(Fox News) In Jillian Michaels’ opinion, there is no easy way out when it comes to weight loss.
The former “Biggest Loser” trainer spoke with Fox News Digital about the Ozempic fad that seems to be sweeping Hollywood, noting if it was a truly successful option, she’d throw her clout behind it.
“If it was the easy way out, I would recommend it,” Michaels said. “I’d be like, ‘Fantastic, let me get in the business. Let me get my app on board. Let me sell these drugs through my app.’ Just like Weight Watchers.
“Of course, I would get in line and profit like crazy if I didn’t really believe these things were bad, based on the research that’s already out there.”
Jillian Michaels told Fox News Digital if Ozempic was truly “the easy way out, I would recommend it.” (Don Flood)
Ozempic was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, but the medication has increasingly been prescribed off brand for weight loss, along with several other similar medications.
Some celebrities, like Sharon Osbourne and Oprah Winfrey, have been open about using weight loss medication, sharing the impact it’s had on their lives.
“All these celebrities are not health experts,” Michaels said. “They’re not nutritionists. They’re not fitness experts. And they don’t spend all day talking to doctors.”
Michaels was adamant that people research Ozempic and any other medication they may want to take.
Oprah Winfrey and Sharon Osbourne have both spoken publicly about using weight loss medication. (Getty Images)
“Every medication, whether it’s antibiotics or vaccines, have a cost-benefit analysis. They all have side effects,” she noted. “So, when we look at Ozempic and all of those drugs there are many side effects from extremely nefarious to just absolutely s—ty, no pun intended.”
Michaels encouraged people to visit the brand’s own website to see the list of side effects for themselves, which does include side effects like pancreatitis, changes in vision, kidney problems (kidney failure), gallbladder problems and more common side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
There’s also the more outward changes to a person’s appearance.
“We’re starting to hear about ‘Ozempic face,’ which is accelerated facial aging, hair loss,” she said, adding those side effects are still “anecdotal.”
Michaels encouraged people to do their research on Ozempic’s side effects. (Don Flood)
But the 49-year-old is more concerned about the long-term effects of Ozempic and other weight loss medications.
“Here’s the problem with this: [It’s] that you can never get off these drugs. If you do get off of them, all of the meta-analysis shows us that you will gain all the weight back, and then some, two-thirds of it within the first year,” she explained.
WATCH NOW: ‘BIGGEST LOSER’ STAR JILLIAN MICHAELS DETAILS WHY SHE’S AGAINST WEIGHT LOSS MEDICATION LIKE OZEMPIC
According to a study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism: A Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2022, “participants regained two-thirds of their prior weight loss” following the stoppage of treatments and other lifestyle changes.
Michaels further explained that staying on a drug like Ozempic “forever” is not a likely option.
The mom of two noted, as have other studies, that many patients gain the weight they lost using medications like Ozempic.(Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Krave Jerky)
“You will plateau on Ozempic. It will stop working right around the 18-month to two-year mark. It’s going to stop working. Now what are you going to do? Because now you’re literally beholden to it. It’s expensive. Insurance isn’t going to cover it forever. Are you going to be on it forever? So, we don’t even know what this looks like five years down the road, ten years down the road.”
While she has many reservations about Ozempic, Michaels can see a silver lining to the increased interest in weight loss driven by it.
“It has proven what I’ve been saying for three decades, calories in, calories out is weight loss. Health is a different conversation, but it facilitates weight loss.
“Second thing, we know that women and men of all ages can lose weight because most of these people on Ozempic are 40-plus. And they’re shrinking, so it looks like you can still lose weight if you’re eating less food.”
