Back in mid-November, I put up a post about Ozempic and other similar drugs that people have been taking for weight loss. It was an 'Ozempic for dummies" type of post (which I, myself, needed). I did some research to provide the basics of what these drugs are and how they work. No one has posted a correction to what I wrote, so I'm assuming that I didn't make any factual errors.
The most astonishing thing about that post is that it now has over 3,000 views. Most of my 50 or so other posts out there have averaged probably between 100 to 200 views each. My husband and I were fascinated by how many views this post garnered. I even contacted support to ask why this post had so many views. Based on their response, I'm assuming someone shared the link to it, and other people outside the Publish0X community decided to give it a looky-loo. In case you haven't seen that post, here is a link to it:
Is it Worth a Shot in the Dark for the 42%?
The only explanation that makes sense is that these drugs are a hot topic.
In that previous post, I promised a follow-up post discussing foods we could eat that would mimic the effects of this weight loss drug. This is that post.
The magical ingredient in these drugs is something called semaglutide. This substance mimics the hormone GLP-1 which does these two important things (and probably more that I'm unaware of). GLP-1 stimulates the release of insulin and sends a signal to your brain telling it you are no longer hungry. Semaglutide has one important difference from GLP-1. While GLP-1 lasts only a few minutes, semaglutide lasts for days, suppressing hunger, therefore helping people to eat less because they are not hungry.
Please be aware I'm not a doctor, scientist or someone who has studied anatomy. Do not consider anything I write as medical advice. If you are a medical professional and see that I misstated something, please comment below and I will correct it.
We now know that there are certain foods that will trigger the release of this hormone and brain signal response. The secretion of GLP-1 can be caused by the consumption of several macronutrients, including amino acids, peptides, and short chain fatty acids.
Some foods that contain fiber can trigger our body to mimic semaglutide. Eating fiber triggers the release of GLP-1 and peptide YY, another substance our body produces that is involved in digestion and controlling hunger. Fiber is digested more slowly than other foods, first in the small intestine, allowing this insulin response to be triggered and last longer due to the length of time the food takes to be digested in both the small and large intestines.
However, not all food containing fiber has this impact. Based on what I've read, foods with beta-glucan, a fermentable fiber, is the best type of fiber for mimicking semaglutide. Beta-glucan can be found in oats, barley and rye. There are other fermentable fibers without beta-glucan but they may be less effective or not effective at mimicking semaglutide.
I guess I'm going to stop teasing my sister about her passion for homemade rye bread toast at the diner near camp... yeah it was a thing....
Be very wary of processed foods that profess that they contain fiber. They probably do, but it may not be the type of fiber that will actually help your body to create the response to make you feel full and satisfied.
Other fermentable fibers include dextrin, found in wheat, the fermentable fiber found in beans, peas and lentils and the pectin found in apples, pears and GREEN bananas.
So, oatmeal is not as evil as the carb police thinks it is. Neither are bananas, if they are green.
Amino acids can be found in lean protein, mushrooms, quinoa and cottage cheese. Peptides are found in meat, fish, beans and lentils, soy and oats. This explains why we are told if you eat more protein, it will fill you up and make you feel more satisfied.
Foods with short chain fatty acids include whole (unground) grains such as oats, barley and quinoa, starchy foods including pasta, peas, potatoes and lentils, and high fiber fruits and vegetables including bananas, berries and apples, artichokes, asparagus, leeks, onions, and carrots.
There are also some supplements that are also suggested to mimic semaglutide. I'm not going to discuss those because I don't feel confident enough to find trustworthy research and the supplement industry is not regulated here in the US.
There is research that suggests that obesity can negatively impact the GLP-1 hormone and YY peptide response in the body, which only makes the obesity problem worse, because the person doesn't achieve that feeling of satiety.
I believe one of the main reasons I became obese and stayed that way for 20 plus years is due to the fact that I never felt satiated or full after I ate. I believe that at some point, my brain stopped getting the message I was full, so I kept eating bigger and bigger plates of food in order to feel full. I didn't crave a specific taste or food. I craved 'fullness,' which is why the logical response to my body's failure to give me GLP-1 response was to keep upping my portion sizes. I believe this is the biological 'why' of what happened to me.
I started writing this post before my husband and I went out for our weekly Thursday night date. This topic was on my mind at dinner, and I was also talking to my husband about it as well. At dinner, I really noticed that I indeed felt full and embraced the fact that I didn't need to eat any more after a certain point. It was not some elusive concept; it was a physiological response that sent a message to my brain. I was able to really know for sure that my body and brain are now giving me the correct response when I eat.
How did I finally get my body to finally do this? I believe it is my diet.
On February 20, 2023, I decided I was going to try and lose weight. I started this calorie deficit diet I yammer on about, and I ate things that I was told would fill me up (i.e. trigger the correct hormone response). And I kept doing it, and I'm still doing it.
I eat eggs every day. I eat chicken breast, pork tenderloin, ground turkey and maybe a sirloin steak three times a month. I don't eat pasta, and when I have a potato, it is baked or boiled, and no bigger than five or six ounces. I eat vegetables with two meals a day, and sometimes three if I throw vegetables in with my fake omelet. I don't use butter unless I'm cheating on my diet. I do not eat foods fried in oil, and I use a cooking oil spray for cooking oil instead of pouring oil from a bottle. I use salad dressing, but meticulously measure a low-calorie balsamic dressing. For snacking it is Greek yogurt with raspberries or blueberries, or I eat a green apple. All the foods that I have been eating on this diet are foods that have been shown to trigger the correct insulin response from my body. That is why what I do works for me. I found a way to feel full again.
If you think your body is not giving you the signal that you are full and have eaten enough, then you might be facing the same issue I was. It might be time to change what you eat.
Taking stock of day 11:
Stayed under my daily calorie allowance.
Did not exercise (but did yard work)
(photo courtesy of Polina Tankilevitch)
