Important Information to GLP-1 Agonists for Weight Loss

Kind 2 diabetes is without doubt one of the most typical and well-studied trendy illnesses. So, new medicines to fight this situation are always being developed.

One such kind of treatment is known as a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist. These meds have turn into more and more standard lately as a result of though GLP-1 receptor agonists have been initially developed to deal with kind 2 diabetes, they started to indicate a really promising profit: vital weight loss. 

Should you assume you’re a candidate for one in all these medicines, learn on to be taught every thing you have to find out about GLP-1 agonists for weight reduction, how they work, who ought to take them, their unintended effects, and extra.

What Are GLP-1 Agonists? 

Hormones are your physique’s pure messengers. They carry vital messages to completely different organs to maintain your physique functioning usually. Each insulin and GLP-1 peptide are naturally occurring hormones. 

The meals you eat will get damaged down into easy sugars (like glucose) in your abdomen.

This sugar then enters the bloodstream and travels all through the physique. Insulin directs the sugar out of your blood into your cells for use as power. 

However when insulin can’t do its job properly anymore, the sugar stays within the blood, and also you develop type 2 diabetes.

That is why individuals with diabetes have higher-than-normal blood sugar ranges. It’s additionally why most diabetes medicines (together with GLP-1 agonists) are focused in direction of blood sugar management. 

However like all good planners, your physique all the time has a backup. When insulin begins slacking off (prefer it does in people with diabetes), your physique sends out the GLP-1 hormone to choose up the slack.

When scientists found this sensible transfer, they got here up with a technique to mimic the physique’s actions. Thus, GLP-1 agonists have been developed. 

An agonist is any manufactured substance (like a drug or treatment) that copies or boosts the actions of a naturally occurring substance (on this case, GLP-1) by stimulating its receptor.

How Does GLP-1 Work? 

GLP-1 is normally produced within the small gut. It has a four-fold messenger action:

1. It tells the pancreas to extend insulin secretion to handle your blood sugar ranges correctly.
2. It additionally tells the pancreas to not launch hormones like glucagon, which may transfer glucose from different storage locations (just like the liver) into the bloodstream.
3. It tells your abdomen to digest the meals slowly in order that extra sugars don’t get added to the bloodstream earlier than insulin can clear them out.
4. It tells your mind that you simply’re full and never hungry in any respect — aka, it decreases starvation and will increase satiety. This prevents overeating and retains you from taking in additional meals earlier than the earlier meal is absolutely digested. 

This remaining motion has caught the attention of most people and has pushed GLP-1 agonists—probably the most well-known being semaglutide—into the limelight, even amongst individuals with out diabetes.

GLP-1 agonists can lower your urge for food and hold you feeling full on a regular basis. They might aid you reduce weight, particularly in case you discover portion management difficult.

Does this imply anybody can take GLP-1 medication to reduce weight? Let’s discover the professionals and cons of taking these medicines for weight reduction results. 

6 Key Concerns of GLP-1 Medicine 

GLP-1 agonists have been first accepted to be used as kind 2 diabetes treatment by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. These medication are normally obtainable in a liquid type, together with a needle and syringe. 

It’s essential to inject them into the fatty tissue underneath your pores and skin. The commonest injection web site is the stomach, adopted by the outer thighs, higher buttocks, and the backs of your arms.

These medication are normally beneficial solely after safer and extra typical strategies like weight-reduction plan and train have failed to provide the specified outcomes.

Even then, GLP-1 agonists aren’t miracle medication and might’t work alone. They have to be accompanied by dietary and way of life modifications for long-term use.

1. Study who can and can’t take these medication

To profit from GLP-1 agonist medication, your body mass index ought to both be 30 or greater or be 27 or greater with a well being complication like: 

• Prediabetes or kind 2 diabetes 
• Heart problems 
• Hypertension
• Excessive ldl cholesterol 
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver illness
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome

Based on MyFitnessPal’s registered dietician, Stephanie Nelson, you should seek the advice of your well being care supplier earlier than beginning this treatment. It’s because taking any treatment comes with sure dangers and potential unintended effects. well being care supplier will aid you weigh the dangers you face by taking the treatment versus the dangers of not taking it.

They’ll additionally issue within the well being advantages you’ll obtain by taking the treatment. These medication are finest suited to people who’re at health risk related to their weight. For instance, when you’ve got weight problems, you’re at a higher risk of growing diabetes or coronary heart illness. 

However in case you’re NOT at well being danger, then these medication aren’t recommended for you as a result of they put you at pointless danger of unintended effects.

You additionally shouldn’t take GLP-1s if:

• You may have a private or household historical past of thyroid most cancers, as they improve the danger of thyroid most cancers.
• You’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to get pregnant.
• You may have extreme bowel illness.
• You’re allergic/delicate to semaglutide.
• You may have a previous or lively eating disorder.

One other factor to contemplate when choosing GLP-1s is the affect of those medication in your meals consumption.  

For instance, GLP-1s impact food intake by quieting meals noise and subconsciously getting you to decide on much less salty, sugary, and fatty meals. This speaks to how highly effective your unconscious cues to eat are and the position your mind performs in weight problems. 

However this can be a double-edged sword since you nonetheless have to be aware and aware of what you’re consuming to make sure you’re consuming sufficient—which is the place monitoring what you eat is available in.

Whereas taking GLP-1 medicines, you have to keep disciplined about making nutritious meals decisions and tracking your calories to forestall malnutrition and obtain wholesome weight reduction.

2. Know the GLP-1 medication obtainable and their effectiveness

Many GLP-1 medicines can be found on the U.S. market. Nonetheless, solely the next three are at present accepted by the FDA to be used as weight-loss medication: 

Semaglutide (Wegovy)

• Kind: injectable
• Frequency: weekly 
• Beginning dose: 0.25 to 1.7 mg for the primary 16 weeks 
• Upkeep dose: 2.4 mg
• Efficacy findings:
  1. Producer-sponsored research of 803 and 1,961 individuals: common lower in physique weight of seven.9% and 14.9%, respectively, with smaller waists and decrease whole levels of cholesterol, systolic blood strain, and triglycerides
  2. Research review in 2021: weekly dose of Wegovy led to weight discount results in a number of research

Liraglutide (Saxenda)

Tirzepatide (Zepbound)

• Twin GLP-1/glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist
• Kind: injectable
• Frequency: weekly 
• Beginning dose: 2.5 mg in 0.5-mL liquid answer for the primary 4 weeks 
• Upkeep dose: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 mg from week 5 (based mostly on remedy response and drug tolerance) 
• Efficacy findings:
  1. Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-3 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26.6% over 84 weeks
  2. Manufactured-sponsored SURMOUNT-4 trial: whole imply weight lack of 26% over 88 weeks

3. Take into accout their potential unintended effects

GLP-1 agonists include a protracted record of potential adverse effects reminiscent of:

1. Digestive system: abdomen ache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, flatulence, bloating, belching, and gastroesophageal reflux
2. Nervous system: headache, dizziness, fatigue, temper modifications, and suicidal habits or ideation
3. Low blood sugar and diabetic retinopathy in individuals with diabetes
4. Allergic reactions
5. Drug interactions
6. Coronary heart price modifications
7. Gall stones
8. Pancreatitis 
9. Kidney injury
10. Elevated danger of thyroid most cancers

Based on heart specialist and MyFitnessPal scientific advisor Danielle Belardo, MD, most gut-related unintended effects will be resolved by dietary modifications like consuming smaller meals, growing fiber consumption, and staying hydrated.

Enjoyable Reality: MyFitnessPal provides a FREE 7-day GLP-1 Diet Plan, made in collaboration with consultants from our scientific advisory board. Learn more!

4. Perceive the insurance coverage protection of those medication

Insurance coverage protection for GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide is determined by a number of components, reminiscent of the kind of treatment, plan, supplier, and well being situation.

GLP-1s are generally lined by insurance coverage, however provided that deemed medically mandatory. For instance, some suppliers cowl them in the event that they’re used to deal with kind 2 diabetes.

Medicare doesn’t cowl these medication for weight reduction, however in some states, Medicaid does.

Be sure you test along with your supplier earlier than beginning this drug. Some plans might require prior authorization or a documented prognosis. You might also want to fulfill sure well being standards or pay some copayment quantity.

Wegovy and Saxenda value $1,349.02 per month-to-month package deal.

Zepbound prices round $1,059.87 per 30 days.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly (the producers) supply savings programs for individuals with out insurance coverage protection.

With this, it can save you round $500 a month for a four-week provide of Wegovy or Zepbound. Based on the corporate, most individuals with industrial protection for this drug pay lower than $25 per month.

5. Know the weight problems remedy alternate options to GLP-1

Listed below are some methods for weight administration if GLP-1s aren’t for you:

• Go for home-cooked as a substitute of ultra-processed foods.
• Make small, sustainable modifications to diet.
• Add extra protein and fiber to your weight-reduction plan.
• Minimize down on high-sugar drinks. Drink extra plain water as a substitute.
• Be sure to get enough, high-quality sleep.
• Transfer your physique extra — whether or not it’s by train, taking a walk, and even doing chores.
• In excessive instances, take into account different weight reduction therapies like surgical procedure or medicines that trigger weight reduction (like phentermine).
• Search recommendation from professionals like a registered dietician, psychologist, endocrinologist, or bodily therapist to obtain personalized care tailor-made to your wants.

6. Take into accout the utmost remedy period for GLP-1

Research reveals that folks achieve round two-thirds of their misplaced weight again inside a 12 months after stopping GLP-1 dietary supplements. So, these medication is probably not your most suitable option for long-term weight reduction. 

Obesity is taken into account a persistent situation. Medicine like GLP-1s suppress cravings, improve insulin sensitivity, and mute obesity-promoting pathways within the physique. However these results will be reversed as soon as the drug is stopped. 

In brief, GLP-1s can be utilized for the treatment of obesity however can not remedy it fully. That’s why you have to be mentally ready to be on GLP-1s doubtlessly for all times in case you want to obtain everlasting advantages.

The Backside Line: GLP-1s Aren’t Proper for Everybody 

Choosing the proper drug relies on many components like your well being standing, drug tolerance, price range, and insurance coverage protection. Communicate to your well being care supplier earlier than beginning any medicines. 

On the finish of the day, weight-reduction plan and train are simply as vital in a profitable weight reduction journey. For a straightforward begin, introduce small modifications like planning your meals, monitoring your energy, or creating an train routine.