Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the drug?
FYI: GoodRX says it costs $1K/month.
Depending on your risk tolerance, you can get it from rather sketchy Chinese UGLs for $100/month.
‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
651–660 of 1001 posts
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#652I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…
I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…
>I've heard people say that the solution is to eat (healthy food) when you're hungry, and stop when you're full. The thing is, I'm never full. I can eat until I physically can't eat anymore (not something I do regularly, of course), and as soon as my stomach has emptied a bit, I feel fairly hungry again. "Eat until you feel full" is literally a human experience I had never really had.
I hear people following a carnivore diet have had success in dealing with this satiety issue. The only things you can eat with this diet are butter (or ghee), beef, and salt.
There is a claim that nutrient difficiency causes the scenario you are describing. Your body is being deprived of what it really needs with your current diet and requires more consumption to continue its search for a particular set of nutrients.
The carnivore diet is not a silver bullet but worth a try. I will also mention it is high protien, high fat, and zero carb which has been shown to result in massive weight loss in relatively short periods of time (counterintuitive, I know).
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#653Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was just saying the exact same thing to my wife yesterday. We’re both trying to lose weight, for the millionth time in the 20 years we’ve been together. Exasperated, I just said “I don’t get it. I was an artist who had no technical background, and was able to teach myself computer science and now I’m a highly successful engineer. I did that. And yet I can’t lose 10 pounds to save my life.” It’s so hard to eat healt…
> It’s so hard to eat healthy, I honestly cannot fathom how people do it. When I started taking semaglutide, I finally understood it. I'd eat a salad... and be full and more than satisfied! I'd look at a muffin right after lunch, and go "eh, better things to do with my time" instead of immediately having an overriding desire to eat eat eat. Before, I could eat half a pizza and still be hungry (way out of what my body…
> Too many people are convinced that everyone has the same subjective experiences of hunger and craving, but it's simply not the case. Some people implicitly hold this idea because it's a convenient ideology that allows people to morally congratulate themselves for having a functioning satiety circuit.
Where does this line of thinking stop?
Is everything pre-determined by genetics?
Is everyone who is smarter than me, just actually lucky that their dopamine system works correctly, and mine doesn't, and hasn't since I was a very young kid?
I'm sure this response will get down voted but its an honest question. This line of thinking that everything is genetically pre-determined seems both accurate and somewhat depressing.
It means that if I'm skinny and can't gain weight, I need to take steroids and lift. Or if I'm fat, I should take a GLP-1 agonist. If I'm underperforming in my career or school, I should take adderal or similar pharma solutions.
What role does good old fashioned hard work and discipline have in this day and age?
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#654I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…
I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…
> I've heard people say that the solution is to eat (healthy food) when you're hungry, and stop when you're full. The thing is, I'm never full. I can eat until I physically can't eat anymore (not something I do regularly, of course), and as soon as my stomach has emptied a bit, I feel fairly hungry again. "Eat until you feel full" is literally a human experience I had never really had.
I had this exact same experience when I was prescribed a drug that, as a side effect, blocked receptors in parts of the brain responsible for signalling satiety from food.
I went from having trouble eating enough food to maintain a healthy weight, and just not being hungry, to suddenly being unable to feel full at all. It was like I always had room for more, no matter how much I ate. And I was constantly hungry, felt like I was starving 24/7 and would ruminate about food so much that it impacted my ability to sleep or concentrate. My brain was obsessed with preventing me from "starving" and it ultimately dissolved the illusion of willpower that I thought I had.
No longer take that drug, but it was an eye opening experience. I didn't know that was a thing people could experience, as someone who was always skinny. It really drove home that we are products of our biology and made me more empathetic with those who struggle with food.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#655Earlier quoted context omitted.
> discipline and hard work (or genetic luck) Let me tell you, the number of thin people I've met who got there through discipline and hard work is vanishingly small compared to those genetically blessed. This is probably why it's such an appealing delusion -- who doesn't want the world to think they're disciplined and hardworking, instead of just lucky?
I don't think it's so malicious as you make it out: being thin seems like the default option, because that's how it was for most of human history and because you can't become fat without lifting the fork yourself and putting the food in your mouth. That obesity could be a disease questions our notions of free-will and the cascading questions that come along with that are quite uncomfortable.
I wasn't intending to frame it as malicious. I'm as big a supporter of Hanlon as anyone else.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#656I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…
> everyone, even the skinny folks, should be on GLP1 drugs Seriously? No thanks. Think I'll give you all a few decades to see what the long-term effects are like, and let my body largely take care of itself except when specific medical issues indicate that an intervention is in order.
Being a young and very healthy person I felt this way about the COVID vaccine.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#657It's weird that insurance companies won't cover this, considering the cost of treating obesity-related illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, strokes, certain forms of cancer, etc. It's also weird that pharmaceutical manufacturers price this so high, considering the potential size of the market relative to the current size of the market. I guess what I'm saying is: the healthcare industry makes a lot of choices I do…
Well... another way of thinking about this is... if it costs 15,000 a year to treat, I wonder what percentage of those people could lose weight another way for less than $15,000 a year (e.g. free gym membership with classes, personal trainer, and $500 a month bonus if you show up twice a week)
We know the answer to that, though. Very few morbidly obese adults lose significant amounts of weight and keep it off long term, even with comprehensive lifestyle interventions like calorie counting, gym membership, and therapists. Even people who lose a lot of weight just gain it back at 1-2 kg a year. That's why there's an obesity epidemic.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#658I am currently on one of these regimes, and it has been miraculous for my life. I became obese when I was 27, topping a 32 BMI, when I was 35 I gained a substantial amount of mass by just pumping iron and doing cardio, brah.
5 years later, I had a bad knee, and lost most of my gains. Dr. Bronner put me on a steady diet of Carne Asada and Kale, and I've been a wiry lean pooping machine ever since!
He's a miracle worker, send him all your money now!
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#659I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…
I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…
Does your appetite not adjust to your intake?
I did a “dirty bulk” while working at Trader Joe’s in my 20s. At the beginning I could barely eat one frozen mac and cheese. A month of heavy eating later and I could easily finish 2 and still feel hungry.
Im older now so I don’t eat like that anymore, but it is still very noticeable to me how easily I get full when I am dieting hard.
Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
#660Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…
> I've heard people say that the solution is to eat (healthy food) when you're hungry, and stop when you're full. The thing is, I'm never full. I can eat until I physically can't eat anymore (not something I do regularly, of course), and as soon as my stomach has emptied a bit, I feel fairly hungry again. "Eat until you feel full" is literally a human experience I had never really had. I had this exact same experienc…
I know what you mean. My doctor prescribed Naltrexone. The first day I took it I ate half my dinner and felt full for the first time in my life. As a middle-aged man I had never had that feeling before. Previously I assumed what people meant by feeling full is that you felt like you literally can't eat anymore.
Unfortunately that stopped working for me after a few months. Hopefully this one will work better.