Shedding a monumental 130+ pounds was no miracle feat for me, Jonathan Ressler, but a testament to the power of sustainable lifestyle choices over fleeting drug-induced weight loss. Tune in to a gripping tell-all that exposes the weight loss drug industry's empty promises and spotlights the gritty truth behind popular drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. We tear down the facade of these expensive quick fixes to reveal the crucial need for a long-term strategy in the battle against the bulge. It's an unvarnished look at the burgeoning $83 billion market and a rallying cry for genuine, lasting change through small, smart lifestyle choices.
This episode also casts a critical eye on the cyclical dieting saga of Oprah, a public figure who rode the rollercoaster of weight loss fads only to embrace a pharmaceutical solution. Our discussion cuts through the hype of diet trends and weight loss drugs, daring to question their efficacy against the gold standard of dietary education and consistent healthy habits. Join us for an enlightening conversation that champions real change over the lure of the instant fix, and get ready to be empowered with the knowledge to take control of your health journey.
Shedding a monumental 130+ pounds was no miracle feat for me, Jonathan Ressler, but a testament to the power of sustainable lifestyle choices over fleeting drug-induced weight loss. Tune in to a gripping tell-all that exposes the weight loss drug industry's empty promises and spotlights the gritty truth behind popular drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. We tear down the facade of these expensive quick fixes to reveal the crucial need for a long-term strategy in the battle against the bulge. It's an unvarnished look at the burgeoning $83 billion market and a rallying cry for genuine, lasting change through small, smart lifestyle choices.
This episode also casts a critical eye on the cyclical dieting saga of Oprah, a public figure who rode the rollercoaster of weight loss fads only to embrace a pharmaceutical solution. Our discussion cuts through the hype of diet trends and weight loss drugs, daring to question their efficacy against the gold standard of dietary education and consistent healthy habits. Join us for an enlightening conversation that champions real change over the lure of the instant fix, and get ready to be empowered with the knowledge to take control of your health journey.
Announcer:
If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the truth, is offended by the word fuck and about 37 uses of it in different forms gets ass hurt. When you hear someone speak the absolute, real and raw truth, you should leave Like right now. This is Shut Up and Choose, the podcast where we cut through the shit and get real about weight loss, life and everything in between. We get into the nitty-gritty of making small, smart choices that add up to big results. From what's on your plate to how you approach life's challenges. We'll explore how the simple act of choosing differently can transform your health, your mindset and your entire freaking life. So if you're ready to cut through the bullshit and start making some real changes, then buckle up and shut up, because we're about to choose our way to a healthier, happier life. This is Shut Up and Choose. Let's do this Now. Your host, jonathan Ressler.
Jonathan Ressler:
Welcome back to Shut Up and Choose. I'm your host, jonathan Ressler, and, just in case you forgot, I lost over 130 pounds in under a year without any fad diets, with no shots, no pills. I really didn't even exercise. I did it by making small, smart choices and it was simple. But anyway, today what I want to talk about is something that is on everybody's mind certainly it's in the news all the time and that's the miracle weight loss drugs that are out there. There's a ton of them out there.
Jonathan Ressler:
Right now there's a shortage of, maybe, monjaro, there's always a shortage of Ozempic. All the drugs are out there, so they're insanely popular. There's no question about that, and to me, the weight loss drugs are nothing more than a new diet designed to separate you from your money. And it really. There really is no difference. I'm not saying weight loss drugs don't work, because of course they do, but let's really like, take a look at those weight loss drugs and you know, and kind of dive into it a little bit. So the concept is hey, there's these new miracle drugs out there that offer you a quick fix to help you lose weight, and they, you know, they curb your cravings and curb your appetite, and they're just incredible. They're also tremendously expensive and in my opinion, they are absolutely no different than any other diet out there, because at the end of the day, when you go off that miracle drug or you start to wean yourself off it, you still have to know how to eat properly. So, um, the drugs are, I I definitely think they have a place in you know for for a lot of people and I definitely think, definitely think, that they work as a short-term band-aid. But I think, you know, in the final analysis, we're going to figure out that they're just exactly that another diet. I mean, let's take a look at it for a second right.
Jonathan Ressler:
So if you go on one of these wonder weight loss drugs, you are definitely going to lose weight, no question about it. I mean, I think they say it's like 5% of people don't. It doesn't work for them, but most people it works for. But the biggest problem, the biggest challenge certainly right now, is the cost of these drugs. You got to figure they're about $1,000 a month and once you stop taking them, most people put the weight right back on because they haven't really changed what they're doing. They just have a drug, they have a bandaid kind of helping them get through it.
Jonathan Ressler:
So if, really, if you're taking a weight loss drug now and I know there's probably a lot of people who are listening who are taking one and there's certainly a lot of people I know who are taking one and I say, hey, good for you. I mean, you know you got to do what's best for you. I'm a live and let live kind of guy. If you think that's your, you know what you need. By all means, go do it. I mean, I, that's fine, but I think what you will find in the end is that all it is it's just another diet.
Jonathan Ressler:
So let's just take a quick look at them. Just some kind of stuff that I've been thinking about is like, let's say, the price, just oh, just so we're clear in 2022, the weight loss drug industry was just under two billion dollars a year. Now they're projecting by 2032, 10 years later, it will be an $83 billion business. That's insane. An $83 billion business. And they're not doing it because they're not projecting that. It's going to be an $83 billion business because it works and people use it, and then they're done. They're projecting that.
Jonathan Ressler:
It's that kind of business because everybody that's taking it, or most people that are taking it are going to have to continue to take it for the rest of their lives or it's going to be just another diet. So if you kind of just think about that, let's just say for argument's sake, the cost comes down over time, which I guess it will. But let's say you're taking it, it comes down to about 700 bucks a month. I mean, I'm just making up a number, but I think that's a pretty safe number. It's certainly a lot more than that now, but let's say it's 700 bucks a month. If you continued on that drug for 15 years, it would be 126000 that you're paying for that drug over those 15 years. If you go down to 25 years, it's $210,000. And I'm not saying anybody's going to be on it for 25 years or 15 years, but I think a lot of people would either have to stay on it or learn how to eat the right way, because once you go off the drug it's not going to give you the effects that you're looking for.
Jonathan Ressler:
And I think there's also a lot of other. You know things to consider when taking one of those weight loss drugs. If you're not taking, if you're taking one and it's working for you fantastic. You know, I would say, while you're doing that, try to figure out how to eat properly. But if you're considering it, let me just throw some stuff out there for you. Um, you know, aside from, like, the side effects being nausea, diarrhea, constipation, insomnia, dry mouth, dizziness, you know, elevated heart rate, elevated blood pressure, I mean, you know, every drug out there says that. So I mean that that's not such a big deal.
Jonathan Ressler:
But, like, I happen to know that one of the side effects that ozempic uh, that o Ozempic is talking about is that it has been shown to cause cancer. I mean, that's insane, right? I mean, granted, nobody knew that cigarettes cause cancer when people started smoking, but once they found out they could, a lot of people quit. Now you have people knowing damn well when they go in that this drug could cause cancer, but they're still taking it because they want to lose weight so desperately they don't want to do what they need to do, which is learning how to eat right, and they want to take the quick fix. Think about that a little bit.
Jonathan Ressler:
They're also saying that they're worried about the long-term efficacy of it. They're also saying that, you know, they're worried about the long-term efficacy of it. So you know, as you take more and more of this stuff, your body will require more and more of it, so your dosage will have to go up and at some point you know it will be you're taking so much of it it just doesn't work anymore. So that is definitely a concern. Um, obviously we talked about and really to me, the biggest kind of sham in all this is it's marketing this stuff as a miracle drug and that's going to create unrealistic, unrealistic expectations, because people are going to think, okay, all I have to do is take this drug and you know I'm good. Hey, I be thin. Well, if that was the case, they wouldn't be calling an $83 billion business right.
Jonathan Ressler:
But most importantly, taking those drugs does not address the root cause of your problem, which is you are not eating properly, you're not making smart choices. Here's just an excuse for you not to make smart choices. Here's just an excuse for you not to make smart choices. And until you address those underlying factors, you know, which are small smart choices, you're not going to have long-term sustainable success. It's just the way it is. There's no two ways about it. Like, if you're an emotional eater, it's not going to cure your emotional problems. It's just going to prolong that weight coming back.
Jonathan Ressler:
And, believe me, I'm the king of excuses, or I have been the king of excuses, and I know the thought hey, it's better than you know not losing the weight. Yes, it definitely is, but there's also some negatives in yo-yo dieting and who knows what the negatives are of these drugs. I'm not one of those drug conspiracy theorists where I think you know they're implanting people with chips or whatever. You know, whatever the crazy shit is that people say about any new drug that comes out, but I am realistic enough to know that they don't know the long-term effects of these drugs and people don't know what the long-term effects will be on your body and on your life. So, like I said, I think it's just a fad.
Jonathan Ressler:
And you know what, if we actually take a minute and we look at another fad that happened, how about? Let's look at let's take a look at Oprah and Weight Watchers, right? So in like October of 2015, oprah Winfrey who I have a mountain of respect for I mean, she's a great philanthropist, I mean she's done great things in her life and I have no ill will towards her, except for in this particular case so in October 2018,. Oprah said that you know she tried Weight Watchers and it was great and she loved it so much and it was working for her and it was this miracle lifestyle change that she was going to do. In fact, she believed in it so much that she bought that, she invested in the company and I guess I think she bought somewhere around six and a half million shares at like $6.79, I believe was the number, which was basically a $43 million investment, all with her own money, which was, you know. That is a pretty serious statement, that you know that she believes in the company. You know a lot of people got deluded in in that, but I don't think anybody in the end really cared, because before she made that announcement, it was like six dollars and 79 cents a share and afterwards, the same day after the announcement, those shares closed at 13.92.
Jonathan Ressler:
So I mean she more than doubled everybody's money. Um, and you know she was, she's been a spokesman. She was a spokesman for almost 10 years. So I mean she more than doubled everybody's money and you know she's been a spokesman. She was a spokesman for almost 10 years. By the way, in that 10 years, she shilled for the company for lack of a better term and by 2018, the stock was trading at $101. When it hit $101, she started selling a bunch of shares and you know, I guess they say she sold between 2018 and 2021, she sold 7.2 million shares. The net net is that because of her relationship or as a result of her relationship with Weight Watchers, she ended up making $221 million in net profit from that relationship.
Jonathan Ressler:
I mean, if we end the story there, it's great. You know, here's a woman who struggled with her weight her entire life. She found a system that she believed would work. She invested, she like put up and, you know, really, really did what she needed to do and she invested in the company and everything was great. She invested, she like put up and, you know, really, really did what she needed to do and she invested in the company and everything was great.
Jonathan Ressler:
But in the end, when you stop following the plan, the rigid plan and I'm not saying Weight Watchers is the most rigid plan but when you start following a diet that has a framework and a plan and where they're telling you what to eat and measure, and do you get sick of it and maybe it took her 10 years, although I don't think so, because if we look at Oprah over the years, she would gain weight and lose weight and gain weight and lose weight. So as she would go off the plan she would gain weight and as she got back on the plan she would lose weight. But the thing that's really telling is that recently and I don't remember what month it was Oprah made a shocking announcement that she was on Ozepic. So all of a sudden, this great lifestyle that she was promoting and got me to spend money on, got everybody to spend money on. She decided that wasn't working anymore. So now I'm going to jump on this new fad, this one of these miracle weight loss drugs. And not only did she jump out of Weight Watchers and jump into the weight loss drug industry, but she created like a made-for-TV special that she did that I'm sure she made millions of dollars on. And my only thing that I could think is obviously Weight Watchers wasn't working for her any longer because she went on Ozempic and she kind of had egg on her face, not from eating too fast, just from making this big move, and so obviously Weight Watchers was no longer working. That fad was over, and now she was going to jump on the new fad on the miracle weight loss drugs. And now she was going to jump on the new fad on the miracle weight loss drugs and I'm sure if we fast forward five years or eight years or however long it is, there'll be yet another fad. You know, I don't know if they're going to implant a chip in your head or who knows what that fad will be, but at the end of the day it's fad after fad after fad.
Jonathan Ressler:
I mean, I did all the fad diets and these miracle weight loss drugs are just that. They're just another fad diet. You don't learn anything along the way. Yes, you're losing weight until you stop. That sounds like paleo to me. I lost 86 pounds on paleo Once I became not paleo pounds on paleo. Once I became not paleo, I put all the weight back on, plus more. I did Atkins, which is very similar to paleo it's kind of a cross between keto and paleo and I lost 50 some odd pounds on that and I put it all back on once I went back to regular eating. I even did juicing, where I lost. I don't remember how much weight I lost. I mean, I lost a shitload of weight on juicing like somewhere between 70 and 90 pounds when I was juicing, but as soon as I started to eat real food again, I put all the weight back on, plus more.
Jonathan Ressler:
And that's what every diet says. That's what every one of these fads says. You know, yes, this will help you lose weight, but you have to figure out how to eat afterwards. You know, when you're done with the diet, when you you know, and everybody says, oh, no, this is a. You know how many times I was on a diet and said, no, this is a real lifestyle change for me. This is something I could live with Bullshit, because sooner or later you want to go back to eating that stuff.
Jonathan Ressler:
So I really, you know I'm not bashing the weight loss drugs. I mean, I think they have a place and I think, you know, obviously, people are using them and they're having success with them. What we don't know and what I'm willing to bet you dollars to donuts, because you know I love donuts is that when people go off these drugs, they're going to put the weight right back on and they're going to be looking for that next thing. So what I would say to people is you have to learn how to eat properly once and for all, and that's really what my whole method is about. It's not about you know, lose the weight fast and then you know, put it back on slowly, because that's what happens, right when you're on a diet, when you're on one of these restrictive, you know well-constructed plans where you work out and you eat this and measure that, and you know that's bullshit. That's not real life. That's not how real life works, just like these weight loss drugs are not real life. That's not how you can't take a shot and cure everything. Yeah, you can cure some things, but you know this is not. This is the weight loss drug is not the magic bullet, it's not the miracle shot that that everybody's making it out to be.
Jonathan Ressler:
So what I'm here to tell you is you have to teach yourself to eat properly, but make it livable, right, I mean, follow your desire. What do you desire? You desire to be healthier, right, you desire to lose weight, to be healthier, to be happier, and one of those roads that you may choose to go down is taking a weight loss drug. And, like I talked about in my podcast, where I was kind of contrasting or talking about the differences between discipline and desire, is that desire is a really powerful motivator and discipline is hard to stick with. So if you follow your desire, if you decide that you're going to make small, smart choices, it's going to lead to long-term sustainable results. So what I'm saying is you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight and still be healthy. You don't need a diet, you don't need some constructed plan that gives you, you know, eat this at this time and do this at that time. You don't need to do that. That's not a livable solution.
Jonathan Ressler:
The way I did it was a completely livable solution. I decided that I was going to think and I was going to be present every time I opened my mouth and I've said this a hundred times, I'm not telling you I didn't eat some you know foods that people would consider quote, unquote bad. I did. I mean, I ate hot dogs, I ate donuts, I ate ice cream, I ate things that you know would not be considered diet food and I ate a lot of things that would be considered healthier. So I really made small, smart choices. So I really made small, smart choices and that means really being present and really thinking about everything that I put in my mouth and not feeling like I could ever fail, because what I chose at that moment is what I wanted to eat, and that was the right choice.
Jonathan Ressler:
Now, I always kept my desire to be healthy, my goal to be alive and, you know, to have a better life. Of course, I always thought about that. I wouldn't say that I was disciplined. I had some discipline, obviously, when I was making the smart choices. I made many more smart choices than not smart choices. But for me, it wasn't about discipline, it was about desire, it was about freedom, it was about making those smart choices.
Jonathan Ressler:
When I wanted to eat, I thought about everything I put in my mouth. I was really there, I was present. I said you know what? I really don't need to eat this donut right now, or I don't need to eat french fries right now, or whatever the food is. There were times when I felt like I did need to eat those and I ate them. And the truth is, if you look at your friends who are quote unquote normal weight, they eat everything. They eat french fries and ice cream and donuts sometimes, right, because maybe for them they want to be healthy and it's not like, oh, their metabolism is so fast, my metabolism, so that's a crock of shit, right, I mean, you may have a slower metabolism, but it doesn't mean that you can't lose weight. It means that you're making bad choices and if you can get yourself to be present every single time you put something in your mouth, or, more often than not, think about what you're putting in your mouth, or, more often than not, think about what you're putting in your mouth you will lose the weight effortlessly. I mean, I did it, you.
Jonathan Ressler:
You know my story. I lost over 130 pounds in exactly a year and I never had any limit on what I ate. Um, I I made smart choices, small choices. Those choices kept building on one another and once I started making two smart choices a day, I started making four. And once I started making four, I started making eight. And all of a sudden, those choices were taking me down a road and I was excited to see what was happening. I was excited for the you know the results that I was getting, and I wasn't working hard. I really wasn't. I was eating what I wanted to eat. I just my whole kind of taste profile changed because I put my desire to be healthy first, you know, and I didn't need a diet that told me I could have three ounces of this and six ounces of that and eat it. This time I ate whatever I wanted, whatever I wanted to eat it. I just thought about it and my choices changed and you can do this too.
Jonathan Ressler:
This is not rocket science, it's nothing that you don't know. If you think about what you put in your mouth and you tell yourself, look, I can't fail, because whatever I want to eat, I'm going to eat, and it's okay to eat that. And guess what? Whatever I want to eat, I'm going to eat, and it's okay to eat that, and guess what? That's the way people ate from the first time man appeared on earth. Right, they ate whatever they wanted to eat. They didn't have all these crazy diets. And no, because it's not necessary.
Jonathan Ressler:
You can eat anything you want, anytime you want, in any amount that you like, as long as it's in line with your goal, whatever that goal may be, whatever your desire is, whether you know if it's in line with your desire to be healthy, that's the right choice and that's the kind of a whole basis of my shut up and choose method movement, whatever the hell you want to call it, but it's the way I did it and I promise you there is absolutely no way that you can fail if you do this, because if you make a small bad choice, the next choice you just follow it up with a good choice. I mean it's so simple. I mean I just hope that I can reach enough people that they can hear this and they can understand it and they can really incorporate it into their life, because I think it's that easy. It's that simple, it's not complicated. You don't have to pay any money for it because you don't eat any special food. You just eat what you want to eat and you just lose weight without any effort, and you just lose weight without any effort. So again, that's.
Jonathan Ressler:
I mean I have a lot more to say on this topic, but I'll cut it here for the day and I will get into my selfless, my shameless self-promotion section. My book is available on Amazon Also. My audio book is there now as well as my ebook. You can download it on your Kindle or you can get it on Audible or any place else where you can get your books. I'd love you to listen to my podcast, give me some likes, give me some comments, give me all kinds of good stuff, and that's it. So again, I will end this by saying if you want to do this, you can. All you have to do is shut up and choose.
Announcer:
You've been listening to Shut Up and Choose. Jonathan's passion is to share his journey of shedding 130 pounds in less than a year without any of the usual gimmicks no diets, no pills. And we'll let you in on a little secret no fucking gym. And guess what? You can do it too. We hope you enjoyed the show. We had a fucking blast. If you did, make sure to like, rate and review, we'll be back soon, but in the meantime, find jonathan on instagram at jonathan wrestler boca raton. Until next time, shut up and choose.