#2 You CAN lose weight and body fat WITHOUT injections!

In episode #2 I explain why I think the cons of weight loss injections massively outweigh the pros, and why I think there needs to be much more research and regulations. I also answer more of your questions about running.

A couple of things. I kept saying "fat loss" injections rather than "weight loss" injections. I guess that's just how my brain's wired! At the end of the day, when people say they want to lose weight, they actually mean body fat. So, hey ho! Also, you might have noticed on episode #1 my lighting was abysmal so I did something about it and the picture quality is miles better now!

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Transcript

0:03

Hi everyone, welcome back uh to the podcast. Uh my name's Harry Bell. I will be your host uh for this podcast series uh called the MSK Runner Podcast. So like just remember to please like and subscribe on the YouTube and uh on the Spotify. Uh just before we get into this episode, just want to say a massive thank you to everyone um who listened to the first episode and also like uh sent me messages um saying that you found it like really enjoyable, really insightful. Yeah, I really appreciate it. I was not expecting this at all, but really good to know that quite a few of you listened to it and hopefully enjoyed it. So, yeah, um basically this is gonna come out every Sunday night at six o'clock. So you'll have something fresh to listen to every week. And like I say, if there's any topics that you want me to talk about, or if you have any questions, then please just comment uh below or send me a DM on Instagram and I will do my very best um to kind of like uh answer those questions for you. Um so yeah, I've actually uh this is episode two. I actually recorded episode two, uh sorry, episode three already, which will come out this time next week. Um I've got a guest on episode three, um, which I'm really excited for you all to uh to listen to. And I know that I certainly really enjoyed uh recording it. So yeah, that's one to look forward to. Uh gonna cover all sorts of topics over the next few weeks and over the next few months. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to sharing this all with you guys, and hopefully, like I say, you enjoy it. Uh so today, uh yeah, we're gonna talk about um something that's really like taken off in the UK over the last year or two, something that's become like really, really popular, um, but not without its pitfalls and its consequences, and that is fat loss injections. So, as I like uh touched on in the previous episode, um, you know, obesity is a massive, massive problem in our country. Um, I think it's if I remember rightly, 33% of adults aged 16 plus um are obese, and I think it's around 66-ish percent are either overweight or obese. So it's a huge problem um in our country, and you know, not to mention that like you know, obesity can um lead on to other like really bad uh health conditions later down the line, including heart disease, high blood pressure, um, arthritis, and a few other bits and bats. Type 2 diabetes as well is a common one. So, yeah, it is an issue that does need tackling, and what the government uh and the NHS particularly want to do to combat obesity is using fat loss injections, which I like to call a cheat code. Um, for me, the only time cheat codes ever work is when you're playing Grand Theft Auto, and that's not real life. Really should not use cheat codes in real life because it's gonna, like I say earlier, not gonna come without its consequences, its pitfalls, and in the case of drugs, side effects. So your fat loss injections, you know, Maljaro is probably like the most common one that we've all probably heard of. They contain a hormone called GLP1, and they be that basically regulates your appetite, your digestion, and your blood sugar level. So basically, it keeps you feeling fuller for longer when you take these injections, and obviously that means your your appetite reduces, you're not going to eat as much, and then you're gonna lose weight. So, yeah, you do get the short-term results in terms of you do like lose quite a lot of weight drastically, but like I say, it doesn't come uh without its consequences. Now, in the past year, around 1.6 million people in the UK have used fat loss injection, so that's like you know, just over one in 70 people. It's quite a high number, and I think if the certainly if the NHS and West Street and the Health Secretary get their way, it that number's only gonna like massively increase over the next year or so, or perhaps even the next few months. So basically, like recently, um over the last week or so, kind of like in the news, um, the government announced that GP surgeries are going to be incentivized by receiving a bonus of £3,000 per year to prescribe fat loss injections to NHS patients. Now, I don't really think £3,000 is going to be that much of an incentive for a GP surgery because that amount of money is kind of like a drop in the ocean. So in that sense, it doesn't really make sense. But what it certainly does show is the intent from the government to try and get more and more people as in NHS patients on those fat loss injections to try and curb obesity and reduce the strain and the pressure on the NHS. So it's all kind of like that's a hypothesis, and that's sort of like what they want to achieve, but it's just you know, it's just not going to come without consequences, I'm afraid to say. Um, like I say, um Wes Streeting, you know, he wants it on the NHS more and more because he thinks that people uh should have access based on need, not just like ability to pay. Because as I've said, like the vast majority of those 1.6 million people on the fat loss injections go privately rather than like through the NHS and through the GPs. Now, in terms of like privately, um, you know, Morrison's supermarket, for example, which we're all familiar with, you can actually buy fat loss injections uh from them. So £149 for the first month and then £169 per month afterwards for weekly injections. Um, but it just goes to show you can buy them like pretty much over the counter. Um, another problem is that like um there's lots of like unregulated um retailers which are using inverted commas for people listening on the audio. Um, because you know, you can you can buy these sorts of like medications kind of from like your hairdressers or your barbers or wherever, um, you know, from like a Backstreet Alleyway type thing. I just think uh that's really scary because you don't know what's going to be in them drugs, particular, particularly when you go through like an unlicensed retailer, should I say. You know, if you were to like um, you know, you wouldn't buy like normal medication, like an inhaler for asthma or an EpiPen, for example, from your local village Avon sales rep, would you? Because that would just be really stupid. So you wouldn't, therefore, why would you do that with fat loss injections? Is basically what I'm saying. But um, yeah, the problem is as well, is that like there's loads and loads of side effects. So, yes, what I mean by like cheat code is that like, yeah, you inject yourself and in a sh over a short period of time you do get short-term results, and you know, a lot of your weight does get shifted, albeit so does muscle mass as well, which is not a good thing because lack of muscle mass increases frailty risks when you get into like later life. But in terms of like um the side effects on fat loss injections, I'm sure you've all sort of heard stuff about it on the news on social media and things like that. Um, I read an article on the diabetes.co.uk website, and in January last year, um a study involving over two million patients found that like people using fat loss injections double their risk of developing pancreatis, increase risk of nausea, arthritis, and uh insomnia, also like lowering your blood pressure, like too low and kidney stones and even feeling fainted as well. Over 120 hospitalizations in January 2025 alone due to these uh, you know, due to these like medications and side effects. Um, you know, other side effects include like fatigue and tiress, you know, hypoglycemia, so like low blood sugar, for example, gallbladder problems, vomiting, headaches, you name it, there's like lots and lots of side effects uh from taking these drugs. And I don't think there's enough education, enough research, and enough regulations into these fat loss injections. Um, but you know, they're like being handed out to people like sweets over a counter, it's just really not good enough. And I think it's actually, yeah, you get the short-term results, but actually long term it'll make your health even worse in a lot of cases. I just think like uh before like giving these out, there needs to be a hell of a lot more research uh into them, particularly in the side effects. I also think like it needs to be regulated, so yeah, in in a way, I I kind of do agree with Wes Street, and I do think if you're gonna get fat loss injections, it needs to be through the NHS. Um but having said that, I personally don't agree with fat loss injections as a strategy uh to lose weight or lose body fat because it's simply not sustainable, and that's before we even get to the side effects. Um, I think it's also like very concerning. Uh people with eating disorders in particular, you know, can relapse. You know, that's whether you know people um who are like anorexic, for example, or suffer with bulimia, you know, to put them on fat loss injections is quite scary, really. Um, you know, and I and I do think there needs to be kind of like um age restrictions as well. So, like, for example, um, you know, at my workplace uh last week, one of my colleagues um did like um a gym consultation with like a mother and daughter, and you know, I don't know how the how old the mum was, but I think the daughter was like 17 or 18 or something like that. And the mum was already on fat loss injections, and she was going to get her daughter to use them as well. And I just think that's you know, really bad and really like ill-advised, and just a complete lack of education and a lack of awareness and consideration for like the bigger picture in the long term. I just find it really frightening and really scary. Um, you know, as I touched on earlier, you know, losing muscle mass is a side effect, and also like within a year of stopping the medication or like uh reducing the dosage, you do end up putting the weight back on that you originally lost anyway. So that's what I mean by it being like not sustainable. So that's kind of like my rant on um on weight loss injections. I think there needs to be more regulation, more research before they get dished out. And you know, I just think like much more can be done, like something different can be done uh to help sorry, to help people lose weight. So, you know, I think a lot of things, especially on the internet and on social media, lots of things become like too overly complicated when actually it can be made a lot more simple. So I think in terms of um losing weight, it's kind of a very simple formula. What you want to do is work out your basal metabolic rate, uh, and then you want to use that to work out your total daily energy expenditure. So you've got um, you know, your BMR calculators and your TDEE calculators, like you can find them on Google very quickly, just type in like your details, and it will tell you kind of like roughly uh how many calories you need to consume per day based on uh how active you are. Um so that's kind of you know, obviously nothing's ever going to be 100% accurate, but it should be there as like a rough guide. Um, and you can do this just through like basic um you know nutrition and also living an active, healthy lifestyle, and you can lose weight and you can lose body fat without injecting you sh injecting yourself uh full of stuff that you don't know what's gonna do to your body further down the line and you know potential catastrophic effects on your health. So I think like in terms of like calories, now I'm not saying you have to like obsessively calorie count or weigh your food or anything like that, but in terms of like um your calories um to lose weight, to lose body fat, you need to be in what's called a calorie deficit. I think it's very important to highlight that a calorie deficit. So basically, like it's basically where the calories out outweighs your calories in. So, say for example, um if you consume 2,000 calories per day and your calorie expenditure is 2,200 calories on that day, then that means you're in a deficit of 200 calories. So if you keep going with that, your body fat and your weight will decrease. Um what you don't want to fall into the trap of is kind of like massively reducing your calories because what you don't want is to like you'll end up like feeling too hungry, feeling too tired, feeling too depressed, and then it becomes not sustainable. So you just want to reduce your calories a little by little um each time, and then basically that becomes more sustainable, it's less adjusting for your body to make, and then you get those longer term uh results. Um, so yeah, I think that's kind of like in a nutshell the best thing to do. Um, just like keep an eye sort of like on your calories um and particularly like um your body fat percentage as well, which is more important, your weight. Uh yeah, so like your body fat percentage um and your muscle mass um as well. Because if your weight stays the same, but your body fat percentage goes down and your muscle mass goes up, then that's actually a good thing because the more muscle mass you have, as I touched on earlier, the less likely you are uh to get injured, the stronger you are, and then also like it reduces like risk of frailty, you know, further down the line in life. So, yeah, you can't obviously like um, you know, getting that that right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, you know, your micronutrients, so your vitamins and minerals, you know, there's no like one size fits all answer. We're all different shapes and sizes, we all have different lifestyles. Some are more active than others, some are less like active than others. But like I say, using that um total daily energy expenditure calculator does give you a rough guide on how much uh you need to eat uh based on how active you are. So my advice would be to use that as a guide, and you can achieve weight loss and fat loss through basic, not complicated nutrition and physical activity levels and exercise rather than injecting yourself uh full of the unknown. So that's kind of like where I am with uh the fat loss injections. I think you know, people successfully lost weight 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, before any of us had even heard of GLP ones and Mounjaro. So I just think the government needs to focus more on education in terms of basic nutrition and increasing physical activity levels rather than just injecting people full of stuff. I don't think that's the answer. Yes, it might give you like short-term results, but long-term, you know, there's a very good chance that you're gonna get side effects and possibly develop you know more like health conditions and decrease your quality of life. And nobody wants that. We want our health to be better, not worse. So, yeah, that's where I'm at with that. And if West Streeting's listening to this, which he probably won't be, but yeah, I think there's a better way to go about it than just simply like handing out injections like hot cakes. So that's my roundover about um fat loss injections um in a nutshell. Uh, what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna uh read out some questions uh that some of you sent in. Um so Ryan Hill has sent me a couple of questions again, so cheers for that, Ryan, and we're one step closer to seeing you back uh in the gym again. So yeah, looking forward to that. Uh first question is uh what to look for in running shoes, which is a good question. So I think like um if you're like a top high-end athlete, you know, people go for like, you know, your carbon-plated shoes, and that does make a difference to performance. Uh, but for the vast majority of people, I don't think that's necessary. You know, like me, for example, like when it comes to running, like I'm just an average Joe uh type guy. You know, I'm certainly not a professional athlete, so you know, wearing um carbon-plated running shoes probably wouldn't benefit me at all, to be honest with you. Um, so like I always for like years and years wore Nike shoes, but then recently, since um since about August, September onwards, I've started wearing hokers or hockers, however you pronounce it, and I've just found them like really good. What I look for in running shoes basically is that they're comfortable um and my feet don't hurt when I'm running in them, and that's just as simple as that, really. Like, as long as you find a pair of shoes that are comfortable for you, uh that's kind of all you really need, really. And the you you know, you don't necessarily need to spend like 150 quid or 200 quid on a pair of running shoes. Like, I think I've got uh two pairs of hokers, and I think they were uh I mean, I'm kind of I mean, bear in mind I was kind of like brought up in Yorkshire, so anytime I do like online shopping, I kind of go on like Google and Chat GPT and look for like discount codes by the way, try and get the cheapest deal uh possible. But yeah, I I tend to spend kind of around 90 to 100 quid um on a pair of running shoes. Uh yeah, I just think like um comfort is the most important thing, and obviously if they look good, then even better. So yeah, that's what I look for um in running shoes. And then your other question is Is running topless woke nonsense? To be honest with you, I'll let you guys uh decide that one. Um yeah, it is right anyway. Um, a question from my mate Max in Hambleton. Um, what are my thoughts on training gaps? Um are they an A to help you get to know what you're capable of, or do they just push you towards injury? So cheers for that, Max. Um doing Chicago Marathon discovery in October, so really looking forward to that. Um we won't mention the Chicago 5K the day before, but anyway, yeah, so in terms of like um running apps, so yeah, I use an app called Runner, so R U D N A. Um, yes, so I've used it since last year. I'll carry on using it until like July, August, because that's when my subscription runs out, so I might as well carry on using it. I have found it like a really useful tool, and I do think it's very useful for beginners as well. Um in terms of pushing you towards injury, there is an argument for that, and I think a lot of people have said this about runner, uh, where basically uh sessions are like a bit too frequent and also a little bit too intense as well. That's what other people uh kind of like if you read Instagram have like kind of reported. Um me myself, like personally, so this time last year I was training for Manchester Marathon and I used the runner app for the first time. And like for me personally, um I had problems with one of my knees at the time and it wanted me to do like a long run every week. So when I say long run, I'm talking like at least 25k. Um, so what I actually did kind of in the second half of my training block is I modified it a little bit. So rather than do like um one long run per week, I did one every other week. Um, and that definitely helped because the last thing I wanted was to like get to the start line and already be injured. So yeah, to kind of answer that question, I think um it's important like when you enter your details and information on these types of apps that you give it as much information about yourself as possible, and also in terms of like how often you want to train, like you know, the fit principle, you know, frequency, intensity, uh time and type of sessions as well. Um yeah, I I do use my runner training plan kind of like as a rough guide, but I wouldn't follow it by the letter like religiously. So like sometimes I might do a shorter run, or sometimes like like I say, every other week I'll skip a long run just because like I don't want to get injured is my main goal. Um so yeah, I do think like overall um running gaps are very helpful and everybody would benefit from using them. Um I think in terms of like does it push you towards injury, I think that's kind of like your call to make. So yeah, if you yeah, if you feel like you're injured, then maybe just kind of like look at reducing the frequency and and the intensity of your sessions basically, and kind of like go off your own judgment. But I mean, you know, playing devil's advocate, you know, if I had been training for my marathon without using a running gap, you know, my knee problem 99.9% still would have occurred. So I'm definitely like not blaming any running gaps for that. Um but yeah, there is kind of a narrative that they that they do tend to cause injuries. I think before I really have a solid opinion on it, I think more research, wider research needs to be done into it. Um, I was actually um talking to mate Jack last weekend when we did a run together, um, and he was talking about like chat GPT, how one of his mates had like um you know put in chat GPT like what events he was training for, how often he wanted to train, blah blah blah. And basically, like it was pretty much identical to uh a runner training program. So um, you know, chat GPT can be good, but also one thing I will say about ChatGPT and AI in general is like they do get things wrong. So I would emphasize that you do need to like um feed it as much information as with as much detail as possible. I mean, like for example, um when it comes like um I'm going off on the tangent by the way, but when it comes like Chat GPT, um when I've done like uh working in the gym, for example, and doing programs, so just kind of like um as an experiment, really, um I'll type somebody's kind of like um medical conditions on Chat GPT, and basically I'd put that somebody had high blood pressure and it still gave me like overhead press, for example, and lap pull down. So basically, anyone with high blood pressure shouldn't do like any overhead uh exercises such as the two that I just mentioned, or um isometric exercises such as doing the planks. So, like that's what I mean when I say that Chat GPT and AI like do get things wrong, so you just need to be wary. Um, you know, you can't just like take it at face value, you do need to like know your stuff and do your research as well. Um and yeah, you do need to to to an extent take it with a pinch of salt, but definitely use your own judgment as well. So, yeah, cheers for the question uh with that one, Max, as well. And that is kind of um all the questions we have, really. Um, so yeah, um I don't even know how long I've been recording this for, to be honest, but yeah, uh it fit it feels short anyway, but hopefully uh quality over quantity in that one. So, yeah, for episode three, which will come out next week, um, really good because I had the first guest on it and we recorded it the other day. Uh so he's called Powell Salinsky. He is a uh so he does like triathlons and he's also done Ironmans as well. He actually won a um a triple ultra Iron Man last year, uh, which is like really incredible. And his story is like really insightful, really inspiring. And like I said earlier, I really enjoyed uh recording it with him. So I really hope you guys enjoy listening to it as well. So yeah, that's enough for me today. Um I'm wearing my Arsenal shirt, by the way, because uh because we beat Brighton 1-0 last night, and Man City drew at Forest, and hopefully Tottenham get relegated as well, which is looking, you know, not out of the question. So yeah, um, in a good mood in terms of how football going, but then saying that like by the time this episode actually gets published, it might be a different story because it's Thursday night as I'm recording this. Um, but yeah, um, like I say, anything you want me to talk about, put it in the comments below, and I will see you next week for Powell's episode. Cheers, everyone, take care.