I’m hopping on the Zepbound band wagon

I’m giving up constantly trying to drop 10-20 pounds on my own. Working with my cardiologist, I’ve started taking one of the new GLP-1 weight-loss drugs sweeping the country, Zepbound.

Recent research by the Gallup organization found that 11% of Americans are taking one of these GLP-1 drugs. That’s about one of every eight people.

These medications seem to be a classic American response to an intractable problem, obesity. The U.S. obesity rate peaked at 39.9% of all Americans in 2022. Gallup estimates it at 36.4% this year, a drop that’s likely tied to increasing use of these drugs.

Rather than eat less and exercise more, over-weight Americans are taking a pill (or a needle shot) to lose weight. We look for our health answers in pills don’t we?

I personally lost 15 pounds in 2025 because I had a series of illnesses, Covid and the flu among others, that kept me in bed and not eating for two months.

My weight went from 226 to 210 and I felt much better day-to-day.

But in what seemed like no time, I gained it back once I was on my feet. I peaked early this year at 223. That put me in the obese category with a body mass index of 30.2. Over 24.9 is overweight and over 30 is obese.

I simply do not have the willpower, as a retired man with time on my hands to eat whatever and whenever I want, to drop pounds anymore.

My cardiologist agreed that losing weight would help my heart, which is showing early signs of heart failure (although my different doctors disagree on how serious that is). And he found me a program to cut my cost to $50 a month, $600 a year, not the thousands I’d read it could cost,. So I’m joining the GLP-1 wave.

I’ll be writing about it, week-by-week here. The first four weeks, I’m on the lowest dose to see how my body adapts.

I’m fearful about the nausea and vomiting others on it have told me about. And I’m reluctant to think about taking this the rest of my life.

People who stop it tend to gain weight back. Can I stay strong without it once I get down to about 200 pounds? That is the question. Stay tuned.