A message about stigmas for those on Ozempic/Wegovy/etc. for weight loss
I keep reading posts where people talk about the stigma of using Ozempic for weight loss that they feel. Some are hiding it from their friends and family, just saying they are eating better, etc.
I've decided that I'm going to tell anybody IRL who comments on my weight, or asks about my diet, weight loss, etc. about the medication I'm on. I'm writing this to encourage you all to do the same.
Obviously I can't know everybody's situation, but misleading others who are battling obesity feeling like failures because they can't seem to lose weight and get healthy, leading to depression, feelings of hopelessness, and worse. So if you can't tell everybody, try to tell those who you know are suffering.
Lets break the stigma. We have a disease. A metabolic disorder. For some, it results in T2 diabetes, for others obesity, for many, it's both (for some there are additional health problems). We don't shame people for taking medications for high cholesterol or Parkinson's, so why is there shame associated with GLP-1 medications? My feeling is that people think we are cheating, but really it's because their feeling of superiority for being thin is being taken away, and that makes them uncomfortable and bitter.
Lets educate people. Lets help people understand what this medication actually does, and that we all still have to battle for every lb we lose. This is no cake walk.
Lets share our journeys and normalize them. Lets support those who we can. We could literally be saving somebody's life.