Tag: weight-loss

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Daryl Sabara Meghan Trainor Weight Loss

Meghan Trainor and her husband take the weight loss drug Mounjaro together

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I just looked up when “All About That Bass” came out, and the internet must be lying to me because it says 2014. How can that song be 11 years old already?! Anyway, the song in which Meghan Trainor croons, “You know I won’t be no stick-figure, silicone Barbie doll,” was a big breakout hit for the singer. Which makes it kind of funny that these days she’s all about detailing the different cosmetic work she’s getting done, to varying degrees of success. Last December, Meghan shared on her Workin’ On It podcast that she’d gotten so much Botox above her lip that it hurt to smile. Ouch. Then last month Meghan updated us on the results of a boob job to perk up the girls after two pregnancies — she loves them so much she struck an endorsement deal with the implant company! And now we know this: Meghan had hubby Daryl Sabara on the podcast last week, and the couple confessed that they’re taking Mounjaro together, one of the GLP-1 weight loss drugs. As Meghan put it, “Daryl and I both do everything together.” Remember that for later.

“We did 75 Hard after Riley was born and, man, did we crush,” Meghan said during the April 9 episode of the couple’s Workin’ On It podcast. “Then, we heard more and more of our friends—and even our doctors—were on Mounjaro and Ozempic.”

The 31-year-old, who added that after researching various GLP-1 injection options, she opted for Mounjaro because she felt it “had less side effects.”

And despite feeling like she knows how to lose weight on her own, Meghan added, “I could do that, but when I asked my doctor, I was like, ‘Tell me everything.’ I did the research, and I felt safe.”

To which her husband of almost seven years, 32, added, “So, I did it, too,” with Meghan affirming, “Daryl and I both do everything together. And we started that journey.”

The couple explained they’re both on the lowest possible dose of the medication, and that they balance the medication with exercise and balanced meals.

“We were like, ‘We have to make sure we don’t lose muscle, that we worked so hard gaining all those years,’” Meghan added. “And we stay in the gym, we work out, we eat right. And we just noticed that we were less hungry.”

The “Made You Look” singer also stressed she’s happy to own her health methods.

“I feel amazing,” she gushed. “Like this thing is incredible. And I have no shame being on it and talking about it.”

And indeed, this is not the first time Meghan has spoken about taking the weight loss medication.

“I’ve worked with a dietician, made huge lifestyle changes, started exercising with a trainer and yes, I used science and support (shoutout to Mounjaro!) to help me after my 2nd pregnancy,” she wrote on Instagram March 31. “And I’m so glad I did because I feel great.”

She added, “I’ve been on a journey to be the healthiest, strongest version of myself, for my kids and for me.”

[From E! News]

“…she opted for Mounjaro because she felt it ‘had less side effects.’” We’re all thinking it, so I’m just gonna say it: it’s fewer side effects, not less. As for the side effects themselves, they may be reduced, but if one of the remaining effects is diarrhea (common among the GLP-1s), I think I’m with another Meg on this issue — Stalter, who said she’d “rather be 500 lbs. than sh-t all day.” Words to live by. So, is there a way to know which side effect you’ll get in advance? Cause that would really help with some decision making! (Speaking for a friend.)

But lucky for Meghan and Daryl, they’re in this together. And if that includes extra visits to the bathroom, then I dare say no couple is more prepared than these two. I’m referring, of course, to their preference for his-and-hers toilets. They’ve renovated at least two houses to make this happen in the primary suite, and I have questions. For starters, I’d love for realtors to weigh in on how that unique design affects resale. And second, Meghan described that in one house they had side-by-side cans, whereas in their new house the thrones face each other. For the sake of behavioral science, I’d love for Meghan to compile her notes on the pros and cons of each set up, both in terms of fulfilling their functions as toilets, and how the matrimonial relationship was impacted by the different positions.

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Jim Gaffigan Weight Weight Loss

Jim Gaffigan: ‘I’m trying to enjoy being thin because I know I’m going to be fat again’

jim-gaffigan:-‘i’m-trying-to-enjoy-being-thin-because-i-know-i’m-going-to-be-fat-again’




Jim Gaffigan’s style of standup comedy has always been one of observational comedy and self-deprecating humor. One of his longtime shticks has been making fun of his physical appearance. He’s done entire bits where he’s made fun of his own weight. Well, Jim recently lost 50 lbs because he started taking Monjaro. Instead of ignoring it, he decided to take that life experience and turn it into profitable standup comedy!

Jim has a new stand-up comedy special out on Hulu, called The Skinny. During his set, he incorporates his newfound weight loss in a fairly relatable way by joking that he can’t quite get rid of the clothes he wore before his weight loss. The joke is that he’s afraid that as soon as he gives them away, he’ll need them again because he’ll end up gaining all of that weight back. In fact, he’s so sure that he’ll end up gaining it all back that he’s trying to enjoy his new body while it lasts.

Jim Gaffigan is trying to adjust to his recent weight loss. In an interview with Men’s Health, published Nov. 19, the comedian, 58, discussed his weight loss journey and new stand-up special, The Skinny. He explained why he mentioned in the Hulu special that since dropping 50 lbs., he’s still inclined to keep his “fat clothes.”

“Maybe I’m a pack rat, but I’m like, ‘I can’t get rid of that.’ And then there is something about the haunting,” he told the outlet. “They’re like, ‘You’re going to wear me again.’ ”

In his special, Gaffigan quipped, “I’m trying to enjoy being thin because I know I’m going to be fat again. This is not sustainable.” The star said he’s gone down two pant sizes so far, and pointed out that many of his jokes were often centered around his weight.

“People used to always say, ‘If you lost weight, you’d lose your whole act,’ ” he said. “It’s so strange, because in some ways, we’re not the funny big guy, are we? That’s the role that I’m supposed to play. But also in some ways, that may be the avenue of our warmth.”

Gaffigan slimmed down using Mounjaro, the brand name for tirzepatide, which works by reducing appetite and improving how the body breaks down sugar and fat. The medication — taken by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm — is FDA-approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and helps people with weight loss.

“Most of our lives we’ve been told, ‘Just control your appetite. Just stop being a f—— pig.’ The reality is, we can’t. Maybe our brains are a little wonky or whatever. I think that in some ways, the appetite suppressants are this justification for people who have compulsive eating, that they’re not weak—that some of it can be fixed,” he said.

In addition to taking Mounjaro, Gaffigan also tried a low-carb diet and intermittent fasting and found a new hobby in growing his own vegetables.

“Growing vegetables makes you more interested in consuming those vegetables, which makes you healthier, which makes you kind of look at what you’re consuming, which makes fast food look like the crap that it is,” Gaffigan told the outlet.

Earlier this month, Gaffigan spoke to PEOPLE about his weight loss journey and said he’s not trying to lose more weight and has yet to decide how long he will continue taking Mounjaro. He stays active by walking around New York City, where he lives with his wife, Jeannie, and their five children.

[From People]

I’ve never really been a fan of this kind of humor, but as for the actual substance here, I can relate. Actually, I can relate in reverse, too. I can’t speak to Monjaro or Ozempic or any other type of weight loss drug, but I was lucky enough to lose a lot of weight both times that I breast fed. I wanted to buy new clothing, but also knew that the likelihood of me keeping that weight off was – no pun intended – slim. On the other hand, I gained weight during the Covid lockdowns and didn’t fit into much of my wardrobe. I’ve since bought new clothing but cannot bring myself to get rid of my (now fairly outdated) old clothes on the “just in case” I may fit into it again. Basically, my closet is a hodge-podge of clothing that I only wear like 30% of the time! My advice to Jim, myself, and anyone else out there is to get rid of it anyway. You don’t want to hold onto the old and let those constant thoughts define you.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Cover Images.

Categories
health Kathy Bates Television Weight Loss

Kathy Bates on her weight loss and Ozempic: ‘this was hard work for me’

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After airing the pilot last month, the rebooted Matlock is actually starting, for realsies this time, next week on October 17. While I had mixed feelings about the first episode, I’m still enthusiastically on board because of my love and admiration for Kathy Bates. Even though Kathy scared us by telling the NY Times that she would retire after Matlock, she heard our cries of despair and walked back that statement. Well, now Kathy has given another deeply personal interview, this time with People Mag, in which she speaks candidly about the weight loss journey she’s been on for the past seven years. It started in 2017 when she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a disease that’s prevalent in her family. Then after losing 80 pounds through lifestyle changes and what she calls “hard work,” and given her diabetes, Kathy consulted with her doctor and started using Ozempic to lose the final 20 pounds. Unsurprisingly, the weight loss has affected every aspect of her life.

80% hard work, 20% Ozempic to lose the last 20 pounds: In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, the Oscar-winning actress, 76, clarifies that she lost 80 lbs. over the past seven years through changes to her lifestyle and diet. She then lost another 20 lbs. on Ozempic. “There’s been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic,” Bates says. “But I have to impress upon people out there that this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic. It’s very hard to say you’ve had enough.”

She began making changes after her diabetes diagnosis in 2017: “I ate because I was afraid, and I ate because it was a FU to my self-esteem,” she says. “[Diabetes] runs in my family, and I’d seen what my father had gone through. He had had a leg amputation. One of my sisters is dealing with it very seriously, and it terrified me. It scared me straight.” The first change Bates made to her lifestyle was taking a piece of advice her niece had given her about listening to her body. “When we’re full, we experience an involuntary sigh,” she explains. “I just pushed the plate away.” She also changed her diet — “I used to eat terribly: burgers and Cokes and pizza,” she admits — and stopped eating after 8 p.m.

Working out now that she’s out of work: Bates says her next challenge is figuring out a workout routine now that she’s wrapped the first season of Matlock. “That’s going to be my next thing that I’m worried about because I won’t be on set running back and forth,” she says. “I have a treadmill here at the house, and I might try Pilates. … It’s just very important to me to keep this going. I don’t want to slip.” Her weight loss, she says, “coincided beautifully” with the timing of Matlock. “Physically, I’m capable of doing this show,” she says. “I don’t have to sit down. I can stand up all day long and walk and move and breathe and do so many things that I couldn’t before.”

Her lymphedema has noticeably improved, too: She was diagnosed with the condition — which causes swelling due to a buildup of lymph fluid in the body — after undergoing a double mastectomy following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2012. (She previously had ovarian cancer in 2003.) “It’s been a tremendous benefit for me,” she says. “I’m lucky that I don’t have to wear my compression sleeves every day. It’s such a thrill to be able to put my arm into a jacket and it fits.” … This period of her life “is just so exciting,” she continues, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s emotional.”

[From People]

If you have 12 minutes to spare, I highly recommend watching the video People Mag released of this interview. You get to see Kathy’s giddiness when she talks about fitting into clothes differently, and she tells a sweet story about finding her (stunning!) Armani Emmys dress with a friend. I was relieved to see the joy in Kathy. Back in September when the NY Times article came out, the one where she said Matlock would be her last acting gig, I was a bit startled with how despondent she seemed. But watching the video shifted my sense of that. I no longer think she’s despondent, I think she’s done a lot of hard work and unloaded a lot, and that can naturally make you feel more open and vulnerable. As she says, she is clearly excited and emotional with where she is right now, having stayed the course in losing a substantial amount of weight, and working on what she feels is a dream role. That is exciting and emotional! And inspiring to someone like me on the other side of that health journey. But please do me a favor and wait seven years before asking me how it’s going…

Kathy Bates Sets the Record Straight on Her Ozempic Use After Losing 100 Lbs.: ‘There’s Been a Lot of Talk’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/2KRajsKBkc

— People (@people) October 9, 2024

photos credit: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com, Getty and via Twitter/People

Categories
Joe Rogan Kevin James Weight Loss

Kevin James told Joe Rogan he lost 60 pounds by fasting for 41 days

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Last year, Kevin James had an unexpected surge in cultural relevance when an old promo picture of him from his The King of Queens days suddenly blew up as a meme. Even though it was the first time that most people had thought of Kevin outside of reruns on CBS/Peacock, he’s actually been steadily working for two decades. Well, for some reason that I don’t really want to know about, Kevin appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast a couple of weeks ago. During the interview, he talked about his career, including some of his weight struggles. Kevin shared that while he was recently filming a horror movie, he lost about 50lbs. When the movie was over, he gained all of the weight back. After gaining it back, he found out he needed to do reshoots and had to lose the weight all over again. So, he ended up losing 60lbs by “fasting,” which entailed sustaining on some salt and water over the course of 41 days. Holy yo-yo dieting, Batman.

The King of Queens star Kevin James recently stopped by The Joe Rogan Experience for a wide-ranging interview covering everything from his career to his own body. At one point in the conversation, he explained that while filming a new movie, he underwent a dramatic weight loss, then weight gain, then an even bigger rapid loss. But the extreme method he described is far from a healthy approach to achieve his desired result. The actor explained to Rogan that he lost weight to play a priest in an unnamed upcoming horror movie, getting down to 230 pounds. After shooting had wrapped, he packed on 50 pounds and got back up to 280. When he learned he had to do reshoots later, he had to lose all the weight again.

“I can lose it really quick, I can fast and lose it,” he said of his yo-yo dieting tactics. “Seriously, I can lose it quick… I can do it in a month. Less than a month.”

He went on to explain how he fasted for multiple weeks—”41 and a half” days to be exact—to drop the weight for the reshoots quickly. But it wasn’t intermittent fasting, an approach where you restrict the number of hours per day you can eat food which has gained popularity in some health circles in recent years and has been proven in studies to be safe and effective. Instead, he claims he survived only on “water and a little salt” for approximately six weeks.

“When I lock on, I can do something,” he stated plainly. “I started fasting, I didn’t say ‘I’m going to do 40 days,’ I just said ‘I’m going to do whatever I can.’”

That doesn’t mean it was a smooth ride the whole time. “I felt pretty good for a while, and then I’d have these dips, like wow, I feel pretty miserable,” he confessed.

In the end, he dropped all the weight he initially lost for the movie and then some. “I lost, I think, like 60 pounds,” he said. “I didn’t even take vitamins… It cleansed everything out of me.” In the interview, however, James acknowledged that this wasn’t the best advice for others. “I’m not saying it’s the way to go for everybody, I don’t know,” he said.

James himself acknowledged that he didn’t go about losing weight in the healthiest way, and that he gained much of the weight back afterwards. Looking ahead, he wants to focus on his diet and establish a sustainable routine to stay in good shape for years to come.

[From Yahoo]

Oh man, that sounds miserable. While different bodies respond to different types of diets and exercise, that’s not what Kevin did here. It’s absolutely worth pointing out that what he did wasn’t fasting or intermittent fasting or however he wants to present it so that it’s less jarring. He was starving himself. I would have been so hangry after about 12 hours of that method. I wish that Kevin had worked with a dietician or nutritionist to lose the weight safely. If he really did sustain on nothing but salt and water for 41 days without taking any vitamins, then that is crazy. All of that drastic weight loss and gain cannot be healthy for him. He has so many resources available to him, too. I hope he’s serious about focusing on a better diet and exercise routine to live a healthier life in the future.

Screenshots from YouTube and Instagram

Categories
Oprah Weight Loss

Oprah admits that she began taking a weight loss drug several months ago

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Last week, Oprah attended the big premiere of The Color Purple, the latest (musical) adaptation. Her transformation was remarkable, and many people had conversations about Oprah’s weight loss and how she looks really great. There were other conversations too, about whether she’s on Ozempic or another weight-loss drug, and whether she should talk about it. Well, guess what? She’s talking about it. Oprah covers this week’s People Magazine, and she talked about the changes she’s made with her diet and fitness, and then she admits that she had an “aha moment” over the summer, when she did that panel discussion about weight loss, obesity and how weight isn’t a matter of pure “will power.” While Oprah sounded somewhat close-minded about weight-loss drugs then, she changed her mind and in true Oprah fashion, she’s talking about all of it pretty openly:

Conversations about Oprah’s weight: “It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself.” One hurtful moment came early in her career, when she landed on acerbic fashion critic Mr. Blackwell’s list. “I was on the cover of some magazine and it said, ‘Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy.’ I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault.”

No more: Weight fluctuations “occupied five decades of space in my brain, yo-yoing and feeling like why can’t I just conquer this thing, believing willpower was my failing,” says Winfrey, whose dogged rehabilitation after knee surgery in 2021 kick-started what has been steady weight loss over the last two years. “After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years.”

Her new regimen: “I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way….I was actually recommending it to people long before I was on it myself.”

The turning point: Itcame in July during a taped panel conversation with weight loss experts and clinicians, called The State of Weight and part of Oprah Daily’s Life You Want series. “I had the biggest aha along with many people in that audience,” she recalls of the discussion, which posted online in September. “I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control. Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.”

How she uses the medication: Once she reconciled the science, Winfrey says she “released my own shame about it” and consulted her doctor, who went on to prescribe a weight-loss medication. “I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she says, opting not to name the specific drug she takes. “The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

Weight-loss drugs are not the magic bullet: Winfrey is aware of the buzz around her body size, especially as the use of medications like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro for weight loss has surged in popularity. But she stresses it has not been a magic bullet or singular solution. “It’s everything,” she says of her all-encompassing health and fitness routine. “I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I’m not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn’t work for me.”

Thanksgiving eating: She took the medication before Thanksgiving “because I knew I was going to have two solid weeks of eating,” she says, and “instead of gaining eight pounds like I did last year, I gained half a pound . . . It quiets the food noise.”

Goal weight: Though she’s seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160 lbs., Winfrey says “it’s not about the number.” Instead, she’s content building on the progress she has made during the two years since her surgery. “It was a second shot for me to live a more vital and vibrant life.”

[From People]

I’m glad she’s talking about it and I’m glad she’s putting her decision in context, with how her mindset changed over time, how she understands that it’s not about willpower for her or millions of other people. The thing that depresses me though is that Oprah is almost 70 years old and so much of her brain-space is still occupied with thoughts about her weight. While she puts that in context too, and talks about her health and wanting to feel strong and resilient, it still feels like she should just give up the whole concept of a “goal weight.” She’s set goal weights for herself before, and she’s reached that goal weight, only to back slide and gain it back and the whole miserable cycle started up again. Like, you’re 70 years old. Just live a happy, rich and healthy life and stop weighing yourself. Release yourself from the prison of having a “goal weight.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of People Magazine.

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Heather Dubrow Real Housewives Weight Loss

Heather Dubrow: Ozempic will soon be as accessible as Botox

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At the beginning of this year, the weight loss drug Ozempic (and its fellows, Mounjaro and Wegovy) exploded onto the scene, with hysterical thinkpieces proclaiming that “life after food” was upon us. There was finally a weight loss drug that worked. Except that there were shortages of this drug, almost instantly, because people who didn’t need it for medical purposes–mostly rich people who can afford the out of pocket cost–were using them to shed a few pounds. Kyle Richards has denied using Ozempic several times. But one Bravolebrity who’s cool with Ozempic is Heather Dubrow from The Real Housewives of Orange County. She spoke to someone from TMZ who asked her about Jeff Lewis calling Kyle Richards a “lesbian on Ozempic” on Watch What Happens Live (which is obviously offensive). Heather answered the question in more general terms. She said that she’s in favor of whatever people do to feel good about themselves, but that people are being “shamed” for using Ozempic. She compared Ozempic to heart medication in order to make the point that both are private medical info. And she said that Ozempic will soon be like Botox, a common thing people use to look better.

Heather Dubrow thinks that the controversial drug Ozempic will be as commonly used as Botox one day.

“I want to say something about Ozempic. There’s a lot of Ozempic shaming going on, and I don’t like it,” the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star told paparazzi in New York City over the weekend in a video obtained by TMZ.

“Whatever someone has to do to make themselves feel good about themselves, I’m all for [it]. But this is also someone’s private medical information.”

She then rhetorically asked “why are people asking who’s on Ozempic” since it’s the same as asking “what kind of heart medication they’re on.”

Continuing on her tangent, Dubrow declared that, one day, Ozempic will be as commonly used as the once-taboo Botox.

“When Botox first came out it was [gestures shockingly and gasps] ‘Oh, are they doing Botox? Is Botox a thing?’”

Dubrow, who has been married to plastic surgeon Terry Dubrow since 1999, recalled telling InStyle magazine during a past interview that she used to keep Botox in her refrigerator back when the cosmetic drug was still frowned upon.

“Because to me it was no big deal. And now, look at Botox,” she said, adding that people can now easily access the anti-aging drug.

[From Page Six]

I more or less agree with her in principle. Botox is much less stigmatized now than it used to be. But Heather doesn’t acknowledge that people using Ozempic off-label for weight loss are contributing to a drug shortage, and the comparison to Botox is kind of.. layered. Botox was first developed as a medication to fix eye muscle disorders in the 1970s before it became a cosmetic product. It has other (off label but well-established) uses for health problems from TMJ to migraines to excessive sweating. But it’s also FDA-approved as a cosmetic injection and has been for many years, and it’s relatively easy to access. Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are not approved for purely cosmetic uses, and I’m frustrated that they continue to be so accessible to wealthy people who just want to lose a few pounds. Meanwhile the people who take it for diabetes or other chronic health conditions are having a hard time getting the medication. And for what it’s worth, what Jeff Lewis said about Kyle Richards was gross and shameful. But people in larger bodies are the target of way more body shaming at a societal level than already-slender celebs using Ozempic for cosmetic purposes.

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Business Diets Medications Weight Loss

Weight Watchers is offering Ozempic online and members aren’t happy

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For one month in the summer of 2012 I was a size six, and that was thanks to a year and a half on WeightWatchers. I was in my early twenties, it was the first time I had really worked at losing weight, and it felt like all the pieces were finally coming together. I appreciated WW’s system: they didn’t tell you what you had to eat for each meal, instead they gave you the points structure (how many points you get to eat in a day and in a week) and info on what each food cost in points. It was like currency, and you got to decide how you wanted to spend your points. As you lost weight, your points allowance also went down, so it was a gradual progression into smaller portions and making better, longer-lasting food choices.

The annoying thing with WW though, was their constant tinkering and revamping of the program. It was simply Points when I joined, and I had a lot of success with that, but I’ve never had the same results with iterations that have followed (like PointsPlus or when they tried to rebrand themselves altogether as “WellnessWins,” oy gevolt). Well, WW has done it again, and this time they may have really, truly lost the plot. Business Insider reported over the weekend that WW has spent over $100 million on Sequence, an online telemedicine company that sells Ozempic for weight loss, and many longtime WW members are not happy about it:

WeightWatchers is moving away from the group support meetings the company is known for, pivoting instead to using obesity medications for weight loss.

WW International Inc. recently shuttered thousands of in-person meeting locations and inked a deal to acquire telemedicine startup Sequence for more than $100 million. The two-year-old company sells GLP-1s–better known by their brand names Ozempic and Wegovy–which can lead to dramatic weight loss.

Although the medication has gained popularity online and among celebrities, veteran WeightWatchers members aren’t all happy with the company’s pivot.

“WeightWatchers has kicked us to the curb,” one 15-year member told Bloomberg.

Some WeightWatchers members expressed concern that the company was abandoning its message of self-restraint for the easy solution of weight-loss medication.

“They’re not practicing what they preached… and now all of a sudden there’s a drug involved,” one member said during an April meeting.

Despite criticism from current WeightWatchers members who have remained loyal to the program for decades, Goldman Sachs analysts predict that the move toward weight-loss drugs could save the 60-year-old company from financial collapse. Analysts estimate that the company could generate $455 million in new revenue through an extra half million subscribers by 2025.

WeightWatchers has struggled in recent years to retain subscribers to its nutrition and diet program. Sequence, meanwhile, prescribes weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy and helps patients afford the drugs through insurance and reimbursements. Before its acquisition, Sequence offered its services for $99 a month.

[From Business Insider]

So it’s pretty clear that this move is just about finances, right? It looks to me like these weight loss programs are being reactionary in the wake of Jenny Craig shutting down earlier this year, as Noom is also starting to offer Ozempic (so much for all you need to lose weight is psychology). I’ve been in and out with WeightWatchers since that first good run I had (currently in an out wave), but I totally understand the frustration of the members. For people who’ve been working diligently to suddenly be told to go on medication is disheartening. But the one-two punch is not just bringing in Ozempic, it’s the steep reduction in meetings. In my own WW journey I definitely lost more weight when I went to in-person meetings, as opposed to online-only.

In the last few weeks I’ve had a few people in my orbit either start Ozempic themselves or suggest it to me (as of this writing I am not diabetic, although every time I see my doctor I think my number’s gonna be up). I have no plans right now to start taking Ozempic to lose weight, but ultimately for me it comes down to vanity. I’ll risk nausea, frankly I’ll risk diarrhea, but hair loss? No. No no no. I’ve been gifted with natural curls that I adore and wear proudly. I am Samson, my hair is my crowning glory. I’ll renew my efforts to eat better and be healthier–if not for me, then for my hair.