‘Tis the season to have fun, enjoy seasonal alcoholic beverages and ditch your diet on Christmas Day in favor of a turkey lunch, then go on a diet on January 1st.
The rise of Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy to the mainstream in recent months means the traditional post-Christmas purge could look a little different for many people this year.
As the diet industry’s most lucrative day looms, sales of such anti-obesity drugs are expected to soar in the New Year as those who have been wanting one last festive blast decide to get started in earnest. your weight loss journey. .
A prescription for Wegovy in the UK is around the same price as expensive gym membership fees – around £160 a month..
Famous users in the public eye such as Robbie Williams, Sharon Osbourne and Oprah Winfrey, who have shown spectacular results, have sparked even more interest.
On That’s enough.’
Dry Jab-uario? Semiglutide weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, became widespread in 2024, and in January 2025, manufacturers of anti-obesity drugs could see a huge increase in sales.
New Year’s resolution could give the pharmaceutical industry a chance to lose weight, as people decide to pay for drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic after a Christmas binge on food and alcohol.
High-profile names like Robbie Williams, left, and Sharon Osbourne, right, have been candid about their use of weight-loss medications.
And what about those already taking semaglutide, a weight loss drug?
They’re likely to spend Christmas Day with a drastically reduced appetite: One person in a Facebook self-help group suggested that the thought of a turkey dinner with all the trimmings made them nauseous.
And if you feel like eating, the other scenario is to try to drown out the “food noise,” aka temptation, that is everywhere during the holiday season.
An average British Christmas dinner has around 5,000 calories, including a starter, main course and a traditional pudding.
Add snacks, chocolates and more alcoholic beverages and it is estimated to be more than 7,000.
Currently, the NHS recommends that men consume 2,500 calories per day, while women should consume 2,000 calories per day.
Burst? Those already taking the medication have mixed feelings about taking a break over the Christmas period to enjoy the seasonal treat.
One person taking a weight-loss drug revealed that he had already gone astray thanks to Thanksgiving, saying, “I can’t have turkey and stuffing at home.” I gained exactly 5 pounds, from yesterday morning to this morning. And I really want to eat more turkey and stuffing.’
Another added: “I’m really worried about Christmas. Maybe I’ll take a week off over Christmas to enjoy it lol.”
One agreed, saying: “I want to be able to eat happily and drink with my family instead of feeling sick all the time.”
One woman said they would take a break from losing weight because they couldn’t currently face the prospect of a regular festive lunch.
They wrote: ‘The thought of a Christmas dinner already makes me nauseous. I just think you need to live your life too… I’ll take a week off and then I’ll be ready and excited to get back into it.’
However, for others, Christmas Day is perhaps the biggest test of the year and they are determined not to take a break from the drugs they take.
One person wrote: ‘I’m excited not to eat too much this Christmas. I’ll have a little bit of everything and I’ll be delighted.’
GLP-1 drugs like Ozemic were initially designed as a treatment for diabetes, but sales have skyrocketed among those who simply want to lose extra pounds.
Another said he was 100 percent committed to his weight loss journey.
‘I’m in this 10 toes down. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves what is more important. ‘
Others agreed and said, ‘I’ll stick with Christmas too, since my losses are the reason I started.
One person made an impassioned declaration that he would maintain his regime, saying: ‘I will stick to it. I don’t care about food or drink to have fun and enjoy my family.
‘Yes, it adds to the joy of the season, but this involves a lifestyle change and I want to be 100% on board. Old habits die hard! My life should no longer revolve around food!’
Wegovy and Ozempic are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists and lead to weight loss by mimicking the actions of GLP-1, a hormone in the brain that regulates appetite and feelings of satiety.
Research shows that patients who stop taking semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) regain on average about two-thirds of their weight.
However, patients who lose a large amount of weight in a short period of time are much more likely to regain it compared to those who only lost slight weight with the medication.
Experts say this may be due to a phenomenon known as set point theory, the idea that the body has a natural weight range, or set point, that it is always working to maintain.
This weight varies from person to person and experts argue that it explains why some people are naturally thin, while others are larger.
“One of the most important factors that can predict how you will do once you stop taking these medications is how quickly you lost weight,” says Dr. Nerys Astbury, a diet and obesity expert at the University of Oxford. .
“This could be due to the fact that the body has a weight that it is trying to regain, and it is much heavier than when the injections are stopped.”
Another theory is that patients who quickly lose excess weight are more likely to revert to unhealthy eating habits.
“If you experience rapid weight loss and then immediately stop medication, it’s unlikely that you’ve developed new healthy eating habits,” says Dr. Astbury. “Instead, you could go back to overeating, reversing the progress you’ve made.”
Regardless of the cause, experts agree that those who quit GLP-1 medications and immediately regain weight tend to have one thing in common: They don’t exercise.
“It’s clear that people who engage in regular physical activity maintain their weight loss much better than those who don’t,” says Dr. Astbury. “So some exercise is better than none.”