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‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

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Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#731

Earlier 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. It's honestly just what you're used to. If you eat tonnes of sugar and fat then that's what you crave. If you cut sugar out of your diet, after a while the amount of sugar you used to eat will taste wayyy too sweet. Same with fat - eating chips for example will leave a gross fatty taste in your mouth. 99% of food bought out will have a whole lo…

This would be more persuasive if it wasn't more or less the opposite of what current nutrition research suggests about fat and satiety.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#732
post #712

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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 carniv…

> high protien, high fat, and zero carb Basically a keto diet, of course it works due to ketosis.

I think the problem with Ketosis is that people are too busy trying to eat a lot of fats. You just need healthy fats, protein and vegetables.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#733

Just making sure everybody understands that these drugs are not a solution to the problem. Assuming they work, they just make dieting easy. Look at people who successfully lost weight with diet -- studies show that almost all of them will regain most of their weight within 5 years. And the basic reason is because almost all dieting regimes are shitty, unsustainable way to live and at the end people are left tired of…

I think this is too dismissive, and internally inconsistent. These drugs are not the solution for all people, but they may well be a part of it for many. The interventions you're advising - "don't snack", "exercise more", have the same pattern you're talking about with dieting - alone, they tend to fail in the long-term. It's easier to learn to eat better (and enjoy things like veggies) if you're not feeling starving…

100% this. A lot of people on Mounjaro report that one of the benefits is that their internal chatter about food / cravings is silenced. For the first time, when they get hungry they’re able to stop and consider whether they should eat a salad, reduce portion size, etc.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#734

Anyone know offhand if these drugs are easily available in Mexico? Having a hard time googling the answer

Ozempic is widely available in Mexico (without prescription) and Canada (with prescription). It’s also available throughout Europe.

Mounjaro is not widely available outside the US yet.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#735

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, your instinct is correct, you have vastly oversimplified it in an unhelpful way. The body is not an energy equation to be balanced. The desire to eat is driven by our hormones and these are not easily overridden by willpower. In fact, study after study shows that willpower is insufficient for most people. Hunger is produced by a complex set of factors that we do not fully understand. What we eat and how we live…

The body is an energy equation to be balanced. Physics defines that. What you are talking about substantially in your post is about willpower with regards to eating and exercise which is totally different.

> The body is an energy equation to be balanced. Physics defines that.

Care to write it?

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#736

I’m surprised insurance doesn’t want to cover it. I’d think the cost at scale would outweigh (pun intended) the longer term costs that fat people bring. Or do their hearts just explode at 50 and that’s it?

My guess is that they don’t want to cover a $1,000/month drug to save costs that you may not incur for many years / when you’re no longer insured by them.

It only works if all the companies agree to cover it.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#737

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would rather die than suffer through three months of occasional strong nausea, constipation and brainfog? I hope that's hyperbole or that you have someone to talk to.

It sounded like it was decades of side effects, rather than 3 months. Presumably that affects the calculus Especially since we're talking about possibly dying a couple years early vs definite awful side effects

I'm willing to bet that there are some other long-term side effects that haven't even been detected yet. Since I'm not obese I'll let others take the risk.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#739

I’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…

Fat guy here: these side effects are pretty scary for somebody like me. 3 months of noticeably extra fatigue on top of my current baseline level of exhaustion seems to threaten serious psychological effects. 3 months of brain-fog sounds like a great way to get fired and really fuck up my life. If my "gastro situation" was noticeably worse than the unpredictable wildy-swinging nightmare it already is, I honestly have…

it could be the effects of caloric restriction. 3 months, in the context of a whole life plus increased lifespan is not that much time.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#740
For anyone that wants to lose weight without taking drugs, just try eating only eggs, liver, and ribeye steaks with salt and drinking only water. You can eat to satiety on this diet - in fact you can just stuff yourself as much as you want - and you will lose weight and get in shape. Also, you'll find that it is impossible to eat a more nutrient dense and nutritionally complete diet than liver, eggs, and ribeye steaks. Remember never to drink a calorie.
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