One reality TV star is revealing her experience with Ozempic.
On June 25, Kandi Burruss shared her goal of losing 20 pounds and returning to where she was at a year prior.
“My ultimate goal is to, basically, lose 20 pounds to get back to where I was last year, overall,” she said. “But I would love, love to overall lose 30, so that I can be into my 130s,” she told “Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
“I haven’t weighed 130-something since I was 30-something,” she added.
The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum tried Ozempic intending to lose weight. However, the following year, she revealed that the drug didn’t affect her progress.
“Last year I tried it,” Ms. Burruss said. “I saw so many people who were trying it and losing weight. So I was like ‘Okay, I’m going to try this.’ And I didn’t lose any weight.”
The 48-year-old singer said people told her that “something must be wrong” or that she may have needed to take a “higher dosage” of the drug. Her doctor was also perplexed by Ms. Burruss’s unusual outcome.
“My doctor was like, ‘I don’t know what the problem is, I’m not seeing this in other people,’” Ms. Burruss explained.
“It didn’t curb my appetite. I know some people are like ‘Oh, I can’t eat.’ Not me! I was eating appetizers, a regular meal, and dessert, okay?” she said. “It didn’t stop anything for me.”
Ms. Burruss revealed that her lack of results with Ozempic began to affect her mentally. “When you see it worked for other people and it doesn’t work for you, it makes you depressed,” she said. “Realistically, it makes you feel like, ‘What is wrong with me? Why is it not working for me?’”
Her decision to try Ozempic ignited after she gained a significant amount of weight, due to her diet and lifestyle, after announcing that she was leaving the reality TV show “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
“After I left ‘Housewives,’ I was eating good, living good. Now, mind you, I was already 10 pounds over my desired weight at the top of the year,” she said. “But then, when I announced that I was not going to do ‘Housewives’ anymore, I was eating dessert every day, taking trips, just living it up. Before I knew it, I was like 170-something pounds. And it was not cute.”
Ms. Burruss told the outlet that her final straw came after seeing comments about her weight gain.
“On my birthday, my husband, he posted a little video of me, and the people made a comment like, ‘Oh Kandi gained weight.’ And that was it for me.” she said.
After changing her eating habits and switching to another weight-loss product, the Xscape singer started to see results and is “feeling good”
Ozempic in Hollywood
In recent years, several public figures have admitted to using weight-loss medication to manage their weight.In December 2023, Oprah Winfrey told “People” that she takes weight-loss medication as a “tool.” However, she did not reveal the specific drug she uses.
“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she said.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for,” she added. “I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”
In June 2023, comedian Amy Schumer shared that she attempted to use Ozempic “like a year ago” but stopped after experiencing negative side effects.
“I was one of the people that felt like so sick and like couldn’t like play with my son,” she said during an episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”
Ms. Schumer also called for people to be honest and transparent about their use of Ozempic or similar medications. “Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, smaller portions,’ like shut the [expletive] up. You’re on Ozempic or one of those things,” she said. “Just be real with the people.”
“You can’t stay on it forever. I’ve lost 42 pounds now and it’s just enough,” Ms. Osbourne told Piers Morgan. “I didn’t actually want to go this thin, but it just happened and I'll probably put it all on again soon.”
“At first, I mean, you feel nauseous,” she added. “You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling. I was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time.”
“You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it. And that’s why I keep saying you’ve got to keep this stuff away from younger people because they will go berserk on it, and it’s not right,” she said.
