knows that people think her slim new physique came courtesy of Ozempic, but the "Matlock" star says her new look actually took years of "hard work," she told People. Bates, 76, said she has over the past seven years. She shed most of the weight, 80 pounds, after making changes to her diet and lifestyle following a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2017.
Ozempic, said Bates, helped her to drop the last 20 pounds. “There’s been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic,” said Bates. “But I have to impress upon people out there that this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic.
It’s very hard to say you’ve had enough.” The decided to rethink her relationship with food after receiving the Type 2 diabetes diagnosis seven years ago. “I ate because I was afraid, and I ate because it was a FU to my self-esteem,” she said.
Several of Bates' family members have also been diagnosed with the disease, which allowed her to see firsthand how detrimental it can be. "I’d seen what my father had gone through. He had had a leg amputation.
One of my sisters is dealing with it very seriously, and it terrified me. It scared me straight," she said. Bates began her weight loss journey by tuning into her body and training herself to stop eating once she felt full.
Next, she paid better attention to what she ate. “I used to eat terribly: burgers and Cokes and pizza,” she told People, noting that she now stops eating after 8 p.m.
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