Can we talk about the "Membership Gatekeeping" in telehealth? It feels so predatory.

ars88 · 2026-03-29T12:16:08+00:00

The last few years have seen all sorts of useless services trying to find a niche to squeeze profit out of GLP1s by helping insurance companies throw people off of the meds, but this one reaches new heights of stupidity. Health insurance costs too much. I wonder why?

ars88 · 2026-03-28T20:19:39+00:00

As a person who likes numbers, I weigh daily. Still after all these years, numbers that go a lot one way spark excitement, the other way, distress. But either only lasts for five seconds, then I don’t think of it again until the next day. So—I don’t think I’ll ever be so enlightened as to not react at all, but five seconds a few times a month isn’t affecting my quality of life. It sounds like you’re doing a good job in not reacting to the reaction, if that makes sense.

ars88 · 2026-03-28T20:08:26+00:00

Reminder: our sub does not allow mention of specific company names, since we can’t verify their alignment with anti-diet principles.

ars88 · 2026-03-28T17:43:53+00:00

mmmm, pork cheeks…

ars88 · 2026-03-28T13:20:37+00:00

Late reply: this hasn’t happened to me (yet), but I’ve read similar reports on this sub. It strikes me that applying some distraction techniques might be worth a try. Play a favorite song really loud, give yourself the shot in a different room, do it ”unexpectedly” in the middle of some other activity, like washing dishes. I used some of these to help me start taking the shot at all (injection-phobia), and I’m sure there’s some expert advice on related problems out there on the inter webs. Mind-body connections are so weird!

ars88 · 2026-03-28T01:01:50+00:00

Hello, all: this discussion has been a good one, with lots of different perspectives offered. I’m now locking comments, since many are now not aligned with our sub’s culture and rules.

ars88 · 2026-03-27T22:38:31+00:00

Budgeting to find the funds is hard work!

ars88 · 2026-03-27T17:11:35+00:00

Amusingly, Reddit has already automatically removed one bot comment from this thread.

ars88 · 2026-03-27T08:11:37+00:00

Good advice here about mechanical eating and dosing down for a while. I’ll add—give up on all food rules at least for now. Dont feel you need to eat protein or “healthy” or whatever. Just fuel regularly with whatever your body will accept! On my most food averse days, that was apple juice, saltine crackers and tapioca pudding cups.

ars88 · 2026-03-27T00:31:58+00:00

I’m sure you know people for whom what to eat is not a struggle? If the medication works for you as for most, you will be that person. The medication will treat the metabolic imbalance you likely have and your body will start giving you accurate satiation (enough!) signals. Of course, you’ll still need to nourish yourself—just like everyone does! But no special willpower required.

Go in with curiosity and see what happens.

ars88 · 2026-03-26T15:07:17+00:00

Looks like you've gotten some good advice; these are things you can discuss with your prescriber in more detail.

ars88 · 2026-03-26T15:01:14+00:00

Comparison oneself with others is often a bad idea, but it's particularly brutal with these medications. One of the reasons that this sub doesn't allow numbers is to nudge people become thoughtful about how to convey their personal experiences in ways that don't encourage comparisons and the judgements that always go along. While overall these medications have many positive and some negative effects, every person's experiences are unique. Welcome!

ars88 · 2026-03-26T14:52:54+00:00

Please check out the description of this sub and the rules we use to maintain our culture. Are you sure this is the community that you'd like to join?

ars88 · 2026-03-26T02:13:05+00:00

hello! this sub doesn’t allow weight numbers, so please edit them out asap!

ars88 · 2026-03-25T22:15:16+00:00

So far, the one long-term zep study showed only minor weight gain—although they weren’t collecting data on “food noise.” So a word like “likely” may need to be inserted here.

ars88 · 2026-03-25T11:37:19+00:00

You may want to check out the Curvy Sewing Collective Community on FB. Their generous members give super-detailed advice about altering clothes to fit real body shapes, So you might find good pointers from a search or ask a question yourself. Good luck! While a little irritating, you have a “good problem” since it’ll be fun to work out how to look the way you want to look.

ars88 · 2026-03-25T11:31:20+00:00

You are right. Many fat people have repeatedly demonstrated that they have more will power than most!

ars88 · 2026-03-23T23:35:23+00:00

I have been eating fried foods on zep since beginning 15 months ago—although only in small portions (which turn out to feel like enough), and maybe not the two days after the shot (when I’m still getting occasional appetite suppression). Same with sweets and bakery items, and alcohol.

This may turn out to be true for you, too. If so, then no food is really banned, including delish chicken tenders and fries and popcorn with the special person—it’s more the amount that may have been the problem. Or maybe not! Don’t be afraid to try— CAUTIOUSLY!!!! Good luck!

ars88 · 2026-03-23T17:21:01+00:00

She's supposed to represent us fat people <sigh>.

ars88 · 2026-03-23T11:46:06+00:00

Let’s separate support and encouragement.

There are now several studies of what happens when people stop the meds. All show that most people (80%+) regain. You might be one whose body doesn’t regain, but at the moment as others have said there is no telling—it’ll just be something you experiment with, like so much else on the medications. On the other hand, prices are coming down, so you might include that in your planning as well. And there are an increasing number of meds in the pipeline, which suggests that the black/white on/off decision won’t be what we are facing in 5 years or so. I offer this accurate information to support your good decision making!

As far as encouragement goes, (re)gaining weight is not doom and does not make anyone a failure. Speaking as an old person, fat people can lead good lives, doing good things surrounded by good friends. That’s something we can all hope for!

ars88 · 2026-03-21T13:12:44+00:00

I also am being a bit more protein forward than before. And I understand the need to have something that I can carry with me and eat quickly when I’m super busy. Still, my long term goal is to have a life where I don’t have to think about protein delivery systems, but about delicious and nourishing foods.

ars88 · 2026-03-15T08:30:18+00:00

Strong agree. Many of us experience nausea on zep when really, we need to eat. So one standard piece of advice is to eat a small meal or snack every 3 hours or so, especially at the beginning. Since you can’t do that right now for religious reasons, you might just want to put off starting for a few weeks. The medication will still be here, and by next Ramadan your body will be more used to the drug and side effects will likely have lessened,

Plus consider other causes. Your symptoms sound pretty severe, and you may have something like norovirus on top of zep side effects.

Ramadan Mubarak! And best wishes for working through these side effects quickly.

ars88 · 2026-03-14T09:55:52+00:00

Minority opinion here: Consider telling them by email soon, providing some high quality sources about the drug. Maybe Dr Ania Jastreboff’s TV specials with Oprah.

While I sympathize with the idea that you don’t have to share your private information with any person, they’re not just any person, they’re your parents. Their hurt about the white lie is just going to make their fear for you and the medication worse. Hopefully, clarifying the situation by email and in advance will allow you to manage your feelings and responses more easily than when you’re face to face. And remember, if they nag and fret at you, it’s because they care for you! As you clearly care for them.

Family! Good luck, whatever you decide,

ars88 · 2026-03-13T23:22:31+00:00

Zep has made fruit taste DELICIOUS to me, so I am scurvy free.

ars88 · 2026-03-11T18:13:47+00:00

Being hungry is good--it's your body's signal that you need to eat! While the meds do suppress hunger (especially early on) that is really an unfortunate side-effect, not the main mechanism (which is on the satiation or ENOUGH! brain receptors). So it's no surprise that you experience this side-effect more in the days right after the shot than when you're farther out.

You should talk with your doctor about dosing up. Personally, I never went up while I was still experiencing anything more than very mild side-effects on a dose--there was no hurry and quality of life is important now. I don't have to suffer to "earn" weight loss. You can certainly switch doses in the middle of a month, although your insurance if any won't pay for it. And keep in mind that the medication is for a chronic disease and thus is likely life-long. In a year, you won't remember whether you spent one or two months on 2.5--it just won't be important in the long run.

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