Ozempic for Weight Loss: When Does it Benefit Physical Self-Care, and How Should You Use It?

Practicing self-care isn't just about your well-being—it's about your physical health, too.

Our post Physical Self-Care emphasizes that's especially crucial for women, who are often more pressured to follow societal beauty standards. That's why it's important to learn how to distinguish physical beauty from physical health. By nourishing your body, keeping it in good shape, and loving what it's capable of rather than what it looks like, you can better uplift both your physical and mental well-being.

Viewing physical self-care through this lens can be especially helpful for losing weight more sustainably. Shedding pounds for the sake of your long-term health rather than to look thinner can be especially vital given the increased risk of developing chronic diseases that comes with being overweight or obese. The above steps can help you start that journey. However, simply establishing a healthier lifestyle isn't a one-size-fits-all solution and won't work for everyone.

That's why demand for weight loss drugs, particularly Ozempic, is on the rise. Due to growing obesity rates worldwide, pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which supplies Ozempic, sold over $21 billion of these weight loss drugs in 2023 alone. But can Ozempic really aid physical self-care—or is it just a way for people to take a "shortcut" when it comes to weight loss?

When does Ozempic promote sustainable weight loss?

Ozempic is considered a GLP-1 medication. Originally designed to treat diabetes, it works by regulating levels of naturally occurring hormones in the body. In doing so, it sends satiety signals to the brain, helping you feel full faster and managing your appetite so you eat less. You may have first heard of Ozempic as a "celebrity drug." Its widespread use by big names has led to what's dubbed Hollywood's Ozempic epidemic, something that experts say may influence ordinary consumers to take the medication even if they don't need to. Though that may make it seem like an unhealthy way to streamline the process of losing weight in line with social pressures, the truth is that it can significantly aid sustainable weight loss—when it's in the right hands.

Because Ozempic can result in significant weight loss, healthcare professionals only prescribe it to a key population: individuals who are overweight or obese and find it challenging to lose weight due to medical factors. That includes people who are genetically predisposed to obesity—as well as women diagnosed with pre-existing medical conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS. In these cases, an Ozempic prescription can help when these medical issues negate healthy lifestyle efforts like eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly.

From this perspective, the weight loss drug can significantly promote physical self-care when your own biology hinders progress. That's especially true given the many health benefits Ozempic provides. Aside from helping prevent and manage conditions commonly associated with excess weight, like type 2 diabetes, it can reduce cell inflammation to significantly boost kidney and heart health. Ozempic can even prevent cognitive decline and lower your risk of developing conditions like depression and anxiety, meaning its benefits extend to your mental well-being.

How can you use Ozempic for physical self-care?

Despite the advantages that come with taking it, it's important to note that Ozempic isn't a magic weight loss solution. Those who leverage it with the end goal of quickly losing weight to meet conventional beauty standards may end up misusing it, leading to side effects. That includes Ozempic butt. The rapid weight loss the drug causes can impact your skin's ability to contract, meaning the body fat you lose can sag the skin in parts of your body, including your behind. That may impact your self-esteem as you lose weight. More seriously, the improper use of Ozempic can impact your physical health by causing gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, constipation, and diarrhea.

To truly use Ozempic for physical self-care, it's thus essential to circle back to the separation of physical beauty and health. Focus on how it can improve your well-being by integrating it into a holistic weight loss strategy—one that involves following the best practices for diet and exercise. Doing so will be a win-win situation. By using Ozempic to regulate your appetite, you can better benefit from the digestion- and metabolism-boosting effects of eating the right foods and strengthening your muscles. At the same time, you'll prevent issues like nutritional deficiencies, saggy skin through Ozempic butt, and muscle loss, which can occur if you take the medication on its own.

More importantly, ensure you're eligible for a prescription. That makes it crucial to consult your healthcare provider before even attempting to use the drug for weight loss. From here, follow their instructions for taking it to a tee. Generally, the dosage guidelines for Ozempic require weekly injections. If you miss a dose, administer it as soon as possible within the next five days. Skip to the next week's dose if you go beyond that five-day window. These instructions can be crucial, as using too much Ozempic to speed up the weight loss process can negate your physical self-care efforts by causing low blood sugar levels and severe dehydration.