The Wild World of Weight Loss Ads

The Wild World of Weight-Loss Ads — From Someone Who Has Actually Tried the Shots

There she was.

Huge eyes. Giant straw. Her head apparently stuck inside a salad bowl.

And across the picture in enormous letters:

“Harvard Confirms the Surprising Truth…”

Oh, Harvard confirms it, does it?

I didn’t click.

I’ve learned that if an advertisement needs a woman staring at me through a salad bowl to convince me that somebody has finally discovered the secret to weight loss, I can probably keep scrolling.

But it did make me think... there must be other people out there like me. People who have tried the shots. I was on Ozempic. I lost a significant amount of weight while taking it. And then, after I stopped, I gained the weight back.

That’s not something that’s particularly fun to admit.

And before I go any further, I want to say something important. The shots work wonderfully for some people.

My boss, for example, lost weight and is now on a maintenance dose. She has kept the weight off and is doing great. I’ve seen firsthand that these medications can be life-changing for people, and I would never tell someone not to use something that is working for them and their doctor.

My story is simply different. I was on Ozempic. I lost a significant amount of weight while taking it. And then, after I stopped, I gained the weight back. That’s not an indictment of the medication. It’s just what happened to me.

And I suspect there are a lot of people quietly sitting in that same uncomfortable place—grateful for the weight they once lost, frustrated that it returned, and wondering what they’re supposed to do next. When you’ve lost that much weight, you start thinking you’ve finally won. Clothes fit differently. Moving is easier. You see numbers on the scale you haven’t seen in years.

Then the weight starts creeping back and suddenly you’re right back in the land of advertisements promising that this is the answer.

Take this supplement.

Drink this.

Don’t eat after this particular hour.

Eat this food before that food.

Try this “Harvard-approved” trick.

Apparently, if all else fails, put a salad bowl on your head and acquire a sufficiently impressive straw.

I think I’m tired of looking for magic. I’m trying something much less exciting now. I’m paying attention.

I’m learning which meals actually satisfy me instead of simply looking “healthy.” I’m learning that I need food I can chew and enjoy. I’m eating more vegetables and protein. I’m paying attention to portions without pretending I’ll never eat something simply because it contains carbohydrates.

And I’m walking, not miles and miles... sometimes ten minutes. Then another ten minutes later. It doesn’t make a very exciting advertisement.

WOMAN WALKS FOR TEN MINUTES AND EATS SOME GREEN BEANS!

Nobody is clicking that, but maybe that’s exactly the point.

I’m also dealing with my A1C now, and I’ve started a new medication to help control my blood sugar. I’m learning more about what my body is doing instead of just fighting with it.

This time, I’m not expecting one medication, one food, one diet, or one ridiculous internet secret to fix everything. And I’m trying very hard not to turn every imperfect choice into failure.

Maybe that’s the biggest difference.

I don’t know exactly where this road will take me. I don’t know what the scale will say months from now. I don’t know what my next bloodwork will show.

But I do know I’m not the only person who has lost weight on one of the injections and then struggled after stopping it. There have to be a lot of us. People who are starting over, who are trying to figure out hunger again. People who are trying to make peace with food instead of spending another decade at war with it.

And people who are very, very tired of being told that someone on the internet has discovered the secret we’ve somehow missed our entire lives.

So that’s where I am.

No miracle.

No secret trick.

No magic strawberry.

Just food that satisfies me, small changes I can actually live with, a little more movement than yesterday, and another chance to try.

And absolutely no salad helmet.... although I have to admit…

The helmet is fabulous.