​The Health Journey: Diabetes, Ozempic, and 100 lbs

Diabetes, Ozempic, and 100 lbs

I have experienced a 100 lb weight loss over the past two years. I still have more weight to lose, but this milestone of 100 lbs was the first goal I wanted to reach before I started to share about this journey. I want to share my insights on various aspects related to the body, obesity, mental health, spiritual well-being, and weight loss.
 
As I recover from knee replacement surgery, I have some extra time to process my recent health journey and get some thoughts down in writing. I am old-school and prefer to do this on a blog page instead of doing videos on social media, at least for now, since I process best in writing. I am also aware that it is never just about me. Our life experiences shape us, grow us, and refine us, but they are wasted if we don’t use them to help others along the way. My entire counseling/mentoring ministry is born out of my own life struggles and victories.
 
This health journey is one that I have kept mostly quiet, but that ends today. There is always some risk in sharing such a personal journey. There can be a cost, too. It is easy to be misheard and misunderstood. It can bring assumptions and judgment. It can seem self-serving at times. So be it. At my age (68 as I write this), I am far less concerned about these risks than I would have been even 10 years ago! So, here we go:
 
Health journey. That is a loaded phrase. We are embodied souls, meaning we are both material and immaterial, and the two cannot be separated. Our mind and soul are affected by our physical bodies. Our physical bodies are affected by our minds and souls. A health journey is never just physical. It is also emotional, mental, and spiritual. When one aspect changes, the others also change. I have changed a lot in the past few years!
 
There is so much misinformation about obesity in our society, and it is a sensitive subject for many people. It is tied to heavy shame, a feeling that I am no stranger to. If you read my health journey posts in the coming weeks/months, please keep an open heart and mind. Be willing to trust facts, not opinions, and repent of harmful attitudes. Be willing to learn and grow. Be willing to do your own due diligence. Don’t assume that “everything is spiritual” and that obesity is simply a “sin issue” and lack of self-control. Don’t just read opinion pieces and call that research. If weight loss topics interest you, there are many trusted, experienced, highly skilled, and trained scientists and medical professionals speaking on the subject of weight loss these days. I’d be happy to share links to some that I have been helped by. There is solid, trustworthy science-backed information out there, and the knowledge of obesity medicine has and is changing rapidly these days. All of this has been to the great benefit of people like me, as I have struggled with obesity my entire adult life.
 
Before 2023, I had lost about 20 lbs by counting calories and staying in a deficit. Then I stalled, and the weight just would not come off. This is a repetitive cycle in my life, landing in shame every time. I have had Type 2 Diabetes for many years, and my doctor noted two years ago that my A1c was no longer benefiting from the common medication I was on. Even the 20 lb loss did nothing to improve the increasing A1c results. Uncontrolled diabetes leads to all kinds of scary, bigger problems (heart disease, kidney disease, even blindness or limb loss). When I heard this kind of news (again), it would send me into a spiral, with intrusive thoughts like “It must be my fault. I cannot get myself together. I must need more willpower. I have failed again. I am less-than and undeserving because I am overweight.”
 
In addition to my own voices in my head, I would hear the voices of people in my past. Voices I haven’t entirely shaken to this day.
~My mom, who heavily focused on my weight and told me often, “Ellen, you are obese, you look terrible, you need to be on a diet.”
~My former pastor, who told me, “Ellen, how can you be a role model in ministry to women when you are so overweight?”
~My former boss, who marked me down on an employee evaluation for “appearance”, noting a weight gain after I had a baby.
These shaming events marked me forever, but this recent journey has helped me to face them head-on.
 
When my doctor expressed her concern in November 2023, she suggested that I start taking Ozempic, a GLP-1. I immediately said no, thank you, because I had only heard the misinformation about it. (The nay-sayers are always plentiful and loud.) The doctor still advised that I seriously consider Ozempic, and said to let her know if I want to try it.
 
After that appointment, I did my due diligence. I tried to find articles or resources in the world of biblical counseling (which had been my profession and community for over 20 years). I could not find much, and what I did find was solely based on opinion, generally shame-provoking (“you have a sin issue and no self-control, just eat better, be more disciplined to please God”, etc.) I found this extremely discouraging, lacking in expertise, and eye-opening. We need more voices on this topic from a more informed perspective because these medications are becoming more utilized and respected, and being a counselor does not necessarily make you an expert in weight loss and medical issues. We need to be very careful to give counsel from truth, facts, and grace instead of opinion. We cannot deny the work of true experts who have given their lives to study and research. We must always be willing to be wrong, and to be honest, I think much of the counseling community I have experienced has been wrong on the topic of obesity.
 
Instead, I learned a lot of helpful information about Ozempic and GLP1 use from the world of science and medicine, and with my family’s blessing, I decided to try it. I am SO GLAD I did. It has, quite literally, changed my life. It began with the understanding that obesity medicine professionals have come to view obesity as a disease. I agree with this, now that I have learned more about it and engaged with this journey in my own life.
 
The most important change is that my A1c is no longer in a diabetic range because Ozempic worked for me! This is not just about the weight loss; it is about many other ways I have changed as a result of taking Ozempic.
 
A GLP1 has changed me physically, emotionally, mentally, and therefore spiritually. I want to talk more about this, bring some education about GLP-1s to this blog, and maybe shed some light on the amazing gift this kind of medication is to people who struggle with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and a growing list of other things that are addressed by this class of medications. There will be no medical advice here, just my own experiences and understanding.
 
If you have different opinions based solely on bias, misinformation, or a lack of education, buckle up. These medications are not the weight loss drugs of the past, not even close. Medicine always comes with some risk, true. You may hear about the muscle loss, the “Ozempic face” or “Ozempic butt”, gastroparesis, pancreatitis, and gastrointestinal side effects. Any weight loss will cause skin to sag, so that is a no-brainer and not caused by the medicine. Digestive issues do occur, but they are usually mild, short-term, and manageable. Don’t buy into all the hype against these medications - people love to hop on that bandwagon for all kinds of reasons, which we will talk about in other posts. The medication may not be for everybody.
 
But unchecked obesity also comes with risks that for someone like me are even greater. I genuinely believe I was headed for an early death. Now I have renewed life and better health, neither of which would be possible by simply trying to do another diet that doesn’t work for my body or address all of my metabolic issues. I take medical advice from a trusted provider with the necessary education and skills, and urge anyone else to do the same if you want to explore your own options.
 
I had to choose - stay obese and risk more health problems and probably early death, or take a GLP1 to manage diabetes (with a side-effect of weight loss) that might have some pesky side-effects (mine have been easily managed). I chose the help of Ozempic, and it has worked very well for me, and I could not be more grateful for that. I fully intend to stay on it, get to the healthiest weight for my body, and keep the diabetes in remission.
 
If you are interested in this journey, on your own journey, considering medication, or worried about loved ones who take them, know that I will be talking in future posts about all kinds of aspects of GLP1 use (see topics listed below). I will also talk about all that this journey has taught me about myself, about others, and about God. I could write many posts on various topics related to obesity, weight loss, and mental/emotional/physical/spiritual health. If for no other reason than to keep a journal for myself to look back at. But I do hope that someone reads it and finds it helpful.
 
More later, lots more to come...thanks for reading! If you have any questions or private comments, feel free to send me a message by using the contact form on this website, or dm me on any of my social media accounts. You can also leave a comment under this post.
 
Check back periodically for new posts. I’m not on a deadline, and posts will get written as I get inspired!
 
Brainstorming: Things I want to talk more about in no particular order, eventually:
*Obesity: is it a disease or simply a lack of self-control and therefore a sin issue?
*The stigma of obesity and overweight in general, what it is like to live in a larger body, why some people don’t want to admit they are on GLP1 medication, and why people judge
​*How does weight loss impact you spiritually, emotionally, and mentally?
*The physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual connection to obesity
*Food noise, what it is and what it isn’t
*Why “eat less and move more” isn’t enough for some people
*Is nutrition and exercise vital if you are on a GLP-1?
*What is a GLP1, how do they work, and are they untested and unsafe, or well tested and proven safe?
*Is taking a GLP-1 cheating and taking the easy way out?
*How does a GLP-1 help you eat healthier and move more in sustainable ways that you couldn’t accomplish without the medicine’s help?
*What kind of diet and exercise are required to lose weight, or is the medicine going to melt the fat away regardless?
*Why are there so many naysayers when it comes to using medication?
*Is Ozempic (and Mounjaro) a “weight loss drug” or a diabetes treatment?
*What about side effects?
*What are the risks vs benefit?s
*What about loose skin and muscle loss?
*Is it just a big money machine and not really about helping people, is big pharma a problem with these medications, and does that negate their effectiveness (can two things be true at the same time)?
*Why do these medications cost so much, and why won’t some insurance companies cover it?
*What about compound versions? Are they safe?
*What happens when you stop taking it? Do you have to stay on it for the rest of your life?
*What else would you like to know? Send me a message, and I’ll add it to this growing list of future topics related to weight loss and health!
 
My hope is in faith, not medication. However, medication is a kindness from God that helps me on my journey as I seek to follow Him. It is simply one tool in the weight loss tool belt. It does not take weight off, but it enables me to do the things I need to do for losing weight sustainably.
 
We may disagree on points of theology or doctrine and what it means to live the Christian life, but I hope we can all agree that Jesus is Who He says He is. This is why I write this blog: 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”