Okay, I have to say, I never thought I’d quote Sharon Osbourne.
She was being interviewed after taking one of the semiglutide injectables and said she was “very sick” for a couple of months as she felt nauseous much of the time. However, she took it for four months and lost 30 pounds, just under two pounds per week on average, so it wasn’t drastic. “Like everything, there’s always no quick recipe,” she said, “It is a mental problem. It really is.”
I wouldn’t call it a “mental problem,” as that’s quite a loaded term, isn’t it? However, the mental and emotional components are an issue with the new medications just like it has been for years with over-the-counter appetite suppressants. We can suppress hunger, but that doesn’t stop us from seeking food when we are bored, unhappy, upset, or lonely.
Think of the last time you over-indulged or diverted drastically from your plan – was hunger driving that?
When you “just wanted” something – was hunger driving that?
When you went to the movies, got the large bucket of popcorn, and before you made it through the previews, you were scratching the bottom of the container – was hunger driving that?
Maybe like me, you have had this conversation standing in the pantry or I front of the refrigerator. “You’re not hungry, you just want something.”
That’s the decision point. We need tools to manage it as willpower is too unreliable, something to move us to, “PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN.” There’s no pill for that, but there are solutions if we will utilize them.
Some of it is mindset – yes, there are still “fat shamers,” and they are wrong, but the solution isn’t to accept obesity as normal. The average weight of a woman in 1960 was 140 pounds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just announced the most common weight (what’s the difference between average and most common?) of women in 2023 is 166.6 pounds. We’re normalizing what is unhealthy.
Some of it is emotional – we want to be like others, we want foods that feel like our home or remind us of someone we love. It’s a longing for a time, place, or person.
Again, there is no pill for that, but there are solutions. If you want to know more, contact me.
