Weight Loss Helped Drugs with Lose 85 Pounds – and Quieted My Alcohol Cravings – ryan

In her late 20s, Johnna Byrd was stuck. She was living in la ves, but didn’t have much desire to do anything other than in bed and scroll on her phone. Her Life was Mostly virtual, and when she did get out of the house, it was usually to pick up the chepest, Most Convenient Drive-Through Meal She Could.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Excess Weight Had Always Been Problems for Byrd. She had had gastric sleeve surgery in 2019, but her pcos symptoms wornd again, and her weight eventually crept back to the 350 pounds.

In august 2021, she gave birth to her son, who was Born prematureely. Something broke inside her.

“It was a lot, and than’s when i fell into alcoholism,” Byrd tells yahoo. Drinking Became a Constant, “Every Day, All Day,” She Says. “Andn, one day, i just kind of woke up and said, ‘i need be a better person and i need to be a better mom for Him.’ He became the motivation for the entity process. ”

Byrd Got Right to Work. She Needed to Regain Control Over Her Body and Habits, and with a renewed commitment to die and exercise, lost more than 150 pounds in the Span of a year. But by January of 2023, Her Progress Had Stalled. That’s like she got on tiktok and saw doctors and patients talking about ozempic and GLP-1 Medications. Byrd Decide to Try One of the Medications.

One she begins tachying tirzepatide, she didn’t realie that it might help with her drinking as well as height. On the Medication, what she calls “Alcohol noise” disappeared. “It was just Complete Silence,” She Says. “I Went from Drinking literally every day all day to be to be to say, ‘hey, i don’t want to drink.’ “From there, My Life Has Done a Crazy Turn.”

Here’s what that laoks like, in Byrd’s Own Words, for the Latest Installment of Yahoo’s On my weigh Series.

The Weigh-in

• The Method: Zepbound, 2.5 milligrams. This is a maintenance dose; I was previously up to 7.5 million and briefly also tried compounded tirzepatide.

• The Goal: I wanted to have energy and be a better person and mom for my son. My goal was to loose 60 pounds so i would be in the healthy bmi range.

• Progress Report Card: I Wound Up Ling 85 pounds. And being a mom is just easier. I Can Run Around and Play with My Son and Take Him to Do Things I Wauldn’t Have Been ABLE to do before. My Weight Loss Journey Has Just Completely Changed Who I AS A A Person. I don’t know, i just have more energy and i don’t care about what anyone thinks of anymore.

• Food Noise Volume: I didn’t really have food noise, I have Alcohol noise. It Went from Like A 10 to A 2, and I Almost Never Drink.

Day in the life

Rise and shine

Before starting zepbound, i didn’t have a sleep schedule. I HAD No Sleep Routine. I JUST WENT TO SLEEP WEGENER I WENT TO SLEEP, AND WOKE UPEVER I WOKE UP. And then i’d still lie in bed for hours.

My Sleep is deplete Much Better Now. I’m in bed by 9 pm every Night, if Not Earlier. I don’t know if it is the kids of the weight, or Becausee i’ve has had surgery to get rid of my loose skin, but my sleeP Quality is just than it was.

Eve on zepbound, I don’t necessarily wake up Completely Ready to start the day, but it is Way Easier than it was before. I get up at 5:30 or 6 am nice to be up we have the sun is up. I Feel Way Better Rested, and the difference in my energy levels is like night and day.

FIRST BITES

I’m swimming really a breakfast person; I JUST DON’T REALLY LOVE BREAKFAST FOODS. But this morning i had scrambled eggs and oatmeal, and i cooked say mySelf.

When I was in my active weight los Phase, I DRANK protein shakes in the mornings. I Always Got Alani ni fit shakeswhich i would mix with two shots from my espresso machine.

Before Starting Zepbound, I Waled JUST Go to McDonald’s or something whennever I WOKE UP AND GET AN EGG MCMuffin or Something Similar. I actually haven’t haad mcdonald’s in so long!

Get Ready with me

I’m an Esthetician, so take my skin care very serious and always start my day with that. Plus, I love doing a face mask every once in a while. I Went to Esthetician School When I Started My Weight Loss Journey. I was just tired of my skin looking bad, so decidated to fix it. Now i love my skin. Its so Much Clearer and Softer and I Have a Brighter Complexion.

Make a move

I go to the gym first thing in the morning, Because otherwise i won’t do it. It also just sets the tone for the day, and i get to just vibe out. The Loven Getting Ready to Go to the Gym in the Morning. Crest first deciding to start going to the gym, i told my niece, who lives with me, “if i’m going to go to the gym, i need to get cute outfits.” And she told me to go on Gymshark and get outfits from there. I’ve bought so many cute gym outfits, and than’s like my favorite thing. Is the gym a fashion show? No, but i make it one! I’m a Content Creator; I have to look the part.

Before, i didn’t go to the gym. I didn’t have a morning routine. I didn’t do anyding, just got on my phone and did notting. It was just laziness puree. Or, Maybe Not Eve Laziness – i just didn’t want to anything, i had no motivation.

My doses

I do my shots wednesday mornings when i first wake up. I do not have a particular routine around, i just make sura kre i eat enough the day before i take my shot, and the day i take it. In the 18 months i’ve been taching weight loss medication, i’ve Never Had Side Effects or anything like that.

Let’s will lunch

Lunch is still usually something my niece and i eat out for. I used to get chicken nuggets, chicken strips, Wingstop or McDonald’s or Something Similar for Lunch Every Day. Anyding that has had a drive-throough and was going to cost me than $ 10, i was going. It was all about convenience back then. But now i’ll go to a salad or acai bowl spot. Or get sushi. My niece and i love sushi.

HAPPY HOUR

Before Starting My Weight Loss Journey, I Wauld Drink Wherever, WENEVER, ALONE OR WITH FRIENDS. I DRANK ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. But i wasn’t really social. I was just always on my phone and did every virtuelly.

I Can Still Drink Wine here or there. But if i go out, i’ll have like one or two drinks. I Went from Getting Belligerently Drunk to, Now, Just a Nice Buzz.

Dinner Bell

I used to EAT Straight Junk Food. I Anything I Could Put in the Air Fryer, anyding that was convenient and a lot of processing foods.

Dinner Is Now Always at Home. My niece and i are the type of People who go to the Grocery that day and decide what we’re go to cook, but we eat, really healthy. Honestly, I love all types of seafood and chicken. I like to go on tiktok to look up healthy recipes. I have my classic ones, like protein bowls. But i’m always trying something new, and i thinks one of the most fun Things about weight loss: Experimenting with different foods that you have never tried before. Like, Last Night, We made a Greek salad with slices cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onion.

My son, on the Other Hand, is Really Picky, but we’re working on it. He’s A 3-YEAR-Old Boy, Though-What Can I Expect?

Let’s Get the Bill

Twen i first started tachying a GLP-1, Got Compounded Tirzepatide Through Ambition. Now, I get my prescription from Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, WHO Suggested i switch to getting zepbound through Lillydirect. I pay $ 349 a month now, which is only a $ 20 difference from compounded tirzepatide, so i Might as well get name-brand.

The price has always been prety afordable with my budget. I’ve never had to put myself into debt. But Regardless, IT’S Worth it. It ‘s small price to pay for my health. Plus, all the money i’m saving on buying food is about the same as the monthly cost of the Medication.

My Biggest Expens, Though, Has Been Excess Skin Removal Surgery. Unfortunately, loose skin is inevitable after loving a lot of weight. Your Skin is Like a Balloon: Once you blown it up and deflate, iT”s never going to go back to the same size. And it is ok to have loose skin, Becauses that Shows How Much Weight You Lost and How Much Willpower you have. There are so many different options for surgery. I look into it for a year before deciding to do it. So Start Saving Your Money As Soon As You Start Ling Weight.

I HAD ABOUT 15 Pounds of Loose Skin. I was really self-conscious about it, and i didn’t have any health problems Because of it. But it was just something I want to do for mySelf. I wanted to see the body I WORKED FOR AND MY ACTUAL SHAPE. I had my first surgery (a tummy tuck and 360 Lower Body Lift) in august 2024. I THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONLY ONE I WAUDED EVER HAVE, but A Few Months Later, Started to Get Self-Conscious About My Upper Body. SO I Went Back for an Extended Arm Lift and Upper Bra Line Lift. Now, I have had any loose skin, and it’s the best thing Ever. IT COST with $ 33,000, financed with Care Credit, but it was so Worth it. If i is couldn’t have affforded it, i would have been ok, but i do’t regret it. I would do it 100 Times Over.

And it is a Crazy Feeling to see mySelf Now. Its been almost a year SINCE I HAD MY FIRST SURGERY, AND IT STILL HASN’T Totally Sunk in. And of Course, Sometimes Body Dysmorphia Still Sneaks in. But I look in the mirror and i’m like, “Dang, got a cute belly button!” That’s the One Thing I Told My Surgeon: “Don’t wake me up unless my belly button’s cute, or you’re going to put me right back to fix it.”