Doctors “Weigh In” on Ozempic® and Wegovy®

So many people are looking to Ozempic® for weight loss at this time. This "new to the market" prescription drug has not been approved for weight loss. The Federal Drug Administration, as of March 2024, has approved Ozempic® for type 2 diabetes treatment only.

What do doctors think of Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss?

Ozempic®, known generically as semaglutide, was developed by a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk in 2012 and was approved in 2017 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Wegovy® was also developed by Novo Nordisk and is basically the same drug as Ozempic® but comes in different strengths. Wegovy® was approved by the FDA in 2021 for weight loss and long-term weight management.

If you want some more background information on how these drugs work and the overall premise of using them to lose weight, click here.

What do the doctors say about Ozempic® for Weight Loss? And What About Wegovy® for Weight Loss?

While Ozempic® and Wegovy® have become very popular in the last couple of years, research confirms that these drugs can trigger some negative gastrointestinal side effects and may increase the risk of pancreatitis, bowel obstruction, and stomach paralysis.

Dr. Caroline Messer, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City said, “We’re all aware of all these side effects, but the benefit of losing 40 to 50 pounds clearly outweighs the small risk of these side effects. You decrease your risk of gout, heart disease, strokes, heart attacks and diabetes, so these risks in no way convince me to stop prescribing these medications.”

Doctors Recommend Healthy Diet and Lifestyle for Managing Weight and Metabolic Health

Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventative and lifestyle medicine and president of the True Health Initiative, voiced his opinion, saying, “We don’t yet have the long-term experience with these drugs to understand the risk/benefit trade-offs with extended use fully, but the adverse effects chronicled here are a precautionary tale”. He went on to say, “This is a good reminder that the first, best and safest approach to managing weight and metabolic health is a healthy diet and lifestyle.”

HCG Is A Natural Way to Lose Weight

HCG is the same hormone produced naturally in a pregnant woman’s body. It’s also the same hormone that, for over 50 years, was, and still is, frequently used to treat infertility in both women and men. To put into perspective the amount of HCG used with the HCG Diet Protocol, Dr. Simeons advised each patient on the HCG Diet Protocol to administer 125 units of HCG per day for a maximum of 40 days. This would be a total of 10,000 i.u. of HCG over a 40-day round. However, during pregnancy, a woman can produce up to 1,000,000 units of HCG per day!

Dr. Simeons helped people lose weight using the HCG Diet Protocol beginning in the late 1950’s. DIYHCG began in 2009 and we’re still here at DIY Diet Store using this weight loss plan that we consider tried and true!

For a comparison of the nuts and bolts of Ozempic®, Wegovy®, and HCG, click here.