I'm almost rendered speechless by this article. I'm still trying to figure out if this site (health.com) is reliable in any way, shape, or form, but if this article is any indication, I suspect it's just another completely unreliable site.

Oh the problems with this... so SOOOO many:

Yes it's expensive - the vast majority of people can't possibly afford these drugs without insurance paying for it.

Which brings up the issue of insurance policies concerning these drugs - the article claims that you may not see any results (weight loss) until you reach the highest dosages, which takes 5-6 months to reach. But if the insurance company doesn't see sufficient weight loss during that time, they'll cut you off. Which means that if you haven't been losing weight the whole time, you aren't likely to suddenly lose enough during that last month or two to remain in your insurance company's good graces to continue with the drug, so they'll deny coverage.

Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as less common side effects such as pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, and kidney issues - claims that proper management of what you eat as well as specialists to treat these problems will somehow magically make all those side effects go away. From what I've seen, other drugs to control those side effects aren't very effective at all. (They also left out severe constipation because of how the drugs slow digestion) Insurance again enters the picture: how many insurers will pay a team of specialists long term to manage the drug side effects, without discontinuing coverage for the very drug that is causing the side effects?

Muscle loss early in the weight loss process, and you might not regain muscle when you (inevitably) regain weight after stopping the GLP-1: Ya think?


This just shows how ignorant the author is about how these drugs are prescribed:

The drug dosage is increased every 4 weeks whether you've gotten used to the side effects or not, which means that until you've been on the highest dosage for 4 weeks, you could very well experience those side effects the entire time you're on the drug.



Potential cravings? No... more like INTENSE, undeniable cravings for foods that provide the essential nutrients you're short on after months and months on an inadequate diet.



So they somehow magically expect insurance to pay for 30-40 or more years of these drugs at $1,000+/month, assuming you reach your goal weight... but we've already seen that insurance will cut you off if you don't lose enough, quickly enough. They're not going to continue to pay that much every month just to keep you from regaining weight. And just like you can get used to the effects of lower dosages to the point where they no longer provide appetite control, you're also going to get used to the effects of the highest dosage, and that will not longer provide appetite control, so you'll end up gaining weight, even while on the drugs.

But let's go back to that monthly $1,000+ price tag for the drug itself: That's on top of payments to a team of specialists to control side effects, the cost of drugs needed to control the side effects, as well as any life threatening side effects, or side effects requiring surgery or otherwise requiring hospitalization.

Given that a specific diet can also attain good weight loss with out the side effects of these two drugs.

Very low carb diets decrease appetite. But don't make you feel bloated and sick.

Very low carb diets loaded with meats preserves muscle mass.



Dr Atkins discusses eating until comfortably full. ,........


DANDR is so much less expensive than Wygovy. The cost and the sideeffects.

We know that some version of a LC diet will be satisfying and help just about everyone lose weight.

I realize that it's difficult to get off the carbs - that's addictive stuff!

But it doesn't help one bit that The Powers That Be keep telling us we neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed carbs, fats are EVIL, stay away from them and eat your carbs!

Look - here's a great dinner! It's only 350 calories, has 7 whole grams of protein (from plants), only one gram of that evil FAT (but not to worry, it's unsaturated so you can have a whole gram of it) and 78 g of carbs, that's almost 1/3 of your daily minimum quota of carbs! You can even enjoy it with another 22 g of carbs in the form of a fat-free dessert on your healthy diet!!

I mean it's no wonder people are hungry ALL the freakin' time and end up morbidly obese, when the truth is that they're only trying to do what they've been told is the healthiest way to eat, and can't figure out why they feel awful and just keep gaining weight.

And now the drug companies have figured out a way to keep them from feeling so desperately hungry while eating a "healthy" diet. This drug is so effective at stunting your appetite that you may even forget to eat.

When they take the drug (and once they're past the nausea, puking, diarrhea, etc) they suddenly realize that they simply don't care about food any more.

So the logic is that it must be THEM that's the problem, not the diet they've been told to eat. You have a chemical imbalance, here's a drug to fix that.

As Oprah said, she finally figured out that people who were naturally thin, it wasn't because they had so much willpower - they weren't even thinking about food, and that's why they didn't overeat and get fat.

As long time members here, we know weight is a difficult journey. 100 people can gave 100 different experiences with weight management.

This showed up on YT. Stunning $$$$$

https://youtu.be/nE4hpEKK8ew?si=zEybzLJqMthMYmq2

I learned by reading DANDR nearly cover to cover that the food was key. And for the first time in 20 years of overweight weight, I lost weight. Not a miracle but a real strategy based on prioritizing meats and very low carb veg and a few berries.

I always struggle cause the outside world pushes into my private world. And only now, can I say no and to hell with what that person thinks.

The grand children can get their vegan dishes so I'm having my steak. No one cared that my health was based on my allowed foods, but nieces could eat their veggies and some fish which is slow starvation.

When I'm in Ketosis, stringing 3 days of very low carbs, I'm sufficiently into Ketosis to keep going. Eating less, dropping to OMAD, IF, 36 h fasts.

Like I was taking a $1000 drug.

Food bill decreases. No bread, crackers, snacks, sweets. A bag of wild blueberries for $13. Beef and meats. Eggs. Some veggies.

But veggies are about as expensive as meat. Ground beef is $5/# , $ 4.50 -5.50......veggies on the whole don't have the nutrients of beef.

In my world of feeding livestock, the cost per pound of protein is the first consideration.

When I had limited funds, my kids picked out foods to put in cart. Then removed foods based on nutrition. Leaving meats and some veggies and, yogurts.


Others report a smaller food bill, too.


The doctors supporting keto is growing fast. The doctors that hold fast to conventional disease/drug solution need to change their model. But the doctors are held hostage to a system that doesn't allow healthy patients, cause that patient isn't a patient. No money to be made off a healthy person.

I'm super frustrated. No primaries taking on patients. So no basic care. No annual physical. What the he'll is our insurance paying for???

How do we judge the "popularity" of diets, outside of echo-chambers, websites or FB groups that support Keto, vegan, or carnivore?

I look at the popularity of podcasts. In the Health and Fitness top 50 rankings, The Huberman Lab is now #1 and there are no longer "keto" shows. Dr Huberman suggests a balanced, mixed diet.
https://forum.lowcarber.org/showpos...3&postcount=450. Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, Max Lugavere, etc...their focus is on Health and Fitness, protein if anything, not keto or low fat.

Another way judge support for a diet is to rank Google searches. Keto has fallen steadily since Jan 2019, now only 14% interest from its previous high.
Or popular books in Health, Fitness and Dieting category on Amazon. #1 is Good Energy by Dr Casey Means it is focused on Nutrition

My echo-chamber is my own neighborhood, Health and Fitness focused, both retired and young families, and few are obese. It's not keto or vegan or Wegovy (at least I haven't noticed anyone melting away). Keto stopped working for me, my own poor metabolic health and lack of results were a way to judge various diet camps.

The article on Health.com reads like a massive Product Placement.
At least readers should know how much the drugs will cost them long term.