I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal that claimed “To Pay for Weight Loss Drugs, Some Take Second Jobs, Ring Up Credit-Card Debts”. Each month Tina Marie Porter pays about $1,000 out of pocket for Mounjaro. To make up for the extra monthly expense, the 49-year-old director of operations takes on more assignments and seeks odd jobs. Porter belongs to a growing population of people taking extra measures to cover the full or almost-full price of popular drugs used for weight loss, after their insurance denied them coverage.
“It is life changing,” said Porter, of Kansas City, Mo. “But I shouldn’t have to pay because my insurance won’t cover it. It is making me healthier. It makes no sense.” Across the country, some consumers are paying $10,000 a year or more to get popular drugs from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk. Patients report taking on second jobs, racking up credit cards and cutting back on travel or family expenses to afford Lilly’s Mounjaro, a diabetes drug being used off-label for weight loss. They are also self paying for off-label use of Novo’s diabetes drug, Ozempic, and sister drug Wegovy, which is approved for weight loss.
The willingness of consumers to pay thousands of dollars of their own money underscores the public’s appetite for more effective weight-loss medications, especially for people who have long struggled with obesity. The injectable medications can result in patients losing roughly more than 15% of their body weight. You can read the entire article here at https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/ozempic-mounjaro-weight-loss-drug-cost-32fc3555.
Perhaps I should not be surprised to read that there are people out there working second jobs and running up credit card debts to pay for weight loss medications. I think everyone wants to be healthy or should want to be healthy, but is working two jobs and incurring additional financial stress with credit card debt the best way to deal with your health issues? It seems to me that all you’re doing is kicking the can down the road. Working two jobs can be stressful enough and when you combine it with the financial stress of mounting credit card debt, you are adding fuel to the fire.
Drugs that are used for weight loss such as Ozempic and Wegovy are known to have some serious side effects, such as:
- Abdominal Pain
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Risk of pancreatitis
These drugs are injectable and once you start taking them, you are expected to stay on them for the rest of your life. If you don’t, the weight will return with a vengeance. In other words, you become a virtual slave to the drugs.
I believe there is a better way to combat obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, and that is with food and exercise. It was Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine who stated “let food be your medicine and medicine your food.” Hippocrates knew that the purpose of food is to heal the body, but you must eat “real” food, not processed foods. Real food such as fruits and vegetables provide energy and speak to every cell in your body.
Hippocrates also knew that the body heals itself while in a fasted state, so you must allow time for your body to digest your food. The old motto of eating 5 or 6 meals a day does not apply here. Also, don’t believe the hype that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” because it isn’t. Allow your body more time in between your meals to digest the food, don’t eat 3 to 4 hours before going to bed. You will wake up feeling lighter and rejuvenated.
In addition, you must start an exercise program. This could be something as simple as walking 30 minutes every day or lifting weights 2 days per week and walking 5 days per week. Our bodies were meant to move. It is estimated that 42% of adults are obese and that number is rising each and every day. You don’t need weight loss drugs to help you to lose weight. You can lose weight naturally just by eating better and moving your body. It’s cheaper and more effective with no side effects.
Lastly, to be healthy takes more than just eating healthy and exercising, you should also breathe properly. I recently interviewed Becca Rose, the owner of Myofunctional Pathways, LLC, and we discussed the importance of nasal breathing. Most of us are mouth breathers, which can cause issues such as ADHD, Asthma and High Blood Pressure. Once you start breathing properly, you will notice an improvement in your health. You can watch this episode here at https://youtu.be/sH_UkNc4QSk?si=4Br-rnJeqJulpZw9.
I will be announcing our next virtual Six Weeks to Family Fitness program very soon. The program will start in early January. I hope you will join us.
To Your Health,
Vincent Ferguson
President
Body Sculpt of New York, Inc.,
Six Weeks to Fitness
Email: vince@sixweeks.com
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