Weight Loss Pens and Injections

Wegovy and Saxenda weight loss injections are both designed to help assist with weight loss alongside diet and exercise. For the best results, create a weight loss plan that includes healthy eating, physical activity, and weight loss pills and injections only if necessary to help reach a healthy weight.

There are a number of different injection pens used for weight loss in the UK. These are a relatively new type of treatment for weight loss, with the first well known treatment being Saxenda, released in the UK in 2020. The following is a summary of the main weight loss injections currently available in the UK.

Wegovy

A new type of weight loss medication in the UK is Wegovy, an injectable medicine available from 2023. This medicine is used much like insulin and comes in an injectable pen that’s injected into the fat under the skin once weekly. 

It contains the active ingredient semaglutide, which works by regulating the way the body naturally gets hungry. Changing your appetite leads to eating few calories and a better chance of weight loss.

Clinical trials show that Wegovy helps the average patient lose as much as 15% of their body weight. The treatment will potentially revolutionise weight loss treatment across the globe and help many patients with their weight management.

Wegovy dose is started low and increased slowly up to the maintenance dose. It can only be prescribed to patients with a BMI of over 30 or >27.5 with other risk factors at a doctor’s discretion.

Side effects of this weight loss injection include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea or constipation

Saxenda

Saxenda is the original weight loss pen which has been available in the UK since 2020. This treatment has shown that the average patient will achieve around 10% body weight loss over the course of treatment.

This treatment contains the active ingredient liraglutide. This is a sister drug of semaglutide, and both belong to a group of drugs called GLP-1 agonist.

You can request to buy Saxenda from our weight care service

Saxenda is a very similar injection to Wegovy, except it is used once daily instead of once weekly. It works in the same way, suppressing the appetite to reduce eating to assist with losing weight. It is prescribed to patients with A BMI of over 30 or above 27.5 with additional risk factors, just like Wegovy.

Ozempic

Ozempic is perhaps the most well-known of the weight loss injection pens, however, it's not actually licensed for weight loss! In the UK, Ozempic is licensed in the treatment of diabetes.  Despite this, it is effective in helping patients lose weight, and as a result, many doctors do prescribe Ozempic off licence (a legal practice), to patients.

Ozempic, like Wegovy, contains the active ingredient semaglutide. 

Because Ozempic is primarily a drug used in diabetes, we choose not to prescribe this, so as not to affect critical supply chains for diabetic patients.

Summary

Weight Loss Pills

A weight-loss treatment we can prescribe is Orlistat (Xenical/ Alli). This medicine stops the body from absorbing 30% of the fat from meals. This reduction in fat absorption reduces overall daily calorie intake. Orlistat is taken before, during or one hour after each major meal.

It may only be prescribed to patients with a BMI of over 30 or >28 with other weight-related conditions.

Orlistat also acts as a deterrent for high-fat foods due to the stomach discomfort experienced if you do eat a high-fat meal.

Side effects may include fat in the stool, poorly smelling stool (due to high-fat content), increased flatulence, floating stools, gastric upset if taken with a high-fat meal.

Visit our Orlistat Page for more information

When Should You Consider Losing Weight?

To understand when it may be time to lose weight you should consider your body mass index (BMI). This tool uses your height and weight to give a number determining how healthy your current weight is. 

• Underweight = <18.5
• Healthy range = 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9  
• Obese = >30

While useful in identifying whether you are carrying too much weight, it does not consider what type of weight this is. BMI will not distinguish the difference between muscle, bone or water weight. It often classes very muscular adults as overweight or very low muscle adults as healthy even when they have high body fat percentages.

For this reason, body fat percentage is a more reliable indicator of obesity. Body fat percentages of over 25% are defined as obese. You can find a guide on measuring your body fat on the BHF website.

Obesity in the UK is a major health concern with 64.2% of UK adults and 37% of children considered overweight or obese.

The Risks of Obesity

Whilst being obese generally does not pose immediate threats to your health, the long-term risks of being overweight or obese are:

• Cardiovascular diseases - high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke
• Sexual dysfunction - women: infertility and irregular menstruation. Men: erectile dysfunction
• Cancer of the uterus, ovary, breast, prostate, liver, colon, oesophagus, and kidney.
• Low self-esteem
• Sleep apnoea 
• Osteoarthritis
• Gastro-intestinal diseases
• Certain types of diabetes

What are the Health Benefits of Weight Loss?

The risks of obesity listed above have all have been proven to drop a clinically significant amount with only a 5% drop in weight.

What Causes Weight Gain?

The body will gain weight if the calories taken in by food and drinks exceeds what the body is using. This excess of calories is stored as energy in the form of fat resulting in weight gain.

Poor Diet

Men and women have different nutritional demands per day, and these can vary with age, activity, and health. A diet that fails to meet these demands will result in an unhealthy weight loss. However, in avoiding some of the following you may find it easier to achieve healthy weight loss:

• Fast food - high in saturated fats and refined/added sugars
• Alcohol - high in calories and added sugars
• Overeating - Large portion sizes - you can find a guide to portion sizes on the BDA site
• Sugary drinks- Fresh fruit juices(>150ml), soft drinks, and milkshakes are all high in sugars.

Lack of Exercise

Exercise increases the nutritional demands of the body each day. This plays a large role in balancing whether your body uses or stores fat each day. 

Medicines

Side effects of some medicines may cause weight gain. Some examples include:

• Antipsychotics
• Birth control
• Antiepileptics
• Oral corticosteroids

Weight gain that you suspect your current medicines are causing should be discussed with your GP.

Medical Conditions

A number of medical conditions can cause you to gain weight including:

• Cushing’s syndrome
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Hypothyroidism
• Diabetes types 1 and 2 

If you believe your medical condition is causing you to gain weight, seek out medical advice for long term treatments for both the underlying condition and weight loss.

Weight Loss Surgery

This is also known as bariatric or metabolic surgery. It is typically used only for the treatment of people who are very obese with few options remaining. The NHS will sometimes cover this surgery for patients if they fit the criteria.

Lap Band

An inflatable band is placed around the stomach creating a small pocket above. Smaller meals then result in you feeling full.

Gastric Bypass

A part of your stomach is attached further down the intestine, thus bypassing a large section where calories are usually absorbed. 

Gastric Sleeve

The majority of the stomach is removed during this procedure (80-85%). This smaller stomach requires less food to make you feel full.

Lifestyle Changes to Lose Weight

Diet

Changes to eating habits are the most important changes to make to lose weight. Whilst weight loss can be achieved by keeping the calories used higher than the calories consumed, it is important to be aware that numerous factors contribute to weight changes. This is why at Simple Online Healthcare we promote a holistic approach to weight loss, making your health a priority. Due to your body adapting to this, it can become quite difficult to maintain and potentially lead to a continuous cycle of restriction. That's why modern medicines aim to increase feelings of satiety. This enables you to focus on making the lifestyle changes to achieve long-term results. Short term diet changes may yield good results; however, these are usually short-lived as the weight tends to return after the diet ends and eating habits revert back.

Short term fad diets tend to be unsustainable as they restrict eating to very few food groups which can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and eating behaviours. The best sustainable solution to long term weight loss is a balanced diet containing an appropriate amount of each food group.

Examples of this can be:-

• Carbohydrates - 2-3 portions per day-
• Protein - 2-3 portions per day (mixing animal and plant sources)-
• Fats - 1-2 portions per day (having healthy plant sources most often and oily fish at least 2x per week).
• Fruit - 1-3 portions per day (great for a quick boost in energy)
• Vegetables - 3-5+ portions per day.

For more information, you should speak to a dietitian or GP who can tailor a weight loss plan for you.

Exercise

Once you have started to fuel your body for your current lifestyle, it is then recommended to adding more movement and exercise to your day. Movement is a great way of boosting health and mood. Having just thirty minutes of physical activity a day can drastically increase weight loss and your wellbeing.

You may want to talk to a personal trainer for instruction and safety while your body adjusts to the change in daily exercise.

Wellbeing

Throughout your journey you will experience changes to your moods, behaviours, and emotions. It is important to remind yourself that it is perfectly normal to experience these feelings and be forgiving of yourself if you don’t meet your standards on any day. A helpful tool in maintaining your progress throughout your weight loss journey is to record your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a journal; taking time to reflect on them each week. It can also be useful to start your day with small easy to complete goals, to help build your motivation to achieve the more difficult tasks later in the day.

Of course, everyone needs some help every now and then. Talking to a trained psychotherapist or psychologist can help you make and sustain changes throughout your journey.