Latest news with #BranneishaCooper
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
I turned to weight loss drugs to improve my fertility and break a generational curse. Now I'm at my goal weight.
For Branneisha Cooper, starting on weight loss medication means breaking what her grandmother calls a 'generational curse" — and paving the way for her to raise the next generation. Like many women taking GLP-1s, Cooper has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and would only have a couple of menstrual cycles a year. 'When I first got diagnosed, my endocrinologist scared me because she said, 'It's going to be so hard for you to have a family; you could be infertile,'' Cooper tells Yahoo Life. She knew her weight hampered her fertility too, and that her PCOS made it harder to lose the excess pounds. Over the years, she tried everything from 'regular old calorie deficit' to the keto diet to 'whatever was trending at the time.' She also started taking metformin, a diabetes medication sometimes used to treat PCOS, which helps some people lose weight. But by 2022, the efforts that had once moved the scale needle were doing nothing, and the metformin was making her feel sick. 'I was fed up and emotional because I was trying so hard to lose weight, and nothing was working,' Cooper says. She saw her doctor again, thinking that she would recommend bariatric surgery. Cooper had seen people's success stories with weight loss medications like Mounjaro and Ozempic on TikTok, where she is a content creator. When she mentioned the drugs to her doctor, she was told, 'I think you're the perfect candidate for this,' recalls Cooper. 'I was like: Sign. Me. Up!' Three years in, Cooper has hit and maintained her goal weight and has periods every month. Her doctor even told her she could have a family now, if she wanted to. 'In the foreseeable future, I want to have kids, but let me enjoy this for a couple of years,' she says. Now, she has plenty of energy to enjoy her life. And she isn't the only one to benefit. Cooper shared her success story with her family, and now four other relatives are taking GLP-1s too. Most members of her family have struggled with type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or a combination of conditions that make up metabolic syndrome. Now, the ones on GLP-1s have all been able to reduce their A1C, or blood sugar levels, to normal range. 'I am basically the first generation out of all of us to change this,' Cooper says. 'It's impacted not only me, but my family. Selfishly, I want my mom and grandparents to be around longer, so it's been a huge blessing.' For our series On My Weigh, Cooper explains in her own words how her life has 'done a whole 180' with the help of weight loss medications, from her morning routine to her new dinnertime rituals. Name: Branneisha Cooper Age: 28 The method: Started Mounjaro in 2022; now, I'm on Zepbound, 10 milligrams The goal: When I started, I just wanted to be healthier, have energy and address my PCOS so that I would have my [menstrual] cycles once a month. I started out at 241 pounds, but once I got under 200 pounds, my doctor suggested I set a goal weight, which was 160 pounds. Progress report card: I've been at my goal weight since October 2024. I am between 155 and 160 pounds. For most of my life, I would only have two to three menstrual cycles a year. I got my first one a month after I started Mounjaro in 2022, and I've had a cycle every month since. I have energy, and my confidence is up. Food noise volume: My food noise was at a 10 out of 10 before, for sure. Now, she's still there, but it's not as prominent. Now she gets up to maybe a 3 because of hormones. This medicine is awesome, but it's not gonna shut off that sweet craving when you have a cycle. Before starting on GLP-1s, I would wake up feeling tired and like I had brain fog. I would be achy just because I was in a bigger body. I immediately needed some caffeine to get me through the first half of the day. I would present myself as a happy person, but, internally, I was battling with truly accepting where I was in life [in terms of] my outer appearance and inner world. These days, I'm a morning person, and that is a shock. I can wake up at like 6 or 7 a.m. and be OK. I don't need to take naps anymore (though I'm still a nap girl, if I can take them on the weekends). I don't even really drink coffee anymore. My routine is totally different. As soon as I wake up, I make sure to make myself breakfast. I used to skip breakfast; I blame the intermittent fasting I used to do for that because I used to think, I have a time slot to eat, so I'll wait until that 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. [eating window] to eat. Having breakfast and just being excited for the day is kind of where I am now. For breakfast, I find myself often making a cottage cheese and egg scramble. It's super-easy and high in protein, which I'm definitely focused on. I also try to eat colorfully, so I'll sometimes add some spinach. If I'm going to have a protein yogurt bowl, I'll add blueberries and banana. If I'm really in a rush, I make a protein shake and a slice of toast, but I always try to have something for breakfast. I went to school for fashion, so I was always into clothes. But when you're in a bigger body, your choices are really limited. Plus-sized clothing has made some progress, but it's not where it should be. But now, I can literally go into a store and leave with something that's cute and that I feel good in. Getting ready for the morning is different now because, for one, I wake up earlier. I have more of a routine than I did before I was on the medication. Back then, I would wake up five minutes before I had to start work, and I had my laptop right next to my bed, so I could just log on from there. Now, I get up out of bed, do my skin care, make some breakfast, do a little makeup and go for a walk. But I'm still navigating getting ready. I have good days and bad days because I'm still trying to get used to being in a smaller body. I'm getting to a place where I'm not hiding my body anymore. I'm allowing myself to show off my success more, and my wardrobe is becoming more my style: It's more colorful and bright and speaks to my individuality. I was never this small before, though, so this is new territory. Sometimes I find myself going back to baggy sweats. Perfect doesn't exist, and even though I spent the majority of my life wishing to be small, now that I am, I still find myself picking myself apart. I think women — but really everybody — we all have our insecurities. But I'm telling myself, 'Girl, you've been wishing for this moment, so enjoy it, take a step back and give yourself a reality check!' I try to get my workout in in the morning. I will go to Pilates at like 9 or 10 a.m. or get in a walk before it gets too hot outside. I have a gym membership. And these days, more of my social activities with my boyfriend or friends involve movement. We like to go on hikes or go dancing, rather than going out to eat or to the bar. If I'm working from a coffee shop or from home, I'll have something simple like a tuna sandwich or some air fryer chicken tenders. If I go out, it might be to Chipotle, where I get a kids' quesadilla instead of a bowl with extra protein, like I did before. Or if I go to Chick-fil-A, I'll get the salad or a wrap. I eat along the same lines, but before starting the medication, I would probably have had twice the serving amount that I have now. I take my injections on Wednesdays. There's not really any rhyme or reason to that, except that I picked up the first box of medication on a Wednesday, and I wasn't trying to wait another day to start! I was super-excited. But I do find it helpful to have a good high-protein meal before my injection. Making sure my body is properly fueled helps to alleviate the side effects, including nausea. Plus, the closer I get to the time [when I need to take] my next shot, the hungrier I feel. Some people hate it, but I love it because it helps me make sure my body has enough calories before my dose. So I have a protein meal 20 or 30 minutes before my injection, usually around midday after lunch, because if I do it too late, it gives me insomnia. I've pretty much lost the taste for alcohol. Wine or a margarita? Like, no. They're kind of disgusting to me now. That took some time for my friends to get used to because my group of girlfriends would go out to happy hours every week to get a couple of drinks, wind down and catch up. Once I started the medication, I told them, 'I'm not going to be drinking as much, but y'all can still do that; I'm just here for the conversations.' Since starting on GLP-1s, I find joy in cooking now. My boyfriend and I eat in a lot more often now, instead of going out. We used to order a lot of pizza with a side of cinnamon rolls or split a 30-piece chicken nugget meal from Chick-fil-A. Cooking has now become our quality time together. And, before he started prioritizing his health, my boyfriend's taste buds were very different from mine, but he's been able to expand his palate. Though he really didn't have much of a choice, because whatever we were going to cook, he was going to eat! But we've been trying some healthy new recipes together. Last night, we had regular chicken Alfredo, but swapped in an egg yolk pasta, and I tweaked my sauce to use fat-free milk and light cream. My boyfriend enjoys grilling, so he does the chicken. Before, we wouldn't have cared about adding vegetables, but now we add some broccoli. But the Parmesan? Not up for debate! That's what a typical dinner is like: Find a healthy recipe, do some grocery shopping, turn on some music and hope for the best! My spending is probably about the same (partly because I love to shop). If anything, I might be spending more money because the healthier stuff just costs more. Losing weight is a privilege because things that are good for you, like protein pasta, cost more money. But instead of spending a lot of money on eating out, the money I'm saving from eating at home goes toward Pilates, activities and gym memberships. Or to buying a new wardrobe. Losing weight is also expensive because you have to buy new clothes often so they'll fit your body. Want to share your weight loss medication story for "On My Weigh"?Email heylifeeditors@
BBC News
09-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Weight loss drugs expose women to society's harsh judgements on their bodies
When Branneisha Cooper was overweight, she felt both invisible and like she stood friends would get attention when they were out together, while she was overlooked. But she also had a sense that everyone was staring at her, scrutinising scenarios were daunting: fairground rides (would she fit in the seat?), working out (would it hurt?), clothes shopping (would she find attractive clothing in her size?).At the end of 2022, Branneisha, now 28 and working in Texas for a major retailer, began using weight-loss injection Mounjaro. She's lost about six stone (38kg).Things changed quickly. Suddenly, she could exercise without her body getting sore, colleagues made more small talk with her and she felt comfortable going on adventurous dates with her boyfriend. She was go-karting, dancing and going to arcades - activities that previously made her feel despite feeling like she had a "second chance at life", weight loss was bittersweet."It was almost like I had stepped into a different world overnight," Branneisha recalls. "People were suddenly more friendly, more attentive, and I was given opportunities and respect that didn't exist before.""That rapid shift was jarring and really opened my eyes to just how deeply size bias is ingrained in our culture," she continues. "Psychologically, it was a lot to process because while I was the same person, the way I was perceived had completely changed." Weight-loss transformations are nothing new. In the 90s and 00s, they filled the pages of tabloid newspapers, sold celebrity diet regimes and inspired popular TV series like The Biggest Loser, You Are What You Eat and Celebrity Fit in the 2020s, the advent of weight-loss injections like semaglutide and tirzepatide (marketed under brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro) has meant people can lose huge amounts of weight rapidly, without undergoing invasive surgery. The jabs suppress people's appetites, causing them to feel fuller has been available on the NHS in England, Wales and Scotland since September 2023 with strict eligibility criteria, but weight-loss drugs are expected to become more accessible when Mounjaro becomes available through NHS England later this jabs, which are not suitable for everyone and can have severe side effects, are also available from pharmacies in the UK for people who can't get them prescribed by their other than the physical difference, how does the way you're perceived change when you lose weight quickly and look different to the world?People who have used the injections have told BBC News that rapid weight loss has caused a massive shift in the way they are treated - by both strangers and loved ones - as well as a change in how they approach their lives. 'Strangers are a lot more chatty' Branneisha's feeling of sticking out and being overlooked at the same time while overweight is one others can relate you're overweight, people either avoid eye contact or "really stare and glare at you", says Jess Phillips, 29, a primary school teacher from Sittingbourne, previously felt uncomfortable taking flights, travelling on public transport and eating at restaurants. Finding suitable seating worried her, as well as the feeling she was "taking other people's space".People had even shouted "fat" at her from cars and at a festival.A trip in 2023 to Sorrento, on the Italian coast, was a major catalyst for starting weight-loss injections last June."Everyone was staring at me the whole time," she says. "They're just not used to people being that big out there." Since losing weight, Jess has noticed a big difference in how she's treated in public."Strangers seem to be a lot more chatty with me than they ever were before," she feels "more invisible in a nice way", she continues. "I don't feel like people are looking at me when I go to different places. I feel nicely anonymous... I'm not standing out in any particular way."This is something that Jeannine A Gailey, sociology professor at Texas Christian University, explored in her 2014 book The Hyper(in)visible Fat Woman."My argument is that those who are marginalised, including fat people, become hyper-visible and hyper-invisible", meaning they're sometimes ignored and sometimes made into a "spectacle", she tells the BBC. Amy Toon, 34, a content creator from Solihull, felt this way. Before starting on the drugs, she shopped online "because of the overwhelming fear of people looking at me", she says. "I just didn't want to leave the house."Since losing weight, "people are a lot more smiley and just make eye contact," she says. "I never had that before. It's really strange and it's also really sad at the same time."Society has preconceptions about how overweight people are expected to behave, and treats them accordingly, says Caleb Luna, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara specialising in fat studies."Fat people are expected to hide and shrink ourselves and not be proud," says Prof Luna. Weight isn't a protected characteristic in the UK or in most other parts of the world, meaning it isn't illegal to discriminate based on size, except if the person's weight is classed as a say that anti-fat bias can have significant implications, from how people are perceived in job interviews to how doctors interact with them. People make "all kinds of personality assumptions" about other people based on their body size, according to Prof Luna."I don't understand why there's this rage that some people seem to feel upon looking at someone who's overweight," says Alix Harvey, a 35-year-old marine biologist from Plymouth who's lost around three stone (20kg) after starting weight-loss injections last year. "It's socially acceptable to hate fat people." 'People see the drugs as cheating' Weight-loss drugs have helped people like Branneisha, Jess, Amy and Alix lose weight - but they're not right for everyone. Some in the healthcare industry have concerns about the wrong people getting hold of the jabs - including those who are already a healthy weight or have a history of eating side effects of semaglutide and tirzepatide include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Rarer side effects include acute gallstone disease and pancreatitis, and the NHS warns that there is also a risk of hypoglycaemia, which happens when your blood sugar level drops too Pinkney, professor of endocrinology and diabetes at the University of Plymouth, says while there are "great expectations and hope around the drugs", trials show people "do tend to relapse" after they stop taking them, meaning the weight loss isn't says this worries her. "Am I going to be treated differently again? Because I like the way I'm currently being treated."Some people who take the medication say there's stigma attached to using the drugs to lose weight, too, which Alix says puts some people off taking the injections."I didn't expect the hatred," she says, noting that some people see the use of weight-loss injections as "cheating" and a "socially unacceptable" way to lose weight."A lot of people see it as the lazy way out," Amy says, referring to comments about weight-loss drugs left on her social media videos. For sustained weight loss, the injections need to be used as part of a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise."People think that it's a magic wand then it's not," Amy says. "It doesn't just melt the fat away.""Even if you injected yourself once a week and a pound a week just evaporated from your body, what would that matter?" Alix says. "Why is that cheating?""You basically can't win," she says, referring to the stigma attached to both being overweight and using injections to lose weight. 'The larger me deserved that same attention and love' People who've lost weight using the jabs tell the BBC their self-confidence has massively improved. Many say they feel much happier to take trains and planes. Some say they now wear brighter colours and tighter clothes. Others say they're more vocal sharing their opinions at work. Amy says she now feels comfortable taking her children swimming, while Jess says she's been able to book her first-ever ski trip, something she'd never thought was possible before."I actually think it must be annoying how confident I am at the moment," Jess laughs. But many of the women we spoke to were left feeling sad for their previous selves, or frustrated at the unfairness of their past treatment."It's so sad that your weight can define you," Amy says. "I haven't changed at all as a person. The only thing that has changed my appearance."Branneisha echoes these thoughts."It makes me sad when I have experiences that are different now because the larger me deserved that same attention and love," Branneisha says. "Being smaller now makes me sad for my former self because people looked at me differently."
