An Inspirational Weight Loss Journey
- “Pitch Perfect” actress, 44, has offered some insight into how she maintained her weight loss goals with Ozempic, a blockbuster weight-loss drug her personal trainer previously dubbed as “super dangerous.”
- Ozempic, the brand name of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, the highly popular new drug also known under the brand names Rybelsu and Wegovy, is an FDA-approved prescription medication for adults with type 2 diabetes. The drug, which is administered as a weekly injection, assists the body by helping the pancreas make more insulin, ultimately lowering blood sugar levels. Although it has not been FDA-approved for weight loss, the drug has been prescribed by some doctors.
- If you’re considering taking a weight loss drug, talk with your care team about whether that’s a good option for you. And make sure you consider good diet and exercise practices as a part of your treatment plan.
- We’re happy to see the Australian actress maintaining her weight loss and feeling confident in her body— especially because obesity increases an individual’s risk of developing a range of dangerous health conditions, including several types of cancer. In addition to increasing the likelihood of developing certain cancers, obesity is associated with worse treatment outcomes.
- Dr. Andrea Tufano-Sugarman of NYU Langone Health explains to SurvivorNet the benefits of losing weight: “While all cancers cannot be prevented, losing weight is a great way to reduce one’s risk.”
- When faced with a new challenge, like losing weight, it’s important to make sure that these coping mechanisms you have to care for your mental health continue to work throughout the process.
The 44-year-old Australian actress, producer, and mom of one—who no longer is on Ozempic—offered insight into her weight loss journey, which began back in 2020, during a recent interview.
Read MoreSpeaking with The Sunday Times, Wilson, who suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome and had her IVF doctor recommend she lose weight in 2019, explained, “Someone like me could have a bottomless appetite for sweets, so I think those drugs can be good.”View this post on Instagram
RELATED: Ozempic Baby Boom? Weight Loss Drug’s Possible Connection To Fertility & Disease Prevention
“Basically no one apart from my mom wanted me to lose weight,” Wilson, who initially lost the weight by walking more, doing high-intensity workouts and eating healthier, told the British news outlet.
“People thought I’d lose my pigeonhole in my career, playing the fat funny character, and they wanted me to continue in that.”
Wilson, whose daughter Elizabeth was born via surrogate back in November 2022, also admitted to the Times she understand her relationship with food is “complicated” and she’s content with her “still curvy and solid” body shape and weight.
” I feel strongly that young women shouldn’t try to obsess over looking like Victoria’s Secret models — they should just look like themselves,” she added.
RELATED: What You Need to Know About Obesity
Meanwhile, it’s interesting how Wilson still took Ozempic despite her personal trainer previously calling Ozempic “super dangerous” in an earlier interview.
Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle last year, her trainer Jono Castano, said, “I think, for me personally, it’s always going to be dangerous in terms of the long term as well.
“It’s super dangerous, I think we just need to focus on that calorie baseline and creating a deficit and do it that way.
View this post on Instagram
He added, “People always want quick results, you know? And people are always searching for the thing that’s going to get them [to their goal weight] as fast as possible. People are lazy and they don’t want to put in the work.”
As Wilson’s new book, “Rebel Rising: A Memoir” is set for release this week, the actress also spoke with People about her complicated journey with weight loss, saying, “I think to many people I’m a beacon of body positivity because I see people who are considered medically obese if you look at their weight, but I think they are absolutely beautiful.
“I really think beauty is at any shape and size so I do really promote that.”
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She continued, “So people are like, ‘Well, how can you be so body-positive and then be hating yourself?’ But I wasn’t hating myself, I was only hating those shameful behaviors,.
“For example, eating a whole tub of ice cream every night and then feeling bad about myself, making myself get up early in the morning and go to the gym for an hour and a half and running on that treadmill until sometimes my back would hurt.”
View this post on Instagram
Health Risks Associated With Ozempic
Although people have had success with weight loss thanks to Ozempic, which is the brand name of the drug Semaglutide, it’s important to understand there are dangers associated with the drug. Healthcare company Lexicomp recently revealed there are negative side effects of the medication, including an increased risk of cancer.
Lexicomp explains Ozempic as “an injectable prescription medicine for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus that: along with diet and exercise may improve blood sugar (glucose),” noting it’s not the first choice of medicine for treating diabetes.
As for the most important information people should know before taking the drug, Lexicomp says Ozempic may cause serious side effects. Some of the possible side effects include:
- inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis)
- changes in vision
- low blood sugar, kidney problems
- kidney failure
- serious allergic reactions.
“The most common side effects of OZEMPIC may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain and constipation. Talk to your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away,” Lexicomp states. “These are not all the possible side effects of OZEMPIC. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.”
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also says, regarding Lexicomp’s warning, “This drug has been shown to cause thyroid cancer in some animals. It is not known if this happens in humans.
“If thyroid cancer happens, it may be deadly if not found and treated early. Call your doctor right away if you have a neck mass, trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, or have hoarseness that will not go away. Do not use this drug if you have a health problem called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2), or if you or a family member have had thyroid cancer.”
The side effects that call for immediate medical attention, in regard to all uses of the drug, the MSKCC lists as:
- Signs of an allergic reaction, like rash; hives; itching; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin with or without fever; wheezing; tightness in the chest or throat; trouble breathing, swallowing, or talking; unusual hoarseness; or swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
- Signs of kidney problems like unable to pass urine, change in how much urine is passed, blood in the urine, or a big weight gain.
- Signs of gallbladder problems like pain in the upper right belly area, right shoulder area, or between the shoulder blades; change in stools; dark urine or yellow skin or eyes; or fever with chills.
- Severe dizziness or passing out.
- A fast heartbeat.
- Change in eyesight.
- Low blood sugar can happen. The chance may be raised when this drug is used with other drugs for diabetes. Signs may be dizziness, headache, feeling sleepy or weak, shaking, fast heartbeat, confusion, hunger, or sweating. Call your doctor right away if you have any of these signs. Follow what you have been told to do for low blood sugar. This may include taking glucose tablets, liquid glucose, or some fruit juices.
Severe and sometimes deadly pancreas problems (pancreatitis) have happened with this drug. Call your doctor right away if you have severe stomach pain, severe back pain, or severe upset stomach or throwing up.
For anyone using the drug for weight loss, they should speak with their doctor if they notice “new or worse behavior or mood changes like depression or thoughts of suicide.”
How Does Semaglutide Work?
Integral to blood sugar control, GLP-1 is a hormone released by the gut in response to food. It causes the pancreas to release insulin. A rising blood insulin level causes all the body tissues to start absorbing glucose (blood sugar) from the bloodstream, thereby lowering blood glucose levels. GLP-1 also prevents the release of glucagon, which is a hormone that raises blood sugar levels by stimulating liver cells to release glucose and helps people feel full for longer. These effects can also cause people to lose weight.
Modern studies on GLP-1 have shown that it has a role beyond glucose control. It modulates the immune system cells, including NK cells, in a way necessary for weight loss.
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, meaning that it mimics the effects of GLP-1 in the body. Given as weekly subcutaneous injections It is normally prescribed to manage blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. It also leads to a significant amount of weight loss in these patients.
Although semaglutide has been approved for blood sugar control in people with type II diabetes, under the brand name Ozempic, and for weight loss under the brand name Wegovy, it has not been approved for use as an immune booster and cancer preventative. Thus, it should not be prescribed for that purpose. Those taking it to control their diabetes or weight, however, can expect the additional benefit of improving their immunity. as per a recent study, and lowering their cancer risk, as a link between weight and cancer does exist.
Obesity & Cancer Risk
We’re delighted Rebel Wilson is continuing to stay in better shape, especially because obesity increases an individual’s risk of developing a range of dangerous health conditions, including several types of cancer. In addition to increasing the likelihood of developing certain cancers, obesity is associated with worse treatment outcomes.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Stephen Freedland of Cedars Sinai Medical Center said, “Some of the best data we have is that obesity increases the risk of not just getting prostate cancer, but actually dying from prostate cancer. Obese men are 35 percent more likely to die from prostate cancer.”
RELATED: The Link Between Obesity and Prostate Cancer
While obesity or a person’s high weight will not always cause them to develop cancer, other conditions associated obesity, like diabetes and heart disease, can lead to complications from cancer treatment if a person already has cancer. In addition, these conditions can sometimes prevent patients from receiving the recommended first-line therapies, as well as increase a patient’s risk of undergoing surgery.
Dr. Andrea Tufano-Sugarman of NYU Langone Health explained to SurvivorNet the benefits of losing weight.
“While all cancers cannot be prevented,” she said, “losing weight is a great way to reduce one’s risk.”
Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said that this is especially true for women; they lower their risk of developing breast cancer and endometrial cancer when they lose weight and keep it of.
How Can Diet Affect My Cancer Risk?
Even without losing weight, adopting a more nutritious diet can help.
“Food choices, independent of weight loss, may also help to reduce risk,” Dr. Tufano-Sugarman said.
“Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet (rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, fish and olive oil) is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. Whereas diets rich in red meat may be associated with an increased risk of colorectal and prostate cancer.”
Diet and Exercise Considerations for Cancer Survivors
Although Wilson has never battled cancer, we think its important to point out that it’s never a bad idea to try to lead a healthy lifestyle. But what should you know about maintaining good health and cancer risk? We’ve got you covered below.
Thinking about Diet
Healthy diet recommendations for cancer-related concerns can differ depending upon who you ask.
Studies have shown that diet can influence cancer prevention. Heavy alcohol consumption and obesity have been linked to a number of cancers, so it’s a good idea to exercise and maintain a diet that incorporates more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins while decreasing sodium and added sugar intake.
Sugar, specifically, has attracted a lot of attention for a possible role in cancer, but overwhelming medical evidence finds that sugar does not cause cancer. SurvivorNet has previously found that credible sources such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center all came to that same conclusion as well.
But there is still some debate on the subject. Dr. Brian Berman, director of the center for integrative medicine at the University of Maryland, believes sugar does, in fact, fuel cancer.
Below we have shared his views not because it is of equal scientific weight to the sources cited above, but rather because it is a view that does get a lot of attention and press.
Sugar, The Western Diet And Cancer Prevention
There’s also articles that often get published saying “this fruit” or “that vegetable” is the magical cure to cancer. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case.
Leading oncologists say it is always hard to use studies of a single food to make sweeping generalizations about their impact on health.
There is a variety of factors that can determine health risk and it is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to say that a single food such as mushrooms can have a direct impact on cancer risk. Many other factors such as overall diet, environmental risk, genetics and exercise play a role.
Dr. Ken Miller says a healthy diet and regular workout routine are important
Coping With Body Changes
People, including those diagnosed with cancer, should strive for a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a proper diet filled with fruits and vegetables and exercising – even minimally – can benefit overall health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “Being overweight or having obesity are linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer.”
Body weight that exceeds what the body mass index (BMI) deems appropriate for your weight and height can help determine body fat content. Although your BMI can help you learn if you are at a healthy weight, underweight, overweight, or obese, other factors may contribute to your overall health.
WATCH: Coping with body image.
Being Optimistic & Coping With Mental Health Long Term
It’s also important to take cate of your mental health while you are going through a health challenge, like a cancer diagnosis, or even just trying to lose weight, is certainly a process.
People may turn to many different avenues to help them cope, such as traditional therapy, support groups, meditation, and sometimes medical intervention such as antidepressants.
When faced with a new challenge, it’s important to make sure that these coping mechanisms you have to care for your mental health continue to work throughout the process.
“I think flexibility is really a core of how to manage it,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, previously told SurvivorNet. “Are your coping strategies that you’re using now, are they helpful in the way that they were in the past?”
Dr. Boardman encourages people who may be struggling with their mental well-being to take stock of their belief system and ask themselves the following questions:
- Could these beliefs be harming me (like feelings of self-doubt or negativity)?
- Is my mindset holding me back from positive steps forward?
Dr. Boardman suggests working to recognize any negative thoughts that may be making the process of cancer treatment more difficult, and trying to dismantle those to be more “realistically optimistic.”
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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