Christmas has always been a delicate territory for the relationship with food. Family reunions, full tables and seemingly harmless comments turn these dates into a kind of silent examination of the body. For years the answer was the express diet before the holidays. Today, in many cases, the conversation revolves around a weekly injection.
In the United States, there were cases of people skipping their Ozempic shot to enjoy Thanksgiving, according to The Wall Street Journal. The phenomenon in Spain is less visible, but the question is inevitable: what will happen this Christmas and what consequences could this jump have?
Ozempic in Spain: a discreet use on the rise. Ozempic or other drugs based on semaglutide or tirzepatide have restricted access, require a prescription and, in theory, priority for patients with diabetes. Even so, its use for weight loss exists and is increasing, especially in the private sector. “In consultation, doubts begin to appear about what to do with these drugs on special dates such as Christmas,” explains Dr. Víctor Bravoendocrinologist interviewed in Xataka. “It is not always verbalized as ‘I’m going to skip the dose’, but the idea of ’stopping a little’, ‘adjusting’ or ‘I’ll see after the holidays’ does appear.”
The difference with the United States is one of degree, not nature. There the debate It is public and massive. Here it begins more quietly, but with the same roots: fear of losing control, social pressure and a complex relationship with food that the holidays intensify.
Understand well what it is. Ozempic is neither a one-time appetite suppressant nor a cosmetic aid. Its active ingredient is semaglutide, a drug that replicates the action of the hormone GLP-1 that the body releases after meals. This hormone intervenes in the regulation of insulin and satiety signals, so the treatment reduces appetite and prolongs the feeling of being full.
“This is important to understand well,” emphasizes Laura Albó, psychologist specialized in eating disorders and EMDR traumawith whom we have chatted in Xataka. “It is not a pill that takes away the desire to eat only that day. It is a treatment that modifies the signaling of hunger and satiety on a continuous basis. Interrupting it is not neutral.” Besides, as recalled by the scientific reviews recently analyzed by the WHOthese drugs work to lose weight, but they are not free of side effects nor is their long-term impact still known with certainty. Nausea, digestive discomfort and, in some cases, abandonment of treatment are part of the real picture.
The Christmas dilemma: enjoy without losing control. One of the most repeated promises of GLP-1 is peace of mind: eating without fear of overflowing. Precisely for this reason, Christmas is experienced as a paradox. “What we observed is that many people consider these dates as an exception,” explains Albó. “It’s the same mental scheme of diets as always: now I can relax, now it’s time to enjoy, and then I’ll control myself again. The tool changes, but not the logic.”
According to the psychologist, the conflict is not so much in the amount of food as in the meaning attributed to it. “When someone feels like they need to skip treatment to enjoy themselves, they are reinforcing the idea that eating with pleasure and eating with control are incompatible. And that dichotomy is a clear basis for eating discomfort.”
From a medical point of view, Dr. Bravo agrees that expectations are often unrealistic. “Some people hope that by stopping the medication for a few days the body will function as before the treatment. But what usually returns is not a ‘normal’ relationship with food, but a sharp increase in hunger and constant worry about eating.” As we have previously mentioned, in the United States, some patients delayed the weekly dose to arrive with a greater appetite for holiday meals. But Laura Albó warns that this approach displaces the problem: “It’s not just physical hunger. It’s mental noise, paying attention to the menu, the dessert, how much is left. Just what many people had managed to silence.”
What happens if you skip Ozempic? From a physiological point of view, interrupting or delaying a dose can cause a return of hunger that is more intense than expected. “The body once again receives signals that had been dampened for weeks or months,” says the endocrinologist. “This does not mean that the person eats ‘normal’, but rather that they may experience a sharp increase in appetite and greater difficulty in self-regulation.”
But the impact is not just physical. “On an emotional level, the effect is usually a swing,” adds Laura Albó. “First the idea of permission appears—now I can eat—and then, if the person feels that it has gone too far, guilt and shame come. This cycle is well known in consultations.”
Scientific evidence supports this risk. Studies on hormonal regulation of appetite show that the body’s adaptations after weight loss do not disappear immediately. Skipping treatment does not eliminate that vulnerability; in some cases it intensifies it.
So what do the experts recommend? There is no single answer, but there is clear consensus among the professionals consulted:
- Do not make impulsive or guilt-based decisions.
- Do not use medication as punishment or as permission to eat.
- Maintain basic schedules and routines to avoid arriving extremely hungry.
- Understand that two or three meals do not determine the success or failure of a treatment.
“The important thing is not to turn Christmas into a test,” summarizes psychologist Laura Albó. “Two meals do not change a body, but they can greatly alter the emotional state.” For its part, Dr. Victor Bravo He insists that any adjustment should be discussed with the professional who prescribes the treatment: “Not so much because of the specific meal of a day, but because of what that decision can trigger later.”
The role of the family: the noise that cannot be seen. Although the focus is usually on who takes the drug, the environment has a decisive weight. Comments such as “how little you eat”, “normal, you’re not hungry with that” or “that’s how anyone controls themselves” reinforce the feeling of being watched.
“The underlying problem has not disappeared,” Albó points out. “We still value bodies and food choices. Only now we do it through medication.” Avoiding comments about quantities, weight or compensation and returning the focus to the social encounter continues to be one of the most repeated recommendations by experts.
The dynamic that repeats itself. For years, the goal was to be thin by Christmas. Today, for some people, the challenge is deciding whether to get a puncture or not. The tool changes, but the logic remains the same: control the body in order to fit.
Perhaps the question is not whether it is advisable to skip Ozempic these holidays, but what it says about our relationship with food and with ourselves that we continue to experience eating as something that must be justified, compensated or medicated. Because Christmas passes. The emotional impact, not always.
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