Why medication for weight loss doesn't work

Why medication for weight loss doesn't work but a change of lifestyle will have a dramatic effect on energy levels and success in restoring health.

Researchers have found that two-thirds of obese people without diabetes will stop taking medication for weight loss within one year. The reasons are clear and we need to face them before making a start considering the high failure rate.

But if we are honest we must also face the fact that many find they are equally unable to make the lifestyle changes that will lead to permanent weight loss.

Permanent weight loss

Both parties in the lifestyle versus medication debate are adamant that for permanent weight loss you have to continue with the programme for ever; or don't start in the first place.

To lose weight and regain it is far worse than simply accepting that you are obese and it's going to stay that way.

So before starting with the new GLP-1 medication or making lifestyle changes, take a firm decision that this is for ever.

Are you willing to take Wegovy injections, Tirzepatide or Ozempic for ever? Can you afford it for the rest of your life?

Equally are you willing to make the lifestyle changes recommended below for the rest of your life? I won't pretend they will be easy but the surge in energy levels, the decease in pain in your body and a dramatic drop in the meds you are taking all mean that this new way is worth a thought.

So why do 75% of overweight people stop taking GLP-1 medication?

The first is simply that they are unaffordable for the majority unless you have insurance that will pay for these meds; this is the most common reason for those not suffering from diabetes. Without question they are extremely expensive so taking them for the rest of your life becomes prohibitive even if they are working; which they probably will. They are effective.

It comes as no surprise that those with higher incomes were less likely to quit; they can afford the medication.

The second is that the side-effects are often horrific. Even 47% of those with type 2 diabetes quit within one year^[1] despite the benefits. They are the most common reason for discontinuation for those suffering from T2D.

The researchers found not surprisingly that side effects were strongly associated with discontinuing the medication.

The most common side effects of these GLP-1 receptor agonist medications are nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea; and for some constipation ironically. They can be moderate but for a significant percentage they are severe.

The third most common reason for overweight people to stop taking GLP-1 medication was that it simply wasn't working. For those who lost only 5 or 10 pounds there was a relatively higher likelihood of discontinuation.

How do the GLP-1 Receptor Agonists work?

There are receptors in the gut on which the so-called Incretin Hormones act. They slow the release of food from the stomach, stimulate the pancreas to start producing insulin and send messages to the brain that you have had enough to eat.

They also reduce the secretion of the hormone glucagon that normally raises blood sugar when there is a demand for energy from the cells.

For example diabetics with a Continuous Glucose Monitor will notice that their blood sugar rises when they exercise.

An "agonist" is a drug that binds to these receptors reproducing the same action that those hormones naturally induce in the body.

One of the problems associated with agonist medications is that your body then starts producing less of your own hormones naturally.

Three choices

So the obese are compelled to make one of three choices. Many are ostrich-like pretending that the consequences of being overweight only happen to other people. They are constantly trying this or that new diet; and become increasingly depressed when they fail.

Option 1

Option 1 is simply to accept that you are overweight, you are unable or unwilling to change and accept the consequences. You refuse to constantly be dieting and perhaps you are ready to take medication to manage the diseases associated with being obese.

It is an honest appraisal of yourself.

Option 2

You are ready and willing to take medication for weight loss for the rest of your life; despite the side effects and cost. It is also an honest response.

You understand up front that if you stop the drugs the pounds will return and you will actually be worse off than if you never started.

One of the reasons is that when dieting 20% of the weight loss is muscle; but when you regain those pounds it is not restored. You end up being weaker.

Option 3

You are tired of being in pain, anxious about the chronic degenerative diseases associated with being overweight and concerned about all the medication you are having to take; and you are willing to give lifestyle changes are real go. You accept that they are permanent; for the rest of your days.

This is a complex journey and probably somewhat different for each one of us who are overweight. For me personally I lost 11kg permanently; this is how I went about it.

• Bernie's scientifically proven weight loss programme
• Creating a divine green salad
  

Two major steps

Why medication for weight loss doesn't work for the majority. Are we idle, misinformed or just do not care about our health?

There were two major steps in my journey with obesity to be made. The first was to take a short brisk walk after every starchy meal. That meant not going straight from breakfast to the motorcar, from lunch to the computer and after dinner spending 10 minutes marching outside the house around the garden; you could do it on a stationary bicycle or in the swimming pool.

That was relatively easy. It took some determination for three weeks to inculcate my brain with the new lifestyle but then the habit grew easier.

• Take a walk after supper
  

The second part was more difficult. One after another I gave up refined carbs for the rest of my life. I started with pasta, cookies and cakes which was relatively easy because they gave me discomfort and often pain in the belly.

Reducing sugar intake to six or less teaspoons of sugar as recommended by the Heart Association was a good deal more difficult; ice-cream and chocolate in particular. It was made easier by turning to natural unprocessed honey which has a low GI for sweetening; especially in cocoa.

• Is drinking hot chocolate good for you?
  

Most difficult of all proved to be giving up commercial bread, scones and rolls for ever; yet it turned out to be a great blessing in disguise. It meant purchasing a mill and baking our own loaves.

The plus side once over the initial cost was that our food we found was far cheaper and more tastier. I began to appreciate what others had been saying to me; grocery store slices taste like cardboard unless smothered with jellies, peanut butter or processed meat.

The great blessing was that the extra fiber contributed significantly to a lifelong problem; severe chronic constipation.

• How to get more fiber
  

Medical insurance dilemmas

Medical insurance companies have huge dilemmas that they have to weigh. Why should they pay for the huge cost of GLP-1 receptor agonists to be taken lifelong when the same end with a better outcome can be achieved for zero expense by straightforward but admittedly difficult lifestyle changes?

Currently many are refusing to pay; with the wholehearted support of the majority of their members. Of course pharmaceutical companies will be putting huge pressure on them to pay considering the enormous benefits of weight loss by one means or another.

Father of Medicine

What would the Father of Medicine contribute to the dilemma why medication for weight loss doesn't work if he was here today?

Another viewpoint

Another viewpoint is that this is really a spiritual issue; it's facing up to the sacredness of the human body and the responsibility we all have to care for ourselves. If that means strictly limiting food from the Devil's Pantry then that is what we should be doing; period.

• How much sugar in the life of a Believer?

That is perhaps the reason why medication for weight loss doesn't work for Believers; they need to be addressing the real underlying issues.

Why medication for weight loss doesn't work

Why medication for weight loss doesn't work long term. Two-thirds of obese people quit the programme within a year because of the toxic side effects and enormous cost of the drugs.

Whatever you choose, do something; otherwise great misery lies ahead.

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