Lee Geiger

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

Bob Hope

April 23, 2025 – I step on a newly-purchased digital scale and steel myself for the imminent burst of bad news. My weight and I have a complicated relationship, and I’ve spent much of my life wrestling with it as though it were a bear in a cage. Frankly, it’s a number I don’t want to deal with.

My gut (no pun intended) senses the first digit will be a “2,” which will be enough to ruin my day. The gray numbers spin like a roulette wheel before settling on a grotesque 208 pounds. While 208 might be dandy for a bowling average, it’s a perilous barometer of an undisciplined lifestyle for a 66-year-old man who, on a good day, stands all of 5’7”. Like the stock market, my weight continues to trade near all-time highs.

It’s time to face the music. I grab a pre-filled 0.25mg Wegovy injectable pen, pinch a generous hunk of flesh near my belly button, and give my body over to the diviners of a magic potion called semaglutide. My health, future, and desire to be ever be photographed again is now in their hands. Godspeed.

November 19, 2025 – The digital read-out flashes “162,” another in a recent series of post-college lows. That’s 46 pounds in 30 weeks. How ever did this happen?

Let’s start at the beginning.

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August 2024 – For the umpteenth time over the last decade, my doctor implores me to drop 20 pounds. It’s my annual physical, and the numbers from my latest lipid profile are trending worse than Trump’s poll ratings. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL. You name it, it’s bad.  This on top of high blood pressure and a grim family history of cardiovascular takedowns. Too much Southern fried cooking in the Geiger DNA, I suppose.

My doctor prescribes Wegovy, a GLP-1 weight management drug geared toward those with cardiovascular issues. It’s made by Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that also makes Ozempic, which caters to patients with diabetes. Wegovy would be in addition to prescriptions I already have for atorvastatin and lisinopril, two drugs I take daily to keep my circulatory pipes clean.

Days later, I get a call from my friendly pharmacist. She informs me that my insurance doesn’t cover Wegovy, so I’d be on the hook for four injections a month at the stratospheric price of $1,345. “No thanks” I say, “I’d rather be fat.” My odds of ever getting slim are officially slimmer.

October 2025 – A friend of mine whispers in my ear that she’s taking Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drug, and has lost 25 pounds in three months. Lilly also makes Mounjaro, a diabetes drug that also helps with losing weight. I do some research and learn the difference between the GLP-1 drugs produced by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is the number of hormones that are affected; Wegovy and Ozempic work on one hormone in the brain, while Zepbound and Mounjaro work on two. Bottom line – if you just flat want to lose weight and have no discernable diabetic or cardiovascular issues, go with Eli Lilly.

When I ask my friend what the secret is to her Zepbound success, she says GLP-1 drugs help eliminate “food noise” by inhibiting the desire to consume food. Your brain is forever signaling that you are full and don’t need to continually run to the pantry or pry open the fridge. This “appetite suppressant” concept baffles me. How can you not ever be hungry? I was born with a Hall of Fame sweet tooth and a never-ending hankering for salty snacks. I’m more than skeptical. I literally wake up in the morning and plan my day around what and when I’ll throw down, and I lack the discipline to downsize portions and/or order more salads. Life is short, I always say, so help yourself to potato chips and dessert. And don’t forget the red wine.

February 2025 – Novo Nordisk announces they will soon start selling Wegovy directly to consumers willing to pay cash for $499 per month, thereby bypassing insurance companies. Their research suggests the average person taking Wegovy for 16 months can lose up to 15% of their body weight. I do the math. I can lose 30-odd pounds and be bathing suit-eligible by the summer of 2026. I discuss this with The Pretty Blonde as well as my doctor, and both are onboard. Let’s light this candle.

May 24, 2025 – Sitting in front me is a box filled with mouth-watering Double-Double cheeseburgers and French fries from In-N-Out Burger. I’m on a weekend golf getaway with my college buddies, and they happily partake in this lunchtime feast of meat and grease. I, meanwhile, daintily pick away at a leftover steak salad I wasn’t able to finish the night before. Helping myself to even a single French fry never crosses my mind. It’s a pathetic testament to what’s become of me; I used to proudly wolf down a 2,000 calorie In-N-Out combo before exiting the drive-thru.

I’ve been on “the juice” for only four weeks and already I’ve lost 12 pounds. The results are mind-blowing, especially when you consider I’m on the minimum dosage (0.25 ML). The Wegovy program goes like this – one month each at 0.25ml, 0.5ml, 1.0ml, 1.7ml, and finally 2.4ml (4 pens, each taken on the same day of the week). After that, you pick which maintenance dosage you want (1.7ml or 2.4ml) to stay on until you complete the 16-month program. If I’ve already lost a dozen pounds on the minimum dosage, what’s going to happen down the road when my dosage increases by nearly ten times that amount? Do I turn into dust?

June 18, 2025 – I’m down to 188. I’ve spent a thousand dollars to lose 20 pounds. Why on Earth didn’t I do this earlier?

The potential side effects from Wegovy are as long as your arm, but for me they have been virtually nonexistent. Some constipation, but that’s to be expected from not consuming as much food as I used to. I also feel an occasional bout of nausea, but that happens only when I don’t listen to my brain’s command to put down the fork. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. If I order a sandwich for lunch and dare eat more than half, my brain will order my stomach to launch a gastronomical offensive guaranteeing I regret it for the rest of the day. And, for good measure, the night also.

Last but not least is the potential loss of muscle mass. No issue so far, as I lift weights 2-3 times a week at the gym. Six-pack abs, however, won’t be happening anytime soon.

One concern I have, however, is my energy level. I recently took a long hike and became light-headed after climbing a few big hills. The same lightheadedness recently hit me near the end of a round of golf where I walked rather than rode in a cart. I have come to learn that maintaining proper levels of protein intake and blood sugar are critical to my daily existence, and I need to pay strict attention to what I eat when I actually do, you know, eat.

August 13, 2025 – The scale says 178. I’ve spent much of the summer eating dinner maybe four times a week, and when I do it’s often just a fruit cup or a bowl of cereal. Here’s a side effect I didn’t anticipate; feeling guilty taking the Pretty Blonde out to dinner. I spend most of the time pushing food around the plate and watching her eat. I’ve got maybe six bites in me whenever we venture out for a meal, whether it’s an appetizer, salad, or entrée. The same is true whenever we’re invited to a neighbor’s house for dinner. One night I helped myself to an incredible homecooked Mexican fiesta with all the fixings – rice, beans, chicken enchiladas, cornbread – only to get down a handful of bites before surrendering to a “full” stomach. It’s embarrassing, especially when someone has gone to a lot of work preparing a meal.

As for alcohol, I’m lucky to have one drink a week. I’ve spent $2,000 so far to lose 30 pounds in four months, but between buying less food at the grocery store, drinking less booze, and cutting down on restaurants, the medicine practically pays for itself.

That being said, I can’t tell you how much I miss sitting down to a heaping bowl of pasta bolognaise, or savor a juicy steak the size of my face. But at least my shirts aren’t tight anymore.

October 22, 2025 – The numbers from my latest lipid profile are OFF THE CHARTS! Total cholesterol = 104 (vs. 202 in 2024); triglyceride = 115 (vs. 146); HDL = 45 (vs. 49); LDL = 36 (vs. 124); cholesterol to HDL ratio = 2.3 (vs. 4.1). It’s a miracle. Wegovy might be the best preemptive cardiovascular drug on the market. Why insurance companies don’t pay for it is downright baffling.

I’m down to 166. That’s 42 pounds, equal to 20% of my starting weight of 208. Needless to say, I am WAY ahead of schedule. My doctor expresses some concern, as she’s never had a patient lose so much weight so quickly while taking Wegovy. Her goal for me is 155 pounds, my high school playing weight, because, according to the Body/Mass Index (BMI), a person of my height would thus be at a weight considered “normal.” I’ve never been a believer of the BMI index, as my broad shoulders, barrel chest, and thunderous thighs have compelled me to spend my entire adult life being defined as either “overweight” or “obese.” Of course, I wouldn’t have this problem if I were 7’5” instead of 5’7”.

October 30, 2025 – I shave off my beard, put on my best tailored suit, silk tie, and handmade leather shoes that a slimmer version of me purchased back when Clinton was President, and enter my company’s Halloween Contest as a turn-of-the-century version of me, a gilded time a generation ago when I used to be somebody. I look in the mirror and barely recognize myself. Who is guy? And where has he been? The Pretty Blonde is OK with the clean-shaven look, but I worry about Zoe, my darling two-year-old granddaughter. Will she still recognize her Papi?

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Postscript: How do I feel? – It’s tougher to answer than you would think. Overall, I feel fine. My health and spirits are good, and it’s nice to fit into clothes I haven’t worn in a VERY long time. But to be honest, I miss the simple pleasure of eating. Sitting down to a delicious, hearty meal is a true blessing. It’s a vital part of my life I’ve looked forward to since I can remember, especially the positive social aspects tied to dining with friends. I really, really miss that.

Then there’s the effort it took to get here. Losing weight thru science hasn’t exactly been a Herculean accomplishment filled with significant sacrifices. Unlike previous attempts to lose weight, like when I once lost 40 pounds in four months by starving myself and working out twice a day, I don’t feel like I’ve done a lot to get here. The only real challenge is deciding whether to inject myself in my stomach or thigh. And I get embarrassed when people offer congratulations for slimming down. It’s not like I’m training for a marathon, or made radical changes to my diet such as going vegan or cutting out red meat. All I’ve done is inject myself once a week and let the medicine take care of the rest.  Truth is, it’s been effortless.

Postscript: 2026 and beyond – I’m frequently asked, “How long are you going to stay on the drug?” I honestly don’t know. I do know I don’t want to spend a ton of money until my dying days to control my appetite, but I also don’t want to stop taking the drug and rebound to a weight putting my health at risk. I believe in the not-too-distant future that the price of GLP-1 drugs is going to fall dramatically (on Monday, Novo Nordisk lowered the price I’ve been paying for my monthly prescription from $499 to $349…booyah!). I also believe insurance companies will eventually cover the cost. It’s a matter of when, not if. The health benefits are simply too obvious.

That’s a wrap for 2025, my friends. Enjoy the holidays.