Science- Nika Steward lost 100 pounds after having bariatric surgery, but gained the weight back and more.
- She started taking weight loss drug semaglutide and lost 104 pounds in nine months.
Danika (AKA Nika) Steward originally started taking the buzzy new weight loss drug semaglutide to prove to her husband that it wouldn't work.
"I did not prove that point," the 39-year-old who has lost over 100 pounds told Insider.
Steward, who lives in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, struggled with her weight all her life but lost 100 pounds after she had gastric bypass surgery 20 years ago. But she gained it all back in the years that followed, and put on a further 70 pounds after having her third child. Her family history of type 2 diabetes, which is closely associated with obesity, is big part of why she wants to lose weight and keep it off.
Steward lost and gained weight on various diets over the years and had reached the point where she wanted to get a revision to her gastric bypass surgery, which is designed to help people who have regained weight after the initial procedure.
But she decided to give semaglutide a try after her husband told her about new weight loss medications. Semaglutide was originally designed as drug for diabetes and sold as Ozempic, but was approved for weight loss by the FDA in 2021 under the name Wegovy. It has become so popular that there have been shortages of the once-weekly shot.
Steward is among users who have shared their experiences of the drug with Insider.
In June 2022, Steward's doctor prescribed her the drug, which is covered by her husband's health insurance.
"It ended up being wildly successful and making me feel better than I ever did even after having gastric bypass surgery," Steward said. But she knows her access may be at the mercy of insurance providers in the future.
The 'food noise' in Steward's head disappeared
Steward lost 104 pounds in the first nine months of treatment.
The dose is increased slowly until a person reaches 2.4 milligrams weekly. At the start, when the dose was low, the effects were slow, Steward said, and for the first few months she tracked her calories and macros.
The side effects of semaglutide can include nausea, diarrhea, and dry mouth, but Steward was hit hardest by constipation, which reared its head each time she upped her dose, as well as mild bouts of nausea.
But the biggest change for Steward — and one that didn't occur with the gastric bypass — has been the "food noise" in her brain turning off.
"I didn't even realize I had such disordered eating until I started this medication," Steward said. She no longer obsesses about what she is going to eat or feels guilt for what she has eaten, and instead eats intuitively.
"That has been life-changing for me," Steward said.
After taking the drug for almost a year, it's hard for Steward to say if she still enjoys food because it always used to come with a side of guilt. She still looks forward to coffee every day and has occasional cravings, but overall thinks she gets less pleasure from food than she used to.
"I eat to live instead of live to eat," Steward said.
Nika Steward's appetite is now 'almost non-existent'
Steward believes she's eating about 1,000 calories a day (half the recommended amount for adult women), and that's because she's making a conscious effort to eat, she said. She has a protein bar first thing in the morning because otherwise she'll forget to eat, a protein shake in the middle of the day, and whatever her family is eating for dinner. Extremely low-calorie diets, whether a person is hungry or not, can lead to malnutrition and deficiencies, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Sometimes Steward will decide to eat something just because it looks good, but is satisfied after a bite or two. Semaglutide has created an "off switch" that didn't previously exist, she said.
Steward's confidence has soared since losing weight
Steward has much more energy than she used to and is now able to run up and down stairs and work hard on her business, she said.
Her self-confidence has soared, although she said she struggles with body dysmorphia and finds it hard to identify with her new body after spending the majority of her life overweight, she said.
Steward doesn't want to lose too much more weight and has accepted she may be on semaglutide for life as patients regain when they come off the drug.
"I would rather be on a medication for the rest of my life than have the struggles I've had and the looming health problems," she said.