One woman lost 42 pounds on Ozempic and says she would do it again, even after watching her face become more hollow and mature. I stopped taking Wegovy when I began seeing some of the same changes.

The first person to tell her she might be losing too much weight was a girlfriend. Until then, the transformation had mostly felt like a victory. She had started at 156 pounds and lost 42 pounds while taking Ozempic, eventually returning to a size 2. After years of feeling uncomfortable in her body, fitting into those clothes again felt less like vanity than reclamation. She described the feeling as “victorious,” as though she had finally escaped a body that had made her feel like a prisoner. But after her friend’s comment, she began looking more closely at what else had changed. Her eyes appeared more hollow. Fine wrinkles seemed more pronounced. The skin around her neck looked looser and more mature. She had gotten smaller, but in her view, she had also gotten older.

She asked that her name not be used because she wanted to discuss her medical treatment and appearance candidly. What makes her experience complicated is that she does not regret it. Asked whether she would have preferred losing less weight if it meant maintaining more fullness in her face, she said yes. Asked whether the facial changes outweigh the satisfaction she feels about her body, she said no. And asked whether she would take Ozempic again knowing exactly how the transformation would affect her appearance, her answer was still yes. She had seen people who looked sullen after substantial weight loss before beginning the medication, but she says no one specifically warned her that her own face might change this much. For her, the tradeoff remains worth it.