While new trends come up on numerous social media sites almost daily, TikTok is well-known for creating the most viral ones. The Oatzempic challenge has recently become a popular craze on the video-sharing platform. The name of the trend is a healthier version of the popular weight loss medicine Ozempic. This viral trend shows TikTokers drinking oatmeal drinks to lose weight instead of taking pricey injections, which typically have multiple adverse effects.
What is TikTok’s Oatzempic Challenge?
As part of the new challenge, participants are attempting to drop up to 40 pounds in two months by drinking a smoothie made of quick oats, water, and fresh lime juice. TikTokers taking part in the Oatzempic challenge are encouraged to imbibe the drink every day for at least eight weeks. Many claim to have successfully dropped multiple clothing sizes.
A TikTok user who posted an update on the second day of her Oatzempic Challenge received more than 2.7 million views. A fitness expert using the TikTok handle @believeandachievefitbodi also praised the viral cocktail. Anne claimed she was “pleasantly surprised” with the results. In a video posted on Day 6 of the challenge, Anne asked, “[Is my] appetite suppressed? Absolutely.”
“I wasn’t hungry all day long…It makes me not hungry and [not] crave things. It’s taking away the blasting, it’s regulating everything in [my digestive system],” she added.
Amid the increased popularity of oatmeal drinks, doctors discussed the Oatzempic challenge and if it works. Tommy Martin, an internal medicine and pediatrics physician in Massachusetts, said, “Oatzempic as a trend is something I’m excited about because it’s getting people to eat a very healthy, nutritious breakfast food in a fun way,” according to the New York Post.
While Martin endorsed the challenge for its health benefits, he also stated that 40 pounds is a “lot of weight to lose.” “And unless you go from eating an extremely high-calorie breakfast to this Oatzempic drink, you’ll only see some weight loss, but probably not 40 pounds,” he said.
He continued, “If you’re eating oatmeal and drinking more water, you might move your bowels more frequently. Pooping more can help you lose some weight.” However, Martin warned people participating in the challenge to be wary of unrealistic goals.
“OatZempic doesn’t truthfully compare to Ozempic. Oatmeal is just a health food that might help put you into a calorie deficit, Ozempic has multiple mechanisms of action that help people lose weight and live healthier lives,” he explained.