I started Zepbound in December. People tend to have very strong opinions about GLP-1s, but I was largely ambivalent towards them. I mean, I still don’t care one way or the other whether or not people use them–wait, that’s a lie. I do want the people who want/need access to them because they are diabetic or have other health concerns to be able to get them and afford them and to understand how they work, but OTHER THAN THAT, I am very much “Do you, boo” about them. Like most decisions about people’s bodies, I believe the decision to take a GLP-1 or not is something a person decides with their doctor.

Anyway.

I wasn’t planning on going on Zepbound or using any GLP-1…until my doctor mentioned at my physical last year that Zepbound was FDA approved and clinically proven to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). And after the physical, I did some research and found out that, yes, it is true and just like on the Zepbound website, people on the Reddit subthread (which I did a very deep dive on) said that they were able to stop using their CPAP machines and actually felt refreshed after sleeping.

if you want to know what it’s like to have undiagnosed sleep apnea before you start to use a CPAP

Refreshed? After sleeping?

But more importantly NO CPAP.

CPAP life

NO CPAP? Say less. I immediately contacted my doctor so we could discuss this whole Zepbound thing in more depth. Because what do you mean I could give up lugging my CPAP with me on every overnight trip, including trips that are only one night?

Still, I was hesitant. My psychiatrist had already prescribed me Contrave, which was helping curb my sweet tooth. (I picked up a box of Reese’s Pieces, ate a bunch and then…stopped and had no desire to pick the box back up). So I waited until our next appointment to discuss this whole Zepbound thing with her. I admitted that–even though I had been trying unsuccessfully to lose weight for the past six years–I felt like using Zepbound would be cheating, to which she said, “That’s what people say about taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication.” In fact, she thought that taking Zepbound might do a lot to improve my mood since obsessing about my weight and pre-diabetic status were things actively contributing to my depression and anxiety.

Also, I had a couple of friends who were taking GLP-1s and, with the exception of one or two, they either had bad side effects or completely lost their appetites. As one friend put it, she had to break up with food.

That gave me pause because, even when it stresses me out, one thing I do like to do is eat.

Ultimately, I (obviously) decided to try the medication because I concluded the possible benefits to not having OSA and the increased likelihood of other health problems related to it outweighed the possible negatives. I also thought my insurance would cover it. Alas, it does not. Still, I’m at a place in my life where I can afford the medication, and I think my health is well worth the money, so my journey began.

And here is the real reason I’m writing this post. My weight loss has been extremely slow (I average ≤0.5 lbs per week) compared to a lot of the people who post on Reddit and elsewhere about their experiences with GLP-1s. I have thankfully not had any side effects, and I still eat four meals a day, etc. The only differences are that I (a) can’t eat past fullness–as in I physically can not–and (b) I can go longer between meals.

But the slow weight loss rankles me, and I knew it would, so–along with taking pictures to chart my journey–I also have kept a running list of non-scale victories (or changes I’ve noticed that have nothing to do with the number on the scale). Or as I told my doctor, my body is changing even if the scale is not.

Non-scale victories:

• A1C back in normal (not pre-diabetic) range
• I can put my feet in the straps at Pilates with no help
• I dropped something in front of my window/center seat on the plane and was able to pick it up! before I would have charged it to the game!
• I can cross my legs thigh over thigh
• I can buckle my Mary Janes without contorting my body in weird ways
• It’s easier to put shoes on, in general
• I don’t get winded as quickly
• My knee started to bother me again–now, it doesn’t because I’m not walking as heavy (that’s the only way I can think to explain it)
• my class ring fits! on my middle finger!
• I wrapped a regular-sized hotel towel around my body and closed it. Barely, but still!

A lot of people mention food noise, and I may have mentioned before that I’m just a touch obsessive-compulsive, and my obsessive thoughts about my weight have definitely lessened. I know because the only time I really start crawling the Zepbound Reddit to see if there’s something wrong with how slowly I’m losing weight is when I’m either extremely stressed or extremely [insert other uncomfortable emotion here]. Also, one time, I started obsessing about my weight to the point of self-punishing self-talk and I literally thought, “Where did that come from?” because I had not been doing it and that used to be my normal. So that’s huge.

So that’s been my experience so far. I’m so grateful I haven’t had any side effects and that I know myself well enough to know ways to positively reinforce what is or isn’t happening on the scale.