Switching Sides!

In the words of Glinda from Wicked... Everyone! I have an announcement!

After 10.5 months on Wegovy... I have switched to ZEPBOUND! And I know what you're thinking. Some of you are probably thinking, "What's Zepbound?" It's a different obesity medication that not only mimics GLP-1 hormone, as Wegovy mimics GLP-1 hormone alone. According to its official webpage, "Zepbound activates the receptors of 2 hormones: glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)." It is manufactured here in the United States by Eli Lilly & Co., whereas Wegovy is manufactured by Novo Nordisk in Europe. The active ingredient in Wegovy is semiglutide, whereas the active ingredient in Zepbound is tirzepatide. Additionally, Zepbound's webpage states, "Zepbound works differently than other obesity management medications by activating two hormone receptors."

Now that I explained HOW Zepbound is different than Wegovy, I'm sure some of you are thinking... "Why the change, Gracie? You've lost a lot of weight."

In very simple terms, I haven't lost any weight in over two months. Back in February, I was very excited to find out that I'd lost 60 pounds overall, but I've been playing with the same five pounds over a few weeks now. I've only lost one pound since February and it re-appeared as quickly as it arrived.

I've stuck to the plan. Everything in moderation. No fast food since it doesn't make me feel good. I tried new protein bars. I drink a lot of water. I exercise more than I ever have -- walking, somatic exercises, and I've even graduated to small intervals of JOGGING (never thought I'd see THAT day). I thought the cause of this massive stall was stress-related. I thought it was my menstrual cycle. I thought I went out to eat one too many times. Nope, nope, nope. The truth is, I haven't eaten enough overall quantity of food to not lose any weight. Please don't worry! I am eating when I'm hungry, and I stop eating when I'm full! No starving myself here! But... something still wasn't right.

Then I did some homework. One of my favorite GLP-1 influencers, Hope (on TikTok at @hopiedopiee1, she doesn't put her last name) started out at 300 pounds. She started with Wegovy. It stopped working for her after 10 months. She switched to Zepbound and almost immediately started losing again. Her story sounds a lot like mine (save for the fact that she's around 10 years younger than me!). Hope's story wasn't the only one I've heard of Wegovy patients who switched to Zepbound and then achieved greater results -- and I didn't exclusively hear such stories from social media. Some reached me IRL.

I took my research off TikTok and looked up articles. Apparently, I've already lost more weight on Wegovy than the average user. In Wegovy's very own commercial, it is billed for users to lose around 40-50 pounds when I've lost 60. It also states that Wegovy users can expect to lose around 14 percent of their body weight with "some users" using 20 percent of their body weight. I've lost close to 20 percent of mine, so I've already exceeded the average percentage of weight lost. Zepbound has also proven to earn greater results than Wegovy overall.

After digesting my research, and after remembering my doctor tell me a few months ago that one day Wegovy will "stop working," I came to realize that this stall went beyond a normal plateau. In the "before times," I'd reach a plateau and I'd give up on trying to lose any more weight. Not this time -- it's just time for a new tool that I can utilize to help my new relationship with food and with exercise. My intrusive, obsessive, never-ending food noise has not returned. I truly haven't gained weight, save for the five pounds I keep re-gaining, and then re-losing. I have simply stopped losing consistently. I get to have a new start, new tool, and a whole new number for my starting weight.

To be perfectly clear, Wegovy got me to this point. It changed my life beyond what I expected it could do, and I lost an amount of weight that I never thought I'd be capable of losing. For that, I'll always be grateful to Wegovy and the fact that I had relatively easy access to it. Today, I'm grateful that I have that same relatively easy access to Zepbound; my insurance approved it within two days of my request. Additionally, feeling pride for myself is rare for me -- but I am proud that I advocated for myself and asked for help to reach my goals.

For now, I am so ready to start this new chapter in my fight against food noise, and toward better health and self-esteem. As a Catholic, I always found it symbolic that I took my first-ever dose of Wegovy on Pentacost Sunday -- the feast that comes 50 days after Easter Sunday, where the Holy Spirit intercedes for Jesus' followers after Jesus returned to Heaven following Easter. I have started Zepbound on Palm Sunday, one week before Easter Sunday, with the anticipation of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus just a week away. I truly believe that's a full-circle moment. On to the next. Thank you Wegovy... Hello Zepbound!