Real- Life WeightLoss Drug Diaries

SIX TRUE STORIES OF WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE TO BE ON GLP-1S LIKE OZEMPIC AND MOUNJARO: THE SIDE EFFECTS, HOW THEY RESHAPE PEOPLE'S OUTLOOK ON FOOD AND THE SURPRISING WAYS THEY CHANGE LIVES

- EILEEN FINAN, ABBY ROEDEL and REBECCA AIZIN

Since 2021, when the FDA first approved Wegovy, a version of the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, for obesity treatment, there's been a revolution in weight loss.

Today one in eight Americans say they've taken injectable drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, or GLP-1s. And the science is now clear: Obesity isn't caused by a lack of willpower; "it's a chronic illness," says Dr. Raquel Hernandez of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. "No one would dream of saying to a wheezing asthmatic, 'Just slow your breathing.' You give them an inhaler. We need to understand these medications in the same light. They're not a shortcut. They're a treatment." Here, six people share their experiences.

'It feels like magic but it's just one tool for success"