BUFFALO, N.Y. — "I got the shot, lifted my shirt up, put it in and that was it. Man my first month on Mounjaro I lost 42 pounds."
That was just the beginning for Abraham Markez, who used to be morbidly obese. He weighed 490 pounds just 18 months ago.
Today, he's a healthy 191 pounds. He lost nearly 300 lbs. with the help of a GLP-1 medication that slows down digestion, making you feel fuller longer . Some experts say it induces weight loss by stimulating satiety in the brain, eliminating what many people now call "food noise."
"Food noise means you look left, and right... McDonald's, Burger King, that's food noise," said Markez. "Once you take the meds, that goes away. Not just food. Co-workers stopped smoking, casinos, alcohol, because it takes away that factor from the brain.”
So, how exactly did Abraham lose all that weight? He was prescribed the GLP-1 medication Monjauro for his diabetes, It's a once a week shot, similar to Ozempic, that reduces blood sugar levels. It also has the side effect of weight loss. "It has saved my life and the life of millions of others out there" Markez says.
Manufacturers report the average user is seeing upwards of 20% total weight loss. Research shows a striking reduction in cardiovascular episodes among many other benefits.
Dr. Howard Lippes, who specializes in Endocrinology and Internal Medicine for the R&B Medical Group says, "The number one cause of death in America is stroke, heart attack. That's pretty much everyone, if you have type two diabetes. If you're obese, then that risk doubles, even triples, and these medications have a striking effect on lowering that cardiovascular risk.
Lippes says these drugs have been around for several decades and are extremely safe and effective against insulin resistance and fatty liver disease. "These medications have been a real game changer for us," he said.
The benefits don't stop there. Many cancers are specifically linked to obesity. Dr. Lippes says if we can get rid of stubborn body fat, we should see a major reduction in cancers and other diseases. "There are all these cancers that we know are specifically linked to obesity, pretty much any cancer you can think about; hepatocellular cancer, liver cancer in particular, is linked to obesity, this fatty liver disease. So, the expectation is that if we can get rid of fat, that we will see the incidence of many cancers go down."
A common misconception is that these drugs are an easy way to lose weight, a magic shot.
Simply put, they are not.
You definitely need to help the medicine to lose weight.
"You have to work with the medicine," said Markez. "The medicine doesn't do everything for you. It does not do everything for you. People don't understand that. They just take the medication and lay on the bed and lose it all. It doesn't work like that, you have to do your part of the work. You have to eat right, you have to limit the bad things that got you to this point, drink a lot more water, eat cleaner and be more truthful to yourself and help with the stress, stress is a killer when it comes to weight gain."
For Abraham, his incredible transformation was made possible because of his positive lifestyle changes, and a painless once a week shot.
"If someone was to tell you that they're going to come out with a medication that's going to help control your blood sugar, help control the way you think about food, your relationship with food, and the stomach emptying so you feel fuller longer, you would think its a miracle drug, but it's not a miracle drug," said Markez. "You have to do your part of the job, the medicine does not do it all for you, but it is a miracle, and is a great time for us to be alive when this medication is available to us."