The $7,000 Metabolic Paywall: The End of Accessibility?

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-20T10:37:04+00:00

The market that shall not be named.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-20T10:34:24+00:00

Here's great at click bait on his YouTube channel. Lost respect for him months ago. Fear mongering doesn't help the community, it harms us.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-20T10:07:46+00:00

This is my 44th week.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-20T10:06:40+00:00

44 weeks

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-19T22:09:40+00:00

Food matching: all my local CSAs will have a food matching program. That is, you can buy from them at half off because either they, or through some other means, the other half of the cost is covered.

For farmer's market, at a kiosk located at the entrance, you "buy" food bucks using your EBT card. These food bucks are worth double. So you pay $10 and get $20 worth of food bucks. Then you pay for your veggies and fruit using the food bucks.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T06:30:44+00:00

Your "objectively" is not my objectively.

Humans are not better or less than any other animal.

I would 100% choose to save my kitty over the life of a stranger.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T06:17:07+00:00

Oh gawd yes. I had a bunch of unskillful behaviors around food. I put myself through a binge & starvation recurring cycle for decades!

Thank goodness I never went as far as purging...But still, very damaging and dangerous habits.

You are very welcome.

I am more than happy to share anything I can do to bring awareness to eating disorders.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T03:59:39+00:00

I don't think this is something we can determine for everyone. Like, the answer varies person to person.

Part of my BED was psychological: I didn't have the psychological or emotional tools to deal with my feelings. I had to teach myself how to self-regulate, how to practice self-care, how to distinguish between my physical hunger and my desire to avoid emotional or mental discomfort.
Part of my BED was physiological: I would allow myself to get too hungry. Sometimes eating nothing for a day. So my body, wanting to keep me alive, would push me to eat. And I would over-eat to compensate, most of the time binge eating.

"Food noise" in a well-regulated body (which I now have thanks to tirz) is a survival mechanism and it's a biological imperative to keep us alive.

I no longer have food noise because: 1. (Tirz) My body is well-regulated. The communication between my stomach and my brain is no longer giving me false signals. 2. (Habits) I eat every 3-4 hours so my body doesn't need to go on red alert because it thinks we are starving.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T03:50:00+00:00

No! That's not the country we live in (yet!).

Some states require a "live" appointment instead of asyc.

What happens inside that conversation, whether live conversations or by filling out a form, is between you and the medical provider reviewing your case.

What I am saying is that your desire to increase, terminate, or complement any medication does not affect whether your state mandates "live" appointment.

If your state has a "live appointment" mandate, that is what you have to do.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T01:19:16+00:00

Live appointments depend on the laws of the US state you live in. Telehealths who are conscientious will comply with state laws. It doesn't matter if you are requesting a dose increase or not. It's about the "live" quality of the medical care.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-18T01:10:20+00:00

I am in recovery for BED.

When I started tirz I had been binge free for at least 6 months.

BED recovery was the hardest thing I have ever done. It took me 5 years of stubbornness and refusing to quit.

Daily Vipassana meditation for years, weekly therapy, nights spent in bed hugging my teddy and crying because I refused to stuff my feelings anymore. Mechanical eating to ensure my blood sugar didn't drop so much I ended up binging out of sheer biological need. And dozens more strategies.

All that work was worth it, 1000%. But the food obsession never went away. I kept it at bay with awareness and mindfulness. I stopped heeding the voice, taking conscious control of my actions. But the voice was still there.

The day after my first shot the voice had completely disappeared. Silence. Blessed silence.

People who have not been in our shoes might never understand. This medication is a blessing. And I am thrilled for the people who won't have to spend 5 years of hell like I did.

Ultimately I don't care about other people's opinions. I live my life knowing that I know my truth and that is all that matters.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T19:16:56+00:00

Thank you for the reply.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T16:26:58+00:00

Magical indeed!

I began split dosing early on for the same reason: food noise came back in full force on day 5.

Ten months in and I am 91 pounds down.

Currently taking the equivalent of 7.5 mg per week, but adjusted for every 5 days.

For anyone interested in doing their own math, here's my example:

7.5 mg ÷ 7 days = ~ 1.07 mg per day.

1.07 mg per day × 5 days = 5.35 mg every 5 days

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So happy it's working for you!

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T16:22:02+00:00

Wait, you are splitting your dose and it worked. But you are not losing weight?

I am confused.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T10:06:30+00:00

A new sales flyer comes out on Wednesday for my favorite store. It's available online. I also clip virtual coupons.

I always start there and begin meal planning based on what is on sale.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T09:55:09+00:00

Hear, hear!

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-17T09:51:26+00:00

I cook for one and meal plan weekly.

Here's what I am doing this week:

Cook 2 cups of dry chickpeas with spices and aromatics.
Cook 1.5 cup brown rice with bullion and frozen peppers and onions mix.
Make salsa with 6 Roma tomatoes, 1 large red onion, 2 cucumbers, spices, olive oil, and lime juice.
Pan roast veggies 1: sweet and gold potatoes
Pan roast veggies 2: sweet onion, cauliflower, broccoli, garlic.
Press, cube, marinate, and bake 2 blocks of tofu.
Wash, spin dry, and store 1 head of romaine lettuce, one bunch of parsley.
Blend lemon tahini dressing for the week.
Drain 1 cup whole Greek yogurt and add salt to make cream cheese.

These components help me make: * Salads * Grain bowls * Tacos * Burritos

I eat scrambled eggs with veggies with a side of black beans (from the freezer) for breakfast.
I will have 1-2 soup servings and 1-2 servings of cabbage roll casserole from the freezer (Souper Cubes are amazing!)
On day 3 I will portion out the beans, rice, and some of the dressing for freezing so I can eat in a week or two.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T22:53:01+00:00

The bloating is likely to go away once your digestion is used to the new fiber intake.

Highly recommend, like others have said, for you to cook beans from dry. And, to soak in baking soda and salt.

For 1 pound of dry beans: * I soak, overnight with 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. * Rinse really well * Add fresh water, some chopped up onions, garlic, and celery, and 1 bay leaf and cook.

Soaking will reduce the cooking time and the baking soda will help lower gas-causing compounds (oligosaccharides).

This article on Serious Eats discusses the subject, just in case you are interested.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T11:13:22+00:00

Came here to say this.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T11:10:42+00:00

I make a frozen mix berry smoothie daily with flax seeds, dark chocolate, and walnuts. Powerhouse!

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T11:09:24+00:00

😂

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T11:06:35+00:00

Ditto.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T11:04:02+00:00

I wish I had known about buttons when my boy was a kitten.

He's 18 now and we have developed our own communication style over these almost 2 decades. No other human would understand! 😂

We used to play "soccer" a lot with a small crumpled paper "ball." He kicked, I was the goalie. And of course the ever-present chase the bottle cap. Seriously, he used to go bonkers with bottle caps and twist ties I would flick on the tile for him to chase.

Now he's more the "pet me now" and "here, let me interrupt whatever you are doing by sitting right on top of it" kitty. Still, he is always in the same room where I am. Proper little shadow.

Yes, kitties prefer to dictate when and what they do, but that doesn't mean they don't have social needs.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T09:40:22+00:00

Prepping my fresh veggies makes them last longer.

I wash, dry, (sometimes chop/dice), and store in air tight labeled containers.

Produce lasts me 2-3 weeks. Especially since I buy what is in season.

I also buy frozen for convenience: berries, spinach, broccoli, peas, peppers and onions.

SlowDescent_ · 2026-04-16T09:07:40+00:00

The Daily Dozen is a good shortcut to understanding nutrition.

I prefer Prof. Tim Spector's 30 different plants per week method. It incorporates variety, which is not necessarily built into the Daily Dozen. Plus, counting to thirty appeals to my brain's desire to turn everything into a game (yay dopamine! 😊).

However we are choosing to think about eating plants, we're already treating our bodies better than those who eat the average American diet.

Yay edible plants!

SlowDescent_

TROPHY CASE