4 Signs You’re a Candidate for Weight Loss Medicine

The effort to lose weight can seem endless and often ends in disappointment. But with the new weight loss medicine semaglutide, you can reach a healthy weight and lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease. Learn if you’re a good candidate.

Weight loss medicines have existed for decades but with limited success. Now that semaglutide is approved for weight loss, you have an innovative option that helps you reach your healthy weight.

In Toluca Lake, California, our Premiere Medical Center team specializes in comprehensive medical weight loss. In addition to prescribing semaglutide, we create personalized weight loss programs with sustainable meal and exercise plans.

Do you qualify for semaglutide? Here are four guidelines to determine if you’re a good candidate.

1. Tried to lose weight

Candidates for weight loss medicine have tried to lose weight with lifestyle changes. Trying to lose weight doesn’t mean following a fad diet or dieting for a few weeks and then giving up because you didn’t reach your goals.

Weight loss takes months because a sustainable, healthy goal is losing 1-2 pounds weekly. You may be a candidate for weight loss medicine after consistently following a balanced diet, limiting calories, exercising regularly — and keeping it up long enough to see results.

If you put in the effort and didn't lose weight, lose it only to regain it, or have questions about your weight loss regimen, it’s time to talk with us. We can help you fine-tune your program and decide whether to consider weight loss medicine.

2. Qualify as overweight or obese

Candidates for weight loss medicine are overweight or obese based on their body mass index (BMI). BMI, determined by weight and height, shows whether your weight is in the healthy, overweight, or obese range.

You can learn your BMI using an online calculator. These are the BMI values for adults 20 and older:

BMI below 18.5 is underweight
BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is a healthy weight
BMI of 25-29.9 is overweight
BMI of 30 or above is obese

People 12 and older with a BMI of 30 or higher qualify for semaglutide. Adults may also qualify if they’re overweight and have a weight-related health condition.

However, we consider more than your BMI. We thoroughly evaluate your overall health, risks for developing a chronic disease, and weight loss history.

Then, we recommend the treatment that’s best for your unique needs. In some cases, we prescribe semaglutide for a BMI that’s slightly overweight.

3. Have a chronic health condition

People who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher risk of chronic diseases. These weight-related conditions include:

Type 2 diabetes
Heart disease
Stroke
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Osteoarthritis
Gallbladder disease
Sleep apnea
Certain cancers
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Semaglutide helps protect you from chronic diseases by lowering your weight. The medicine is approved to reduce the risk of dangerous cardiovascular events like strokes and heart attacks, and it also lowers blood sugar.

4. Ready for a long-term commitment

We already mentioned that weight loss is a long-term endeavor. That’s still true after you start taking semaglutide.

Some people lose weight quickly at the start, but for most, achieving and maintaining a weight loss goal means staying on the medicine for the long run.

Semaglutide gradually helps you lose more weight over time. In studies, on average, people lost 15%-17% of their weight after one year. Nearly everyone should plan on taking the medicine for a year.

Learn about weight loss medicine

Call Premiere Medical Center today or book your weight loss consultation online.