A weight-loss drug user has revealed an unexpected side-effect after shifting the pounds.
The individual, who posted on Reddit, didn’t specify which GLP-1 drug they were on, but the post was made in the Ozempic forum.
They said they had lost 70lbs – and began receiving more attention and free items at restaurants.
They wrote: ‘I’ve lost over 70 pounds now…. and I’m getting offered free stuff at restaurants, gas stations, fast food joints…. where I’ve never been offered things free stuff before.
‘I thought the people holding the door for me would be the weirdest but WHY am I receiving free stuff? I’m trying not to sound ungrateful but the whiplash of it all is kind of pissing me off.’
Many commenters informed the poster they were experiencing a social phenomenon known as ‘pretty privilege,’ when preferential treatment is given to thin and attractive people.
Other Reddit users were quick to share their similar experiences, with one person writing: ‘I went from being invisible to stared at. It’s strange. Free drinks, random conversations, doors being held, it’s extremely overwhelming.
‘Never been ugly/unattractive, I just ate my way through about a decade of my life… It’s a lot, and it will piss you off in retrospect. It’s hurtful, and dismissive to say the least, but people are disrespectful and fatphobic as hell.’
Another Reddit user wrote that their experience of getting attention after losing weight ‘basically affirmed that pretty privilege is real.’
Lizzo is pictured above in 2023, left, and in June this year. She has been on a strict diet and weight loss plan, but has previously admitted to also using Ozempic
Meghan Trainor is shown above in 2020, left, and in August this year. She has previously admitted to using Mounjaro. The star said she has lost 60lbs overall, adding that she also changed her diet and exercise regime
The users’ experiences comes after weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro took the US by storm, with about one in eight Americans now estimated to have tried the medications that trigger weight loss with little more than a weekly injection.
About 15.5million, or 6 percent of the adult population, are currently using GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, estimates suggest.
Patients tend to lose between one or two pounds per week, doctors say, as the medications slow the emptying of the stomach, making users feel fuller for longer and decreasing the amount they eat.
But many patients on the drugs suffer nausea, indigestion and vomiting. In serious cases, the drug can also cause inflammation in the pancreas and a blockage in the intestine triggered because the drug slows the passage of food through the body.
Patients have also complained of unexpected changes to their appearance because of the rapid weight loss.
This includes Ozempic face, buttocks and breasts, where skin on these body parts sags and hangs loosely and the body looks sunken in.
It’s triggered by the rapid fat loss and the inability of the skin to ‘snap back’ into place rapidly.
Individuals on the drugs are advised to weight-lift regularly and eat protein-heavy meals, which reduces muscle loss that can also be triggered by shifting weight.
A woman has revealed on Reddit the surprising way restaurants and gas stations have reacted to her weight loss drug-driven transformation (stock photo)
Ozempic and other weight loss drugs have taken the US by storm, with an estimated one in eight Americans now having tried the medications
The original Reddit user’s post received dozens of comments.
Another woman who said she lost 109 pounds on weight loss drugs, dropping from 306 to 109 pounds, said she had started to receive free items since her transformation.
A man who said he lost 50lbs in his early 20s also commented, saying that people had started to treat him differently after the weight loss.
‘It was crazy going from living life as “fat funny guy” for 24 years to “jacked attractive dude”,’ he said.
‘Everyone took my opinions more seriously, deferred to me more, and, to your point, there’s this whole world of people doing unasked favors for you vs pretending you don’t exist.
‘Women in my friend group or that I met out at bars went from thinking I was just a nice guy to locking eyes from across the room, or making sure they touched my shoulder or arm.’
Another wrote: ‘Definitely better treatment comes with weight loss. It’s very sad’.
Rebel Wilson, 45, who lost about 80lbs after going on a calorie-restricted diet and using a weight-loss drug
Celebrities who have undergone weight loss have also commented on people treating them differently, including Rebel Wilson, 45, who lost about 80lbs after going on a calorie-restricted diet and using a weight loss drug.
The Australian actress told People in March last year: ‘It was interesting to know exactly what it’s like to be invisible sexually and then to be visible. I’ve experienced both sides of the coin.’
She told the reporter how people had started to hold the door for her and pay her more attention.
And she added that there was huge attention around her weight loss, much more than for her work in any movies she starred in, which include Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids and How to Be Single.