Weight loss is a hot topic these days. If you’re bothered by stubborn fat that doesn’t seem to budge and looking to lose weight, a new solution makes weight loss easier to achieve. You’ve probably heard about semaglutide for weight loss, a new FDA-approved medication that makes it easier than ever to drop extra pounds. Unfortunately, obesity in America continues to rise, leading to an influx of injectable weight loss medications like semaglutide. Losing weight isn’t just about looking better—there’s a mental and overall health component, too. When you are at your ideal weight, your body can ward off serious conditions and diseases like heart disease, diabetes, joint pain, and even some types of cancers.
Semaglutide is used to aid in weight loss in overweight and clinically obese adults. Although the drug has a long-standing history of use to treat Type 2 diabetes and its symptoms, semaglutide is now being used to address weight loss in non-diabetic patients and showing dramatic effects.
Up until now, losing weight has been challenging for many, and a stringent diet and exercise routine requires plenty of time, money, and patience. However, weight loss with semaglutide makes the entire weight loss process easier by jump starting it. This recently approved weight loss medication is shown to be beneficial for patients with weight-related concerns who find diet and exercise routines ineffective. While semaglutide and weight loss is a relatively new phenomenon, it is quickly becoming a popular treatment.
How much weight can you lose with semaglutide?
Semaglutide and weight loss is an effective method, but the amount of weight loss differs from person to person.
Most patients who buy semaglutide injections for weight loss see the initial results after the first two weeks. Then, as each dose is increased, weight loss continues and can eventually be as much as 20 pounds per month. By the end of the complete treatment, most patients lose up to 15% of their starting body weight.
Semaglutide injections are painless and are typically administered with a small needle, so no numbing cream is needed. The needle is so tiny there’s barely any sensation or anything felt with an injection. The injections can be done in the upper arms, inner thighs, or stomach (away from the belly button).
How does semaglutide work for weight loss?
One question patients have is, “does semaglutide work for weight loss?” The answer is yes. That is because semaglutide works differently from a traditional diet and exercise routine and acts on specific hormones to incite healthy weight loss.
How weight loss with semaglutide injections work is by curbing and controlling hunger. The medication contains a GLP-1 receptor that mimics the hormone the body produces when food is in the intestinal system to suppress hunger pangs and the desire to eat voraciously. By administering the medication via weekly injections, semaglutide can help kickstart the weight loss process and allow patients who historically have trouble losing weight, drop the extra pounds.
By slowing down the digestive process and how fast food moves in and out of the intestinal tract, semaglutide helps create a feeling of fullness and reduces cravings for longer than usual. Since you’re not as hungry as normal and not craving as much food or the desire to eat, your appetite is reduced.
Semaglutide works by mimicking a hunger hormone in the body that senses when there is food in the intestine, allowing the pancreas to make insulin. This hormone also slows down the rate at which the gastrointestinal system works, helping you to feel full and decreasing hunger.
Weight loss with semaglutide injections works well for many people, but this treatment is not suitable for everyone. For example, the injections are not recommended for patients who are not clinically overweight with a BMI of 27 or more. The treatment is also effective in those with type 2 diabetes and clinically-diagnosed obesity.
Does semaglutide get rid of belly fat?
It’s hard and almost impossible to dictate where in the body you will lose weight by using semaglutide injections. But when taking semaglutide for weight loss, research has shown that body composition improves by reducing body fat, including abdominal fat.
How long does semaglutide take to work for weight loss?
Weight loss from semaglutide isn’t an overnight solution, and it takes time to see the results, so you’ll need to be patient with the treatment.
During the first week of treatment, blood sugar levels decline, and you may lose a few pounds. By the end of the first month, you will likely lose more weight. The medication’s full effects can take up to eight weeks to result in noticeable weight loss, but every patient is different, and some notice results sooner or later than that.
During the first month, the injections help acclimate the body to the medicine. Therefore, your doctors may wait to adjust your initial dose until a few weeks later. Then, the amount of injected semaglutide will increase slightly and continue each month. This slow yet steady increase allows semaglutide to continue to work as designed while minimizing potential side effects. However, some patients may stay at a particular dose longer if that amount of semaglutide works well and increases weight loss. Since each patient is different, a customized approach is recommended.
In clinical trials, most patients undergoing the injections lost up to 15% of their body weight (up to 20 pounds per month) compared to other weight loss medications.
Are there any side effects of taking semaglutide for weight loss?
Even though semaglutide weight loss has FDA approval, it has some side effects that patients need to know. The most commonly reported semaglutide weight loss side effects to include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Allergic reactions
- Stomach pains and an upset stomach
- Constipation
- Burping or gassiness
- Bloating
- Bouts of fatigue
Any side effects experienced are often short-term and subside as the body acclimates to the injections. However, to make the introduction of semaglutide injections easier on the body, it’s often recommended to follow a clean, wholesome, low-calorie, high-protein diet and avoid processed and fatty foods. Regular exercise is also considered beneficial, especially in amplifying the effects of the injections.
Can anyone take semaglutide for weight loss?
Semaglutide is an excellent weight loss solution for those who will benefit from it, but it’s not the answer for everyone. The injections are not recommended for patients who are not clinically overweight with a BMI of 27 or more. However, the treatment is effective in those with type 2 diabetes and clinically-diagnosed obesity.
Semaglutide is not a suitable treatment for anyone with the following:
- Medullary thyroid cancer
- Multiple endocrine neoplasias
- People with type 1 diabetes
- Those with type 2 diabetes already taking GLP-1 medication
- Pancreatitis
- Kidney disease
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
Do I need to follow a special diet while taking semaglutide?
Not necessarily. While there’s no hard and fast rule about what to eat and not to eat while undergoing semaglutide treatments, a clean, healthy diet will always result in better results compared to following a diet that’s high in sugar, empty calories and processed foods.
A high intake of lean protein and reduced consumption of sugar, fat, and processed carbohydrates is often recommended to help counteract some side effects of the injections. However, you can take the injections with or without food.
