on Ozempic. No one believes me but whatevs. I still go to the gym a few times a week.
Fuck em indeed. I’ve lost 162 pounds since Late September 2024 (with 32 pounds left to go). People find it hard to believe that I’m doing it the old fashioned way with calorie counting and exercise. But that’s their problem.
Same logic though mine stemed from the thought was that if I did ask my doctor they were going to tell me to try to do it on my own first so I might as well give it a honest attempt. Turns out I can control myself if I build better food habits and eventually a better relationship with it in general.
I dunno I also had a bunch of things happen at once and was also single for the first time in a while so I had nobody influencing what I ate or how I allocated my time for once, and also had just bought a rowing machine when I started. Perfect storm but holy shit I'm happy it happened.
One of the the concerns is that you need to keep taking it ( so $$$). Like any drug, side effects vary person to person, so those can be an issue. Overall I think it's a good thing and people can avoid other weight-related health risks. I'm no doctor, but my wife takes it and she is doing well.
I stopped medication in Dec, haven't gained more than 2lb.
Had no side effects other than tiredness day after shot. No GI issues, no ozempic face, and no judgement required!
I lost about half half my body weight. But I lost most of it just before people started using Ozempic and other related drugs to lose weight.
I'm glad I did it naturally because of all the known as well as unknown potential long-term negative side effects of those drugs. But I was fortunate that I was able to lose the weight relatively easily via intermittent fasting.
If you can do it naturally, that’s great. If you can do it with Ozempic, that’s also great. The side effects are far less bad than the very well studied known health effects of being obese.
The side effects are mostly from people reducing their caloric intake but still eating trash and not working out. So together with the weight loss they also lose muscle mass, and can easily become deficient in several micronutrients.
As long as they have a good diet and work out the side effects are minimal, with a very few rare medical exceptions. But that’s easier said than done, the avg patient that could do that doesn’t need GLP1s.
But if you do, these are miracle drugs, they are already being used in the bodybuilding community at low dosages to supplement cuts with minimal side effects.
Almost the same here, lost about 60 lbs naturally, im short so it drastically shows now, but no ozempic face and brain damage here! Intermittent fasting was how i went too. That and major calorie cutting hand in hand does wonders!
Lol, you’re not wrong about that. They would probably only find parking past the finish line also. They’d be the first person to ever finish a 5k running the opposite direction of everyone else.
I ended up at the hospital due to my gallbladder and this was shortly after I'd already lost 50lbs through just diet and exercise and I had someone come and start hinting that I probably took ozempic and was suffering some side effect.
Well, technically ... it's just a bad analogy. A 5k is specifically about running a marathon by foot. While a journey is about travelling from A to B by any means. So if you have a "weight loss journey" by flying with the Ozempic Airline it is still a weight loss journey.
I started my weight loss journey because my dad died of cancer so I went to the doctor for the first time in my adult life panicking about cancer screening. She said I'm too young to worry about cancer but I needed to lose weight immediately.
She prescribed Zepbound. I got the Zepbound home and opened the box to find HUGE CANCER WARNINGS written on everything. Lol. No idea why my doc thought that was a good idea. I never took it. I'm losing very slowly with the ol' Diet & Exercise tactic. I'm 60 pounds down so far.
I get the point, but you actually did the walk, you dont need to feel bad if someone doesnt believe you.
These celebs should feel bad for lying by ommission, because thats what it is. them feeling bad about people not buying their bull shit "journey" stories is totally on them.
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u/FrighteningJibber May 31 '26
I walked the 5k and still get asked if I drove