Losing weight isn't so hard -- but regaining may be even easier
Gambling is a $40 billion-a-year business in the U.S., and that doesn't include the $50 billion that was spent last year on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Those drugs are a gamble, too. It's not because they don't work, they do! But because when you go off them, to cut expenses, avoid side effects, or you think, "Mission accomplished," you're going to regain some of the weight you lost. That's especially true if you haven't adopted a twice-weekly resistance-training schedule.
In the STEP1 trial, folks taking semaglutide 2.4 milligrams (Wegovy) weekly for 68 weeks regained two-thirds of what they'd lost a year after coming off the drug. The STEP 4 trial, also with semaglutide, saw folks lose around 11% of their weight after 20 weeks, but over the next two years, after stopping the medication, they regained almost everything they'd lost. The SURMOUNT-4 trial tested the rebound from stopping the medication tirzepatide (Zepbound). After 36 weeks on the drug, folks lost around 20% of their weight, but over the next year, only about 17% of those who quit the medication came close to keeping the weight off.
We support the use of these remarkable medications, but we also want you to maintain a healthy weight if you stop them. That's why we stress the importance of upgrading your lifestyle habits. We're at LongevityPlaybook.com 24/7 to help you make healthier choices -- soon with our healthy longevity and wellness coaching program. Also, check out "Dr. Oz's 9-Step Daily Wellness Routine" at iHerb.com/blog.
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2024 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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