Observant readers of our blog have noticed something significant has changed in our lives: recently, they have been seeing a lot less of Diana. That’s because there is a lot less of her to see. Do not worry; Diana is alive and well. In fact, she’s feeling better than she has in many years. Happily, less is more in this case. Today, we dive into her remarkable transformation with help from a panel of celebrity AI interviewers.
The Panel
As I have little experience interviewing people, I chose to enlist a panel of experts to help shed light on Diana’s journey to health. Unfortunately, all of the professionals I had in mind hid behind an array of assistants and publicists, none of whom responded to the inquiries I was too lazy to send.
So, I chose to turn to the creator of the hour, ChatGPT. My prompt was “There is a woman who has recently lost a lot of weight after many years of unsuccessful dieting. She travels the world much of the time, making access to weight loss drugs a challenge. Imagine you are <insert celebrity here> interviewing her. What 6 questions would you ask the woman about her history with weight loss, her weight loss regime, and how she feels today?”.
The question list comes courtesy of what ChatGPT thinks the following celebrity interviewers would ask:
Let Us Begin
Mike – Good Afternoon, Honey. Thank you for taking the time today to make the long walk from the terrace and sit with the distinguished panel of AI celebrity interviewers I have assembled. How are you feeling?
Diana – pretty good. A little tired, but pretty good.
Mike – Do you want to share anything before we start with our panelists?
Diana – This weight loss journey started with a doctor’s visit and labs showing high cholesterol. The doctor prescribed statins, the normal prescription for high cholesterol. I started taking them thinking, well, I’ll be just like everybody else and it’ll be fine and most people quickly don’t even notice they’re taking them. But, I started feeling really, really sick. So sick I couldn’t walk even 100 yd without my heart rate spiking. I was throwing up, I had to be in bed and it was absolutely miserable. Then, a friend mentioned she got very sick after being prescribed statins for high cholesterol, too. She opted to go on Rybelsus, lost weight and her cholesterol came down.
Next, I happened to see a cardiologist for an unrelated reason. The cardiologist told me that 5% of people have really, really negative reactions to statins. News to me. I’m not sure I ever would have figured out why I was so sick if my friend hadn’t mentioned she had a bad reaction to statins. Learning about my reaction to statins was what really jump-started this weight loss journey and the use of Rybelsus to accomplish it.
Questions from our Panelists
Mike – Great, let’s open up the floor to a selection of questions from our panelists.
AI Barbara Walters – For so many years, you struggled with weight loss, facing disappointment after disappointment. What was it like to live in that cycle, and how did it affect you emotionally?
Diana – I had been dieting for so long that it just became a way of life. Well, eventually I got to the point where I was happy if I maintained my weight especially while we traveled. But I think there was a lot of self-acceptance that had to happen along the way. And I still accept myself. I just feel better.
AI Oprah Winfrey – Food and dieting are often tied to our emotions. Can you talk about any emotional triggers or struggles you faced with food, and how you’ve learned to navigate them?
Diana – I didn’t really have much in the way of emotional triggers. I mean, not in the last 20 years other than eating when I was bored. I always do better when I’m very busy and in retirement, it’s not easy to be very busy.
AI Anderson Cooper – What role did weight loss drugs or other interventions play in your journey, and how did you navigate the difficulties of access to drugs when traveling internationally?
Diana – Weight loss drugs were essential to this particular journey. I have recorded what I eat every day for about 5 years. I noticed my calorie intake was maybe 10% lower than it had been for the previous 5 years. Once I started on Rybelsus, the pill form of semaglutide, I was able to start losing weight without really trying. The medication is available and less expensive where we are in Mexico. So I’m fortunate that I just paid cash for the drugs. They weren’t hard to get without a prescription and because it was in pill form, I could take as many with me as I needed to on our travels.
AI Jon Stewart – Weight loss drugs—how are we supposed to feel about them? On the one hand, they’re these magic solutions, and on the other, I feel like they come with the side effects of being a ‘mad scientist’ experiment. Were you ever like, ‘Wait, am I going to sprout an extra arm from this thing?’
Diana – Nope! I think they are absolutely magical, having dieted for my entire life. They were a lot more comfortable than the amphetamines I used 40 years ago.
AI Lesley Stahl – Given how much of this journey is mental and emotional, how did you handle setbacks or moments when you were tempted to give up? What kept you going?
Diana – Well I had the normal plateaus you have during weight loss, but I just had a routine of taking my pill in the morning and focusing on getting enough protein. I just kept doing what I had been doing. It’s been a year now and it’s just become a habit.
AI Oprah Winfrey – How did your relationship with your body evolve during this journey? What did you learn about yourself along the way?
Diana – Well I can honestly say I’m still not used to the way my body is now. I’m also still not satisfied and I’m pretty sure that I will never be satisfied because now I have saggy skin and I don’t feel like having any more surgeries. So I’m just going to have to live with the saggy skin. But I suppose regardless of where you get to, you always want something more.
Questions: Round 2
AI Barbara Walters – Looking back at all the years you spent trying to lose weight, is there something you wish you had known or done differently? Do you have any regrets or advice for others who might be on a similar journey?
Diana – I know that yo-yo dieting and just getting older all make it much more difficult to lose weight. I’m pretty certain as well that without the drugs, I would be the same weight I was before because my calorie count has not changed substantively, maybe 10% less a week. My protein count has gone up because I have a lot more focus on protein shakes, but I don’t think there’s anything that I could have done differently in the past because the drugs weren’t available.
AI Lesley Stahl – Many people struggle with keeping weight off after they’ve lost it. What strategies have you put in place to ensure that this time, your weight loss is sustainable in the long run?
Diana – The first thing is that I’ve weighed myself every day for the last year and I do travel with a computerized travel scale. That keeps me honest and focused. I need to continue taking the weight loss medication and continue to ensure that I have enough protein early in the day so that later in the day when I’m less inclined to eat, I either don’t eat or I make better choices.
AI Anderson Cooper – Looking back, how do you feel now about your body and health compared to before you started this journey? What has changed, not just physically, but emotionally?
Diana – I think I care a lot less about how I look and a lot more about how healthy I feel my pain level, and ensuring the arthritis isn’t affecting my quality of life. Having less weight to carry around has certainly improved how my knees and back feel. I see lowered cholesterol. My excellent liver numbers are also motivation to keep doing what I’m doing because, as far as I can tell, there are no adverse side effects.
AI Jon Stewart – So, now that you’ve lost weight and conquered the impossible, what’s next for you? Are you planning to travel the world just to see if you can lose weight in every single country, or have you got a new goal that doesn’t involve food at all?
Diana – Skiing and maybe even riding a bicycle again. The travel will continue. It’s sometimes a challenge to find protein shakes or bars in foreign countries and it is the first thing that I have to do. I found it was much easier in Europe than in Argentina to get the protein shakes. Down south, it was impossible to get protein shakes and I had to use protein bars, so the strategies change from country to country. But I’m a lot more focused on the things that I want to do physically versus losing weight.
Closing Thoughts
Mike – A bonus question, how would you characterize your health today?
Diana – My health today, I believe is greatly improved from where it was before. Some of it has to do with having orthopedic issues fixed (covered in an upcoming article). But a lot of it has to do with my weight, which has greatly influenced all of my blood work. So I can tell you that I’m healthier than I was before. Maybe healthier than I’ve ever been.
Mike – Wonderful. I want to thank my wife and all of the celebrity chatbot interviewers for sharing their time with us today. I wish all of them and our readers a great and happy New Year. Ciao!
What inspires you to improve?
