The New "Quick Fix": A Conversation About Ozempic and Weight Loss Drugs
You’ve probably seen the headlines or heard the whispers. A new class of drugs, known by names like Ozempic, Wegovy, and other GLP-1 agonists, are making waves in the UK and around the world. Originally designed for managing diabetes, they've been found to have a powerful side effect: significant weight loss.
For those who have struggled for years, or even decades, with their weight, the promise of these drugs can feel like a miracle. A fast track to a result they have fought so hard to achieve.
Let's be clear: these are powerful, potentially life-changing medications. For individuals facing serious health complications due to obesity, they can be an invaluable tool used under medical supervision. This article is not a debate about their legitimacy as a medical treatment.
Instead, I want to have an honest conversation about what these drugs do, and more importantly, what they don't do.
The Shortcut That Skips the Scenery
Imagine you need to get to a destination 100 miles away. You could walk, learning the terrain, navigating the weather, and building the strength and endurance to handle the journey. Or, you could be instantly teleported there.
Weight loss drugs are like the teleporter. They are incredibly effective at getting you to your destination (a lower body weight) by powerfully suppressing your appetite. The weight comes off because you are simply eating less.
But the journey itself the part where you learn the terrain is where the real, lasting change happens. This "fast track" route bypasses the most critical part of sustainable weight management: the building of routines, habits, and skills.
It bypasses the process of learning what a healthy portion size feels like.
It bypasses the skill of managing cravings through behavioural strategies.
It bypasses the habit of structuring your meals to feel full and satisfied.
It bypasses the resilience you build by navigating a social event or a stressful week without overeating.
Essentially, it gets you the result without teaching you how to earn it.
What Happens When the Prescription Ends?
This is the most important question. These medications are not typically intended for lifelong use for weight management. Once you stop taking them, your body's natural appetite signals return. And if you haven't spent the time building the foundational habits of a healthy lifestyle, what happens next is predictable.
The old appetite returns to an environment with the old habits, and the weight often comes back.
You cannot expect to keep a result that you haven't built the skills to maintain. Keeping weight off depends entirely on the lifestyle you have constructed. If that construction work was skipped, the foundation is missing.
I am not even going to get into the long-term health implications of these drugs, many of which are still being discovered and understood. My focus is on the practical, behavioural outcome.
The Real Path to Lasting Change
Whether you use a medical intervention or not, the endpoint is the same: lasting change requires you to build a new lifestyle. There are no shortcuts to this part.
It means learning how to compose a meal that keeps you full. It means finding a form of exercise you enjoy. It means developing strategies to handle stress that don't involve food. It means understanding your triggers and building resilience, one small choice at a time.
These drugs can offer a powerful head start for some, but they are not the journey itself. The real work is, and always will be, in building the habits that will carry you long after the prescription has run out. That is the only path to a result you can keep for life.
A Personal Reflection
I want to end with a moment of honesty. As someone who, like many of us, has never been 100% happy with my own body, I truly understand how it must feel to be offered a solution to something that has felt unsolvable. The lure of a medication that can finally deliver a result you’ve desperately wanted is powerful, and I get it completely. There is no judgment here.
My concern is this: I don't want to see people's deep desire for change lead to a yo-yo effect where the weight comes right back on. I don't want to see companies profit from a short-term fix that doesn't empower you for the long term.
As a coach, my goal is to help you not just see the change you want, but to keep it. These drugs might offer a head start, but they are not the whole journey. The real, lasting work will always be in building the skills and habits that will serve you for the rest of your life. That is the only path to a result you can truly own.