One Glass of Beer and It All Collapsed... Suppressed Appetite Explodes [Maunza Report] ③

Maunza Experience of a 93kg Reporter (Weeks 4 to 6)
GLP-1 Therapy Is an Appetite-Suppressing Aid
Personal Commitment to Lifestyle and Dietary Changes Is Essential

Editor's NoteThe path to treating obesity, a long-standing challenge in the medical field, is opening up. This is thanks to the emergence of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) class medications, which affect satiety and appetite suppression. 'Maunza,' recently launched in Korea, is a dual agonist for both GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide) and GLP-1, demonstrating greater weight loss effects and evolving as a treatment for complex metabolic diseases such as diabetes and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), compared to previous drugs. However, there is a need to be wary of the social climate that leads to misuse of these medications for purely cosmetic purposes or misperceives them as 'miracle diet injections.' This six-part (12-week) series was planned with the intent of documenting the effects, side effects, and lifestyle changes experienced by a reporter diagnosed with severe obesity who personally underwent the administration process, in order to encourage proper use of obesity medications and consideration of a healthy life. It should be noted that not everyone will experience the same effects of Maunza as the reporter. Readers considering the use of obesity medications, which may cause side effects, should always consult with a physician.

When receiving Maunza injections, it can feel for a while as if you've found a 'cheat code.' Hunger dulls, meal portions decrease, and the numbers on the scale gradually go down. However, this medication does not completely 'erase' appetite. Especially in situations where you are easily exposed to alcohol and high-calorie foods, such as business trips, company dinners, or travel, personal habits and environment have a stronger influence than the effects of Maunza.

During weeks 4 to 6 after starting Maunza (September 28 to October 19), there was the long Chuseok holiday (October 4 to 9) and a business trip to Japan (October 7 to 10). There were many gatherings with family I hadn't seen in a while and colleagues on the trip, often involving alcohol. The protein- and vegetable-based diet I had maintained for a month since starting the diet was broken, replaced by alcohol and snacks. The 'calorie deficit' structure established with Maunza was no longer maintained.

Foods eaten during the business trip to Japan from October 7 to 10. The diet, which had been well managed after receiving an injection at Maunzo, was disrupted during the business trip and holiday period. Especially, the process of regaining the diet rhythm after drinking alcohol was difficult.

Maunza Does Not 'Erase' Appetite

Maunza is a medication that acts simultaneously on two receptors: GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor) and GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide), reducing appetite, stabilizing blood sugar, and assisting in fat breakdown. GLP-1 slows gastric emptying, increases post-meal insulin secretion, and affects the hypothalamus and reward circuitry (dopamine pathway) where the appetite center is located, dulling the 'desire to eat more.' GIP helps with insulin secretion and is involved in fat metabolism, promoting more efficient energy utilization.

Although the effects of Maunza are powerful, the human appetite system is too complex to be controlled by GLP-1 and GIP alone. If stress or emotional fluctuations are repeated, this suppressive effect is easily weakened. As the desire for alcohol and food, which had been suppressed by parenting or dieting, burst forth, the October diet went in reverse.

Park Kyungmin, Director of Seongsu Melting Clinic and advisor for the 'Maunza Report,' stated, "Hunger is connected to various emotions," adding, "We tend to perceive loneliness, disappointment, or a sense of loss as hunger." He continued, "GLP-1 reduces dopamine response and thus the appeal of high-calorie foods, but studies have shown that people with high emotional eating scores are less sensitive to the central effects of GLP-1 agonists. If psychological reward-seeking behavior is strong, the appetite-suppressing effect of the medication can be offset."

In particular, stressful situations can neutralize both Maunza and Wegovy. GLP-1 normally stimulates 'CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) neurons' in the hypothalamus to regulate the stress response, and this process partly contributes to appetite suppression. However, acute stress experienced in real life is a different story. When stress is intense, the stress hormone cortisol surges and the brain's reward circuitry is activated, quickly overriding the appetite-suppressing system established by GLP-1. Director Park explained, "In everyday situations where stress is repeated, such as work pressure, reprimands from a boss, or parenting stress, the body repeatedly engages in eating behavior to prepare for the next stressor."

The Power of Alcohol to Break Through Maunza

Alcohol also neutralizes Maunza. The moment you have a glass or two of beer, your appetite clearly returns. Alcohol is a substance that disrupts metabolism and appetite regulation. Director Park explained, "Alcohol increases ghrelin and decreases inhibitory control, making high-calorie foods more appealing. Drinking activates social and emotional eating pathways, bypassing the physiological pathway where GLP-1 acts."

An even bigger problem is that metabolism changes the moment alcohol enters the body. When selecting an energy source, our bodies set a 'priority.' Because alcohol is toxic, the liver prioritizes breaking it down. When alcohol is present, the liver, which was burning fatty acids for energy, temporarily halts fat oxidation and focuses energy on metabolizing alcohol. During this time, fatty acids circulating in the blood and fats consumed from food are more likely to be stored in adipose tissue (especially visceral fat).

It is also problematic that GLP-1 medication users metabolize alcohol more slowly. According to a research team at Yale School of Medicine, GLP-1 class drugs were found to reduce the expression of 'Cyp2e1,' a liver enzyme that breaks down alcohol, by an average of 40-60%. As a result, even when the same amount of alcohol was administered, blood alcohol concentrations in the GLP-1 group remained 20-30% higher than in the control group, and the time required for alcohol levels to return to normal was about 30-50% longer. The researchers explained that GLP-1 drugs may slow alcohol metabolism, resulting in 'getting drunk more easily and for longer on smaller amounts.'

Ultimately, Maunza is not a miracle drug that replaces willpower. It is merely an aid that stabilizes blood sugar and helps maintain satiety for longer, while environment and personal choices remain the key variables in weight loss. While the medication can reduce appetite, it cannot control stress, alcohol, emotions, or social situations. Just because you are on the medication does not mean you can eat whatever you want; you must use the opportunity created by the drug to adjust your diet and lifestyle in order to maintain weight loss. This is why there is significant individual variation, even with the same weight loss medication and dosage.

Body composition changes during weeks 1 to 6 of Maunza administration. Body composition measurements could not be taken during some holiday and business trip periods. Although body composition changes were measured under similar conditions such as fasting in the morning before showering, variations occurred due to factors like body water content and fasting status. It is more important to observe trends rather than daily values of key indicators such as body weight, body fat mass, and skeletal muscle mass.

Looking at actual body composition, during weeks 4 to 6, which overlapped with Chuseok and the business trip, body weight plateaued or slightly rebounded between 90 and 91 kg, and fat mass also fluctuated, failing to show a stable trend. Notably, after completing week 4 of Maunza and increasing the dose from 2.5 mg to 5 mg, the weight loss effect did not double.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.