Ozempic is hailed as a promising treatment for binge eating, but dietitian Lucy Carey thinks this is treating the symptoms, not the cause.
“I felt so in control when I was on it. I didn’t feel hungry and I could go for ages without eating.”
To not feel hungry – it’s what many people suffering with binge eating dream of. So drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists can seem like a dream come true. Now they can finally feel in control around food.
But what happens if they can’t take the drug anymore?
“My circumstances changed and I can’t afford it now. And the weight has piled back on so fast it’s crazy. I’m hungrier than I’ve ever been. And if anything sets me off, if I’ve had a bad day or I have an argument with my partner – it’s straight to a binge. It’s worse than ever.”
The short-term fix of GLP-1 agonists
Ozempic makes it easier to restrict food, but it doesn’t address any of the emotional drivers behind binge eating. That’s why I don’t think it is actually going to be the promising solution to binge eating that it’s cracked up to be. Medications like Ozempic work by mimicking a hormone that regulates appetite, which can reduce physical hunger and keep food in the stomach for longer (keeping you feeling full). For patients who binge eat, this can feel like a breakthrough. But the control is temporary.
Binge eating is a combination of physical hunger and emotional hunger. While Ozempic stops the physical hunger, it does nothing to address the underlying emotional triggers. So when patients stop taking the medication (which can happen for a variety of reasons, e.g. shortages, unable to afford it, side-effects) binge eating often returns. Sometimes worse than it’s ever been.
The restrict-binge cycle and emotional hunger
Binge eaters are often trapped in a vicious restrict-binge cycle (which I’ve written about here and here and here). When patients take Ozempic, they find it easier to restrict food, which actually plays into the very cycle that has trapped them. I fear that GLP-1 agonists reinforce the mentality that is keeping them trapped.
GLP-1 agonists mask the real problem
When patients rely on Ozempic to suppress their appetite, they may temporarily escape the need to binge but they aren’t learning how to manage their emotions without using food. This can create a dangerous reliance on the medication, as many people come to believe that the only way they can eat ‘normally’ is when they are on the drug. I completely disagree with this. Over the last decade, I have seen client after client after client overcome their binge eating through a combination of regular eating, ditching diet culture, and learning to work through negative emotions without relying on food.
The psychological impact of stopping the medication
When patients stop taking Ozempic and find themselves slipping back into binge eating, too often they blame themselves. They think they’ve lost the “control” that the medication provided and without it they just don’t have enough “willpower” to overcome their binge eating. But I think it’s simply a sign that the emotional work still needs to be done. Rather than creating a cycle of dependency on medications like Ozempic, the root causes of their binge eating need to be addressed.
Long-term emotional coping strategies
For patients to find lasting freedom from binge eating, they need tools that address the emotional side of the equation. This means developing healthier ways to cope with stress, anxiety, unresolved trauma and emotional triggers – ways that don’t rely on food. You can empower your patients by teaching them strategies like mindfulness, journalling, somatic shaking and self-compassion. Focusing on the long-term solutions is the only way to achieve true food freedom.
The takeaway
Ozempic can seem like a quick fix for managing binge eating, but it doesn’t address the root causes of the behaviour. Long-term food freedom will only come from emotional regulation and breaking the restrict-binge mentality.
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2 responses to “Ozempic & binge eating: the emotional truth”
You are absolutely right that drugs like that merely mask the problem. It’s like holding a beach ball under water. The longer you hold it down and the further you push it, the higher it is going to explode out of the water when you eventually and inevitably let it go, as all binge eaters do, which I know because I have been a hardcore binge eater almost all my life. Coping strategies are vitally important, as you said. The food is a very small part of a much more complex problem that has physical, emotional, and spiritual components. Ultimately, I found relief working with healthcare professionals on the physical end of it, therapists on the emotional end, and the twelve step program of Chronic Compulsive Eaters Anonymous (CCEA) on the spiritual end. Going at it from all three fronts was the only thing that finally gave me freedom. Thank you so much for writing this and telling the real truth of the problems those drugs can cause and where the solutions lie.
I am so glad that you’ve found freedom from such a complex problem. Thank you for such a thoughtful comment on the post – I particularly love the beach ball under water analogy!