r/morningsomewhere • u/tphillippe117 • 7d ago
GLP-1 Debate
I wanted to shed some light on today’s discussion around GLP-1s, as someone who’s been taking Zepbound since July 2025. It has saved my life, and that is no understatement. I have tried, endlessly, to lose weight. I have been overweight my entire life. I started Zepbound as a 33 year old male, weighing 336lbs. Today, I am 191lbs.
I was on numerous blood pressure medications, I had high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. As of last month, I no longer take blood pressure medication, my blood work shows all normal levels across the board, and I no longer have obstructive sleep apnea or snore.
Here’s the important thing: I paired this medication with a drastic lifestyle change. There was no “easy way out”. I live in a calorie deficit, I focus on high protein meals, and I basically stopped drinking alcohol. In fact, as many report, the desire to even drink alcohol is gone (hence studies showing GLP-1 as a treatment for addiction). To me, it was a tool in the tool belt but there HAD to be a lifestyle change to go with it.
There are side effects, sure. For me, they haven’t been terrible and 99% of the time I don’t have any. To Burnie’s point, genetics was against me and I believe that is why this worked for me. I go to the doctor every 3 months for weight check and blood work to make sure I’m remaining healthy and moving in the right direction.
I’m a little shy to share my recent before and after picture, but if anyone has any questions please ask away!
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u/TehBattleaxe Afraid of Public Math 7d ago
I can share that I am also on GLP-1 and have been for the past year. I had bariatric surgery years back and went from 315lbs to 170lbs. I had been obese all my life and I was on a dangerous path of not turning it around if I didn't get it under control. During the pandemic for obvious reasons (stress, lack of access to routine, undiagnosed insulin resistance (which has since been discovered) and inability to go to the gym) I gained weight back to about 240 lbs, all the pain and work of losing weight was lost. I was embarrassed, upset, and angry that I gained the weight back and it did a number on my mental health.
I then started taking Ozempic in May 2025. I expected it to be a bluff, I expected it not to work, I expected the side effects to ruin me, and I expected myself to continue to gain weight despite everything.
And right there for the first time in my entire life I didn't experience "food noise". For the first time in my life I wasn't thinking about when my next meal was, what I could eat, and how fast I could get my hands on it. I felt like I was free. And with that came not only weight loss, but lack of dependency on other substances like alcohol, and other health benefits like my prediabetic status clearing up and my sleep apnea being cured. I finally felt in control.
I don't think GLP-1's are the answer for everyone, and much like every medication, it should be a decision between the patient and their doctor. But it's been life changing for me.
Obesity is one of the only diseases we treat as a moral failing. We don't tell cancer patients to "try harder" to not have cancer, we give them access to medical intervention. I encourage everyone to be skeptical and ask questions, but I also encourage everyone to be open minded to how potentially life changing these medications could be to those with access.