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storustoday at 1:16 AM3 repliesview on HN

Isn't GLP-1 creating a "feel-good" starvation? Patching the receptors telling the brain one is not hungry and then just letting the body starve happily, leading to significant muscle loss and aged face? Contrary to e.g. water fast where the body switches to 100% ketosis that can run as long as there is any fat in the body and one supplements electrolytes (Mg/K/P/HCO3) and vitamins (predominantly B1/B2/B3), leading to a much more healthy appearance?


Replies

rootusrootustoday at 1:23 AM

GLP1s do not themselves cause any worse muscle loss than you would experience if you lost the weight by watching calories the old fashioned way.

"Ozempic face" is almost certainly an artifact of people who spent their life significantly overweight having somewhat looser skin than they would if they had maintained a low weight throughout their life.

Also, not everyone gets the face effect, not by a long shot.

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cthalupatoday at 3:15 AM

Muscle loss is determined by your protein intake, muscle stimulus, and rate of weight loss. Plenty of people start lifting for the first time (or after having stopped for extended periods of time) when going on GLP-1s and actually put on muscle mass.

It might result in more loss of buccal fat than otherwise but even that is not definitive. Activating the receptors is not the same as burning fat - there are GLP-1 receptors all over your body in all sorts of organs. If you activate them in your brain you're not burning your brain for energy.

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mrtesthahtoday at 1:20 AM

There is nothing inherent in your description that would support your implied claim about facial aging.

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