Thoughts on IF, GLP-1 (Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.), and progress pics - my own experiences.

Long wall of text to follow - tl;dr: don't be too quick to judge GLP-1 use, you might be luckier than you think.Recently I've seen a few posts on here suggesting that progress pics should be required to disclose if they were using GLP-1 inhibitors while doing IF. Sometimes there is an implication that using Ozempic or similar is "cheating", akin to posting before/after pics in muscle-building subreddits without disclosing that they were taking anabolic steroids.I started doing IF several years ago (without Ozempic), and it was truly life-changing for me; after struggling with maintaining a decent weight for decades, I had finally found a method that worked - I manged to drop ~40 lbs. (roughly 20% of my body weight), and I have kept most of it off. Most importantly, IF finally gave me knowledge on how to reliably regulate my weight, and I have developed habits which I genuinely believe can stay with me for the rest of my life.I have a relative who is also struggling with their weight. They have quite a bit more weight to lose, and they have a terrible time with a concept I first came across when looking into GLP-1 inhibitors: "Food Noise". That constant low-level urge to wander over to the kitchen or pantry just to "have a look" and end up on the couch elbow-deep in a bag of tortilla chips.I have a low-to-moderate level of Food Noise, particularly when I am bored, but for my relative - it was relentless. Overwhelming urges to eat and over-eat, especially after any kind of physical activity. As much as they tried to push it away, the noise just kept on and on. Conversely, my wife has no Food Noise at all, and she simply couldn't understand why my relative was having such a hard time with IF. "Why can't they just use a bit of willpower?"But when my relative recently started on Ozempic, as life-changing as IF was to me - Ozempic was an order of magnitude more mind-blowing to them.Literally the day after their very first Ozempic injection, the Food Noise just.... stopped. Completely. Replaced by a calm realization of how often they were wandering into the kitchen just out of boredom, following the voice in their stomach. They are thrilled to pieces, and have real hope for significant weight loss for the first time in forever.Now one feature of GLP-1 inhibitors is that once you stop taking them, all of the old urges and hungers can come crashing right back in. Studies have shown that levels of weight-gain among people who have stopped GLP-1 is among the highest of any weight-management plans.But this is where IF can still be a real benefit. Since the urges to eat are so much lower on GLP-1, it is very natural/easy to establish an IF routine if you are so inclined. You generally don't want to eat anyways, so developing a routine is not hard at all, and after I preached the Gospel of IF to my relative, they are planning to establish an IF routine while on Ozempic to get into habits that will hopefully benefit them whether they continue on Ozempic or not.In the end, I am not a doctor and I certainly wouldn't want to push GLP-1 onto anyone who has reservations, but from my own experience, it can be a huge help to get started for someone who is finding IF alone too difficult to maintain.In the end, we're all here to lose some weight so we can look and feel better. To that end, we're all on the same team.So if anyone feels inclined to look upon GLP-1 as "cheating", consider that one person's "cheat" might be another one's "life-hack".And if you don't currently suffer from excessive Food Noise, consider counting your blessings! via /r/intermittentfasting https://ift.tt/H6GnKVJ https://ift.tt/V5A0pEr