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What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

psychologytoday.com

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Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#221

Post by sublinear »

faangguyindia wrote: post #139
dirtbagskier wrote: post #2

I'd take them even if they didn't make me lose weight - and I'm the type of person that doesn't like takeing Tylenol unless absolutely necessary. The best way I can describe it: my body and mind are no longer is in starvation mode. I plan, do, act and sleep well.

>my body and mind are no longer is in starvation mode What does it mean? If a drug reduces your desire to eat food, wouldn't it also decrease your desire to eat food beneficial for your body? I think the effect most people want is to stop craving junk food but still eat nutritious food required for muscle growth and health.

If you want the real answer, people suck at shopping for groceries and don't know how or want to cook.

Long before LLMs, there was a different but similarly misguided hype around making food more convenient. Making money off ignorance is not "innovation", but we live in a world convinced by arrogant and pretentious fearmongering liars.

As always, just do it yourself. It's not that hard after all.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#222

Post by SoftTalker »

mynameisash wrote: post #209
dmayle wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue isn't food addiction, it's a broken hunger response (broken by Howard Moskowitz intentionally in the name of profits)... You have to change your food regimen completely (higher fiber, more protein, less sugar, less carbs, less fat), and that's tough to do when you're surrounded by options that aren't... I think the real problem is that the symptom we're trying to treat is "overweight", and it's actually a t…

What breaks the hunger response, and how does one fix it? Maybe it's well-known, but I read the starvation response Wikipedia page[0] and didn't grok it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation_response

Buy unprocessed food and prepare it yourself. Don't add sugar. Eating processed food and even most restaurant food is eating food that's designed to make you want more, not satiate you.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#223

Post by Barrin92 »

crooked-v wrote: post #154
htk wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the symptom is being treated, not the underlying issue. And that's ok, but treating the underlying issue, when possible, is better, as the problem ceases to exist.

For many people, the "underlying issue" is fundamentally just being too hungry for how they live. GLP-1s absolutely treat that.

> the "underlying issue" is fundamentally just being too hungry for how they live

operative phrase in that sentence "how they live". They need to live more active lives. And that's better than a weight loss drug because inactivity causes systemic disease beyond weight gain.

GLP-1 drugs do to hunger what pain meds do to pain, but if you're overweight and your back is aching because you're sedentary the solution isn't a cocktail of drugs, it's to get off your ass, because that lifestyle is going to cause you biomechanical, metabolic and even cognitive issues down the road.

There's disease you can't do anything about and need to treat with medicine, but if you're experiencing symptoms because your lifestyle is abusing your body change your life. There'll come a moment where there's no wonder pill to fix your issues and in that moment you're better of if you know how to actually get control of yourself. Which most import of all is going to give you the confidence that you can change. You don't want to be 50 years old and your only cope in life is praying that a pharma company mutes whatever symptoms plague you.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#224

Post by SoftTalker »

faangguyindia wrote: post #162
coffeemug wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was lifting weights I went from 170lbs to 210, and back to 170. Doing that isn’t technically hard, and maintaining is even easier. But I had to think about it _all_ the time. Maybe it’s because I’m older now, but I just don’t want to spend that much effort thinking about food.

lifting weight isn't efficient for weight loss. Without calorie deficit, you'll not lose much weight by lifting alone.

You'll probably gain weight in fact. Muscle is heavier than fat.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#226

Post by chrisco255 »

declan_roberts wrote: post #187
dyauspitr wrote: post #47

What’s the downside to this magical drug. There has to be a downside…

Some downsides: 1. They make you stop eating, which for most of human history kills you. 2. They are a life-long treatment and kind of expensive unless you go gray market. 3. Gastrointestinal issues especially when titrating up.

1. They don't make you stop altogether, they just make you feel full on less calories, which is good when you are in a calorie dense environment like modern society.

2. Not necessary here either if dietary habits are permanently altered, which can happen more easily after several months on GLPs.

3. Perhaps!

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#227

Post by dotcoma »

dgabriel wrote: post #170
faangguyindia wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

for many people the underlying issue is serious lack of education when it comes to nutrition. Not understanding calorie balance, not understanding calorie density of the food they eat. How many people know 1kg fat = 7700kcal that if they could create deficit of 7700kcal they could potentially lose 1kg bodyfat? Ofc, i know the relationship isn't that simple but for most people this roughly holds true. If you are eatin…

I understand calorie balance. I've been on a diet since I was 12 years old, and am now approaching 50. I've lost and regained the same 60lbs about 4 times now. I have logged every bite that goes into my mouth, and lived with a constant hunger for as long as I could take it. Then I ate until I felt satisfied and gained it all back. I know how many calories are in anything, and I can eyeball any serving size. I've been…

Wow. I wish you could find a way to do this without meds, but I certainly can’t blame you for taking them.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#228

Post by macintux »

hack1312 wrote: post #220
nemomarx wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diets also don't stick when you discontinue them. It would be an incredible advancement if we figured out a reliable and replicatable way to just eat less food, but until then I think a drug that makes you do that is pretty decent.

> Diets also don’t stick when you discontinue them. Yes, obviously. Which is why sustainable weight loss takes a commitment to making a change in lifestyle. What’s more sustainable, changing your lifestyle to maintain the weight you lost, or being beholden to taking a drug to maintain that same lifestyle change for a hope at maintenance?

At a large enough scale, being beholden to a drug is far more sustainable.

We’ve tried shaming people into being healthy. Amazingly enough, it doesn’t work very well.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#229

Post by chrisco255 »

pandaman wrote: post #131
dyauspitr wrote: post #47

What’s the downside to this magical drug. There has to be a downside…

Even if there are zero effects other than the advertised weight reduction, one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. While exercise has many positive effects, which I'd argue are more important than the weight loss, the latter is the primary reason many people exercise and likely to stop when given the weight loss by other means.

Most people are achieving weight loss by dietary changes. It takes a massive amount of exercise to significantly alter your calorie balance. Definitely good for you either way but most people who exercise also want to be toned or muscular.

Re: What Ozempic does to the gut-brain axis

#230

Post by ElProlactin »

wpm wrote: post #21
joshuamcginnis wrote: post #16

Studies show almost all subjects regained the weight and reversed gains within 2 years. This means underlying issues (e.g., food addiction) aren't being addressed. Short of changing habits, the only maintenance solution is lifelong drug use and that doesn't sit well with me.

Why not? People take depression meds, blood pressure meds, all kinds of meds for their whole life. I'll be on omeprazole for reflux my whole life. It doesn't solve the underlying problem of my gut being prone to overpumping acid into my stomach. So omeprazole is problematic? The underlying issue is being treated, it's treated by taking the drug. It works. It's doing its job. I'd be curious as to how you came to this…

> People take depression meds, blood pressure meds, all kinds of meds for their whole life.

And a lot of these medications have side effects that can affect quality of life negatively in other ways. That doesn't mean they're not helpful, or shouldn't be taken. But the "no free lunch" rule usually applies, sometimes to a noticeable degree.

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