Let’s Talk About It: The Rising Popularity of GLP-1 Drugs
It seems impossible to ignore the presence of GLP-1 medications, you might have heard them being called Ozempic or Wegovy. Diet culture seems to have evolved from a focus on willpower to injections that can give you the “body of your dreams.”
It can be especially difficult to see celebrities who were previously promoting body positivity and self-love admit to taking weight loss injections. It can feel like a betrayal. And some, like influencers on social media, aren’t being transparent about their use of the drug but continue to say only diet and exercise are responsible for their results.
Plus, all these headlines, photos, and videos can make you hyper-aware of your own body as we’re encouraged to compare ourselves to others. You might find your emotional eating—reminder, that can include restricting too—ramps up the more you’re faced with this kind of content. It can be a constant reminder that weight loss is celebrated and only one body type is “acceptable.”
Here are some loving reminders as you work through this current reality:
Two things can be true: it can be disappointing for your favorite celebrity to be on a GLP-1 but at the end of the day they are an individual who has body autonomy—just like you. No matter if it is a GLP-1, bariatric surgery, or a specific diet, everyone can make the choice for what is best for their current situation (without needing to explain it or justify it to others).
On that note, you have the power to unfollow any person in your feed who makes you feel bad about yourself. And that’s not just weight related! Those parenting accounts with a perfectly clean house and disciplined kids, the fashionista who spends thousands of dollars on clothes, the entrepreneur who preaches about hustle culture, you can mute or unfollow. You can even go a step further and curate your feed to specifically be a mood boost (we hope you give us a follow for inspirational and thoughtful content!).
At the end of the day, GLP-1 injections are just the latest in a long history of diet culture that places pressure on women to look a specific way, so it is incredibly normal to want to exist in a smaller body. For just one example, we know there is weight bias in medical care.
Among all this noise about weight loss, don’t forget that your body moves you, carries you, pumps blood for you, digests for you, and more all without asking. That is always something worth celebrating!
💛 Your peace awaits.
