Jillian Michaels warns against using diabetes drug Ozempic for weight loss

Ozempic went viral on TikTok last year, after it was hashtagged 350 million times

Jillian Michaels has warned against using diabetes drug Ozempic as a weight loss solution in a new interview.

The celebrity fitness trainer said she convinced at least eight people close to her to stop using the FDA-approved semaglutide – or medication used to treat type-II diabetes – because of the resulting side effects.

Speaking to People, Michaels said: “I have taken at least eight family friends’ parents off of this drug. They’re getting heart palpitations, they’re nauseous, they feel like s***.

“They feel so awful that it’s motivated them to reverse their type 2 diabetes.”

Michaels then recommended lifestyle changes to these people, such as walking 10,000 steps a day and eliminating sugar from their diet.

After Ozempic blew up on TikTok, influencer and plus-size model Remi Bader said she “gained double the weight back after” she stopped taking the drug.

Michaels also spoke about a “rebound effect” or gaining back any lost weight once the medication is stopped.

“Once they get off of the drug, it does the rebound effect,” she told the publication. “So you’re not gaining anything. You get off the drug in a year and go all the way back.

“You’ve not learned anything. You’ve not built any physical strength or endurance. You haven’t learned how to eat healthy.”

She urged people who might be considering using Ozempic to do their research since it has some “pretty significant side effects’”.

“Do your homework on it. The results are not lasting, in very large part,” Michaels said.