I lost weight on Ozempic, but I’m glad I won’t be taking it anymore.

Finally surfing again! “It was freedom,” Serdar Deniz recalls with a twinkle in his eyes. He had been looking forward to diving into the salty waves and surfing for years. He once conquered the waves of Australia and Portugal. But with time, His excess weight reached 125 kilograms. and he no longer felt ready to get on a surfboard.

Then, in early 2023, the situation suddenly changed when his doctor prescribed a new drug: diabetes drug semaglutidea, also known as star injection for weight loss. Since then, the kilograms have dropped sharply, and Deniz pulled himself together. When he touched the water on the board in Bali during the summer holidays, I lost more than 10 kilograms. “The best thing was success in going up and down the wave,” he says in an interview with the publication German Business Insider. Kilograms no longer mattered to him: “I enjoyed everything that surrounded me, I was completely satisfied with myself.”

Semaglutide: medicine or lifestyle product?

Semaglutide significantly suppresses appetite. And those who eat less lose weight easier. That’s why celebrities like Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Robbie Williams trust this active ingredient.

Since the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk first brought it to market in 2018 under the name Ozempic, the global hype around the drug has not subsided. Hundreds of thousands of people are sharing their experiences on social media, sharing before-and-after photos and praising the active ingredient as a “game changer.”

In addition to the diabetes drug, Novo Nordisk has developed Wegovy, at a higher dose, is specifically formulated for weight loss.. The products are selling so well that last August the manufacturer became the most valuable company in Europe. At the equivalent of €379 billion, its market value at that time even exceeded Denmark’s gross domestic product, which stood at around €373 billion in 2022.

By feeling less hungry and therefore consuming fewer calories, people like Denise lose up to 15% of their body weight with Ozempic. His current weight is 113 kilograms and he is fighting to reach his next goal of 99 kilograms.. He documents his journey to a healthier, leaner life on his weekly podcast. Fettucation, which he produces himself.

Osempic punctures instead of “food attack”

Unlike many other Ozempic or Wegovy lifestyle fans, Deniz actually had a medical need for this medication. Due to chronic obesity, he developed type 2 diabetes. The main purpose of semaglutide was to stimulate Deniz’s insulin production.. And it also helped him lose weight, although at first he was critical of the idea: “I was a little skeptical that there was now a miracle injection.”

However, he soon began to eat more carefully and consciously. He simply gave up snacking because he felt full faster. Ozempic moderated by Denise.

“I look at medication as an educational measure,” he says. Thus, the drug taught him that “it is much more important to change long-term eating habits than to be in a caloric deficit.” By satisfying his hunger, Ozempic acted as a “safety net” for him: “The strength I was able to draw from it wasn’t necessarily overeating.” just because he was having a bad day. Instead of this, I could afford a piece of chocolate, not the whole bar.“.

Lose weight: “Routine is the most important thing”

Those who trust semaglutide achieve quick results. However, once they stop injecting, they have an appetite again and the classic yo-yo effect occurs. And since the product is only effective when combined with diet and exercise, Ozempic users should never skip a balanced diet.

For this reason, as Denise says in her podcast, he increasingly resorts to healthy alternative and walk instead of traveling by car until you reach 10,000 steps per day. In an interview with German Business Insideradvises: “Routine is the most important thing. Once healthy eating and healthy living become a routine, they inevitably become integrated into your body and you just start doing things differently.”

According to Deniz, small steps should not be underestimated, especially when losing weight with semaglutide. “You should set lots of small milestones along the way to your goal weight to ensure you have a constant sense of success and stay motivated.” This will help you stay on track and “make it easier to successfully lose weight without any medication.”

A moment of enlightenment through self-experimentation

In August 2023, the kilograms stopped falling and Denise’s weight stabilized at 113 kg. With this stagnation came disappointment. Although he had already taken the highest dose, Deniz dared to experiment on himself and Twice as much semaglutide was administeredwithout consulting a doctor.

It worked, but at the same time I was worried: Will I have to keep doubling my semaglutide dose to lose weight? “At that moment I thought, ‘I need to stop taking this medication!'”

A week before Christmas, Denise finally used the Ozempic pen for the last time. Ten months after the first dose, his weight remained constant at 113 kilograms and his diabetes had regressed. It means that He lost 12 kilograms and got rid of diabetes in 10 months.. He makes specific plans for the new year: “Go skydiving, go surfing, be more energetic and healthier in the way I feel about myself.” It worked well. “And I hope things continue to improve.”