New FDA Approved Weight Loss Drug – Semaglutide
Q: What is Semaglutide?
A: Semaglutide is part of a class of medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists, or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. It increases insulin secretion, which is good for diabetes. But at higher doses, it acts on centers in the brain and suppresses appetite. It is important to use this medication in conjunction with lifestyle intervention. What this medicine does is help patients adhere to a reduced-calorie diet. With obesity, you always need lifestyle changes plus the medicine.”
Q: Which of our other products can this medicine be taken with?
A: This product can be taken in conjunction with our injectables, Lipo-S, & Sarcotropin. Because it does act as an appetite suppressant (without the stimulant effect), it should not be taken with an actual stimulant type of appetite suppressant, with the exception of the first month ramp up of Semaglutide. That will be helpful for any patient transitioning from an appetite suppressant to Semaglutide, so the appetite can still be suppressed during the ramp up period.
Q: Who can benefit from Semaglutide?
A: This product is perfect for the patient who an appetite suppressant is not appropriate for, i.e. BMI too low, heart condition, appetite suppressant is no longer working for them, doesn’t like they way a suppressant makes them feel, etc.
Because Semaglutide is not a controlled drug, patients that wouldn’t normally meet the guidelines for an appetite suppressant can use this product.
Q: Is Semaglutide effective for weight loss?
A: From a doctor at UAB (these statements are most likely before Monjouro): “We have not seen this degree of weight loss with any previous medication. More than 50 percent of trial participants are losing 15 percent of their body weight, and anywhere between a third and 40 percent of participants are losing 20 percent of their body weight. That is beginning to close the gap with bariatric surgery. I think this truly gives us a very powerful tool to treat obesity as a disease.” Read the full story from UAB News here.
Q: Does Semaglutide get rid of belly fat?
A: Treatment with Semaglutide improved body composition by reducing excess body fat, including abdominal fat, and increasing the proportion of lean body mass, or the amount of weight someone carries that is not body fat. The more body weight a participant lost, the greater the improvement in body composition.
Q: What is body recomposition?
A: Body recomposition, also known as recomp is an approach to weight loss that emphasizes the importance of not only losing fat but gaining muscle at the same time.
Q: Are there any foods I should avoid when taking Semaglutide?
A: Yes, Fried foods and fatty foods, such as fast food, and foods high in sugar tend to be the toughest for your body to digest and the most likely to cause nausea while taking a GLP-1 medication.
Q: Is obesity a disease? Or primarily the result of lifestyle choices?
A: According to UAB’s Timothy Garvey, M.D., co-author of the JAMA article and Butterworth Professor of Medicine in the Department of Nutrition Sciences, “The realization that obesity is in fact a disease is an important point.
“Many people among the lay public and many health care professionals as well think about obesity primarily as a lifestyle choice, even today, despite our scientific understanding of obesity as a disease”.