Jump to: Best weight loss injections in 2023 | Should you use weight-loss injections? | Not a magic pill
Currently, the best available weight-loss injection in the U.S. is tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro).
Other available options include semaglutide (brand names Ozempic and Wegovy), liraglutide (brand name Saxenda) and dulaglutide (brand name Trulicity), but they’re less effective than tirzepatide.
High-quality randomised controlled trials have shown that tirzepatide can lead to a significant weight loss of more than 20% after one year and is more than twice as effective as other GLP-1 weight-loss injections.
Tirzepatide is a dual-action type 2 diabetes medication. Alongside its effects on GLP-1, it also mimics the actions of another hormone called GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide) that reduces blood sugar levels.
However, semaglutide has a similar impact on weight loss as tirzepatide and appears to have a better safety profile and leads to fewer adverse side effects.
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that helps reduce hunger and appetite, allowing you to eat fewer calories, lose weight, and manage your blood sugar levels.
If you’d like to read a more comprehensive guide comparing Mounjaro with Ozempic, click here.
Due to the shortage of semaglutide (Ozempic), we aren’t accepting new prescriptions for our medication-supported programme.
However, you can join our waiting list when our Wegovy-supported programme restarts by clicking here.
Should you use weight-loss injections?
Ideally, we’d be able to lose weight without medication through improved eating habits and a healthier lifestyle.
This is at the core of our mission: to eradicate type 2 diabetes and obesity. Second Nature has been working in the NHS in the UK since 2017, supporting individuals to lose weight and manage their type 2 diabetes.
Individuals on our programme lose an average of 7-10% of their body weight after 12 months, and we’ve been shown to be more than twice as effective as other weight-loss programmes in the UK.
However, many people have spent their entire lives struggling with weight, and their barriers to weight loss are multi-faceted and complex.
In these situations, extra support may be needed, which is why GLP-1 medications have been developed.
Much like antidepressants can provide individuals living with depression the ability to receive therapy to address the root causes of their condition, GLP-1 medications like semaglutide can provide a similar window of opportunity.
By reducing hunger and the desire to seek out food, individuals might feel a new sense of freedom to make healthier choices and address the underlying causes of their obesity.
Not a magic pill
The recent innovations in GLP-1 medications are pretty remarkable and have caused quite a stir in the world of healthcare.
We’re in new territory where obesity and type 2 diabetes medications treat an underlying cause instead of merely treating the symptoms to support better management.
However, these drugs shouldn’t be seen as miracle cures; they’re not designed to be used for life.
They’ve been designed to be taken alongside lifestyle changes that will enable you to eventually come off the medications and maintain your lower weight for the long term.
GLP-1s are safe and effective for most people in the short to medium term, but they’re not for everyone and shouldn’t be used as a fast track for success.
At Second Nature, we’re not against using medications to support people in making healthy changes and reducing their risk of chronic disease.
However, we don’t recommend using medications as a reason not to make healthy lifestyle changes. The causes of obesity and type 2 diabetes aren’t merely rooted in biology but also in psychology and sociology.
With these medications, you may lose weight and reduce blood sugar levels. But will you be happier? Will you be more fulfilled? Will you be content with your life and social relationships?
For that, you may need to consider a lifestyle change.
Due to the shortage of semaglutide (Ozempic) in the UK, we aren’t accepting new prescriptions for our medication-supported programme.
However, you can join our waiting list when our Wegovy-supported programme restarts by clicking here.
