Bye-Bye Stubborn Fat, Hello New Wardrobe: Karen’s GLP-1 Weight Loss Story

Monique Ramsey (00:04):
Welcome everyone to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I'm your hostess, Monique Ramsey. Today I have a patient on the podcast and her name is Karen and she's, I have a really inspirational story about her journey with our Signature Skinny Shot and how wonderful that we have patients who are so kind as to come on the podcast, share their story so that people like you out there who might be thinking about whatever we're talking about. And today it's the skinny shot that you might be encouraged to hear how somebody who's been through it and how it's gone for them and how they feel about their results. So welcome, Karen.

Karen (00:42):
Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here.

Monique Ramsey (00:45):
Oh, thank you. So first, let's just tell us about yourself and wait for you because you look amazing. So I feel like if I've never met you before, this would just be you all the time.

Karen (00:57):
Well, thank you very much. I am so thrilled with my progress here. I've been coming to La Jolla Cosmetic for many, many years. I get my Botox here, and so when I was up visiting Lauren's group on level three, I saw the sign that says Skinny program. So I had asked because I was overweight, I was pushing 180 something pounds and there was really no reason for it. I felt like I would do exercise, I eat pretty good, but I just couldn't seem to get that 20 pounds off even though I tried and tried on my own. So the skinny program, I inquired and I was introduced to Lauren and Jason who have been by my side the whole time along with being seen by the doctor. So my progress, I have succeeded in losing 25 pounds. I hit my goal weight at February before I went on my Caribbean cruise with my mother. So that was super exciting.

Monique Ramsey (01:54):
Nice.

Karen (01:54):
Being able to fit in clothes and look good in clothes, there's not a better feeling in the world

Monique Ramsey (02:00):
Right.

Karen (02:00):
There's really not. I feel good about myself again. I can wear cute clothes, bathing suits. I'm like a, I feel like I'm 20 again. It's amazing.

Monique Ramsey (02:11):
Well, I love that. And how long has weight always been a struggle for you or was it more recently?

Karen (02:18):
Well, I struggled when I was 50 years old. I ended up with of course, menopause and then I had breast cancer. So after my breast cancer, I had some struggles with that for a couple of years and got through it, but that's when I really started packing on the weight. And then after that I just couldn't get rid of it and it just kept coming and coming. It was more difficult. And I found that it was once I hit like 182 and I'm a oversized 12 and getting ready for my next pair of jeans, I thought I'd rather be doing something about it then feeling this way. Every single day I felt fat and it was in my mind, I feel fat. I feel fat. It was taking up brain space for me. And now that I'm not, I feel skinny, I'm a size six and I'm thrilled to, and I'm at my goal weight, so I'm happy there. Now I'm maintaining it. I work out three days a week. I do treadmill for 30 minutes at the LA Fitness, and then I do my weight exercises, and then I try to throw in a golf game or Orange Theory, walks on the beach. A body in motion stays in motion. And now I have a lot of energy for that, which I didn't have before.

Monique Ramsey (03:27):
Yeah. And I think just getting out there is harder when you don't feel good about yourself. I know I'm speaking from my own experience, it's harder to get motivated to go do something good for yourself, even though you know should, it's sort of hard, especially if you're just feeling self-conscious about how you look or how people might perceive you or going to the gym. I feel like that sort of can be an intimidating environment.

Karen (03:52):
And feeling frumpy. Right? I don't want to feel frumpy anymore. Why should we when we have skinny?

Monique Ramsey (04:01):
Exactly. Exactly.

Karen (04:03):
It's a fabulous option because being skinny, you feel better about yourself. Like I said, you look better in clothing when you go somewhere. I mean, I have noticed that men pull out the chairs for me in a dining table, they open doors for you, they buy you drinks. And I am actually thrilled just be able to get attention again, cuz at 63 years old, you kind of lose that a little bit and it's nice to get it back.

Monique Ramsey (04:29):
Yeah, and well, of course. And I think having what you were saying, it was taking up mental space. That's so true. I know for me it's been the same thing where it just doesn't need to be there. And if you can get rid of it and stop thinking about it and go, just enjoy your life. And I love, so on the cruise, did you have a whole new wardrobe?

Karen (04:49):
I had a whole new wardrobe. Let me just tell you Monique, it was fabulous. I was running around in a bathing suit, short dresses, sunny dresses and things that we enjoy wearing short shorts. I enjoyed dolling up for the fine dining and my mom was just thrilled to see me so happy and feeling elegant, having so much fun with looking good. It was my solution for me that was perfect because I don't have any stretch marks on my stomach. So now I have a flat stomach and lemme show it to you. I'm thrilled to show you my new dress. It's a size medium. I don't have all the bulky back fat that I had before, and I just feel,

Monique Ramsey (05:32):
Look at you.

Karen (05:33):
Great.

Monique Ramsey (05:34):
You look so good. That's a great dress too. You that just shows off your curves. You look fabulous. How fun. How fun.

Karen (05:41):
Yeah, it's really amazing. That's why I was so thrilled to do this podcast because Jason and Lauren have been my coaches. They're so on it. I talk to him every month. I pick up my supplies every month. It's so easy. I've had no side effects from my shots for my skinny program, no side effects at all except for I have no hunger. I'm just not hungry a lot. I mean, you still eat and you could still taste foods, they're fabulous when you eat them, but you eat just a portion of what you would normally eat and then you take your little other portions and you put 'em in the freezer for another day. And alcohol, I tend to like alcohol, I think a lot of us do. It's taken those cravings away as well. So I am not drinking anymore. So the way I look at it is my health and reducing the inflammation by not having alcohol and bad foods in me are also a big health benefit with this program that I think people need to really know about. And I'd love to share that information because like I said, the money I spend on the program, I'm saving in food, alcohol, and I'm feeling so much better with the energies that I have.

Monique Ramsey (06:53):
So let me ask you, so did you hear about the Skinny Shot when you were on one of your visits here having your Botox or something?

Karen (07:01):
I did, yeah.

Monique Ramsey (07:01):
Okay.

Karen (07:02):
I did.

Monique Ramsey (07:02):
And then when you first had that, did you first have a consultation or did you watch our webinar or how did you kind of learn about it and decide?

Karen (07:11):
No, I had the girls call down right away. I made an appointment, I was ready.

Monique Ramsey (07:15):
I'm coming down the elevator.

Karen (07:16):
I was ready to lose weight. I was so tired of being fat and feeling frumpy, but I just had this thickness in my belly and my back and I honestly didn't think that there was a solution for me. So this is actually, I feel like it's a miracle that I could lose this weight and I'm keeping it off changing eating habits. Of course, we have eating habits that we've had for 60 something years, so it's not going to change overnight. But you don't have food cravings and you don't have alcohol cravings. I think it's going to help with a lot more than just losing weight for people, honestly. It's a big health benefit.

Monique Ramsey (07:49):
That's such a good point in terms of we all want to look good and feel our best and feel confident, but you also want to live, if we're going to live longer, we want to live and have really good healthy years. And part of that is if there's less load on your joints because you're at a better weight and there's less inflammation and there's less risk of a cardiovascular event. There's so many things and they're really finding that these injectable medications have made a big difference for people. I know they've made a big difference for me, for you. And sometimes we try many things over time to lose weight and it's hard to find that one thing that really works, especially as we get older because the hormones and there's all kinds of stuff going on in our body that makes it want to hold onto the weight. So being able to lose it, and I think your point about being able to keep it off and learning new habits, doing the exercise that makes you feel good. Tell me about that consultation process, how they had you start, what they had you do and how that looks for patients.

Karen (08:55):
They made it super simple for me. I met with Lauren initially and then I met with Jason, my RN, who I meet with on the phone once a month. And I usually pick up my medications here at the La Jolla Cosmetic Center in La Jolla once a month. I also receive a B12 injection. But they made it so simple, they told me all about it. I met with the doctor, we did a visit. They do blood work, all that's inclusive, and then they also send you out a beautiful machine that weighs you every day. You download the app, put it on your phone, and you weigh yourself every day. So you can see the pounds melt away every day. It's amazing. It's really like something else. I still can't believe it's me, quite honestly, that I've been able to lose this weight. I'm really active.

(09:46):
I go boating. I love running around. I love experiencing life. When I lost my first 10 pounds, I already felt the relief from my right knee was giving me troubles. Now with the weight gone, I have no problems with my knees and my joints that I had before. That I think is really important because when you think about carrying a bag of potatoes around the grocery store, 25 pounds, carry it just to the aisle over. I mean, that's a lot of pressure on your feet, on your knees, your hips. So there's no reason why people have to be obese anymore, not with these drugs that you have with no side effects. It's for people all over the world. I really feel that it's something that we don't need to be obese anymore. There's solutions.

Monique Ramsey (10:33):
Yeah, I agree. So if you don't mind me asking, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to go here, but I'm just going to, if you don't mind sharing, what was your starting weight and what is your current weight now and is that you're at your goal? Did you pass your goal and come up with a new goal?

Karen (10:47):
So I started, I was around 180 pounds and then I was kind of fluctuating between 180 and then I was pushing 182. I was like, oh my gosh. And my pants and clothes were tight. So now I'm at 150 pounds today.

Monique Ramsey (11:04):
Wow. Oh my gosh.

Karen (11:05):
It's a miracle. So my goal weight was 155 and I thought I still look pretty good at 155, but 150 is really perfect. It's such a great weight, but you fluctuate throughout the day and I'm not a super freak about all of that, but I do want to be able to maintain my weight. And so your protein intake is extremely important and Jason will go over all that with you. So you have a certain amount of protein that you drink every day or your intake, and then you have a certain amount of calories around 1200 calories. But again, you have to eat at least that because you're really not going to be all that hungry. But like I said earlier, when you eat your food, you still have all the flavors. It doesn't take any of the pleasures away at all. So it's just a matter of not eating as much as we're used to eating and we don't need to eat that much food and the amounts of water, you'll be drinking a lot of water. And again, we need to drink more water on a day-to-day basis anyway. So all of that stuff just elevated me to do all the things that I was supposed to be doing that I was neglecting myself from. So now I'm accountable for myself and I'm really seeing the benefits.

Monique Ramsey (12:17):
Now, would you say your relationship with food has changed at all?

Karen (12:21):
Not really. I just eat a lot less of it.

Monique Ramsey (12:23):
Any things that you used to eat that you don't eat anymore, but alcohol? That's a whole category of things.

Karen (12:31):
That's a big category. And a lot of my friends, they know me as having fun and being a drinker, but having a mineral water with a squeeze of lime has worked out perfect for me. I can do a little shot at tequila if I want to and get that little buzz on, but I don't really feel the desire. It's really interesting the way it's taken that away and I feel good about that. And actually, I've referred other clients to La Jolla Cosmetic for the skinny program to lose weight. And they see me walk in a room and for my office meeting and they're like, what are you doing? You look great. Can we get the information? So

Monique Ramsey (13:09):
I'll have what she's having.

Karen (13:10):
Yeah, right. It's nice to be that girl. It really is.

Monique Ramsey (13:15):
Right, right. Yeah. Now did you have any side effects as you started?

Karen (13:20):
I had zero side effects.

Monique Ramsey (13:21):
Okay.

Karen (13:22):
Zero side effects. The only thing maybe a little bit of is constipation, and that is known with the particular shot injectable that I'm on, but it's pretty minimal. You can take stool softeners, you can take your magnesium, which you're supposed to be doing, and then maybe eating more fibers, like they say, an apple a day keeps a doctor away.

Monique Ramsey (13:42):
Yeah, I love apples.

Karen (13:43):
Just be something natural.

Monique Ramsey (13:45):
I think what's so nice about the program is that you have access every day to the doctors and to the staff, to Jason, he's an RN. He's so good with everybody in terms of if they need to tweak your dosage, if you're having different side effects that we can manage them for you. And I think I see commercials on TV for these different things online, and I'm like, but how? If I need help and I need help with how to inject myself, if I need help with all kinds of things, I mean, you can just run over. They can help you. And did you find that you needed him to tweak your doses as you went or to change anything?

Karen (14:25):
As I got started, I started off at 2.5%, which they start you at a low dose now I'm sure that that's to kind of build it up in your system. And then within a month to two months, I went to 5%. And I'm currently maintaining everything at 7.5.

Monique Ramsey (14:41):
And I think it goes all the way up to 15. So you're still only at half of a max dose.

Karen (14:47):
And that's all I need. It curbs my appetite completely. I haven't over eaten. He'll ask you questions. You'll get a text from them weekly to see how you're doing. So I always said, I'm doing great. I feel great. I'm energized. I inject myself every Tuesday morning. It's a tiny little prick. You can't even feel it. You'll have it in your refrigerator and you just pull it out and inject yourself. It's so simple.

Monique Ramsey (15:12):
Some people start losing a ton of weight right away, and some people go for weeks and they don't, and they're ready to give up or some people hit a plateau midway through. Did you have any challenges in terms of is this working? Did you ever have one of those moments?

Karen (15:28):
Well, when you first start, it's kind of a slow start. You're only on the 2.5. So be patient, be patient, and by month number four, five and six, you'll get to your goal weight. Follow the program, do what Jason and Lauren tell you to do. Eat the right foods, eat your proteins, it's really critical. Drink your water, do your exercise, and you'll lose the weight and just be patient. And your dream is just right around the corner really.

Monique Ramsey (16:01):
So is that what you tell people when you're recommending the skinny shot? What is your

Karen (16:06):
I recommend it to everybody.

Monique Ramsey (16:07):
Do you really?

Karen (16:08):
I do.

Monique Ramsey (16:08):
I love it. We have to come up with some special referral program.

Karen (16:12):
There's no reason for anybody to be overweight. I've had three of my friends come in, one of them's on it, she's now on a cruise with her husband. She's one month into it, and we'll see how she's doing when she returns.

Monique Ramsey (16:25):
You're at your goal, and you're sort of on maintenance. So now will you have it for another few months or do they, what's your maintenance plan so far? Do you know yet?

Karen (16:40):
Well, I haven't approached that yet. Probably ready, but I want to stay on it because if you think about it, what we've been doing for the last 63 years is eating. And once you go off of it, it's going to, you want to have that drilled in your head that you want to stay with the same portions. I want to say the same proteins, so I feel comfortable staying on it longer. I don't have the side effects and I want to maintain my weight. And then I'll be able to start dosing down. And then my eating habits are changing and I'm very mindful of them. Our minds are way more powerful than we think. We don't have to give into food. We don't have to give into being around bad people. We could set our boundaries. And part of that is not overeating, whether you're on a medication or not.

Monique Ramsey (17:31):
And I think it's a good idea to do what you're doing in terms of like, oh, not thinking, oh, I hit my goal and I need to stop. And it's like your brain needs time to catch up I think.

Karen (17:42):
I agree.

Monique Ramsey (17:43):
Because we are not, especially if we've had weight issues for a fair amount of time, then sometimes you don't even see it. You've got this blindness of like, oh wow, that's me. Is that me? And that becomes,

Karen (17:57):
You look in the mirror, you're like, who is that person? I don't need to look like this.

Monique Ramsey (18:00):
Or, and so I think it's having the brain have time to sort of meld together with the new you and giving that process time and giving your brain time to make those new habits and make those habits stick, because that repetition that we do is going to help in the long term.

Karen (18:21):
I think for long term, that's the way to go, is just to keep on it for a bit longer and make sure that my work hard at trying to figure out when you do dose down, the cravings might come back for the food or you're feeling hungry because I never feel hungry now. So then that way I can kind of structure my mind to try to work on that too. Because we can't just always rely on medications for that. We have to be strong-minded. Right? Hopefully it works.

Monique Ramsey (18:50):
Well and really even one of the doctors at the center was on the skinny shot. He got his weight right to where he wanted on, I'm going to out him right now. He would tell you to Dr. Smoot. So Dr. Smoot was on it, lost some weight, felt really good. And then the holidays happened, that was Thanksgiving and Christmas. And he was like, yeah, I've gained back a little bit of weight. And it wasn't huge, but he said, already, I've noticed it in my back. And so he went on and had Dr. Haas give him a dose for a month or two just to kind of get yourself back. And it's like, okay,

Karen (19:28):
Little kickstart.

Monique Ramsey (19:29):
Yeah, exactly. At that point, he wasn't taking anything. And so he got a little, it was like five pounds or six or seven, I don't know. But it wasn't huge. It was just a little bit. And he was like, I'm already noticing. And when you're a doctor, if you're in the OR and your back starts hurting, that doesn't sound very fun.

Karen (19:48):
Getting the weight off is, it helps.

Monique Ramsey (19:50):
Right? And then it's just like, okay, let's just do this for a month or six weeks or two months and then you can come back off of it. So that's always good to know that it's there. And we're here. I mean, we are about to have our 37th birthday, and even though we've been doing the skinny shot for only a year plus a little, we're all here and we're going to continue to be here. So I think that's nice too, that if we have that support, if you need it, we've got it.

Karen (20:17):
Right. Oh, I had the back fat was terrible. I had a double mastectomy, so I had my incisions and all that stuff. So my back fat was bad. You wear a bra and it just kind of pushes it up. And so that's all gone too.

Monique Ramsey (20:34):
Don't you love that.

Karen (20:35):
I do love it. And I started my program in October, so getting through the holidays was really no big deal for me. I didn't have any major setbacks or standstills, even over the holidays. Again, you don't have a lot of food cravings. You could still go to your parties and nibble, but you won't be hungry to just be standing there eating everything. And it's like, you just don't do that anymore.

Monique Ramsey (20:58):
That sort of obsessive compulsive behavior. It's like this drug works on your gut and it works on your brain. And that's the key that I think nothing up until these drugs, this kind of classification of drugs has worked in that same way. And so that's kind of been the game changer. It's that combination. And I know that all these drug companies out there that are trying to come up with the next thing that's working on not just two gut hormones, three gut hormones or whatever, there's always something. But it's good that they're figuring out this could really change. I mean, I think the airline industry is going to be happy because the planes will be lighter if we're all a little skinnier. Right. Less fuel. This is good.

Karen (21:42):
And leave the extra bag at home. You won't need it for the extra size, extra size, large clothings.

Monique Ramsey (21:49):
Yeah, exactly. So thank you for coming on. This was so nice to talk to you and sharing your story and sharing your wins and your successes. Just really, really, it's very inspirational. It's wonderful to hear. And I love that you've given nice shout outs to Dr. Haas and Jason and Lauren because they are such a supportive group.

Karen (22:13):
Without the support, I'm not sure that you could really do it. It's nice how the support, and they're just very personable. They're very approachable. You're not embarrassed with any questions that you ask, talking about constipation, it's something that you have to talk about because one of those things that could happen. So just drink lots of water. I highly recommend this. I am so pleased with my results. I can't thank you enough to La Jolla Cosmetic for having the skinny program because it's a thousand percent worked for me, and I'm just thrilled.

Monique Ramsey (22:46):
Oh, great. Well, thanks Karen. And for everybody out there listening, check the show notes for links. You can schedule a consultation with our office and they have you go get labs done first, I think, and then they have you go over those labs that Dr. Haas would then at the consultation, go over those labs with you and make a recommendation, talk to you about your goals and how to get you to the goals and what's maybe the best course. And so that's how it all starts. All you have to do is call or text us and then we'll get the ball rolling for you. And thanks again, Karen. And so again, check those show notes for links and thanks for telling your story and for anybody out there who's thinking about it, I'm sure Karen is probably as good of a role model as you can get. So

Karen (23:36):
Call me. I'm happy to give any recommendation. It's really, again, it gets started right away. As soon as you get started, the sooner you can lose that weight, especially for summer, right? Why wouldn't we want to be?

Monique Ramsey (23:47):
Right, exactly.

Karen (23:47):
I got a little red and white polka dot bikini.

Monique Ramsey (23:51):
I love it. I love it. That's perfect. Well, good for you. Good for you. And I'm so happy for you. I'm just thrilled. And hopefully everybody out there who might be on the fence, maybe this is to have that consultation and see if that might be a good thing for you, a good fit.

Karen (24:06):
Yep. Get off the fence.

Monique Ramsey (24:09):
Get off the fence. Don't break the fence. We're going to have

Karen (24:12):
Yeah, you're going to break it if you're an XL, I'll tell you.

Monique Ramsey (24:15):
That's right. That's right. We're going to make that fence more sturdy. So anyway, thanks again everybody, and we'll see you on the next one. Bye.

Announcer (24:23):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to ljcsc.com or follow the team on Instagram @ljcsc. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.