How Wegovy Is Making My Goal of Weight-Loss Surgery More Attainable
Key takeaways:
Wegovy is a prescription-only medication approved for weight loss for people who are considered overweight or obese. Its generic name is semaglutide.
Francis “Pete” Brennan is taking Wegovy so he can lose 185 lbs to be eligible for weight-loss surgery.
To achieve his weight-loss goal, Pete is combining weekly Wegovy injections and intense daily workouts with an entirely new way of eating. He’s also practicing self-love and is determined to improve his health for himself, his wife, and his young son.
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Francis “Pete” Brennan of Bellmawr, New Jersey, says he’s always been a big guy.
He was one of the largest students in his high school graduating class. And by the time he was in his early 30s, he says his weight had reached more than 600 lbs because of overeating, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise.
But in 2023, fueled by several health scares and stern words from his doctor, the 38-year-old realtor and mortgage processor changed pretty much everything about his life: what he eats, what he drinks, his level of physical activity, and his attitude toward himself and his family.
Aided by the weight-loss medication Wegovy (semaglutide), he’s on a mission to drop from 635 lbs to 450 lbs in the first part of 2024, so that he’s eligible for weight-loss surgery.
“There were years when I tried to lose weight, but I would fall off the horse and gain it back, and I wouldn’t really stick to an eating plan,” says Pete, who chronicles his workouts and weight-loss milestones on his TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Now, he says he hopes that the eventual surgery will keep him on a healthy path.
Health histories, scares, and inspiration
In January 2023, Pete experienced occasional bouts of atrial fibrillation, or uncontrolled beating of his heart. Then, he spent 5 days in the hospital with pancreatitis, a condition that inflames the pancreas and causes severe abdominal pain. Several days after he got home, he fell in the shower. Unable to get up, he says, he was ashamed when his 6-year-old son offered to help.
“That kind of changed my whole outlook on everything,” says Pete, who remembers his own father battling weight-related health problems for much of his life. “That’s when I realized it was time to do something and make changes.”
Pete put together a medical team that includes his primary care doctor, an endocrinologist to monitor his testosterone and other hormones, a cardiologist to monitor his heart, and a surgeon who specializes in weight loss.
Wegovy: Part of a weight-loss plan
It was during a regular checkup with his weight-loss specialist in 2023 that Pete set his current weight-loss goal. Pete weighed 635 lbs at the time, and his doctor confronted him about his plan to have surgery to shrink his stomach.
“What are you doing?” Pete remembers his doctor asking. “You didn’t lose any weight since your last visit, but you gained 50 lbs. Do you want me to take you seriously, because you can’t have surgery at your current weight. You have to get down to 500 lbs.”
Pete’s doctor was referring to the fact that a CT scan table can’t hold more than 500 lbs. And Pete would have to have imaging before the surgery.
“What can we do to make this surgery happen?” Pete responded to his doctor. “I have a son and a wife. I want my life to get better. What if I can get to 450 lbs?”
“I think that’s a perfect idea,” Pete’s doctor said, suggesting Wegovy as a tool to support his weight-loss goal.
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Wegovy curbs cravings and old habits
In addition to upping his regular workouts and overhauling his diet, Pete began self-injecting Wegovy every Monday, directly into the fat near his stomach. He started with a low dosage, slowly increasing it until recently reaching 2.4 mg. (Dosages for the medication range from .25 to 2.4 mg.) His insurance covers Wegovy, so he only has to pay $25 per dose. Without insurance, each dose can cost as much as $270.
“I feel that Wegovy has helped me control my eating habits,” says Pete, whose daily meals used to start with four-egg, five-slices-of-bacon breakfasts. He would follow breakfast with huge lunches and dinners, he adds, at which he’d eat his portions and everyone else’s leftovers. He snacked frequently and didn’t exercise.
“On Wegovy, I haven’t been hungry. Even when I get home for lunch, I’m not hungry. But I know I need to eat to meet my protein goals, especially because I’m going to the gym 4 days a week,” he says. “Before Wegovy, I was probably taking in 4,000 calories a day and not burning nearly as much as I do now on a 2,500-calorie eating plan.”
These days, Pete eats lots of proteins and vegetables, minimal carbohydrates, and drinks plenty of water and liquids to stay hydrated.
“I honestly didn’t think I would be going as hard as I am at the gym, but I’m getting pretty intense now,” he says. “Now that I’m working out harder at the gym, I’m burning fat and gaining muscle. It’s great.”
While he’s happy with the progress he’s been making, Pete acknowledges that embracing Wegovy was a huge commitment.
“I’ll be the first one to tell you, I was nervous to take Wegovy at first,” Pete explains. “But I’ve seen how much it has helped my life. It’s been a great tool to get me where I need to be. It’s definitely been a huge help with curbing my appetite and quieting the urges of wanting to eat after I’d already eaten. It’s definitely silenced those urges. I feel fuller longer now.”
Another motivation? “Seeing how my son acts when I come home from the gym, especially when he says things like, ‘Wow, Dad, you’re losing some more weight, and you’re looking skinnier,” Pete says. “Days like that keep me going and make me realize who and what I’m doing this for.”
A new routine, a new mindset
Pete’s days are now meticulously scheduled: Go to work, work out at the gym 4 times a week with a motivating friend and mentor, return home, eat pre-prepped meals, relax with the family.
Monday workouts involve targeting his upper chest, weight training, and 15 minutes on a stationary bike. Tuesdays are for back muscles, cardio, and the bike. Thursdays are for toning arms and shoulders, followed by 30 minutes of cardio. Saturdays involve shoulder and chest workouts, after which he shops for the next week’s meals. And he uses an app to track his weekly progress.
His goal is to lose enough weight to be eligible for the first phase of the two-step bariatric surgery. The first operation will shrink the capacity of his stomach to about 2 oz. If all goes well for a year, the second surgery will reconfigure his intestinal tract to accommodate smaller portions for the rest of his life.
In the meantime, the steps he’s taking to transform his body have had an equally powerful impact on his attitude and mindset.
“Ever since I started working out in February of 2023, I love myself a lot more. I wake up and go to sleep happy,” he says. “I wake up ready to start my day. It’s a totally different feeling. I’m ready to stop saying ‘some day’ and start saying ‘Day 1.’ I want to be ahead of the game, not always chasing a dream.”
His advice to others who are hoping to achieve dramatic weight loss?
“Start right away. Don’t delay it. If I would have started this a lot sooner, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now, like it’s a race against time,” he says. “I’ve always procrastinated and said, ‘I’ll get to it later’ or ‘I’ll get to it eventually,’ and I never did. But I’m doing it now: I’m eating better, I’m at the gym 4 days a week, I’m taking Wegovy, and I feel amazing. I feel better, and my whole outlook on life has changed.”
He adds, “If you want to make the change, just put aside what people think about you, embrace self-respect, and just do it. It’s not about what people think about you. It’s about you loving you.”
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