As with any drug that promises to provide some kind of relief, some users will develop a tolerance to its use on a physical or behavioral level (including those who will be willing to "suffer" to achieve the desired result), while many will report relief, improvement, or "life-changing" results.
On the other hand, a certain segment of the population will not be able to overcome the side effects of the medicine, and I am one who knows.
I experimented with using Ozpic for a short period of time, but decided to stop as soon as the unwanted reactions I experienced began to interfere with a benevolent and pleasant daily conduct for me.
Or in other words, I realized it wasn't worth it to me.
But the subject continued to occupy me, and I thought it was time to put all matters and approaches on the table.
I will clarify here and now, there is nothing in the article to justify or encourage the use of Ozampic injections for weight loss, but rather to examine the phenomenon (which is probably not going to disappear from our lives so quickly) - in the light of fashion, adopting trends and different perspectives - whether it is in the gender aspect or body image, In the approaches of therapists and yes, also from my personal experience.
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Ozmpic and fashion - what's the connection?
As a plus or mid-size woman and model (depending on when you ask), who has dealt with eating disorders somewhere on the scale for most of her adult years, I found myself chasing the potential "gold" in the controversial shot.
It was a completely conscious choice.
The thought that anyone who believes in and supports a positive body image in any measure, and even works to present it in the fashion industry and networks, has no personality with herself or will never want/try to lose weight?
- is a rather simplistic and inclusive thought, even naive.
We are all complex beings, and some of us can certainly have seemingly contradictory beliefs or decisions at the same time.
And sometimes it will emerge precisely during a period of great emotional distress, as in my case.
"Our society tends to rely on a false consciousness regarding models and perceive them as confident women who fly over themselves. Often the opposite is true, even in the case of models who are not clean," explains Lori Stern, activist in the field of body image, master's degree student in gender, content creator, model , writes and lectures.
The plus size model Ashley Graham and the weight loss
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וזה כולל דוגמניות פלאס סייז בינלאומיות ומפורסמות אשר חרטו על דיגלן את אג'נדת הגיוון והיוו השראה ענקית לכל כך הרבה נשים. איך זה מתיישב לדעתך?
"בחוויה האישית שלי יש משהו בעבודה עם הגוף שהופך להיות מוצר שיוצר איזשהו ניכור בינך לבינו. פתאום זה לא כל כך חשוב איך אני מרגישה ומה נעים לי, יותר ויותר העיסוק מתמקד באיך אני נראית. כי שוב, המוצר חייב להיות מושלם כל הזמן, אחרת לא תעבדי, ויותר מזה אולי גם לא תהיי יותר דוגמנית שזה סטטוס נחשק במידה רבה. גם דוגמניות "פלאס" מצופות להיות גבוהות, חטובות, אסופות, עם פרופורציות מושלמות, עם עור פנים נקי ומבנה גוף של שעון חול. ווג הציגו בשנה שעברה דוח נתונים מדאיגים המצביעים על המגמה של השימוש היורד בדוגמניות "פלאס", אני מניחה שגם דוגמניות כאלו מרגישות את הלחץ של "הטרנד" ואולי נדחקות להתאים את עצמן למגמה האולטרה כחושה".
בכל הנוגע ספציפית ל'תופעת האוזמפיק', שטרן אומרת כי ברמה הציבורית התופעה חיזקה מעמדו של רזון כאידיאל אסתטי. "מעבר להשלכות הבריאותיות המיידיות בקרב המשתמשת שעלולות לייצר נזק ותלות בלתי הפיכה, כדוגמת שרון אוסבורן שהעידה כי בעקבות השימוש היא לא מסוגלת להעלות אפילו גרם, עד כדי שהיא מרגישה אומללות וחרטה. ילדות, נערות ונשים נחשפות לייצוגים שדופים של דמויות שהכירו כל חייהן - אופרה ווינפרי, קלי קלרקסון, כריסטינה אגילרה ואחרות, שבחלקן היו ידועות בקימוריהן וגזרתן. כשהן מתוודעות לדימוים הללו, הן יוצאות מנקודת הנחה שהן פשוט ירדו במשקל ולא לוקחות בחשבון את המחיר הפיזי, הנפשי והכלכלי שכרוך בתהליך כזה. אוזמפיק פותחה בתור תרופה למצב מסכן חיים, ולמרות זאת הוליווד כמו שהוליווד יודעת ניכסה את המשאב היקר רק כדי להגדיל את הפער בין חיי העושר והפרסום, אשר מסומנים כראויים, מבוקשים ומתהדרים ברזון כסמל סטטוס (כל זה בשעה שהיה מחסור של התרופה בשוק כן?). בעוד שהשגרתי, האמיתי וה"נורמלי" מקודדים חברתית כמשהו פשוט, נחות, ממוצע ואף שמן", מוסיפה שטרן.
גם לקנדיס האפין הוצע אוזמפיק בקלות בביקור רופא שגרתי
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So what really about the gender side of it?
Naomi Wolf wrote almost 30 years ago in the "Beauty Myth", that the more successful the feminist movement was and the more rights and freedoms women gained in culture, the narrower the image of beauty became, in practice. The ideal of beauty functions as a tool of oppression for women, and thinness is As a standard, it is an expression of the restrictions and brakes that a patriarchal culture puts on women so that they will never feel satisfied and fulfilled, equal and human. We all know this woman who wakes up in the morning, her life is amazing, her job is fulfilling, she has a family and an environment and a loving and supportive relationship, on the face of it her life is honey. But if you ask her how she feels about her body? She will probably answer that she would prefer to lose about five kilos."
To my question about how Ozmpic is perceived in the community of plastic and body positivity in Israel, Stern replies - "I really do not represent or chair the committee of the community in Israel, so I have no idea."
In addition, she says that the question is complex for several reasons, and in her head is "Am I the keeper of my fat sister?", according to her.
"It seems to me that the use of such a drug, in a non-life-threatening situation and only to lose weight, somewhat violates the goal of the movement for a positive body image, which is to accept the body as it is," she maintains, "and it is important for me to say - losing weight is permitted and even in some cases desirable. The purpose of the body image movement is love and self-acceptance. For some women this will mean weight gain and for others weight loss, and that's perfectly fine, certainly when it comes to an honest and pure desire to be healthier physically and mentally."
"The whole purpose of the body image movement is love and self-acceptance."
Lori Stern/Liath Stolero
The therapists entered the chat
It seems that people have already forgotten, or don't know, that there were many good years when weight loss drugs were used, such as "Xenical" (Xenical, active ingredient Orlistat) or "Razin" (Razin, active ingredient Phentermine).
While the first acts on the digestive system by blocking the absorption of 30% of the fats in the meal which are then eliminated from the body without being digested, the second (which has been marketed for decades) targets the nervous system directly and acts to suppress appetite, by activating the sympathetic system and the body's energy waste.
All the "good" that these drugs offer - and only with a doctor's prescription, of course - comes with possible side effects that are quite severe: from damage to the digestive system, fat stains in the underwear, an urgent need to pass stool to possible damage to the liver in Ksenical, or in the case of Rasin - an increase in blood pressure and heart rate , insomnia and even rare risks of developing primary pulmonary hypertension or valvular heart disease.
It's just that I don't remember either of the two evoking so much fierce opposition as is happening with the Ozpic.
Is it because in the decade when these drugs "starred" there were no social networks yet?
- Maybe.
Or is it because of the rather quick and "effortless" results that the shot allows + that more and more high profile women in the fashion/entertainment industry are admitting (or coming out of the closet) to using it?
- Certainly and certainly.
Moreover, the fact that the main purpose of this drug originally belongs to a very specific segment of the population that really needs it - diabetics - only complicates the whole story.
Have you tried it or not?
Chloe Kardashian
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Ozampic (generic name semaglutide) is an injectable drug used to treat type 2 diabetes and is also given under special approval for weight loss.
It works in the mechanism of suppressing the appetite and increasing the feeling of satiety after meals, and studies have proven that it can help reduce about 20% of body weight in about a year.
The injections are marketed in three doses, according to the doctor's determination: 0.25 milligrams, 0.5 milligrams and 1 milligram.
While the American FDA approved a higher dose for the treatment of overweight and obesity, which is 2.4 mg (which can explain the very drastic and rapid changes we see in celebrities).
Dr. Raz HaGoel, director of the Medical Center for the Treatment of Obesity, is a physician An expert who has been practicing medicine for over 15 years, specializes in providing medical, nutritional and emotional treatment for obesity, and most relevant to our case - he has personal experience with Ozmpic.
According to him, he struggled in the past with excess weight, and as a doctor who specializes in the treatment of obesity and after trying quite a few diets and weight loss methods, he managed to shed more than 45 kg using the treatment method in his clinic that combines, of course, the use of the injection in question. "Obesity is a disease" declares a subtitle in the item Written in collaboration with Dr. Raz and published in the Walla!
Health: "While we fight excess weight with many methods, from strict diets to bariatric surgery if necessary, in 2013 an official breakthrough in the matter was achieved, when the American Medical Association stated at a conference held in Chicago that obesity is a disease that must be treated medically. The treatment of obesity is critical , since obesity is the fifth cause of death in the world and one of the leading causes of chronic morbidity and related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer and more."
Dr. Raz is known as the one who provides a comprehensive support system accompanied by a professional team, who also gives space to the emotional aspect of his patients. But I wanted to understand more deeply the cognitive and behavioral aspects that accompany the use of Ozpik (and more than once even after stopping).
"Ozmpic has become normative, another tool in the toolbox, and it is a difficult medicine."
Shahar Kochavi/PR
"They call the injections to treat diabetes/weight loss and treat morbid obesity "miracle" and "magic" and the good news for the "obesity epidemic". Patients who receive the treatment - without receiving the preparation, guidance and the essential nutritional and emotional envelope", so Shahar Kochavi wrote in a post on his Instagram account analyzing the phenomenon from his professional point of view, and it caught my eye.
Kochavi is a psychotherapist, instructor and clinical dietitian, director of a clinic for nutrition and cognitive-behavioral therapy (a multi-professional institute for the treatment of body image and eating disorders).
His clinic opened in 2015 but not in the same format.
"During my studies I worked as a fitness trainer, and at that time it was mainly with young women," he says, "there for the first time I was exposed to this idea of body image and diet culture, and how much this thing would engage those I would meet on a regular basis. Within the degree Mine is in nutrition, I realized that this field is more and more interesting and occupies me, and over time I realized that this is the niche."
Regarding his training, what turned on the light for Kochavi was the dissonance he saw at the time (about a decade ago and at the beginning of the Instagram era): "Those young women devote so much time, energy, resources and money to invest and nurture themselves, look good, get stronger, and their improvement Be objective. I don't know if they lost weight, but they certainly changed their body composition (which is part of the benefits of physical activity, you shouldn't ignore it). They got stronger, developed muscle mass, their physical abilities improved, but it didn't match - They were still very frustrated, they would still go into the studio and be upset about their bodies or how they ate yesterday. Sometimes they would even have a hard time looking at themselves, not talking to themselves nicely. That is, sometimes there was a benevolent objective change towards the ideal of beauty, and it still didn't converge that much ".
Today Kochvi's work is focused as mentioned on treating body image and eating disorders.
The patients in his clinic include teenagers, men and women.
"The frequency of dealing with it, and also probably of seeking treatment, is among young adults or so-called young adults (age 35 and under)" he continues and clarifies, "this does not mean that others do not deal with it, and we have patients over the age of 35 as well, but there is some kind of critical mass Younger, where the preoccupation with appearance and body image is also much higher. And one of the ways to explain this is that at those ages there is a tendency to rely more than self-worth on body image."
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To the full article
Did you manage to treat women who used Ozpic?
"Of course it worked out for me, for us, at the institute. I treat the use of Ozmpic like any behavior that may not be beneficial, certainly if it is done without a prescription. When we receive a classic request on the website, something along the lines of 'I need help, I've already tried everything. Pills, injections, bariatric surgery , all the types of diets, all the professionals, and I'm at a loss' - this is actually another example of how the drug treatment is sometimes another part of the trauma story in the relationship with eating and with the body. Ozmpic has become normative, another tool in the toolbox, and it is a difficult medicine. Certainly, It is effective when used correctly for some people who are dealing with obesity, but it is a very serious drug, with side effects, with a multi-systemic effect on the body. I am not at all against the injection, but I say there is a way. The drug treatment should come with an orderly reason Enough, therapeutically and physiologically, when we are also supposed to understand what it is based on in terms of the patient's life. What did his previous struggles look like in trying to change habits or lose weight. Were they exhausting, or not? Were there really harmful eating behaviors involved?"
Kochavi also answers in the affirmative to my question if he had or sometimes has clients from the local fashion industry.
A. Women are sometimes willing to suffer (a little or a lot) in order to lose weight, been there done that.
I asked Kochavi to shed light on this, and this is how he explains: "First of all, the explanation is more cultural-social, and certainly it affects our emotional and behavioral. In Western society, mainly, we are born into a society that has sanctified thinness for many, many years, it excludes a lot times the fat person and there is a weight stigma. We command the value of how much I am worth to how I look, and this press of pressure works in all directions. We see it in women's magazines since a century ago, through content on television, and to social networks of course. All this stuff , because it is embedded in each and every one of us, so it also goes through some kind of intergenerational chain of transmission. And when it comes to the cognitive side, we tend to seek to reduce difficulty and increase pleasure. This is the evolutionary way in which we are programmed. Now if someone has faith (and faith is cognition ) Her life would be better if she were thin, that her value would increase, or that she would be loved more - and indeed in the short term it happens - so she is already convinced of this as if it were the real truth."
"I'm done with the shaming" - Oprah Winfrey and the new look
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Epilogue.
Or, the beginning of a new (honest) way?
כולם מדברים על אוזמפיק. אבל לא כולם מספרים שהם נוטלים אותה, או על תופעות הלוואי שבצידה. לכן, טוב שיש ידועניות שפרצו את מחסום הבושה ומתחילות לדבר על כך בגילוי לב. כשאיימי שומר התארחה בתוכנית "צפו במה שקורה בשידור חי" עם אנדי כהן, היא התבדחה (או שלא?) כשאמרה - "כולם אוהבים מידות קטנות יותר, אז תשתקו לעזאזל. אתם על אוזמפיק או אחד מהדברים האלה", ואז הוסיפה "פשוט תפסיקו, פשוט תהיו אמיתיים עם אנשים".
יש גם את אופרה ווינפרי, שיצאה לאחרונה מהארון (או מארונית התרופות אם תרצו). ווינפרי, שבמשך עשרות שנים הייתה דמות דומיננטית בשיחות על הטיית משקל ודיאטה, התראיינה בחודש דצמבר החולף למגזין "פיפל", שם התוודתה בשימוש בזריקה ואף הכריזה "סיימתי עם השיימינג". אך בכל הנוגע אלינו, בישראל, הנושא עדין בגדר טאבו - סוד שמור בתעשייה, וגם ברחוב. "לא נראה לי שאף ישראלית הייתה מודה בדבר כזה", שטרן אומרת, ואכן לא הצלחתי לאתר פרסונה ישראלית מפורסמת/עם כוח השפעה שמדברת בגלוי על שימוש באוזמפיק ואולי הייתה מוכנה להתראיין לכתבה. "בארץ כולן מאוד מתחמקות מהנושא ולא מעיזות כמעט לדבר על התערבויות חיצוניות בגופן למעט אולי 'קצת הזרקות', למרות שבפועל כולן עמוק בזה. חבל שאין מספיק כנות בנושא, אני חושבת שדמויות מפורסמות לא מבינות את האחריות שיש להן על הכתפיים - הנערה הצעירה שרואה את התמונות האלה הולכת לישון בדמעות מתוך המחשבה שהיא לא נראית ככה, היא תרעיב את עצמה, תיקרע במכון, תבזבז כסף על הליכים קוסמטיים ומה לא. בשעה שהידוענית בעצמה אפילו לא באמת נראית כך".
אולי באמת הגיע הזמן ששנהג יותר באחריות ובפתיחות, הנה אני כבר התחלתי על אף שלא היה קל לי להיחשף. נשים שנמצאות בפרונט, בין אם זה בתקשורת, באופנה, ברשתות החברתיות או בקהילות המובילות, מוטלת עליהן ( או לפחות מומלץ) שינהגו בשקיפות, כל אחת כמובן לפי אמות המידה שלה והגבולות אשר הציבה לעצמה. למילים ולמראה שלנו יש השפעה, הרי לשם כך, בין היתר, התכנסנו.
- עוד באותו נושא:
- אוזמפיק
- הרזיה
- השמנה