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Model and size inclusivity advocate Remi Bader revealed she began binge eating again after she stopped taking semaglutide, the "game changer" weight-loss drug.
Bader gained notoriety for her outspoken TikToks criticizing the lack of fast-fashion clothes that fit bigger bodies. She accumulated 2.2 million followers on the platform, and has since partnered with Victoria's Secret and Revolve for inclusive size campaigns.
While a guest on the podcast "Not Skinny But Not Fat," Bader said she was prescribed Ozempic, the brand name for semaglutide, because she was pre-diabetic. She did not reveal exactly when she started the drug, but said she began taking it soon after the Food and Drug Administration approved it in 2021.
Bader said she has "mixed feelings" about semaglutide. She initially lost weight taking it, but said on the podcast she "gained double the weight back" after stopping.
Bader, who had been open about her binge eating disorder on TikTok, also said her eating disorder resurfaced after stopping semaglutide. Binge eating is an eating disorder symptom characterized by eating a large amount of food in a short sitting while feeling a "loss of control," per the Department of Health & Human Services.
"I was like 'I bet the second I go off I'm going to get starving again,' and I did," Badder said. "My bingeing got so much worse, so then I kind of blamed Ozempic."
The model said she stopped because she did not want to be "obsessed" with being on the medicine long term. Bader did not disclose whether her doctor recommended she stop taking semaglutide or how soon after stopping did her weight come back.
Bader did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
Bader's reaction after she stopped taking semaglutide is "normal" and common among users, endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist Dr. Scott Isaacs told Insider.
Semaglutide was initially developed as a type 2 diabetes medication, but the FDA-approved it to help obesity patients with weight management as well. Isaacs said the medicine can also treat patients with binge eating disorders.
The medication, taken orally or as weekly injections, increases the production of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar. It's been touted as a weight-loss game changer that addresses obesity as a chronic disease caused by factors outside the patient's control. People who take the drug told Insider they experience a sudden end to cravings and obsessive thoughts about food.
Since the medicine has been approved to help manage chronic illnesses like obesity, diabetes, and binge eating disorder, Isaacs said the drug should be prescribed for long-term use. Isaacs said many patients regain weight and binge eat again once they stop taking the medication.
"I'm not sure what the circumstances were, if she had side effects or some other reason, but it's not a drug that we typically would discontinue." Isaacs said.
Francesco Rubino, chair of metabolic surgery at King's College London, previously told Insider patients must make a lifelong commitment to taking semaglutide. The medicine is generally safe, but can cause gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea.
"You would have to commit to a lifelong taking of this drug, which is something you would contemplate only if the benefits outweigh the risks, as low as this risk could be," Rubino said.
