Let’s be honest – weight loss is one of those topics where everyone has something to say. You start a new diet? People comment. You hit the gym? They have opinions. Are you thinking about medication? Oh, the hot takes come rolling in. Let’s face it, it’s exhausting.

I currently fall victim to questioning whether I should take weight loss medications. In my head, I think that if I were to use those meds, it would be called cheating. I compare myself to other people who weigh the same as I do (or more) and who were able to accomplish weight loss without any “help.”

I decided to talk with a family friend, Shaili Majmundar, who isn’t afraid to call out the double standards regarding weight loss medicine. As someone who also has hypothyroidism, and who has continued to struggle to lose weight her entire life, her perspective was important for me to hear.

“There are certain aspects of living a plus-size life that people who haven’t experienced it just wouldn’t understand. After a while, thinking about it, I feel they didn’t understand my struggle to begin with, so why should I take into consideration their perspective when combating my own struggle?”

She’s so right! Everyone loves to have an opinion about what you’re doing with your body, but the only thing that matters is that it works for you.

Shaili broke it down further, using examples we can all relate to. “When you look at a patient who has diabetes and they take Metformin, we don’t think, ‘Oh, this person’s taking the easy way out.’ They’re taking a medication or insulin because their body is not able to produce that insulin.”

Exactly. Nobody bats an eye at other medications that you take, so why is weight loss medication treated any differently? It’s just another tool to help your body do what it needs to do.

“For me, my thyroid had been a problematic aspect of my life since I was about seven to 10 years old. When I take medication for it, nobody looked at me like, ‘Wow, her thyroid is not working right.’ It’s what your body needs.”

That’s the point, isn’t it? Sometimes, your body needs a little help to get to a healthier place. Usually, these medications are a way to get your body to a place where you can see the results of working out or eating better.

Another layer to the whole conversation is how celebrities influence how we see weight loss medications. Shaili pointed out the Kardashians as a primary example. Remember when they made the hourglass figure the look of the 2000s and 2010s? They were all about Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) and extreme curves.

A few years later, Shaili notes, the trend has changed. “The Kardashians decided that look really wasn’t for them. They took out their BBLs, and they started going on Ozempic. That, again, changes the trend of what people feel their bodies should look like. So, people who aspired to be like them went and got the same thing done. They can reverse it later because they have the ability, the money, the time, and the best quality surgeons.” Meanwhile, the rest of us can’t just undo those decisions with the snap of a finger. We don’t have the money for that.

Shaili also brought up how this celebrity behavior affects the public perception of drugs like Ozempic. “With something like a BBL, you have the choice, but when it comes to medication like Ozempic, then it becomes an abuse of medication. Celebrities who take these drugs without any underlying health conditions aren’t just risking their own health – they are feeding into the already toxic and fatphobic culture.”

Another example is the singer Lizzo, who has been completely transparent about her vegan diet and workouts. She’s doing everything the right way and sharing her process openly, yet people still bombard her with comments like, “Oh, you probably just took a bunch of meds.”

Examples like this show just how fatphobic the media can be, especially toward celebrities who are always in the limelight.

The decision to take medication to lose weight is personal. Some people will support you; others will judge you. But at the end of the day, people will talk, whether you like it or not. Just focus on what benefits you and what makes you feel your best!