S22.E12: Jillian Michaels, Jon Meacham, Jane Ferguson

[aghst]

Interesting opening segment on Ozempic, now the downsides come to light.

 

Bill thinks it's scandalous that NPR All Things Considered has only Democrats in editorial positions.

Why does he single out NPR?  Does he think Fox News has any liberal Democrats?  And Fox News has a much greater footprint than NPR.

He also doesn't like that NPR has different internal groups.  So do many other large employers, like they have separate employee groups around gender and ethnicity, because they are looking for people of similar backgrounds, dealing with a similar work culture.

At least Meacham tried to bring some reality instead of going along with Bill's war on woke again, there's no equivalence between the far right and the far left.  The far right welcomes "Trumpistan."

Bills says the Palestinian protesters who tried to block bridges are for terrorists.  Jane Ferguson said they are for cease fire.  That made Bill put up his sour puss.  He won't have that, over 30k civilians killed in Gaza but Israel is defending itself and killing terrorists.🤢

Bill keeps saying Trump is a threat to democracy but he wants to give equal time to highlighting what he considers the excesses of the left as well as MAGA.

He really sore that college students groaned at his jokes.

 

[Hanahope]

Just about every medication has some side effects and lots of people take medication for a lifetime.  The issue is whether you are affected by the side effects and if so what can you live with for the benefits?  Not everyone needs Ozempic but for some,  losing weight is better for their health than not.  
 

 

[Soapy Goddess]

7 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Not everyone needs Ozempic but for some,  losing weight is better for their health than not.  

Agreed. I think she was referring to the typical "housewives" who want to go from a size 6 to a size 0. Not healthy at all...side effects or not.

[rwlevin]

Oh Jillian. She just thinks it’s so easy to lose weight on diet and exercise alone. For some people, it’s just not sustainable. I’ve lost significant amounts of weight in the past but that always entailed major calorie restriction and hours at the gym. Now that I have a family, I’m lucky if I can sneak away for an hour or two a week. And that includes pretty much every single former contestant on The Biggest Loser, or did she forget the study that showed they all ruined their metabolisms? And yes, ozempic is for life and can have horrible side effects but do you know what else does? Anti-rejection meds for transplant patients, High blood pressure medications, even some antidepressants. There’s even studies that show taking insulin can increase the risk of cancer but I’d like to think the alternative, dying, is a little worse. Anti-depressants also have an increased risk of suicide but that doesn’t mean we should get rid of them. I do, however, agree with her on the ultra-processed food.

[hurrrz]

She said Oprah is incentivised to shill Ozempic, same goes for Jillian though to speak against it. She built her empire on fitness and diet. 

Somewhat beside the point, but I find it ironic that a woman that clearly had some plastic surgery done is speaking against Ozempic and the likes because of risks. 

[ahpny]

On 4/20/2024 at 7:55 PM, Hanahope said:

Not everyone needs Ozempic but for some,  losing weight is better for their health than not.  

Bill was surprisingly supportive of this, and questioned whether Jillian was truly correct that this drug was bad for all all of of the time. This is also the first I recall of Bill ever expressing any sympathy for people with weight problems. Of course the basis of that seemed to be his own personal stoner "munchie" issues. Nevertheless, he agreed that for some, losing weight is a difficult challenge and not always an indication of poor self control. Based on this he seemed to push back on Jillian's view that no one should ever take this drug. 

Also, I know little about this drug, but if Jillian were correct that it essentially stops working after about 70 days, why are so many people taking it, and for longer than 70 days? Btw, lots of drugs work through mechanisms that are poorly understood, but we generally use them anyway.

[rwlevin]

1 hour ago, ahpny said:

Also, I know little about this drug, but if Jillian were correct that it essentially stops working after about 70 days, why are so many people taking it, and for longer than 70 days?

It does not stop working after 70 days. Yes, patients may plateau but that’s just because they’re bodies have reached new set points and the only way to continue to lose weight is to increase the dosage, but that is a conversation they need to have with their doctor.

 

disclaimer: I’m on monjouro, in the same family but slightly different than ozempic. I’ve been on the medication, the lowest dosage, for over 6 months and it has brought my cholesterol into a normal level, I am no longer pre-diabetic and I have lost over 20 pounds. I still exercise when I can but dieting does not work for me. And it cuts down on cravings so big! I can have junk food in my house and not touch it for weeks. It used to be gone in hours.

[Soapy Goddess]

13 hours ago, hurrrz said:

She said Oprah is incentivised to shill Ozempic, same goes for Jillian though to speak against it. She built her empire on fitness and diet. 

How is Jillian being incentivized? From what I could tell, all she did was state the potential dangers/side effects.

 

4 hours ago, ahpny said:

why are so many people taking it, and for longer than 70 days?

Most likely to maintain whatever loss they've already achieved.

[Hanahope]

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

How is Jillian being incentivized? From what I could tell, all she did was state the potential dangers/side effects.

she is trying to sell books, fitness app subscriptions, DVDs, etc.  

[Hanahope]

Wanted to add, both Bill and Jillian correctly point out that the food industry is also to blame because it intentionally makes bad processed food more addictive.  yet hardly anyone blames the food industry directly.  most people blame the people who can't stop eating the food.  

as a comparison, people blame smokers too .  but when they seek help, pretty much everyone is fine with their using nicotine patches and other outside ways to help.  hardly anyone says,  "oh just use your will power" anymore, they realize it is a physical addiction that most people can't just go "cold turkey."   and at least the tobacco companies were finally held to some accountability, with high taxes on tobacco products and funds used towards treatment and addiction.  perhaps something similar should be imposed against food companies on foods with high fat and/or sugar content. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

15 hours ago, ahpny said:

Also, I know little about this drug, but if Jillian were correct that it essentially stops working after about 70 days, why are so many people taking it, and for longer than 70 days?

She said weeks, not days.

14 hours ago, rwlevin said:

And it cuts down on cravings so big! I can have junk food in my house and not touch it for weeks. It used to be gone in hours.

I'm with Bill on this--I can't eat what's not there.  I don't enjoy having an unfulfilled craving, but I get over it.

[Tara]

I’m tired of people using the race card to say their view is of course the only view. Bill, I am disappointed to watch you doing just that. I don’t think the college kids, or anyone else, who thinks we should not be supporting Israel are fueled by racism or anti-semitism. C’mon.