The Weight Loss Hysteria of 2024

[Maxim]

I was debating myself if I should open this topic, but I will, since I think it's important and we need a place to express our opinions and feelings about this very very hot topic and phenomenon. 

I'm getting concerned how society is once again back to glamorizing scary thin women and men. With this Ozempic craze that has been spreading all around the world... every second celebrity is looking like they came from a starvation camp. It is concerning me a lot, since I've been seeing people in my close circle that are using it. And I've heard comments judging other people who are heavier, because all of a sudden being THIN is IN and people are obsessed with it.

I am not saying this drug is bad or isn't needed for people with health conditions that require it or morbid obesity. Not at all. I am talking about how again it is changing the society norms and making people judge heavier people and etc.  

All of this is triggering me. Not to the point that I would need to call my therapist. Yet. But... I am an eating disorder survivor. I battled anorexia more than 10 years ago which is a huge problem for men, since it's underdiagnosed in male population. There is a huge stigma and prejudice that it's not manly or even possible to have this problem.

My problem started, because I was a heavy child and by early high school I was so bullied and beaten up by this, that I started going on these diets I would find on the internet... This lead to... years and years battle with anorexia. At my lowest weight, my family physician was telling me I will die if I don't gain weight. I managed to recover very slowly and by the time I was 25, I was... in a healthy relationship with food.

So yes, lately I've been feeling kinda off and finding myself thinking about cutting calories, since I don't have a skinny-skinny face like all these people on Ozempic. And then I say to myself - ok, stop, you are fine, you are healthy, you are not overweight, and even if you were, it's okay. And then I will see these Ozempic videos on youtube and want to watch them, and then stop myself.

But yes... what do you guys think about this. I know the topic is controversial, but it's all around us. Recently I saw a friend that has basically lost half her body weight by this drug and is unrecognizable. She used to be very overweight... and in talks with her I was kinda shocked how judgmental she has become while not even realizing it. She was giving me tips what to eat or not eat, without me even asking her about it and I told her - please, deal with your own plate and your own issues - I have no problems with food and don't need to be schooled what not to eat. And she apologized. But I sensed that in her world I was now... heavier than her perception of normal... so she felt like I had a problem. This disturbed me. 

So yes, I feel we are starting to live in a dangerous times when it comes to body image. I think this craze will soon go out of control. That's just my 2 cents. I may be wrong, but that's how I feel. 

How do you guys feel? 

[Liberty City]

This Mounjaro / Ozempic / Wegovy / craze is interesting, because unlike weight loss fads or situations in the past, I don't see this one as bad as the 2004–2007 craze when everyone wanted to be sickly thin.

I think those using the three options above for the sake of managing their weight and assisting them in weight loss / weight maintaining, then it's good. But those abusing it, a.k.a. the celebrities who really do not see it (a.k.a. the Housewives), are the problem with it.

As someone who has struggled with their weight all of their teen years and adult life, I've never felt the pressure to be thin but the pressure to lose weight? Yes. It's there. And there is something about Wegovy that is... enticing, especially as someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food. Have I lost weight before? Sure. Was it difficult and take a long-ass time? Yes. Would one of these products help me? Fück yes. Would I like to use them? Fück yes.

I think we equate skinny with being healthy... but that is not always the truth. And the same with being heavier with being unhealthy. It's about what's healthy and where you're healthy.

[Maxim]

Thank you for sharing your story and insight! I appreciate it a lot. You touched on very important points! The Bold part is something I wholeheartedly agree with. 

[Liberty City]

Of course; I can't speak for everyone, but I feel like anyone who does not meet the "status quo" of beauty is automatically dismissed, and weight plays into that. As a heavier-set person, someone called me "beautiful" the other day and I couldn't accept that, when I should have. Society plays into that, too. Am I running for Wegovy? No. But do I want it? Yes, I do, to help me improve my health (which plays into my weight).

[Maxim]

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[Soapsuds]

Let's see...

I was thin until 3rd grade hit.

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I blame McDonald's happy meals.

By 5th grade I was slimmer and by the age of 11 I was into sports golf and tennis. I loved both sports but I sucked at golf. I was only a good putter.

My sport was tennis until after college. I was thin and lean due to it.

When I was hitting my late 30s is when the weight started returning. My family let me know too. With work I didn't have much time for anything else. Until finally I started going to the track and walking 3 to 4 miles every morning with weekends off. I lost 25 lbs and my co-workers noticed right away.  They told me how great I looked.

I don't mind people using the latest drug to lose weight as long as it's safe.

[SoapDope]

I have a pet peeve with these social media influencers that are making people afraid of food. Like that Bobby Parrish guy (who looks like a walking eating disorder). He goes through the markets ranting and throwing food screaming it's all poison and that you should only eat "Bobby Approved" food (which cost 3 times more). He has people downloading an app he created to shop, marketing/pushing supplements etc...One woman said her mother in law is obsessed with his advice and she now looks sickly anorexic. She also spends all her money on buying Bobby approved merchandise. She said every time she goes over there all the latest crap he is shilling is in her pantry and talks about him non stop when the subject of food and eating comes up.

Several licensed dieticians have debunked a lot of the myths he spouts with scientific proof to back it up, but his rabid followers attack them. Parrish has a no degree what so ever in backing up the information he is putting out there. He is also trying to council diabetics (even wearing a glucose monitor) on what to eat and he does not have diabetes. Their bodies will react different to sugar than his.

Julia Child touched on the topic of the media making people afraid to enjoy food. She enjoyed cooking and eating and lived to be 92. 

[Maxim]

This is spreading into regular folks too. It's borderline orthorexia levels. I have this friend, who has recently lost a lot of weight and just going to a restaurant with her is like listening to a constant school-teacher lection how absolutely everything is bad for you. She had even a case that I eat too much fruit, since it had sooo many carbs. I really don't know why even I bother to say Yes to going out with her. I will sound cynical, but... she couldn't lose any weight without the help of medication, which is FINE, but now suddenly she is acting high and mighty to all and like she knows everything about losing weight. Girl, keep doing what your doing and let me be 5 pounds over if I want. 

[SoapDope]

She sounds insufferable. If you are paying for it, you eat what you want. Pay no attention to her. The other day someone was attacking people in the comments section on youtube about them buying, eating oranges and drinking orange juice. 

I know we want to be healthy, but people are developing eating disorders and a fear of food with all the false information and hysteria being put out there. It's out of control and it will continue to get worse. 

[Maxim]

And I don't want to sound morbid, but the healthiest eating person I used to know (my dermatologist), got sick and died from cancer in just couple of months, WITHOUT any prior issues. This still has lingering effects on how I perceive food and life. She used to call me fat when I was a teen and tell me I will get sick if I don't stick to her diet - she used to make me eat 1 kg of cucumbers every day to cleanse my blood or something like this, because I had normal teen acne. What happened to her was a tragedy, but it made me realize something - NOBODY is sure of anything and sickness doesn't ASK before it starts. SADLY. Then there are the lucky ones - my father has better blood work than me and hasn't eaten a vegetable or fruit in his entire life. He exists on steak and meat and cakes... and he has been OVERWEIGHT ever since hitting 30. He has better cholesterol levels than anyone I know and has never had flu or a cold I think... since I was born. 

I AM NOT saying that healthy eating is not important - I myself have stopped getting flu and colds every month even since I started eating one salad and fruit every day. To me fruit and veg is veeeery important now.

BUT, the obsession with healthy eating to the point that you think this will in some way MAKE you BETTER than other people or even be a sure ticket for a long and healthy life... is ludicrous. Yes, healthy eating improves many things... BUT if you SUFFER mentally eating foods you don't want every day and NEVER ever get any taste or just enjoy food - I prefer to eat junk from time to time, than to suffer from psychiatric conditions or eating disorders. 

ALL of this is just my POV. Mine only. I do not advise people eat or think like me.

 

[SoapDope]

Good food choices can not 100% guarantee a life without health issues. Life is a crap shoot and you can only do the best you can. Do what's right for you and don't worry about other peoples opinions. 

[Maxim]

Amen.

[Maxim]

I just talked with one of my eating disorder pals from back in the day... where we were in a support community together... And guess what - she's on Ozempic and laughingly joked how she is using it instead of her usual restriction. I told her - It's not ok, you should not be on this, since you have had anorexia in the past, and this may hurt you... She agreed with me, but told me she can't control herself and that it was better that way. 

I was so shocked... she was even recommending it to me and I told her - No, I am nearly 30 and that train has left the station. I don't have an eating disorder anymore. She said she's sorry and that she was only speaking that it was safe.

I got goosebumps... I instantly felt like it was 2010 or 2011 and I was in the midst of my eating disorder... Just horrific. 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Melissa had anorexia & then bulimia. Almost killed her. She is okay now. A survivor.

[Maxim]

Tell her I send her all my best wishes and that I'm happy she has WON the battle.  We are both survivors, me and her. At one point I would eat an apple and 10 crackers a day only and would faint around the house and think it's normal. But that's what happens when you live in a household where your father shames you at any sign of gained weight, because he used to be a soccer player and doesn't allow his son to get heavy. 

Thank God I'm alright now... and thanks to my husband who cooks like a master chef... I'm more than fine.