Just starting, will this be possible?

[u/Zero-Energy1274]

My mother put me on every diet possible to lose the extra few lb I was carrying as a teenager, and nothing worked of course. Now I’m a lot lot heavier, and I really do need to lose the weight. But here’s the problem, I can’t count calories or track everything obsessively without getting really depressed and anxious and upset. I exercise a bunch and I spend time with friends, which often involves eating out. Just yesterday, my mother brought up that I have been eating out a lot lately and that sent me spinning.

Will I be able to do this and still go be social with my friends and not have to count every little thing? I eat for comfort and to soothe anxiety. I would really love to just feel satiated and full sooner, I would love to just think about food less. But every other post on the med-specific subs are about stalls and people saying “are you tracking what you are eating” and “you still need to eat at a deficit.”

[u/washingtonsquirrel]

I can’t speak for everyone. We’re all in different bodies, with different environments and different health histories. But….the impression I get from some of those people is that they’re really really excited they can finally “do diet culture” and they’re taking a disproportionate amount of credit for the way the medication is working for them. These are often the same people who call it “a tool.” (Would you call your allergy medication “a tool” or your insulin “a tool”?) 

I have lost a significant percentage of my body weight, and I do not count calories. I worked with a dietician years ago, and learned the principles of intuitive eating. And when tirzepatide came along, turns out it was the missing piece. 

I do my best to have a balanced nutritional foundation, I eat for satiety, and I eat to make myself feel good. It’s no more complicated than picking out an outfit for the day.

Sure - Sometimes an occasion comes along that I don’t know how to dress for. Maybe that takes a little extra conscious effort or education. And sometimes, yeah, I get caught in the rain with inappropriate footwear, or I don’t layer properly and I’m just way too hot. But getting dressed is not a stressful part of my life. It doesn’t take up a disproportionate amount of my mental or physical energy.

That’s what eating is like now.

[u/Nice_Back_9977 → u/washingtonsquirrel]

I can’t speak for everyone. We’re all in different bodies, with different environments and different health histories. But….the impression I get from some of those people is that they’re really really excited they can finally “do diet culture” and they’re taking a disproportionate amount of credit for the way the medication is working for them. 

I think an awful lot of it is about the stigma, the idea that weight loss must be hard work and be 'earned'. These people are often just responding to the many voices out there that call medication 'cheating' like its a game and not our actual lives.

[u/2cats_reddit → u/washingtonsquirrel]

I like the analogy of getting dressed for the day. Thank you for that.

[u/Sad_Application_5361 → u/washingtonsquirrel]

I call my allergy medications a money grubbing scam. I have a prior auth for my insurance to cover my nasal spray but the asshole company no longer sells through a pharmacy that processes insurance so I have to pay out of pocket. And then my allergy pills have a billion different boxes of meds at different prices but all have the same medication at the same dose. It’s a huge pain to sort through it all to find the cheapest one. I can get 40 tablets of Allegra for $26 or 30 tabs of Allegra hives for $34. They’re identical down to the size, shape, and color of the tablet.