You can now get rid of unwanted pounds without having to focus incessantly on diet. There are countless different diets available, most of which are intended to help people lose weight and each of which makes a variety of claims. We have heard it all: lose weight, get rid of toxins, lose water weight, tone up. Some diets are new, others have been around for a long time. Some promise miraculous results with the "before" and "afters" to prove it, but they all have one thing in common: people try them, perhaps succeed for a while, and then repeatedly fail at them. When trying to lose weight, dieting can be uncomfortable and leave you feeling hungry, which makes you constantly crave food.
How about exercise?
A vigorous exercise routine can certainly bring on the shedding of unwanted pounds. We’ve all seen the commercials of enviably fit people pedaling effortlessly on those expensive exercise bikes, or running outdoor trails in picture perfect weather. However, as we get older, most of us lack the time, energy, physical condition, or mental resolve to stick with a vigorous exercise routine for the long run. And the older we get, the more difficult it becomes. Exercise is an essential component of any successful weight loss program. However, exercise alone is simply not enough.
So what is the answer?
The answer includes modest diet and exercise, along with something entirely new: Semaglutide. Semaglutide is a safe, doctor-prescribed GLP-1 medication. It is the first once-weekly medication in its class that is FDA-approved to help with chronic weight management. Semaglutide works by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite and food intake.
Semaglutide produced jaw-dropping clinical trial results in early 2021.
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes, Semaglutide produced moderate weight loss at its dose of 1 milligram weekly. The new trials at UAB and other medical centers around the country, were studying the potential of a higher dose, 2.4 mg. The results, released in February, were important enough to warrant prominent placement in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association for trial results, as well as a major feature in the New York Times. In one such trial, participants lost an average of 37 pounds through the combination of semaglutide and behavioral intervention.
The Professor of Medicine in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama, Timothy Garvey, M.D., remarked, "This is a game-changer." "We have never observed this level of weight reduction when taking any other medicine. Between a third and 40% of trial participants lose between 15% and 20% of their body weight, and more than 50% of people lose at least 15% of their body weight. That is beginning to close the gap with bariatric surgery. I believe that this gives us a really effective instrument to address obesity as a disease.
More than just weight reduction is affected. High-dose semaglutide (2.4 mg/weekly), according to Garvey, may be used to prevent and treat diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and its associated comorbidities, such as osteoarthritis and sleep apnea. Patients using semaglutide "are not just losing X number of pounds, but really improving their health," according to Garvey.
As a resident of Fort Myers, you can now take advantage of a semaglutide based weight loss program. Contact us for more information.