You’ve probably tried all the usual solutions—restrictive diets, intense exercises, and miracle products—but you’re still stuck. Excess weight does more than risk your health; it can create a plethora of challenges.
Fortunately, you haven’t exhausted all your options. At Your Skin Prescription, we use semaglutide near Pittsburgh to turn your body goals into a reality.
With medical weight loss, you can regain confidence in your overall health, mobility, social life, and most importantly, yourself. Let’s team up to help you break through that weight loss wall and achieve lasting health!
What is semaglutide?
Semaglutide is a weight loss medication that mimics an intestinal hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). When present, GLP-1 reduces your appetite and slows digestion, facilitating healthier dietary choices.
The History of Medical Weight Loss
The GLP-1 hormone was discovered in 1986. Then, in 2005, researchers developed the first GLP-1 medication in order to treat type 2 diabetes. GLP-1 drugs are agonists, meaning they are chemicals that bind to other cells and trigger a biological response. The resulting weight loss possibilities of GLP-1 medications became clear following their use by type 2 diabetes patients.
In 2014, the FDA approved the first GLP-1 drug specifically for weight loss. Since then, this class of medications has undergone intense scrutiny and clinical testing to ensure their reliability and effectiveness. Studies indicate that weight loss injections can also reduce your risks of developing stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Today, millions have lost weight and restored their health with assistance from GLP-1 agonists, including semaglutide.
Semaglutide Treatment
The dosage of weight loss injections, like semaglutide, can vary depending on your physical condition and target weight. Your Skin Prescription uses semaglutide alongside other weight loss methods to help you achieve your health goals. We are careful to minimize the use of semaglutide near Pittsburgh, while still working to ensure your results last.
How does semaglutide work?
Semaglutide works by reducing your appetite, essentially tricking your brain into thinking you’re full, which gives you more control over your diet. This control also leads to more optimized body processes, including improved gut, metabolic, and cardiovascular health. These improvements can give you the energy, motivation, and clarity to be more active.
As a result, you can foster a biological system that’s more adept at burning fat, building muscle, and sustaining weight loss—even during setbacks.
Delving Into the Science of Semaglutide
Eating triggers the release of incretin hormones, including GLP-1, from your intestines into your bloodstream. GLP-1 receptors, which allow communication with the hormone, are present in your gut, pancreas, and brain. GLP-1 has multiple functions, but its principal job is signaling to your body that you’ve eaten.
Your Gut & Semaglutide
GLP-1 signals your gut to slow digestion, allowing it to process the food it receives properly. With increased GLP-1 levels, you stay full for longer. By doing this, you are less prone to overindulging later or snacking between meals.
Your Pancreas & Semaglutide
GLP-1 tells your pancreas to produce more insulin. Just like a key unlocks a door, insulin enables glucose from your food to enter your cells. Your body uses glucose, or blood sugar, to produce energy for all of your normal activities.
Glucose can only enter your cells with the help of incretin hormones and insulin. Otherwise, it builds up in your bloodstream. This issue is common among people who are overweight. Left alone, glucose buildup can result in hyperglycemia and cause:
- Eye problems
- Kidney damage
- Nerve damage
- Cardiovascular disease
Your Brain & Semaglutide
Overweight individuals often have a hyperactive appetite, which can be due to factors like poor diet, genetics, or certain medications. After you eat, GLP-1 travels to the GLP-1 receptors in your brain, communicating that you are full. With semaglutide near Pittsburgh, your body believes it’s satisfied, even when you haven’t eaten much, helping to lower your appetite.
Benefits of Losing Weight with Semaglutide
Semaglutide presents compelling benefits for its use in your weight loss efforts.
Effective, Rapid Weight Loss
Given the prevalence of weight loss scams, it’s understandable to be skeptical about the effects of weight loss medications. However, semaglutide has repeatedly shown itself to facilitate meaningful weight loss for an abundance of people. For example, after six months, a clinical research study of 102 patients on semaglutide found:
- 89 (87.3%) achieved weight loss of 5% or more.
- 56 (54.9%) achieved weight loss of 10% or more.
- 24 (23.5%) achieved weight loss of 15% or more.
- 8 (7.8%) achieved weight loss of 20% or more.
Clearly, GLP-1 agonists offer highly effective weight loss, with most patients experiencing substantial weight reduction in just half a year.
Internal Optimization
Not only can semaglutide help you lose weight, it can combine with other behaviors to set you up for long-term success. Though stopping semaglutide without lifestyle changes may cause weight gain, utilizing its full potential can optimize your body, leading to sustained weight loss.
Here are some examples of how semaglutide can facilitate internal optimization:
- Improved dietary habits
- Increased insulin sensitivity
- Blood sugar stability
- Improved metabolic health
Semaglutide Treatment Process at Your Skin Prescription
Although each individual weight loss journey varies, you can expect certain steps when starting treatment with semaglutide near Pittsburgh.
Consultation
When you come in for medical weight loss, we’ll start with a consultation. One of our providers will review your medical and family history, goals for treatment, and general lifestyle. Be ready to share your weight journey and the difficulties you’ve encountered. The better we understand your needs, the more accurately we can meet them.
At your consultation, we’ll also take standard measurements and calculate your body mass index (BMI), which will inform our treatment recommendations. After your consultation, we will request lab work to help us further assess your health. After receiving the results and evaluating the required levels, we can start semaglutide treatment.
Treatment
While implementation of semaglutide can look different for everyone, you can expect to visit us once a week for your injections. We’ll check up with you often to see how you progress and watch for side effects. A general target is to shed 2 pounds each week. Our team may recommend adjustments to your treatment plan based on how you respond to the medication.
Ongoing Support
At Your Skin Prescription, our medical care does not end with semaglutide. We provide ongoing support for a healthy diet, increased activity, and supplemental treatments. Since semaglutide reduces your appetite, we want to make sure you’re living a healthy lifestyle with enough nutrients and strengthening exercises.
Enhancing Your Weight Loss Results
We offer a range of treatments that can enhance the speed and quality of your weight loss results with semaglutide near Pittsburgh.
Vitamin Injections
A vitamin deficiency can worsen your energy levels, sleep quality, metabolic function, and more. Our vitamin shots deliver the nutrients you need directly into your bloodstream, providing physical and mental improvements to support weight loss efforts.
NAD+ Therapy
NAD+ therapy increases the vital proteins that regulate your metabolism, improve energy, and increase muscle function. These benefits can greatly enhance your weight loss efforts.
Weight Loss IVs
Our weight loss IVs work by optimizing your body’s natural fat-burning process. This blend contains lipotropics that speed up your metabolism, allowing for quicker fat burn and more effective weight loss.
Semaglutide Frequently Asked Questions
As a leading provider of semaglutide near Pittsburgh, we receive many questions about this powerful medication. Here are some of the most common questions we get.
How quickly does semaglutide work for weight loss?
Every patient responds to semaglutide differently. Most people experience initial weight loss after 2 to 3 months and reach more impressive results around 6 months into treatment.
How much weight can you lose on semaglutide?
The amount of weight you can lose on semaglutide is relative to your starting weight, height, and build. Many other factors also influence the weight you can lose, such as:
- Caloric intake and nutrition
- Activity levels
- Exercise and strengthening activities
- Age
- Genetics
- Hormones
- Other medications
- And more
What are the side effects of semaglutide?
Like with all medications, semaglutide can cause some side effects, like:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea/vomiting
- Stomach pain and upset stomach
- Fatigue
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Overactive belching
- Heartburn
If you experience any of these side effects while using semaglutide, contact your provider immediately. We can adjust your dosage as needed to help you stay on track to your goals safely.
Turn Your Body Goals into a Reality
Our team is prepared to help you eliminate stubborn fat and realize your body goals. You’ve spent years, maybe even decades, trying to find a solution, so it’s time to let an expert help you. Ready with compassionate support, supplementary treatments, and a wealth of knowledge, Your Skin Prescription is the ideal environment to get semaglutide near Pittsburgh.
To further explore our treatment options online, try our Treatment Planning Tool. Simply add your concerns, and we’ll get to work on a customized treatment plan based on your answers.
Continue reading: Getting Started with Weight Loss Injections; The Science that Sheds Pounds
