In the past year my body has gone through some dynamic changes. Last spring my endocrinologist suggested I start taking Ozempic to help lower my A1C. I started on a 1 mg dose, and for the first month or so I was dog tired. Something as routine as doing the grocery shopping would wipe me out. Soon, I got used to it and returned to somewhat of a normalcy.

Right off the bat I could tell my eating habits were changing. Whereas in the past, I could eat a sandwich, now I could barely finish half. I shared everything with my one daughter when we went out to eat. After six months (and another trip to my endocrinologist), I had lost 15 pounds. Sure this was good, but I kind of felt like a failure because so many people had been so successful losing weight on Ozempic, and here I lost only 15 pounds in 6 months. So, he upped my dosage to 2mg per injection.

As of this morning, I am down a full 80 pounds. How can this be, you ask? I have zero appetite. None. My stomach always seems to be tight as a fist. Eventually my body will say, “Hey, I’m hungry!” So I’ll begin to fix something only to realize while cooking it, that I really don’t want to eat it. I’ll have 3 or 4 bites, and put the rest in Tupperware.

I never cook anymore. It’s just not worth it. My biggest culinary excursion will be a pot of soup, because I can always eat soup, and then I have something easy to heat up over the next few days. Therefore, dinner has become a “fend for yourself” affair. I’m happy with a hard boiled egg or a cup of broth. I have a feeling my days of making a meatloaf and mashed potatoes are gone for now.

And it’s not even my appetite, my entire taste for food has changed. I used to love eggs, and now I can barely stomach them. Each and every day I’d have a minimum of 4 cups of tea. Now I usually have 5 sips of my first cup and throw the rest down the drain. I was a champion wine guzzler but will now hold the same glass of wine for hours. A bottle lasts me a week.

Going out to eat is a royal pain because I refuse to waste money on a plate of food I’m just not going to eat. Last week we went to a Texas Roadhouse, and while hubby feasted on the steak and shrimp platter, I waded my way through a bowl of chili that I couldn’t finish. I should’ve just ordered the cup….

The changes over the past year have been mind blowing. I’m not sure what will happen to me once I go off this medication. Maybe by then my stomach will have shrunk so much that I still won’t be able to eat like I used to. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.