A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association proclaimed a New Dawn for Obesity Treatment. It pointed to the new medication Wegovy as a great advance in weight control. The cheapest price I was able to find for Wegovy with a GoodRx coupon was $1335.00 a month--way beyond the reach of most people who need it. Overweight is much more common in the poor and disadvantaged.
I am embarrassed to admit I am an internal medicine doctor who once weighed 307 pounds. Once I understood the reason I was fat, losing weight slowly was not that hard. Obesity in America is almost totally about food. If you are carb loading and running double marathons you can still gain weight and become diabetic. The “aha” moment for me was understanding that combining sugar, processed carbs, fat, and salt creates food items that are irresistible. They are so good that I would eat them when I was not hungry and the more I ate the more I wanted. Two hours after I ate, I was ready for another dose. I could no more cut back on that food than an alcoholic can cut back on whiskey. Today I am 60 pounds lighter. I am still too heavy but much safer. The key was moving to real food. I had to change what I ate. I also fast intermittently. I eat everything I am going to consume between noon and 5 pm. David Kessler's book on the topic is fantastic. Eat fruits, vegetables, lean meat, eggs, low fat dairy, seafood, beans, peas nuts-whole real foods. By doing that 20 meals a week, even at age 74, I can still lose a pound or two a month.
Exercise makes a difference too, but food is the major culprit. Preserving muscle size maintains a higher metabolic rate. Once I passed 65 my muscles became smaller and weaker. That began to interfere with everything in life. Progressive resistance exercise is the best fix for that problem. 90 year-olds can increase their strength by over 170% in just 8 weeks. Think of the improvement in quality of life every hour for a cost of just an hour and a half a week. Losing weight and improving function is not that hard. I would not go back for anything. Wegovy is not a new dawn for most people. Reducing calories by eating real food, intermittent fasting, and preserving muscle mass is the key. Avoid medications that favor weight gain if possible. If you want more detail on living longer and healthier at less cost, check this out. You can enjoy a new dawn for a lot less than $1300 a month.
As someone who struggles to control my weight under the onslaught of the culprits you mentioned (sugar, processed carbs, etc), I understand the allure of a prescription that could counteract my bad habits. Maybe if I viewed that $1300 as what I am saving through the healthy choices I need to make to lose a pound or two, it will help motivate me.