EP#9 Uncovering the Dangers of Popular Weight Loss Medications and Exploring Healthier Alternatives

Can weight loss medications be doing more harm than good? Join us on "Get Inspired, Stay Inspired" as we uncover the shocking side effects of popular prescription drugs like semaglutides. Coach Martha, Dr. Marty and Dr. Donna reveal the hidden dangers, including nausea, vomiting, pancreatitis, and even thyroid tumors for semaglutides, and insomnia, increased heart rate, and potential heart and lung damage. We promise you'll gain critical insights into the severe health risks these medications pose, making you reconsider if they're worth the gamble.

Discover why prescription drugs alone may not be the magic bullet for sustainable weight loss. Coach Martha, Dr. Marty and Dr. Donna discuss the high relapse rates and lack of behavioral change components necessary for long-term success. Highlighting the Reveal Lifestyle Program, they show how continuous health coaching, sustainable nutritional plans, and personalized insights can offer a healthier, more effective route to weight management. Hear personal experiences that underscore the importance of comprehensive programs over quick fixes.

Explore the financial and ethical ramifications of the weight loss industry. We contrast the high costs and significant side effects of medications like semiglutide with the holistic approach of the Inspire to Maintain program, which supports long-term weight management through personalized guidance on diet, stress management, sleep, and holistic practices like prayer and meditation. Learn about the impact on diabetic patients who face medication shortages, and why natural, sustainable weight loss methods are not just better for your wallet but for your overall well-being. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on making ethical choices in your weight loss journey.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome back to Get Inspired, stay Inspired. Today we are talking about a really trendy subject weight loss medications. There's a few out there that we want to talk about. Super important for you to know the difference between prescription weight loss meds versus natural options. Okay, so we will be talking about today. We're going to give you five facts important facts about weight loss medications, right, ladies? Absolutely All right, let's get started. Number one, the most important. I mean, they're all important, but this one is serious, guys side effects. There's so many side effects that come with these medications. Let's talk about it. Dr Marty.

Speaker 2: 0:44

Well, I'm going to talk about the semi-glutides and you. If anybody's watching and they're on social media, they have seen if they've ever searched weight loss, they have seen so many of these things come across their feed, and we're talking about things like Ozempic, ribelsis and now Wagovi is what they have named the pill form that's specifically for weight loss, and this is a diabetes drug. It's a diabetes drug and the fact that people are now also using it for weight loss off label is keeping people that are diabetic from having access to the medication, which is not right. But some of the side effects you might think are a little bit more minor, but as you get deeper down that list, there's some stuff that's really serious. The main thing that people experience is nausea and vomiting. That you experience in general, but if you are not diabetic and you're taking this for weight loss, the chances of that is even higher. Is even higher Diarrhea, same thing. All of these side effects increase if you're taking the medication for weight loss, as opposed to controlling of the blood sugar, stomach pain, fatigue, low blood sugars and that makes sense because if it's a diet, if it's something that's meant for diabetics and you're not diabetic and you take it, it's going to put your blood sugar lower right.

Speaker 2: 2:01

Here comes the scarier ones Pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, permanent kidney damage, severe allergic reactions you know not allergic like it itches, allergic like you have to call 911 because your throat closes up. And this is a doozy thyroid tumors. Thyroid tumors. They're recommending that anybody that has any type of thyroid issue does not take this medication, because they don't know and it could present now or it could present later, and that's that's terrifying, because a lot of the people that come into our office that need weight loss, a lot of them have some sort of thyroid issue. Right, right. So that's a. That's the skinny on that.

Speaker 1: 2:42

Right, right, absolutely. How about Phentermine, dr Donna?

Speaker 3: 2:45

Well, phentermine. Phentermine has been out for gosh over 20 years. Years ago it was used with another drug and it was taken off the market because people were having issues with lung disease. But with the Phentermine, it's come back and I'll tell you it's a stimulant. So, um, it is going to make your heart race. Um, it's going to give you some trouble sleeping. You know, as that drug builds up into your system the first day, ah, you might not feel so bad, but as it builds up into your system, you're going to be wide awake all night long. You're going to get insomnia. You're going to feel restless.

Speaker 3: 3:26

Headaches are very, very common. With this dry mouth, it's going to affect how your body's producing things. So you're going to definitely get some dry mouth. One of the biggest things if it's a stimulant, it's going to increase your heart rate. Yeah, you're going to feel like you just ran a marathon. Um, yeah, exactly, dr Marty, exactly, you know. So your heart rate's going to increase. Um, you know, you're going to feel like some heart palpitations and things like that. No one wants to feel that, you know. Imagine feeling that all day long.

Speaker 3: 3:58

And, of course, much like the, the semi-glutides, this is going to give you some uh as well. The other thing too is and the same thing with the semiglutides the phentermine also can cause some constipation, some diarrhea. So you can either go to the bathroom or not go to the bathroom. But one one thing that nobody wants to change in their sex drive this can affect your sex drives and guys out there, it can uh, cause some erectile dysfunction. So that's something to stay away from. Nobody wants that. Um, you know the other thing because you're, you're, it's affecting your heart rate. It's going to cause some high blood pressure. So typically, if you have high blood pressure or if you have any heart issues, you should not be on this medication because it can certainly magnify that, but not only that. One of the one of the really really serious ones is it can cause heart valve damage and also lung damage. That's permanent. It's permanent. Yeah, and and you know what? There's been some incidences of people having some psychosis from it too. So it is a pretty dangerous drug.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Yeah, I've read so many articles on both drugs and I mean there's a minimum of at least 20 side effects. The list goes on and on and on, and with the Reveal Lifestyle Program, there's like two maybe, and I say maybe because the most common one is constipation and not everybody gets constipated. Right, right, that's better than they ever have. Yeah, the only the only. What's the reason for that? What is the reason for the, the constipation, the?

Speaker 2: 5:41

main reason for constipation. There's a couple of reasons. First of all it's the lifestyle change, because it's the reveal lifestyle program. It's not the take something and wait for something to happen program, right. So it's a lifestyle program which means if you're not used to eating the types of foods that we're asking you to change into your body, sometimes that could come as a shock. Sometimes Also the decrease in fat. If you're used to eating a lot of fatty foods which most people that are overweight eat a lot of fatty foods and not usually healthy fats that change also can cause some constipation.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Right, and it's not everybody, and those that do. We have really great, uh, proprietary laxative that you guys put together natural natural, natural we manage it, um, and and it's great, but it's natural.

Speaker 1: 6:36

There's not 20 plus side effects, um. The other one with reveal which is not everybody either is they might get a slight headache at the beginning, the first three or four days maybe and that's due to detoxing. So it's actually a good thing. That's a good thing. It's like don't worry about it. That is actually a good sign. That means that you're detoxing and we're good. Let's keep it going.

Speaker 2: 7:00

So we manage that also with electrolytes and fluids, but that happens with any lifestyle change that you make anyway.

Speaker 3: 7:07

So you know some people, as your body adapts to the changes. With anything you do, you can experience these two. You know symptoms.

Speaker 1: 7:17

Yeah, so that's the difference 20 plus side effects versus maybe two, maybe two, yeah, yeah, you know. That's the difference between prescription drugs and natural products. It's one of the reasons. Okay, let's talk about number two, super important as well the efficacy of the weight loss. You know how much weight are our clients going to actually or patients, I should say prescription drugs, right Are going to actually lose on these programs? What's the efficacy of semi-glutide?

Speaker 2: 7:50

The semi-glutides. You know it sounds like a miracle. You know you just take this and the weight falls off. Well, how much weight falls off might not be quite so miraculously they're talking about. The average patient loses about 5% body fat or 5% weight. If you put that into numbers, if you're a 200 pound person, which is about the average of what comes into our office on a regular um, on a regular basis, that is 10 pounds in a 12 week period. So that's 12 weeks of either pills or injections so that you could lose about 10 pounds. I'm sorry, I don't have the patience for that. That's less than a pound a week. Yeah, yeah, that's less than a pound a week.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Yeah, that's a pound a week. And you know, I think one of the key things that you said, dr Marty, is lose weight. That doesn't mean that you're only losing fat Right, correct. Lose weight. That doesn't mean that you're only losing fat right, correct. You can be losing fat, you can be losing water weight, you can be losing muscle mass, which is the I mean, muscle is king. You do not want to lose muscle mass, and so that is also a key to make sure that you're losing fat.

Speaker 3: 9:02

How about a phentermine, dr Donna Well, phentermine has similar results, except except, instead of 12 weeks it's 14 weeks. They prescribe it for 14 weeks. That's the max you can take it and it still has that 5%. So much like the semiglutides, the same result with that and, honestly, the average is less than half a pound for 14 weeks. You know. So you're risking yourself, for, you know, a loss of about 10 pounds in 14 weeks without making a lifestyle change, just taking a pill.

Speaker 2: 9:39

And the thing is, you can't keep doing. You can't keep using these products long term, or you shouldn't, or you shouldn't. Some people do, but you shouldn't keep doing. You can't keep using these products long term, or you shouldn't, or you should some people do, but you shouldn't.

Speaker 1: 9:48

Yes, yeah, people do. They continue, and and that's going to come with all sorts of other issues you know the side effects that we talked about start coming in. Yeah, I mean I my my heart stops when I have a client come into davy and they're, they wrote fentamine and on their health history and I'm like are you still taking it? Yes, I am. How long have you been taking it? For it's about six months I know, and how's that working for you?

Speaker 1: 10:14

But wait a second. So you've been taking Phentermine for six months but you're here at a weight loss center. What is going on? It's kind of scary. It's on, it's kind of scary. It's scary. There's like two, two parts of it from when I hear that is. It's scary that they've been taking it for six months. So, god knows, they may have something going on that they maybe don't even know about. Um or two um, what. They've been taking it for six months and they continue, but they haven't reached their goals. Like they haven't reached your weight loss goals, fat loss goals. It's not effective. So again, right, it's not effective and we're going to talk about this next. But okay, I'm going to stop there because this is the other part of it that is really concerning. It's the nutritional part. But hang on, before we go there, the efficacy of Reveal Lifestyle Program 15 to 20% in six weeks. We're looking at 20 to 30 pounds in six weeks Without those side effects, without the side effects, it's fast.

Speaker 2: 11:21

Yes, so people are amazed, they are completely blown away because, especially when you pair it with our led lights yeah, that's two to four sizes of clothes. Yes, six weeks in a month and a half. People are completely blown away and usually they feel better than they ever have.

Speaker 3: 11:39

But you know, not only losing the inches and losing the weight and seeing that number change on the scale, but your body is getting healthy. You know the foods that you eat are nutrient dense and so they're healthy. You're actually feeding your body. Yeah, you know, we have clients all the time saying I never ate this much.

Speaker 1: 11:59

So, dr Donna, you, that's a perfect segue to point number three. But before we go there, let's go back to the muscle mass, because I want to really drill down the importance of that, the importance of protecting muscle mass. And you know, with these drug programs that people are not eating, you know there's a really, really good chance that they're losing muscle mass. Oh for sure, the Reveal Lifestyle Program, you guys, as the med, scientists, as we call it, have developed a blend that specifically in, on top of other things that it does, it specifically protects the muscle mass.

Speaker 3: 12:40

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 12:41

And so, for those that are watching out there, it's not just losing weight, it's losing which fat you're trying to target, because there's multiple different types of fat, what you don't want to lose while you're on a program, which is muscle mass, right. And then it takes us to number three, which is these prescription drugs are not a program. It's not a program, it's just it's a prescription. Are not a program. It's not a program, it's just a, it's a prescription. The quick, so it's right. So then that takes us to. You know, your, your, your body, you're suppressing your appetite, so your body is not getting those nutrients that it needs to live. You know to to for us to eat, we want you to eat, and so on these programs, you, the relapse rate is pretty high, right, dr Marty?

Speaker 2: 13:29

Oh yes, there's. No, there's nothing keeping you from relapsing and there's nothing keeping you from gaining it. Back is, I believe, the biggest thing. You're not really making a lifestyle change. You're just not eating because you're not hungry. You're not making a better choice necessarily. You are not purposely making a change as to what your habits are, and behavioral change is what gives you that long-term result. There isn't, there's nothing that comes from a magic pill. I mean do I wish there was. Of course, I do, like everybody else out there, I like my snacks right but there's nothing that doesn't come from an intentional change. And if you continue to do what you've been doing, you will continue to get what you've had. And I think that's the biggest thing. Yes, you're going to lose a short amount of weight in a couple of months. I mean a small amount of weight in a couple of months. You are without making much of an effort because you're not hungry, so you're just not going to eat. But as soon as that prescription expires, then what then? What then what?

Speaker 1: 14:31

yeah, yeah, yeah. And so if, if, if a patient gets a prescription somewhere, that they just write a prescription, then there's no, there's no plan for them. Most people just continue eating the same, just a lot less, you know, and if they're not people that exercise, they won't start because, they're right. So then, then what Same thing with the phentermine, right, dr Donna?

Speaker 3: 15:02

Yeah, exactly Same thing with the phentermine. You know, um, there's no program with it as well. You know you take the pill. It's it's a stimulant. It's going to increase your heart rate. It's going to, you know, make you nauseous. It's not, it's an appetite suppressant. So you're not going to want to eat, and when you do want to eat, you're going to go for the foods that you like, which are probably not so healthy. Right, and just like Dr Marty said, there is no behavior modification with these prescriptions.

Speaker 1: 15:33

Yep, okay, so let's talk about review lifestyle program. What's the difference? You know we are on top of our clients, aren't we?

Speaker 2: 15:44

I tell everybody we could either hold your hand or kick your butt, depending on what you need.

Speaker 3: 15:47

We're here for you, but we do it in a nice way yes, so there's health coaching involved.

Speaker 1: 15:53

There has to be. It's like a, it's like a what spanish people say coc. Yeah, we're going to coach you throughout the whole entire program, your whole journey. And, what's important too, it's not just your losing phase, but it's other phases too, which we're going to talk about. Next, we also going to give you a really doable, sustainable nutritional plan, right? So we're going to show you what to eat and we're going to tell you why. And we're going to show you what to eat and we're going to tell you why.

Speaker 1: 16:28

And we're going to, we're going to coach you throughout the whole entire thing, and what we do is we want to make sure that there's habit change. That happens throughout your journey, but also we want to, as you're coming in, you're talking, you're talking to your coach. We want to identify different foods, how your body reacts to different foods, because once you get that intel while you're here, then you can take that with you for life. You're gonna know your body doesn't like broccoli, or you're gonna know your body loves protein, or you're gonna know, you're gonna know all these different I call it intel like their personal intel that they can take that for life and that helps them maintain. There's so many different things that we do throughout our follow-up appointments that you can take with you forever to maintain, and that is a huge difference. That's the behavioral change part. That is the part that helps to maintain your weight loss long term. Huge difference, right, ladies?

Speaker 3: 17:32

And that's the key. It's a key to maintaining. It is the key. You know many people can lose weight right, it's maintaining it. And so throughout the whole program, whether you're on the losing part of the maintaining part of a program, we're teaching you, we're guiding you and and helping you identify which foods are working better for you and they're nutritious for you, so you're feeding your body. I know.

Speaker 1: 17:57

I think that it's important that the people are watching, know that we're just not like saying all of these things because you know, know, we want to push, reveal lifestyle program and and tell people the difference. We want people to know the difference. But, like dr marty said, she's done it, she's tried it, I've done it, I tried it. My first go around for um weight loss over five years ago was with a prescription drug. It was, and all the things that we're talking about happened.

Speaker 2: 18:30

Yep.

Speaker 1: 18:30

No, thank God, I didn't get any. You know thyroid issues, but but yeah, I experienced some of these side effects and then I also relapsed. So it's important because nobody guides you. Yeah, correct, and it's important for people to know that we're not just like saying these things. These are things that we have medical journals and articles and things that that are proven, and then also we have the personal experience with them as well.

Speaker 1: 19:08

Number four stabilizing phase. What is stabilizing phase? With prescription drugs, you can't stabilize and most people look at me like what are you talking about? Right? So we have a phase on our program that is, I tell people, is the most important phase. It is the most important phase. We want you to keep it off long term. You have to do this. It's a. It's a phase where we stabilize your hypothalamus glands so we set your new body weight set point and also your new metabolic rate. So it's very, very important. And most people say how do you do that? I said, well. I said well, you have to join the program because they're they're like, okay, that's really cool. Nobody's ever told me about that before. It works. I was so skeptical when I went through the program that I tested it and it works so well. So if you're curious out there what the stabilizing phase is, you need to call us.

Speaker 2: 20:06

You need to call us, and one of the things that I that I tell my clients is we give you a blueprint for the rest of your life and once you are done with us, if you follow that blueprint Monday through Friday, forever, you can have a little bit more leeway on weekends and then get right back at it on Monday, cause it's like a job. Taking care of yourself is part of your job as a human, right. So when I put this in perspective, they're like oh, you mean that I could go out and have dessert on Saturday night with my spouse? Yes, saturday night, not every night, right? So it's a difference between a treat versus a bad habit, right, and it's one of the differentiators, you know, we want you to be able to go out there and enjoy a birthday party and we want you to live life.

Speaker 3: 20:54

Yeah, Right, that's what makes this life healthy, sustainable, right, yeah, yeah, knowledge is power. We, we, you know, in all our offices we teach you, we give you those tools right. Imagine knowing what foods to combine, what foods to eat to nourish your body and to keep that weight off. That's knowledge. Nobody can take that from you.

Speaker 1: 21:21

And have somebody there next to you walking you throughout the whole way.

Speaker 1: 21:24

So, that's the stabilizing phase. And then we have the final phase, which is phase four, which is the maintenance phase. And that maintenance phase brings in Inspire to Maintain. And Inspire to Maintain is a maintenance program. You don't come to our office and you lose 20 pounds, 30 pounds in six weeks and we're like it was nice seeing you.

Speaker 1: 21:45

We don't just do that, right, we're going to boost your metabolism. We're going to have you lose in six weeks 20 to 30 pounds. I mean, that's huge compared to these prescription drugs, right. And then we're going to stabilize you and then, after that, which is included on the with the price, which is the next thing we're gonna talk about, we're going to talk about maintaining and we talk about all the things that causes people to gain weight. Through our program, the Inspire Maintain program, we talk about what to eat to maintain, we talk about stress management, we talk about sleep, we even talk about prayer, meditation, things like that All the things that helps people maintain or all the things that causes people to gain. So we talk about it. We dive into that pretty in detail with the health coach, so we cover it all.

Speaker 2: 22:37

And that's the difference between a prescription and a program, or just the diet, because there's so many diets out there.

Speaker 3: 22:44

yeah, yeah, you can get anything on the internet, but it's not it you know it's not sustainable yeah, yep, so all right, number five.

Speaker 1: 22:54

The last one it's a biggie the cost show me the money how much does it cost? Yep, how much does it cost? Right, count the cost. So, dr marty, how much does semi-glutide?

Speaker 2: 23:10

cost. Semi-glutide is between 800 to a thousand dollars per injection. Twice a week is a typical injection pattern. If you you need to lose weight, that is insane. I mean, think about that. And if they tell you 12 weeks to lose 10 pounds, that's crazy. Yeah, you could go on a heck of a vacation for that money.

Speaker 1: 23:38

Yep. So we're looking at. And also it varies, like by location, you know which drug and everything, but that is the range, the by location, you know which drug and everything, but that is the range. The range is, you know, it can start at $700 up to $1,200. It can be once or twice a week for 12 weeks. So do the math right, do the math. Revealed lifestyle program is, on average, $150 a week. Yeah, and you're going to lose three to five pounds Per week.

Speaker 2: 24:12

Per week. Yeah, it's a. It's such a difference. It's a brutal difference in terms of you know, and let's say, even your insurance is covering part of it. You realize your insurance isn't going to cover anything that has to do with diabetes ever again. Right, they might kick you off of your insurance plan, like you're going to have other issues with that If you try to push it through insurance if you don't have the correct diagnosis for it. So that's just something to consider. People are like, oh, my insurance will pay for it, okay, but is your insurance going to pay for the side effect of a drug that you took that you weren't supposed to be taking, because there was no medical reason for it?

Speaker 3: 24:50

so you know something. Yeah, let's talk about the cost of um taking care of the side effects you know so. So not only do you have to worry about the cost of the medication, but now you have to worry about the cost of dealing with the side effect yeah, yeah, that's so true yeah, the phentermine is not very expensive, but the side effects are, I mean, expensive. Yeah, expensive.

Speaker 2: 25:18

Exactly, the phentermine are crazy.

Speaker 3: 25:22

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:23

Yeah, you know, I, I, I want to share just a couple of as I did research. You know, there was in some of these articles, there were people that responded to the article and and some of these, some of these things really made me sad Because there's a, there's a people group out there that actually really do need these drugs. They really, you know, I I worked in healthcare for over 15 years I'm not anti-prescription, but I am anti-prescription if it's really something that the person doesn't need and it can have a natural alternative that will actually help them and not cause other issues. You know, that's, that's Martha Savloff. Right, there's, there's. There's certain things for certain times, right? And, and let me read those to you this was one I'm a diabetic and the cost of my Ozempic went from $30 to $300 a month because of the shortage from people using it for weight loss.

Speaker 1: 26:32

Now, that's with insurance. Okay, I am retired and I can no longer afford it because the doctor's prescribing it for weight loss. Everything else I checked is either too expensive or insurance won't cover it. So who is at fault here? That was so sad, Sad.

Speaker 2: 26:52

A little old person onare that needs to get their prescription and cannot they can't it's so sad.

Speaker 1: 27:00

Here's another one um need to address that the demand for these drugs are affecting diabetics who rely on them. Last month, my dad could not get his shots because they were back ordered. He went three weeks without while trying to get a new prescription for a different brand. We usually take his diabetes in stride, but no matter how careful you are with your food, three weeks without medication is scary. And then the last. I mean I can go on and on, but here's the last one. And then the last. This is I mean. I can go on and on, but here's the last one. My wife cannot get hers filled because it's in back order with no end in sight. She is prescribed, she is prescribed the doctor. He has a typo, but the doctor prescribed it for diabetes, and doctors prescribing it to help people lose a few pounds is detrimental to those that actually need the medication.

Speaker 2: 27:52

And I think the key there is, a few pounds is detrimental to those that actually need the medication and I think the key there is a few pounds. You are not going to lose a hundred pounds on one of these medicines. You are going to lose a hundred pounds in our office If you are committed to your health, without surgery, without anything detrimental, eating real food flavored the way you like it, and I think that medication from those that need it, yeah, without taking medication.

Speaker 1: 28:17

One last one, just one. I am. I'm a type 2 diabetic and had to switch to a different drug due to the short supply. My doctor said it's it was a hollywood drug that was now popular as a weight weight control and it is the reason why I could no longer get it on the market. That is so sad, you're sad.

Speaker 2: 28:39

That is so sad, I mean and again for an average of five percent loss of body weight yeah, so.

Speaker 1: 28:48

So what's the?

Speaker 2: 28:48

moral of the story, ladies? The moral of the story is if there's a natural alternative that isn't going to give you side effects and isn't going to hurt you, and is going to give you lifetime habits that you can keep and get you even better results, then why would you ever go the easy way out?

Speaker 3: 29:05

There's no quick, it's not the easy way out, it's not, it's actually people think it is and a fraction of the cost too, you know, at a fraction of the cost.

Speaker 1: 29:15

All right, people, there you have it. There you have it. I hope this was helpful and brought some aha moments to you as we talk through these things. If you have any questions, please reach out to us. We are here to help. We are here to help you lose weight naturally, sustainably, in a healthy manner. Bring life to your body, okay, so reach out to us. Thank you for watching. We will see you next time.