How Wegovy Freed Me From Emotional Eating
Key takeaways:
Larisa Courtien has wanted to lose weight throughout nearly every stage of her life.
During each milestone — from her wedding to her pregnancies — her body image has always been top of mind.
Now 34, she says the weight-loss medication Wegovy is allowing her to finally eat intuitively and without guilt.
Larisa Courtien can barely remember a time she wasn’t trying to lose weight.
“I’m a woman raised in America. So my body dysmorphia started when I was 8,” she says, half-joking. “I have literally been trying to lose weight my entire life.”
Larisa, now a 34-year-old married mother of two who lives in Queens, New York, sees herself as relatable to many women her age. She used to be a dancer and a Pilates instructor. In 2016, when she got married, she weighed 139 lbs and was in the best shape of her life.
Save over 40% on Qsymia with GoodRx
Discover the once daily Qsymia for weight management. Qsymia is for adults and children 12-17 in combination with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Then, life happened: pregnancy, an emergency C-section in 2017, postpartum anxiety and depression, weight gain, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I wanted to have my second child, I was the biggest I’d ever been,” Larisa, who weighed 165 lbs at the time, says. “I had two miscarriages back-to-back. We decided we were going to stop trying while I tried to lose weight.”
Highs and lows of mood and weight
Larisa got back to the lifestyle routines and diet that had worked for her before. She started working out again. And, by the time she got pregnant with her second child, she was down to 149 lbs on her 5-foot-tall frame.
But after giving birth in 2021, her weight started to creep up again. She was also taking an antidepressant, which she says contributed to her getting to 170 lbs.
By March 2023, Larisa was fed up and asked her doctor about other tools to help her lose weight. Her doctor prescribed her Wegovy (semaglutide), a once-weekly, injectable weight-loss medication that targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite.
“I was lucky. My insurance approved it right away,” Larisa says. “Because I also have prediabetes, it was not an issue.”
Now, she pays anywhere from $25 to $125 a month for Wegovy, depending on the dosage. And she documents her weight-loss journey on her social media accounts.
Panic attacks give way to reduced ‘food noise’
When she first started taking Wegovy, Larisa experienced panic attacks, which are not a side effect of the medication but may have been related to her existing mental health issues, she says. She took the starter dosage for 8 weeks, instead of the typical 4 weeks. She experimented with where she injected her shot, the time of day she took it, and what she ate on injection days.
She prefers taking the shots in her belly instead of her thigh, for instance. She likes giving herself her weekly injections on Fridays. And she pays more attention to her protein consumption.
“What I found is that, if I really increased my protein in the 24 hours before and after the shot, my anxiety essentially didn’t flare up,” she says. If she eats poorly, like the time she had pizza a couple of days in a row, she feels sick.
Within 6 months of taking Wegovy, Larisa lost about 15 lbs. Now, she says, she no longer thinks about food all the time.
“I’ve heard it referred to as ‘food noise,’” Larisa says, describing how she would constantly battle with herself about whether or not she was really hungry. “Now, I know when I’m hungry. I don’t walk around with a feeling of fullness. Instead of how hungry I am being top of mind, it’s now the 10th thing I think about.”
‘It’s not a mental game anymore’
So much about weight loss feels easier now that she’s taking Wegovy, Larisa says.
“It’s not a mental game anymore,” she says. “I don’t have to talk myself out of snacking, because I generally feel fuller faster and it forces me to eat well.”
Larisa realizes that she may have to take Wegovy for the rest of her life to see continued results.
“It being a lifelong medication doesn’t actually concern me yet,” she says. “I feel like the issue will be if and when we want to have another child. Then, I’ll have to talk to my doctor and think about it more.”
For now, she adds, Wegovy helps her be more balanced. She still exercises, counts her protein, goes to therapy, and unwinds with journaling. But food is no longer the enemy.
“It’s not emotional for me anymore,” Larisa says. “I am taking Wegovy for the freedom. It gives me freedom to dream about the future, freedom to eat intuitively and not feel guilty. Just knowing that really keeps me motivated.”
Why trust our experts?
Was this page helpful?
Compare other weight-loss drugs
Related Articles
Browse medications
View AllResearch prescriptions and over-the-counter medications from A to Z, compare drug prices, and start saving.