10 Mistakes To Sabotage Your Ozempic Progress

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Ozempic has a good reputation for getting reliable results, but there are ways to mess it up:

It’s not just inject-and-go

We’ll not keep the 10 ways a secret; they are:

  1. Increasing the dose too quickly: avoid cranking doses up too high too quickly, to prevent severe nausea, appetite suppression, and muscle loss. It’s worth being aware that high doses without proper management can lead to metabolic health disasters.
  2. Pushing through side effects: severe nausea or vomiting means you probably have an unhelpfully high dose; consult your prescribing doctor—it’s easy to feel “more is better; I don’t want to have less!”, but there really is a sweet spot, and if you’re not in it, then adjustments are needed in order to find it.
  3. Eating nutritionally scant food: reducing the quantity of unhealthy food isn’t enough—please prioritize nutrient-rich foods instead. Remember, “it’s not the calories in your food; it’s the food in your calories”.
  4. Consuming fried food and refined carbs: their general metabolic woes aside, fried foods and ultra-refined carbs can exacerbate nausea and other side effects, so it really is best to skip them. The good news is that Ozempic will help overcome those cravings more easily.
  5. Neglecting muscle protection: especially women, especially middle-aged or older, are at higher risk of osteoporosis and should maintain muscle mass (strong muscles and strong bones go together, by necessity). So, eat protein and do resistance training!
  6. Assuming it’s a monotherapy: GLP-1 drugs work best as part of a holistic protocol, including proper nutrition, strength training, and hormone therapy if appropriate.
  7. Not addressing metabolic health first: GLP-1 drugs are less effective in people with poor baseline metabolic health, so there’s a bit of a catch-22 here, but it’s important to be aware of. Fortunately, Ozempic and adopting a healthy lifestyle will each make the other work better.
  8. Neglecting comprehensive treatment plans: in other words, going through the motions of a holistic protocol and then expecting Ozempic to do all the work.
  9. Upping doses to overcome plateaus: plateaus often signal other issues (e.g. lack of protein, no strength training), so do address these before increasing dosage.
  10. Lack of collaboration with doctors: the human body is complex, and what’s going on metabolically is complex too, so there’s a lot a layperson can easily miss. For that matter, there’s a lot that doctors can easily miss too, but more heads are better than one.

For more on all of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

5 Ways To Naturally Boost The Ozempic Effect

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  • Body Image Dissatisfaction/Appreciation Across The Ages

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    Every second news article about body image issues is talking about teens and social media use, but science tells a different story.

    A large (n=1,327) study of people of mixed genders aged 16–88 examined matters relating to people’s body image, expecting…

    ❝We hypothesized that body dissatisfaction and importance of appearance would be higher in women than in men, that body dissatisfaction would remain stable across age in women, and that importance of appearance would be lower in older women compared to younger women. Body appreciation was predicted to be higher in men than in women.❞

    As they discovered, only half of that turned out to be true:

    ❝In line with our hypotheses, body dissatisfaction was higher in women than in men and was unaffected by age in women, and importance of appearance was higher in women than in men.

    However, only in men did age predict a lower level of the importance of appearance. Compared to men, women stated that they would invest more hours of their lives to achieve their ideal appearance.

    Contrary to our assumption, body appreciation improved and was higher in women across all ages than in men.❞

    You can read the study in full here:

    Body Dissatisfaction, Importance of Appearance, and Body Appreciation in Men and Women Over the Lifespan

    That’s a lot of information, and we don’t have the space to go into all parts of it here, fascinating as that would be. So we’re going to put two pieces of information (from the above) next to each other:

    • body dissatisfaction was higher in women than in men and was unaffected by age in women
    • body appreciation improved and was higher in women across all ages than in men

    …and resolve this apparent paradox.

    Dissatisfied appreciation

    How is it that women are both more dissatisfied with, and yet also more appreciative of, their bodies?

    The answer is that we can have positive and negative feelings about the same thing, without them cancelling each other out. In short, simply, feeling more feelings about it.

    Whether the gender-related disparity in this case comes more from hormones or society could be vigorously debated, but chances are, it’s both. And, for our gentleman-readers, note that the principle still applies to you, even if scaled down on average.

    Call to action:

    • be aware of the negative feelings of body dissatisfaction
    • focus on the positive feelings of body appreciation

    While in theory both could motivate us to action, in reality, the former will tend to inform us (about what we might wish to change), while the latter will actually motivate us in a useful way (to do something positive about it).

    This is because the negative feelings about body image tend to be largely based in shame, and shame is a useless motivator (i.e., it simply doesn’t work) when it comes to taking positive actions:

    Why Shame Only Works Negatively

    You can’t hate yourself into a body you love

    That may sound like a wishy-washy platitude, but given the evidence on how shame works (and doesn’t), it’s true.

    Instead, once you’ve identified the things about your body with which you’re dissatisfied, you can then assess:

    • what can reasonably be changed
    • whether it is important enough to you to change it
    • how to go about usefully changing it

    While weight issues are perhaps the most commonly-discussed body image consideration, to the point that often all others get forgotten, let’s look at something that’s generally more specific to adults, and also a very common cause of distress for women and men alike: hair loss/thinning.

    If your hair is just starting to thin and fall, then if this bothers you, there’s a lot that can be done about it quite easily, but (and this is important) you have to love yourself enough to actually do it. Merely feeling miserable about it, and perhaps like you don’t deserve better, or that it is somehow a personal failing on your part, will not help.

    If your hair has been gone for years, then chances are you’ve made your peace with this by now, and might not even take it back if a fairy godmother came along and offered to restore it magically. On the other hand, let’s say that you’re just coming out the other end of a 10-year-long depression, and perhaps you let a lot of things go that you now wish you hadn’t, and maybe your hair is one of them. In this case, now you need to decide whether getting implants (likely the only solution at this late stage) is worth it.

    Note that in both cases, whatever the starting point and whether the path ahead is easy or hard, the person who has dissatisfaction and/but still values themself and their body will get what they need.

    In contrast, the person who has dissatisfaction and does not value themself and their body, will languish.

    The person without dissatisfaction, of course, probably already has what they need.

    In short: identification of dissatisfaction + love and appreciation of oneself and one’s body → motivation to usefully take action (out of love, not hate)

    Now, dear reader, apply the same thinking to whatever body image issues you may have, and take it from there!

    Embodiment

    A quick note in closing: if you are a person with no body dissatisfactions, there are two main possible reasons:

    • You are genuinely happy with your body in all respects. Congratulations!
    • You have disassociated from your body to such an extent that it’s become a mere vehicle to you and you don’t care about it.

    This latter may seem like a Zen-level win, but in fact it’s a warning sign for depression, so please do examine that even if you don’t “feel” depressed (depression is often characterized by a lack of feelings), perhaps by taking the (very quick) free PHQ9 Test ← under 2 minutes; immediate results; industry-standard diagnostic tool

    Take care!

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  • Best Workouts for Women Over 40 To Give Your Metabolism A Makeover

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    After 40, the usual course of events goes: your lean muscle mass decreases, which slows your metabolism and makes it easier to gain fat. At the same time, bone density decreases, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and frailty. This leads to lower mobility, flexibility, and overall frustration.

    But it doesn’t have to be that way! Fitness coach Jessica Cooke explains how:

    It all depends on this

    Strength training helps counteract these effects by increasing lean muscle mass, which boosts metabolism and fat burning. It also improves bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Plus, it builds strength, fitness, and a toned physique.

    The best part? It doesn’t require long workouts—short, effective sessions work best.

    While walking is very beneficial for general health, it doesn’t provide the resistance needed to build muscle. Without resistance, your body composition won’t change, and so your metabolism will remain the same. Strength training is essential for burning fat at rest and improving overall fitness.

    You don’t have to do high-impact exercises or jumping to see results. Low-impact strength training is effective and gentle on the joints. Lifting weights or using your body weight in a controlled manner will help build muscle and improve strength.

    Many women only do cardio and neglect strength training, leading to minimal progress. Another common mistake is overcomplicating workouts—simple, consistent strength training is all you need.

    Aim to strength train three times per week for 20 minutes. Focus on compound movements that work multiple muscle groups, such as:

    • squats
    • lunges
    • deadlifts
    • press-ups
    • shoulder presses
    • upright rows
    • planks
    • glute bridges
    • sit-ups
    • Russian twists

    Start with light (e.g. 2-3 kg) weights and maintain proper form.

    For more on all of this, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

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    Don’t Let Menopause Run You Down: 4 Critical Things Female Runners Should Know

    Take care!

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  • Does intermittent fasting increase or decrease our risk of cancer?

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    Research over the years has suggested intermittent fasting has the potential to improve our health and reduce the likelihood of developing cancer.

    So what should we make of a new study in mice suggesting fasting increases the risk of cancer?

    Stock-Asso/Shutterstock

    What is intermittent fasting?

    Intermittent fasting means switching between times of eating and not eating. Unlike traditional diets that focus on what to eat, this approach focuses on when to eat.

    There are lots of commonly used intermittent fasting schedules. The 16/8 plan means you only eat within an eight-hour window, then fast for the remaining 16 hours. Another popular option is the 5:2 diet, where you eat normally for five days then restrict calories for two days.

    In Australia, poor diet contributes to 7% of all cases of disease, including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancers of the bowel and lung. Globally, poor diet is linked to 22% of deaths in adults over the age of 25.

    Intermittent fasting has gained a lot of attention in recent years for its potential health benefits. Fasting influences metabolism, which is how your body processes food and energy. It can affect how the body absorbs nutrients from food and burns energy from sugar and fat.

    What did the new study find?

    The new study, published in Nature, found when mice ate again after fasting, their gut stem cells, which help repair the intestine, became more active. The stem cells were better at regenerating compared with those of mice who were either totally fasting or eating normally.

    This suggests the body might be better at healing itself when eating after fasting.

    However, this could also have a downside. If there are genetic mutations present, the burst of stem cell-driven regeneration after eating again might make it easier for cancer to develop.

    Polyamines – small molecules important for cell growth – drive this regeneration after refeeding. These polyamines can be produced by the body, influenced by diet, or come from gut bacteria.

    The findings suggest that while fasting and refeeding can improve stem cell function and regeneration, there might be a tradeoff with an increased risk of cancer, especially if fasting and refeeding cycles are repeated over time.

    While this has been shown in mice, the link between intermittent fasting and cancer risk in humans is more complicated and not yet fully understood.

    What has other research found?

    Studies in animals have found intermittent fasting can help with weight loss, improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and subsequently reduce the risks of diabetes and heart disease.

    Research in humans suggests intermittent fasting can reduce body weight, improve metabolic health, reduce inflammation, and enhance cellular repair processes, which remove damaged cells that could potentially turn cancerous.

    However, other studies warn that the benefits of intermittent fasting are the same as what can be achieved through calorie restriction, and that there isn’t enough evidence to confirm it reduces cancer risk in humans.

    What about in people with cancer?

    In studies of people who have cancer, fasting has been reported to protect against the side effects of chemotherapy and improve the effectiveness of cancer treatments, while decreasing damage to healthy cells.

    Prolonged fasting in some patients who have cancer has been shown to be safe and may potentially be able to decrease tumour growth.

    On the other hand, some experts advise caution. Studies in mice show intermittent fasting could weaken the immune system and make the body less able to fight infection, potentially leading to worse health outcomes in people who are unwell. However, there is currently no evidence that fasting increases the risk of bacterial infections in humans.

    So is it OK to try intermittent fasting?

    The current view on intermittent fasting is that it can be beneficial, but experts agree more research is needed. Short-term benefits such as weight loss and better overall health are well supported. But we don’t fully understand the long-term effects, especially when it comes to cancer risk and other immune-related issues.

    Since there are many different methods of intermittent fasting and people react to them differently, it’s hard to give advice that works for everyone. And because most people who participated in the studies were overweight, or had diabetes or other health problems, we don’t know how the results apply to the broader population.

    For healthy people, intermittent fasting is generally considered safe. But it’s not suitable for everyone, particularly those with certain medical conditions, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and people with a history of eating disorders. So consult your health-care provider before starting any fasting program.

    Amali Cooray, PhD Candidate in Genetic Engineering and Cancer, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Entertaining Harissa Traybake

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    No, it’s not entertaining in the sense that it will tell you jokes or perhaps dance for you, but rather: it can be easily prepared in advance, kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, and reheated when needed as part of a spread when entertaining, leaving you more time to spend with your houseguests

    Aside from its convenience, it is of course nutritious and delicious:

    You will need

    • 14 oz cherry tomatoes
    • 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed)
    • 2 eggplants, cut into ¾” cubes
    • 1 red onion, roughly chopped
    • 1 bulb garlic
    • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 tbsp harissa paste
    • 1 tbsp ras el-hanout
    • 1 tsp MSG or 2 tsp low-sodium salt

    Method

    (we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)

    1) Preheat the oven to 400℉ / 200℃

    2) Mix the onion, eggplant, and garlic (whole cloves; just peel them and put them in) with the olive oil in a mixing bowl, ensuring everything is coated evenly.

    3) Add in 1 tbsp of the harissa paste, 1 tbsp of the ras-el hanout, and half of the MSG/salt, and again mix thoroughly to coat evenly.

    4) Bake in the oven, in a walled tray, for about 30 minutes, giving things a stir/jiggle halfway through to ensure they cook evenly.

    5) Add the cherry tomatoes to the tray, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

    6) Mix the chickpeas with the other 1 tbsp of the harissa paste, the other 1 tbsp of the ras-el hanout, and the other half of the MSG/salt, and add to the tray, returning it to the oven for a final 10 minutes.

    7) Serve hot, or set aside for later, refrigerating once cool enough to do so. When you do serve, we recommend serving with a yogurt, cucumber, and mint dip, and perhaps flatbreads (you can use our Healthy Homemade Flatbreads recipe):

    Enjoy!

    Want to learn more?

    For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:

    Take care!

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  • Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease – by Dr. Dean Ornish

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    We’ve previously reviewed Dr. Ornish’s “Undo It!” which is about reversing many kinds of chronic diseases (not all, alas, but quite a few) by undercutting their common etiologies, such as inflammation, insulin resistance, and so forth.

    This book is entirely consistent with that one, but the focus here is (as the title says) specifically on reversing heart disease.

    Of course, it does not require you to already have heart disease—if you do, well, getting onto this is better sooner than later. If you don’t, and are “merely” in a risk zone, or even just want to be proactive about your heart health, then this book will stand you in good stead.

    The book covers all the lifestyle things you’d expect it to (especially diet, but also exercise, and not just “quit smoking” but also how, things like that), and possibly some things you might not expect (chapters on more psychological factors that have a big impact on heart health).

    There are recipes (157 pages of them; they are plant-based and good) and there is a 21-day meal plan to get you going.

    The style is a little dated (written in the 90s), but the content doesn’t suffer for it, having been updated over the years in any case.

    Bottom line: if you want a holistic approach to taking care of your heart that’s not extreme and/but is very effective, then well, you’ve found it.

    Click here to check out Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease, and reverse heart disease!

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  • High-Protein Plant-Based Diet for Beginners – by Maya Howard with Ariel Warren

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Seasoned vegans (well-seasoned vegans?) will know that getting enough protein from a plant-based diet is really not the challenge that many think it is, but for those just embarking on cutting out the meat, it’s not useful to say “it’s easy!”; it’s useful to show how.

    That’s what this book does. And not just by saying “these foods” and leaving people to wonder if they need to eat a pound of tofu each day to get their protein in. Instead, recipes. Enough for a 4-week meal plan, and the idea is that after a month of eating that way, it won’t be nearly so mysterious.

    The recipes are very easy to execute, while still having plenty of flavor (which is what happens when one uses a lot of flavorsome main ingredients and then seasons them well too). The ingredients are not obscure, and you should be able to find everything easily in any medium-sized supermarket.

    As for the well-roundedness of the diet, we’ll mention that the “with Ariel Warren” in the by-line means that while the book was principally authored by Maya Howard (who is, at time of writing, a nutritionist-in-training), she had input throughout from Ariel Warren (a Registered Dietician Nutritionist) to ensure she didn’t go off-piste anyway and it gets the professional stamp of approval.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to cook plant based while still prioritizing protein and you’re not sure how to make that exciting and fun instead of a chore, then this book will show you how to please your taste buds and improve your body composition at the same time.

    Click here to check out High-Protein Plant-Based Diet for Beginners, and dig in!

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