In our conversation with Certified Nutritionist, Debbie Romano, she talks about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle after stopping Ozempic.
Meet Debbie
Debbie Romano is a Certified Nutritionist and Health Coach. Debbie holds a Nutrition & Wellness Consultant Certification through American Fitness Professionals & Associates. She has also received a certification in Plant Based Nutrition through The Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies at eCornell University.
What Has Your Client’s Experience Coming Off Ozempic Been Like?
What I find after that initial weight loss is done, the majority of the time it is always gained back after stopping. There is a rebound along with a couple of more pounds. It doesn’t happen right away but the weight eventually trickles back. This is why it is important to implement a healthy lifestyle when safely tapering off.
What is Your Advice When Stopping Ozempic?
Starting a healthy lifestyle is essential. There are so many assets of lifestyle like education of food and figuring out why we are gaining weight in the first place. When we want to change our lifestyles, that is when the sustainability of healthy living can come in.
Why Is Living A Healthy Lifestyle Essential Long Term?
When a body is healthy, that weight naturally comes off. That is a beautiful product of a healthy body when we start to balance it out. I always ask clients what their biggest why is. Why do you want to start this journey? Your why is always changing. As you grow in your life, your “why” can change, but the motivation is still the same. When you have a healthy body, your energy is great, you feel good, and you have a harmonious mind, body, and spirit. When we are more mindful about how the whole thing comes together, that is when the beauty happens.
What Do You Think the Biggest Fear of Stopping Ozempic Is?
I think people are afraid of stopping Ozempic because there is an issue with weight. The word weight typically triggers a lot of people depending on the issues they have run into. Everyone is different, but the scary part is that weight coming back. When the weight comes on in the first place, our body is telling us something. It is inflamed and not happy.
Our organs aren’t functioning the way they should. That being said the fear is coming from the feeling of not feeling good in your own body. That initial weight loss can be positive to the mind, but it is the fear of falling off that cliff again, which I have done my whole life on a diet. It is that fear of going backwards again.
Why Can Medical Weight Loss Be Harmful Long Term?
Anytime we put a drug in our body, it should be supervised by a physician. The information I have about bringing health to a body, I know real clean whole foods can do that. Some people can start medical weight loss as a step on a health journey because they are not ready for the environment or changes of eating.
Sometimes speaking with their physician or a qualified individual can be a great thing for them right now in the moment to lose that initial weight. Then you have to understand to move on to the next step, you can’t rely on a drug to keep you healthy, you can rely on real food, exercise, and meditation. All those things together can keep a whole body healthy. That’s the journey of it. It is not as hard as we think. Once we understand that real food can be so tasteful and so lovely, living that healthy lifestyle is so attainable. There are so many options to keep your health going at a sustainable level for the rest of your life naturally after that drug is taken.
I will shout from the rooftops that it is so do-able! When you have someone to hold your hand through the hard parts, it makes it so much easier. Nobody wants to do it by themselves, we all need someone to hold us accountable!