In my younger years, I always had serious weight problems. In 1990, when I was 42, I weighed 300 pounds. I am 5’ 11” tall. The year 1990 was a landmark year for me. My doctor told me I was now diabetic and my dentist insisted I get braces on my teeth to fix a serious “bite issue”! My course of action was to eliminate as much sugar in my diet as I could. At times, eating was very difficult with all the orthodontic work (pain and discomfort) going on in my mouth. Yes, for almost 3 years I had shiny metal braces (headgear, rubber bands, power chains) on my teeth! By 1993, I had lost about 40 pounds — putting me around 260, still much too heavy. From 1993 to about 2015, I slowly dropped another 40 pounds just by eating a more healthy diet. In 2018 and 2019, I suffered a mild heart attack and was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Lots of stuff was done to me (triple by-pass, radiation treatments, etc.). Going into the “Covid years”, my weight was still hanging around 220-225.
In 2021, I was put on weekly Ozempic injections. Within a year, my weight had dropped another 40 pounds. I am still taking Ozempic but recently had my dose dropped by 50%. I am now holding steady at 180-185 pounds. I’d like to lose another 10 pounds to maybe lose my remaining “beer belly”. Since 1990, my waist size went from 48 to 34 inches.
For me, Ozempic reduced my appetite. It does have one annoying side effect. My bowel movements are now very erratic going from sudden, EXTREMELY urgent diarrhea often followed by several days of constipation. My endocrinologist cut my dose in half last year, to hopefully minimize this nasty side effect. It’s helped a little. YMMV!