Five Facts that You Need to Know Before Jumping on the Mounjaro Bandwagon
Injectable weight loss medications are extremely popular now largely because they are very effective at promoting weight loss. Semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) work by mimicking hormones that are naturally produced in your body after you eat. These hormones make you feel full and trigger the release of insulin which helps control blood sugar. The result is that you feel less hungry, eat less food, lose excess weight. These drugs are approved for diabetes due to their effects on boosting insulin and lowering blood sugar. Semaglutide (under the brand Wegovy) has been approved by the FDA for obesity but Mounjaro has not yet been approved for this diagnosis. Studies show that these drugs can help you to lose 15-20% of your body weight, which represent the most effective weight loss medications ever to come to market!
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, there are some downsides to consider…
Side Effects
Because these drugs slow down emptying of the stomach, they can cause gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, vomiting, heartburn, constipation, or diarrhea. These medications also lower blood sugar which can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia. Note, Tirzepatide has less of these side effects than Semaglutide.
High Cost
Although Semaglutide is approved for weight loss, it is rarely covered by insurance due to the high cost and alternatives that are available at a lower cost. Retail out-of-pocket cost for Wegovy or Mounjaro are over $1,000 per month. Many prescribers are sourcing these medications through compounding pharmacies for about 1/3 of the price; however, there is less regulation of compounding pharmacies so you need to carefully choose the source.
Muscle Loss
The goal of these medications is to lose body fat rather than muscle. However, I have found that many people lose their appetite for high protein foods and lose therefore lose muscle instead of fat. And if you rely only on the scale to determine your progress, you won’t know if you are losing muscle or fat, which is a common problem with rapid weight loss programs. It is extremely important to maintain protein intake and continue resistance exercise to preserve muscle and lose fat. It is the excess body fat that leads to inflammation, diabetes, fatty liver, and heart disease.
Rebound Weight Gain and Yo-Yo Dieting
Unfortunately, the drug studies for Wegovy and Mounjaro did show that people who took these drugs gained most of the weight back after going off the medication. It isn’t clear whether there is a rebound effect or if this was due to resuming previous poor lifestyle habits. And this bodes the question… if you go on these drugs to lose weight, do you have to stay on them forever to keep it off?
Lack of Evidence of Long-Term Health Improvement
Quick-fix remedies may not help you to achieve better health which is achieved though sustained healthy lifestyle habits.
We at Robinson MD believe that these injectable medications can be an effective and powerful jumping-off tool for weight loss but we also stress long-term lifestyle habits that will support a lifetime of health and wellness.
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