30 Years of Food Noise Gone: Jillian’s Skinny Shot Experience

Dr. Basu (00:08):
Welcome back to Behind the Double Doors. I'm Dr. Bob Basu. My guest today is Jillian, a patient of ours who is here to share her weight loss story and journey. Welcome Jillian, and thank you for being with us.

Jillian (00:21):
Hello. Thank you so much for having me.

Dr. Basu (00:24):
So tell us about your story. How much weight have you lost in total?

Jillian (00:27):
It's going to be 62 pounds.

Dr. Basu (00:32):
Wow. Okay. Congratulations.

Jillian (00:35):
Thank you.

Dr. Basu (00:36):
So let's start from the beginning, your success story, but do you remember how you learned about Semaglutide or the GLP-1 medications?

Jillian (00:45):
Actually, I have a friend who used GLP-1s and had tremendous success. But it was more hearing about the benefits of all the abundance and the wonderful things that were happening in her life that it was just so much more than the weight loss. And I was actually having a bad case of plantar fasciitis. And so at that point my doctor said, surgery is your only option. And I said, well, let me give this skinny shot thing a try. And that's how it all started.

Dr. Basu (01:14):
Amazing. And with your weight loss, have you had problems with plantar fasciitis? Has it gotten better?

Jillian (01:20):
It is markedly better. I haven't had any issues. So I started, my first semaglutide shot was exactly 54 weeks ago, so a year and two weeks. And it was about maybe 10 weeks after my first shot that I had my last flare. So it's been more than nine months at this point.

Dr. Basu (01:39):
Okay, awesome. So how did you find us when you were thinking about weight loss?

Jillian (01:44):
Google.

Dr. Basu (01:46):
Google. Alright. And what kind of other things did you try in terms of your goal trying to lose weight before starting the skinny shot?

Jillian (01:56):
This has been a lifelong struggle for me. I come from a good old southern family that values fried foods and sweet tea and with some German heritage, so large people run in the family. I think I have been classified as overweight since probably around puberty. So I have done, you could name it and I could tell you I've tried it.

Dr. Basu (02:19):
And when you were seeing progress, did you hit any roadblocks or did your progress ever stall?

Jillian (02:26):
Actually, I was just talking about this. Yes, and stalls are just very much a natural part of the process, and especially if you look at the ebbs and flows of the psychology behind weight loss. When we first start out, we're super excited. It's really easy. I started at back to school time where we all kind of have this renewed sense of excitement and new beginnings. The holidays, the holidays didn't go away just because I was on semaglutide. Right? I still had to learn to make good choices that were really going to honor the journey that I was on.

Dr. Basu (03:00):
And can you tell us about the process of giving yourself the injections?

Jillian (03:05):
Oh, it's the easiest thing ever. So I'm very, very committed to the health part of this, and that includes even the shot process. So I make sure that I follow the directions very clearly and wash my hands, use some alcohol on the injection site. I've chosen to use my thighs the entire time, and so I know that you can inject in your abdomen. I did that one time, but had a few more side effects. So I chose not to continue with that administration.

Dr. Basu (03:35):
First of all, let's talk a little bit about some of the side effects that you experienced.

Jillian (03:40):
I would say minimal compared to what I had heard. I was super scared initially, and I actually had told myself I'm only going to commit to doing four weeks until I know how I feel on this. Because some people, I'm assuming the goodness, right? I'm assuming that some people just have more side effects. Mild nausea, constipation is very common and belching or burping, and that's really it.

Dr. Basu (04:09):
So your side effects are fairly minimal, but you've noticed that when you were injecting to your thighs, your side effects were a little less?

Jillian (04:16):
I only injected one time into my stomach and I became ill about an hour afterwards, and I was like, I mean, it could totally be just a coincidence that I got sick. But because I have such success as far as the suppression of appetite and so forth, if it's not broken, don't fix it. So I've just stayed at the thigh.

Dr. Basu (04:39):
Okay. The injection sites vary based on patients.

Jillian (04:42):
Correct.

Dr. Basu (04:43):
But as long as you found a solution for yourself, that's what matters. You mentioned about the belching and some of the constipation, which makes sense because the way some of these medications works is that it is slowing down gastric output, meaning the movement of food through your GI tract, things slow down.

Jillian (05:03):
Correct.

Dr. Basu (05:03):
And you can get a little backed up and the belching is kind of gas reduction in getting backed up. Can you tell our listeners about how you stayed on top of that? Any tips, any suggestions?

Jillian (05:13):
So I don't know if you've heard this yet, but I'm actually a college professor in my real life, so research is something I do for fun. Most people don't understand that, but hand me a stack of medical journals and that's an idea of a good time for me. So actually in the American diet, we all tend to be magnesium deficient, and so I chose to supplement with magnesium and it does have some wonderful benefits, aside from helping to keep my bowel movements regular, it also helps with sleep and

Dr. Basu (05:45):
Absolutely.

Jillian (05:45):
It's connected to a bunch of things. So I chose to use magnesium, and so I haven't had any issues with what I would call severe constipation. I listen to my body and I pay attention to my bowel movements. I know some people aren't used to keeping track of something like that, but it is important regardless of what kind of health journey you're on.

Dr. Basu (06:04):
Yeah. Fantastic. Now tell us, now that you've lost 62 pounds, how is your life different?

Jillian (06:11):
So one of the first things that I have to explain is something that really is starting to emerge in the medical literature, but I think for people who have not ever struggled with long-term obesity or disordered eating, they may not understand. And this is the concept of something called food noise. And food noise is this little thing in the back of your brain that's kind of telling you, , chatter. And I am going to be 47 years young in just a few weeks. And so this is something that's been going on for more than three decades of my life. This little constant chatter and, I'm getting emotional. It's hard to explain what it's like for that to stop and to be able to say, for me, it's like a pause button. Prior to semaglutide, I was very impulsive in my overeating choices, I had developed some very bad restriction patterns followed by binging. Because what happens, we know that physiologically your body is going to keep pushing you and your brain is going to keep telling you to eat because that's just the way restriction works.

(07:23):
And so this pause button has just been this incredible gift of, do I really need to eat that? Is that going to help me feel better? How is that food going to feel in my body? Now, I'll tell you, there's been a couple times on the semaglutide I have been very, very adherent to a high protein diet.

Dr. Basu (07:43):
Excellent.

Jillian (07:44):
So I don't count carbohydrates because one of the things that's changed in addition to the food noise, which has been profound in my life, it's been a mindset shift. So on every single diet plan has been about what I can't have, what I shouldn't have, what I need to take away, where semaglutide has been about abundance. How much protein can I get to? And that changes everything because I'm not focused on, I can't have X, Y, Z, I'm focused on how much have I reached the maximum amount of protein. And it really, Dr. Basu, it is miraculous what that mindset shift does for the rest of your journey.

Dr. Basu (08:31):
Jillian, you said a couple of things absolutely flawlessly and perfectly, and I want to pause for our listeners just to really underscore some of these points. Number one, I can't tell you how many times I hear from my patients about this elimination of food noise. So you're not alone. And some people feel that maybe these GLP-1 or GIP medications have a way of dampening that noise. Perhaps it has to do with our craving centers or addiction centers because food is a form of positive feedback for a lot of us. And it suppresses that chronic noise that people have been enduring for years. So you described that perfectly. And I'm so happy you talked about not focusing on restricting, but focusing on maximizing protein. There's a lot of misinformation out there about, well, semaglutide or the other class of medications, tirzepatide, these GLP, GIP medications.

(09:26):
Well, they cause muscle wasting. And I think the reason why some patients are experiencing that is because getting these medicines online at these other clinics and they're not getting educated about nutrition. That''s so, so important. It's one of the things that my team and my nurses take really pride on it. It's not just the medicine, right? It's about a lifestyle change, as you perfectly described. We want to make sure that where our patients are optimizing protein, they have an active lifestyle, whether it be exercise, cardio, weight training, resistance training, whatever works for them. So that if they're maximizing protein, they're maintaining and building muscle and focusing on losing fat. And so I'm really happy that you emphasized that. It's really thinking about, am I getting enough protein? What are my protein sources? And thinking very positively about your nutrition rather than restricting. And I think these medications really help align patients in the right way, so they're moving forward in a positive direction. Another question, in terms of your diet, are there some of your favorite go-to foods that are heightened protein? What advice do you have for our listeners from your experience?

Jillian (10:30):
Well, I would say it is time to get creative. Social media can be the armpit of humanity, I call it when am I teaching, but it can also be a great way to connect with other people who are on similar journeys. So I have just been on, I call it a protein hack. I try to take things that I really enjoy and find ways to make 'em high protein. So I love Greek yogurt, which can be a healthier thing, but a typical Greek yogurt is going to be about 12 grams of protein per day. My goal every day is a hundred grams of protein to 120 grams.

Dr. Basu (11:03):
Excellent. Love it.

Jillian (11:04):
And so I have found there's a milk product in a local grocery store here. The product I use is 11 grams of protein with, significantly reduced because it's an ultra filtered milk. So they take out the sugar and the carbohydrates and they increase the protein content. So I take three quarters of a cup to a cup, and then I take my Greek yogurt and then I add sugar-free jello pudding mix, and it becomes like a parfait. I found a high protein granola product, and then I dice up some strawberries and it is a yogurt parfait that I enjoy. And it's about 27 grams of protein when I have all of the parts and pieces together.

Dr. Basu (11:47):
Yeah, fantastic. Fantastic. So what do other people say about you with your weight loss now? What kind of feedback do you get?

Jillian (11:55):
I'm more positive, how I'm interacting with people. It's changed my body language. It's changed my mood stability. I'm also seeing tremendous benefits that I had not anticipated. I have a couple of chronic health issue, things that are not related to my weight but are genetic that cause sometimes headache problems and joint pain. And my husband, about six months or so into my semaglutide journey, he said, I just can't believe the decrease I hear in you talking about, you know I don't feel well or my back hurts, or whatever. So I think what people are seeing is more optimism. I have more energy to get up and go. My kids are even like, so you're familiar with this area, I made it a goal that I wanted to be able to walk the entire three miles around the lake where we are here. And so I was able to do that one day.

(12:49):
Oh, actually, I do have a good story for you on this one. So I can shop in the regular clothes stores now, which is kind of exciting when you haven't been able to in a long time. And so I was in a store with my daughter and she texted me and she said, where are you? I can't find you. And I turned around, I said, Maddie, I, I'm right behind you. And she goes, that's you? Oh my God, you're so skinny. I didn't even recognize you. So my daughter literally standing right behind me in the store when she turned around, didn't realize it was me. So it's hard to explain, but it's not just about the aesthetics part of it, which is great. We live in a culture where our beauty and our weight is very much a part of how women are perceived in their femininity and their value and their worth. And to be able to look at myself in the mirror and say, look, kind of good today, that changes everything.

Dr. Basu (13:54):
Yeah. Yeah, I know, absolutely. Well said. Well said. Have there been any unexpected surprises along the way?

Jillian (14:01):
I was not anticipating how good I was going to feel. And because like I said, so many people, especially on social media, they'll talk about, oh, I'm throwing up nonstop, or, oh, I can't eat this, or, oh, I can't. I did not have any of that.

Dr. Basu (14:15):
All medicines do have side effects. However, with Semaglutide Tirzepatide or Skinny Shot and Skinny Shot Pro, as I tell all patients, it's not just the medication. It's what we teach our patients in terms of how to eat, when to eat high protein. You can have some carbs, but it's really about helping patients go through a lifestyle change and our relationship with food and how we intake food. So it's more than just a medication. And so it's part of that lifestyle change that works synergistically with the medication so that our patients are successful. It's not just a medication. I think when you're just taking the medication without proper education, you open yourself up to the side effects. If you overeat, if you have too much carbs, if you're drinking too much alcohol, which has a lot of carbs, you will get a nausea response. You're not going to feel good, and you may vomit. But if someone's not educated about what they should be doing, not doing, they're going to make those common mistakes. And so it's about educating what we should be doing in addition to the medicine that aligns our patients to be successful.

Jillian (15:20):
Well, a hundred percent. And you hit on two things that are actually important, and part of how I share my story. One is I did have options, like you said, of going to other people, but I specifically chose your clinic because I knew I'd have a relationship. I knew I'd have some accountability. I knew I'd have somebody to reach out to and say, this isn't going well, or this is going well. And so I would really encourage people to, you might be able to save a couple hundred dollars here and there by going with an online company or even maybe a little med spa, but I would strongly discourage that. And I would encourage people to actually pursue the kind of relationship that you get with your clinic and the relationship like I have with my shot nurse. I consider her one of my biggest fans in this journey and a friend at this point. I mean, I love that part of it.

Dr. Basu (16:08):
One of the reasons why our team loves helping patients with this is not only we love seeing successful stories, but it's a partnership.

Jillian (16:15):
Correct.

Dr. Basu (16:15):
And we work together. And look, there are going to be impediments. For instance, some people are not as active, they hit a plateau. We have to focus on their activity level. Maybe we'll help them find a personal trainer. Or maybe there's some people that have lost weight that have now stuck, and we have to further examine where they are hormonally. Maybe they have some sort of testosterone or estrogen deficiencies. I mean, there's other things that we may need to look at to see how we can surmount any impediments so that they can move forward. So it really is a partnership, and that's why it's so satisfying to help patients who are really committed to making progress in this arena. The other thing you talked about, about the other health benefits, I mean, you're constantly seeing new evidence and studies about the other health benefits of GLP-1 and GIP medications.

(17:04):
Even from the get go, there were animal studies early on that showed there were anti-inflammatory effects of these medications prior to animals losing weight. Now, of course, we know with weight loss there's inherent anti-inflammatory effects, but these medicines also have another role that more studies are clarifying that have beneficial health effects in terms of anti-inflammatory effects to your joints, to your heart, to your kidney, to your liver, and to the brain. There's other secondary health benefits to these medications. This is really exciting. I think we're at the tip of the iceberg in terms of helping people feel better about themselves.

Jillian (17:40):
We really are. I shared with somebody else that I am an adult who has ADHD, and I was a part of that generation where it was little boys who bounced off the walls. So it was missed until later on in life. And so I do follow up with a doctor for that on a regular basis, and she has been so encouraged by my journey because impulsive eating is also very, it's correlation in the research, but connected with the impulsivity of ADHD with overeating. So anyhow, she just attended a conference and someone presented on the mental health benefits of semaglutide, and she was talking about the research that she believes that it's actually going to be a part of depression treatment soon because of some of the research that's coming out. Now, do we say that's because I feel better about myself, I feel better physically, therefore I have better mental health? Who knows, right? But I do know that I have yet to find an area of my life that has not drastically improved since starting semaglutide.

Dr. Basu (18:40):
Yeah, you're a scientist. You're already thinking about confounding variables. I can see your thought process and I'm smiling, but who really cares? If you're healthier, you're more active, you're feeling better about yourself, these are all wins. And if there's secondary, tertiary health benefits, well that's additional pluses too. So I'm excited to follow the data that comes out with more evidence that I think is growing about the benefits of these medications. One last question, so what would you tell someone who's thinking about this or thinking about trying the Skinny Shot or Skinny Shot Pro for weight loss? What advice do you have for them?

Jillian (19:15):
The first is, what are you waiting for? This is go ahead and make an appointment and get started. But one, you want to research, you should know how this medication works. There are so much information available for us to be consumers of the knowledge behind these medications and their mechanisms and how they work. So know what it is that the process that you're getting into. One, commit yourself to, like you said, a lifestyle change. This is not a miracle drug in the sense that you can continue all of the behaviors that you're having and just shed weight. It doesn't work like that. Life doesn't work like that. If life worked like that, I would pay a million dollars for the shot, but it doesn't. Right? You have to do the work. So you have to commit to also connecting with movement. A lot of people as a part of lifelong struggles with obesity and disordered eating, have a disconnect with exercise.

(20:13):
Exercise is only done to lose weight. And Dr. Basu, I will tell you, I was one of those people with a mentality. I'm like, what's the point of working out? But also, I was so large that working out hurts.

Dr. Basu (20:27):
It was difficult. Yeah.

Jillian (20:28):
Yeah. There was not, I mean, walking up the stairs, I was like, uh. And so I would say, you've got to make this connection, you've got to find peace with the importance of movement. Find exercise you love. I happen to love walking, especially just it helps me clear my mind, but I also like to do, they're called kettlebells. It's a type of resistance training. YouTube is free. You can probably find at this point, 500,000 videos on demand. And so that's what I've chosen to do. I work out at home. It's quicker and it works very well with me. So find some peace with movement. Water. You've got to drink it.

Dr. Basu (21:07):
Hydrate. Yes, absolutely.

Jillian (21:09):
You have to for constipation, but also as a part of that pause mechanism. So you mentioned something earlier about the addiction part of it. So food in our culture is dopamine satisfying and producing. So high salt, high sugar, high fat food, it helps with people who crave dopamine. We know neurotransmitters in the brain for the science people who are listening here, once you have those dopamine receptors, they don't go away. You will crave dopamine for the rest of your life, and that is why, for example, people struggling with drug addiction, it's so hard for them to get into recovery. With semaglutide using that as a tool in your toolkit, right, with water, this is such a great pause button. So if I find myself like, I'm like, gosh, how can I be hungry? I just had such and such not too long ago.

(21:55):
I stop and think maybe I'm thirsty. I'll drink eight to 12 ounces of water in a short period of time. I'll give myself about 10 minutes or so and then I stop and I check in again with my body and say, okay, am I still hungry? Now if I'm still hungry, I'm going to eat. I'm not going to go into that mindset of not listening to what my body is telling me, but that pause button is going to give me an opportunity to make a healthier choice. Having a piece of fruit or having vegetables. Again, getting creative with protein. I know I love ranch dressing, I told y'all I'm from the south, but guess what? You can make your own ranch dressing at home using Greek yogurts, and so it reduces your calories, your fat, it increases your protein, and it gives you a satisfying snack that you can kind of feel guilty about because it tastes so good.

(22:40):
So you've got to research, drink your water, and then sleep. I think we really underestimate, I have committed to that as a part of my journey as well, is making sure that my body is rested. Because it can't heal itself and my plateaus, the times that I have plateaued, you can go back and look at, because I keep all the research on my phone, I have a scanning thing with my body app and all that, and the times where I've stalled, you'll see that I was not getting adequate sleep. There's an app called Me 360 that actually does a body scan, and it gives you kind of a, before you can do your measurement tracking and so forth, and so it helps with any dysphoria that people have. Now, I was one of those weird people, Dr. Basu, I always thought I was skinnier than I was. I would get a picture and I'd be like, oh my God, that's me? It didn't register in that way, but also I carry most of my weight on my lower part of my body, and so I'm a full size difference in the top and the bottom. And so it's helped to have that kind of body comparison to look at and to be more realistic with my progress and areas I need to work on and areas that you'll be fixing surgically when I get to that point.

Dr. Basu (23:57):
When you're ready. Now, is there anything else you think we should have asked you that would be helpful for listeners?

Jillian (24:03):
I think the thing for me that I wanted to make sure was that because probably nine months or so, cuz I had been seeing a chiropractor and doctor to help with the plantar fasciitis. I was trying to do everything I could and the, I guess assistant was doing GLP-1s, and she told me about it. I said, well, how does it work? She said, it just makes it where you want to puke every time you look at food. And I was like,

Dr. Basu (24:29):
No, not at all.

Jillian (24:30):
I don't want to do that. Who wants to be nauseated 24/7? So I want to make sure that people understand that's not really the case. Occasionally I will get nauseous. I had my shot yesterday, and so usually the day after eating today was not on the top of my priority list.

Dr. Basu (24:49):
I mean, I got nauseous the first couple of days when I started on semaglutide, but I think it was my body getting used to it, and the only time I would get nauseous, quite frankly, I misbehaved the night before and I overate. I mean, it is what it is. It's my fault.

Jillian (25:03):
That's the point that I was trying to make was like, it's not really the medication that causes, it can, but it's more of the choices you're making.

Dr. Basu (25:10):
And I made bad choices the night before. It was obvious, and I just didn't feel good the next morning. And then you modify. Jillian, you're a true success story. We're really proud of the progress you've made.

Jillian (25:22):
Thank you.

Dr. Basu (25:22):
And we're thankful for you coming on our podcast to share your experience with our listeners. You really are an inspiration, so thank you so much.

Jillian (25:31):
Thank you.

Announcer (25:35):
Basu Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery is located in Northwest Houston in the Towne Lake area of Cypress. If you'd like to be a guest or ask a question for Dr. Basu to answer on the podcast, go to basuplasticsurgery.com/podcast. On Instagram, follow Dr. Basu and the team @BasuPlasticSurgery. That's B-A-S-U Plastic Surgery. Behind the Double Doors is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.