Latest / This Is My Journey | The GLP-1 Podcast / S1 E2: The Truth About GLP-1 Safety And Starting Your Journey — With Hira Malik (Oushk Pharmacy)

Transcript

S1 E2: The Truth About GLP-1 Safety And Starting Your Journey — With Hira Malik (Oushk Pharmacy) · This Is My Journey | The GLP-1 Podcast

• 0:00
  In 2025, the weight and wellness medicine space is booming, but so are the scams. We've all seen them. And between December 2024 and May 2025, the MHRA seized over 7.7 million doses of illegal medicines in the UK. Now, that was worth over 17 million pounds. That's crazy. And back in late 2023, they even seized 369 fake ozempic pens. Here in the UK, some of those pens didn't even
• 0:30
  so scary you know they had insulin inside and people ended up in hospital and it's not just the products only 78% of online pharmacies meet all the general pharmaceutical council standards it's scary isn't it but here's the good news there are trusted gphc registered providers out there doing things the right way and today i am joined by someone from one of them let's roll the intro and i will introduce you to today's special guest
• 1:03
  Welcome to This Is My Journey, the podcast where real people share real stories of transformation, resilience, and growth. I'm Mark, and after navigating my own path through major lifestyle change, I created this space to open up honest conversations around identity,
• 1:21
  mindset, and what it really takes to evolve. So along the way, we'll also hear from professionals, you know, from pharmacists to psychologists and fitness experts who help us make sense of the science and support behind these journeys. So whether you're just starting out deep in the process or you're finding your footing after big change, you are not alone. This is your place. This is my journey. Let's walk it together.
• 1:49
  Welcome back everyone. And today I'm excited to be joined by Hira Malik, co-founder, superintendent, pharmacist and lead prescriber at Oshk Pharmacy. So Hira brings over 13 years of experience as a clinical pharmacist with a real focus on behavior change and supporting people on their health journeys.
• 2:06
  Her team doesn't just prescribe and send you on your way. They take the time to really understand people offering personalized consultations, expert guidance and just ongoing support to make sure they feel safe and cared for. And what I admire most about Hira is her openness and dedication to breaking down the stigma that, you know, many of us face on this journey and help in finding solutions that really work. And I'm a product of that. So Hira, thank you so much for joining me today.
• 2:35
  Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me. What a wonderful introduction. I know. Yeah. Really, really just excited to have you here. And obviously, this is only the second episode, but yeah, really setting the scene for what we are hoping to do with this podcast and talking about like everybody's journey with weight loss and the...
• 2:58
  services that people might want to use to be able to achieve that so you know i know the last few months have been very busy for your team so i appreciate you giving up some of your time to chat to me on today's episode so for everyone listening who maybe doesn't know you yet tell us you know a little bit more about you your background you know how it was maybe formed and the work you do there
• 3:22
  Yeah, of course. So as you mentioned, I qualified about 13 years ago, qualified with an interest in dermatology quite mainly. I picked up aesthetics very, very quickly. I think that was an area that I was very keen on. So I did that a little bit for a while. I then went into dermatology, skin care.
• 3:39
  specialised in all of that. And then I met my husband. So I met Bilal, he's from Edinburgh. We decided to move up to Edinburgh after we got married. I'm originally from Manchester. Moved up, started working in community pharmacy before a bit and then COVID happened. So during COVID I went back into community pharmacy,
• 3:55
  COVID clinics, a lot of vaccinations and things like that. So while I was doing that, I then decided that I wanted to be a prescriber. So I started my prescribing course. And that's when we first almost started doing weight loss. So weight loss was something that was pretty new back then. I think the only thing we really had was Saksenda. And it was a great kind of new product that came in, but not many people understood it. So that's where we started from. A Zenpig came in. So a lot of pharmacies were actually prescribing a Zenpig off license.
• 4:22
  And I think that's when my interest actually peaked into weight loss. And then I did a lot of courses. I wanted to not just offer weight loss, but I wanted to do it in a way that actually was long lasting, gave results. I didn't want it to be a quick fix. And I think over time, obviously...
• 4:37
  I have been doing weight loss now for about five years. So yeah, it's been a long time since I've been in weight loss. Worked for other pharmacies, prescribed for other pharmacies. And I think over time I started to realize that there was a real gap in the market, especially when it came to weight loss.
• 4:53
  A lot of pharmacies were just providing the product where I felt that there was a real need for education alongside that product. And I think that was a big, big part of why I decided to even start up Urshq. But you know, I spoke to Bilal, he comes from the business world, I don't. I did say to him, I was like, you know, I want to do something, but I want it to be different. I want it to be a different type of pharmacy is where patients feel that, you know, they're getting more than just medication. It's not a click of a button and here you go, do whatever you need to do with it.
• 5:19
  So our focus has always been education. Our focus has always been customer care more than anything else. So yeah, I guess that's where Ushk started last year. And we're almost looking at two years next year. So yeah, a great, great place to be. And I absolutely love what I've done. Really, really proud of the whole team, like you mentioned. Like, you know, we've had the ups and downs in the last few months. Definitely have been a bit crazy. A lot of new regulations coming in, price changes. And yeah, a lot that has happened in a very quick time. But now here we are.
• 5:45
  Yeah, no, it seems like the last couple of months have been pretty chaotic in terms of changes. Like every month seems to bring something new at the minute, but hopefully it'll start leveling it off a little. I know you mentioned there you've been doing weight loss now for about five years. So for somebody that's maybe wanting to start out a weight loss journey, you know, why is pharmacy support such an important step for somebody maybe wanting to start GLP-1?
• 6:14
  I think GLP-1s, you know, yes, they're a great medication, but at the same time, I think it's important to recognize that it's just a two. It's not a magic. It's, you know, it's not something that will just change everything overnight. You still have to put the correct type of effort into this. You still need to learn about lifestyle alongside it. And I think this is where the pharmacist side comes in because there will be side effects. It is a medication at the end of the day, how to manage them, how to go through them.
• 6:36
  how to kind of like decide what diet works for you, what nutrition is, that, you know, exercise is important, drinking water is important, sleep patterns. All of that comes alongside this amazing drug, which is, you know, GLP-1s. So to get all of that support and to actually get amazing results at the end of that, it needs to be that wholesome type of, you know, care that the patient requires. And I think that's where pharmacists and pharmacies work.
• 6:59
  will come in hand. And again, when you need support, you wanna be picking up the phone and get someone who answers the phone at the end of the line. And if you're needing any of their support emails, you can email us, you can WhatsApp us. So we, again, provide a lot of education just to begin with, but at the same time, the customer care is always there because we want you to feel that if you do want the answers, they will be there at the end of the line. We don't want you to wait around and look for answers in places that may not be actually correct.
• 7:23
  Yeah, and that's definitely when I started my journey last August. It was a real struggle trying to find the information. And I think that's kind of initially what led me to social media because that's where the information was at that real point. For me, there wasn't a lot of it out there. So it's great that you start really focusing on that part of the journey and really setting somebody up for success, really, at the very, very beginning and that support. So obviously, you, I suppose...
• 7:52
  dealing with it day on day, you know, people ask lots and lots of questions. And I know I'm sure your customer service teams and all that, they're getting lots and lots of questions. So, you know, if people were thinking about starting this kind of treatment, what are the top three most common questions or concerns people kind of bring to you when starting?
• 8:14
  I think the biggest one probably will be side effects. I think a lot of patients are quite worried about side effects because again, there was a lot of misinformation out there as well, not just in social media, but just in media in general. I think a lot of media leads with very scary side effects, which I'm not saying that they don't happen, but I think it's good to be informed, but sometimes it's also good to actually find all the correct information. So I think side effects is a big thing. I think a lot of patients are worried about pancreatitis. They're worried about like cold blood issues.
• 8:40
  which again like I said there's a risk associated with it but it's not very common at all you know we deal with thousands and thousands of patients and it's extremely rare that we will come across someone who has had those type of issues but again it's managing those not just expectations but also managing those side effects so I think side effects is a big one cost recently has been a big one obviously the price increase especially for Manjaro has been huge I think people are quite
• 9:03
  is it actually worth that investment into your health? I will always say yes. You know, the results that we see with medication, not just with weight loss, but generally how well some people can actually change their lives. So, you know, you have to really, really think about that balance to say, actually, can I invest in this medication to change my life?
• 9:21
  you know patients are seeing great results not just for weight loss but for like things like arthritis and pcos and there's so many other medical conditions a lot associated with inflammation that we see a huge improvement in so you know it's about finding out if that cost makes sense for you lastly i think a big one would be what happens when you stop the medication again there is a big media campaign right now as soon as you stop these medications you will put all the weight back and
• 9:45
  It's not worth it. And I think, again, a lack of education in that area is something that we really should be looking into. You know, it's these medications, like I said, they should be used as a tool to make those lifelong changes. But we also talk about maintenance. Maintenance is something that's very, very big with Ushk.
• 10:01
  And maintenance is basically when you've reached a target and what happens next. Some patients will need that support, possibly lifelong. And if that's the case, then of course we will support you through it. If you need that with medication, of course we will supply the medication. If you need that with just lifestyle, we will then give you that. But if you need a little bit of both, then.
• 10:18
  that's there too so you know the end goal here not just for the patients but for ourselves is also to make sure this is the last time you lose the weight because we don't want anyone to kind of go the yo-yoing through that's not healthy for anyone um so yeah maintenance is a big big part of what we kind of probably deal with a lot as well yeah no definitely obviously i'm on my maintenance journey now and obviously as well and definitely i highly recommend the maintenance plans and things that you guys offer because there's
• 10:43
  It's not really a one size fits all approach and you offer, you know, there's different options there for depending on what suits your needs best. And I think that's really important at this point. Going down this route.
• 10:56
  you want to go down the right way in terms of the legal way and all that there. And the black market, you know, there's been kind of stories, stats around illegal seals of all different types of medications that really aren't medications because they're fake generally. And so we've seen lots and lots of stories about that, about people maybe ending up in hospital and stuff, you know, have you heard anything along there? Like,
• 11:20
  Any stories that maybe stick in your head regarding fake medications or things that you've maybe heard working in the industry of your work?
• 11:28
  Yes, of course, we've seen plenty. So, you know, sometimes patients are starting treatment with us. And, you know, one of the questions that we ask is, are you currently on medication? And a lot of them say yes, say yes. And, you know, sometimes they can transfer from other pharmacies, which is perfectly fine. But sometimes people will literally upload pictures of like orange syringes with no, no names, no names of the drugs, nothing, little black vials or that we actually have no idea what that is. So we know that is quite common out there. You know, it's not something that people are just saying, oh, people are going to the black markets. We know patients are doing that.
• 11:56
  Some of it is misinformation, some of it is just lack of that research, some of it is possibly cost associated. However, every time we have spoken to these patients, we know these medications are not cheap either. So people are going to black markets, they're trying to get access to these medications, and they possibly are ending up paying, if not the same, actually sometimes more than what the real legit medication costs are.
• 12:17
  which is such a scary, scary thing to do. You know, patients getting sold drugs that are not even licensed yet. So, you know, these medications that we possibly looking at 2027, it's all lower social media, people are selling it and, you know, saying that's come from China, it's come from Germany. The truth is,
• 12:32
  medication is not even licensed in the whole of the world yet so there is this for anyone so if you find that you're able to get something very easily that should be the biggest red flag that you see you know anything that's accessible too easily is it's a big red flag always make sure that you're looking at credentials of where you're getting the medication from this is a prescription only medication therefore only a prescriber can give it to you so
• 12:54
  either a doctor, a nurse, or a pharmacist should be able to give these medications to you. They should be looking for all your medical history. They should be asking you questions. You know, your BMI needs to meet a certain standard. So all of those things need to be covered for you to be actually prepared for this medication. So if you feel like all of that skipped and you have been given the access to it, then then that's probably not coming from a legit source. So we just need to be really, really sensible about where we're doing. If you want to do checks yourself, you can go to the GPHC website for all pharmacies. Every single pharmacist, every single pharmacy is
• 13:22
  on that register. Same goes for GPs, you can go to like a doctor, GMC register, same goes for nurses. So all the medical professionals, all the credentials are easily accessible online if you want to actually make sure that you're getting it from the correct source. Yeah, so there have been so many changes. I just can't keep up at the minute with everything that's going on. I don't know how you guys have been coping with it all. How have you found the last couple of months?
• 13:46
  I think the biggest change we possibly went through was the new guidelines that came through with GPHC, which is about the BMI verifications. And I think it did cause a little bit of a stir in the world of pharmacies, especially online. And one of the biggest regulations that have come about is that actually each pharmacy will need to now verify patients' BMIs if they are to provide them treatment. So we really, really took that on board. We did, again, because we were doing video consultations already before then, I think it was a little bit of an easy change for us to kind of make it a little bit more part of...
• 14:14
  consultation process. So to start off with we didn't make it compulsory however from July we did make it compulsory which has honestly been a great great addition and I think it only shows patients that they feel looked after as well that we are actually doing something which is a little bit more strict to me compared to other pharmacies but
• 14:32
  you know, it's something that's required by almost like GPAC, that's a regulatory body. And I can, you know, I can proudly say we are probably one of the only pharmacies that have actually met all the standards for the GPAC right now as well to provide these services very, very safely. So there's, yeah, so I think this is something that a lot of pharmacies will have to adapt eventually. So I'm glad that we were able to take that on board very quickly. And I'm just grateful that a lot of patients were very supportive of this. And, you know, the feedback that we had was, yes, it's a little bit of a hassle for them, but
• 14:59
  they understand that it's for their safety. And as prescribers, we understand that it is for their safety, but also our own safety as well, because we know that the medication that is being supplied to a legit person as well. Yeah, no, definitely. And I think even on like feedback I've gotten social media about doing it and things like that, people who are just starting this journey are really reassured by
• 15:19
  having that one-on-one contact with somebody initially at the start, because at the end of the day, you know, we are talking about prescription medication and it's not something I think people forget that, you know, on this journey, you know, we all forget that this is actually a serious medication that we're talking about here. So it shouldn't be treated. Yeah.
• 15:35
  not seriously. So it's, you know, it's a medication that can really, you know, change your biology, your chemistry within your body. So we need to make sure it's definitely the correct fit for you as a patient. And yes, it's generally well tolerated, but that doesn't mean it's suitable for everyone. And I think this is where the contact with the prescriber does become a really, really part of the service and make sure that we can safely supply this as well.
• 15:56
  You really went into depth there. And, you know, anybody listening to this, definitely, there was loads of tips there for if you're only maybe starting your journey or whatever, not to get caught up in that world of fake medication. Because, honestly, I do see it daily, even online and all that there. And it is really, really scary. The amount of people that are falling for it. And I get messages daily about it, too. So it is a really, really scary thing.
• 16:24
  world out there right now in terms of and I think people know that how these medications are working really well so they know that the demand is there they know that the need for access to these medications is there especially with the price increases I think people will try to find the cheapest out there you know so
• 16:40
  it's very, very easy to play on patients' emotions because imagine you've been on this medication for six, seven months and all of a sudden you can't afford it anymore. Of course, you're going to look for places where you can get access to it. But at the same time, it's just not worth losing your life over. It's not worth ending up in hospital. We don't actually know what goes into these medications because, again, it's a prescription medication. Even me, I couldn't have access to those medications
• 17:02
  ingredients to even attempt to make my own so you know as professionals we know that we can't have access to it so people in beauticians or like you know that's someone down the street are not going to be giving you the legitimate medication we've seen cases where people have been just given pure insulin because someone has just broken an insulin and put it into a violence that here you go someone who's not and you know needing that insulin can actually literally just die if they take that dose and you know it's a scary scary world out there so please be sensible nothing is worth risking your life over
• 17:32
  So I suppose kind of related to that then out there, I have seen lots and lots and lots of misinformation regarding GLP-1s. So, you know, what are, I suppose, the most common myths, if you want to call them that, that you have heard about GLP-1s and maybe, I don't know, how they work?
• 17:53
  So I think one of the funniest things we hear is that it actually melts your fat away. That's a great thing. Every time people say, oh, yeah, I'm losing weight, but it's just literally melting my fat away. And unfortunately, I wish it did. That's now how GLP1s work. Yeah.
• 18:08
  GLP ones, you know, they work on your brain chemistry, on your gut chemistry, but unfortunately nothing is able to melt your fat away. I think it's also, it's not really a myth, but I think people find it, think that it's like an easy way out. It's not an easy way out. You still have to work really hard alongside this. Yes, the medications will do what they need to do, but that's probably just not even 50% of it. If you're not making the correct choices, if you're not changing your lifestyle alongside
• 18:34
  And unfortunately, yes, you may see some results, but they're not going to be long lasting. So for you to be able to get to the healthiest state that you can and for these results to be long lasting, I think you really need to be in the correct mindset to be able to go on this journey. Make sure that you are willing to make those changes to really change your relationship with food and to learn about yourself on this journey as well. I think the biggest, biggest thing a lot of patients will see is how little food we actually need to survive.
• 18:56
  You know, we start to recognize actually in the UK and probably a lot of the rest of the world, our portions are absolutely huge. Once you've got these medications and you think, oh, actually, I'm only eating this much. That's when you first start to realize that actually maybe I was making the wrong choices. And if you fight against that, then all you're going to end up is no results and actually just making yourself poorly on this. So you really, really need to not cave into this medication, but really educate yourself when you first start.
• 19:22
  um look at that dietary information you know all pharmacists are telling you focus on your protein make sure you're drinking water all of that's important it's not just you know hearsay you have to follow a certain type of diet you have to follow um some sort of routine in terms of your exercise alongside it because we don't want you to lose muscle um so yeah i think it's not really a myth but i think the myth would probably be that oh it's just an easy way out it's definitely not no definitely not i can definitely vouch for that haven't been on it i know obviously you're saying there about it
• 19:48
  advice and stuff that the team are having to give out and things like that. You know, one thing I do love about OOSHC itself is that it isn't just about the prescription, you know, it's bigger than that. How do you and the team support people beyond just providing that medication? I know you've touched on it a little at the start there, but I suppose just in terms of maybe extra services you offer or things like that.
• 20:11
  To be honest, I think the biggest thing that we started, even before this was a regular regulation type of thing, was the video consultation. So we started doing consultations very early on. I think it was last year when we said, actually, I personally missed that interaction with the patients. So I said, let's do video consultations because I think it gives you that one-to-one understanding of patients' needs as well. So we offer a lot of those. So it's not just for about medication, but if you've had side effects, you could kind of book one in. If you want to just advise, you could book one in.
• 20:37
  Obviously, we're doing BMI verifications right now, so that's another part of maybe when you see patients a lot. So there's that kind of almost one-to-one guidance available from us. Secondly, we are always looking into ways about improving. So we're currently working on this nutrition piece where basically every single patient that comes to us will have access to nutrition.
• 20:58
  nutrition advice for free. It will be part of the service that we offer. And there's a lots and lots of bits and bobs. So hopefully that should be coming very soon, possibly at the end of this month, but that's what we're hoping for. But like I said, nutrition is a big part of it. So I just thought, how can I make it a little bit better for our patients? And if this is not something that we can offer ourselves, so then we will go to experts and that's what we're bringing on board. So there's gonna be a team of experts who will be all nutrition led.
• 21:19
  patients will be able to kind of like share their plates they'll discuss they can talk about all of that kind of information so that's coming soon i also think another thing that maybe sets us apart is that whole sense of community i think she definitely has a big community where i feel it's very necessary because i think
• 21:35
  in the big bad world out there. Some patients are scared to speak about these because there's still a lot of stigma attached to these medications. And, you know, we've got patients where their partner doesn't know or their family doesn't know they're on these medications, but the support is still required. So I think just this fact that we give that option of like having a community where you feel like you're doing it together, where you're feeling like, you know, you've got someone else who's going through the maybe the same type of
• 21:56
  um side effects or a same type of like a struggle in terms of like a plateau so you can speak to them but you can also speak to it directly to our prescribers as well so um yeah i think maybe that's where we set ourselves apart yeah definitely and i think you know i'm excited about the nutritional element because i am such an advocate myself of taking supplements and and trying to
• 22:17
  have a healthy balanced diet and all that sort of stuff so i think for me that is a really exciting addition that yous are going to bring on and to the overall i suppose package that yous offer in terms of pharmacy support and things like that and i definitely would recommend which is why i love vishk so much because you know you guys have so many different services and offer that support and it's very genuine
• 22:44
  Almost like a family and it touches into that community aspect there that you said. So I think that's really, really important when you're on this journey, because like you said, like I know loads of people, loads of friends or family don't even know they're on these medications. So I think you need somebody to speak to and having that support is key to that.
• 23:00
  So yeah, and if you think about it, like I always laugh about this, but genuinely, I think within the UK, food is such a big part of our life. It's part of our social gatherings. All of a sudden you go on these medications and you don't feel like eating food. You don't feel like going out for meals and you can't finish your meals. So sometimes it can be a little bit of an isolating situation.
• 23:18
  feeling where you know you feel like oh I used to go out with my friends just to go try new places and I can't do that anymore and I don't enjoy it anymore so no definitely we have come across patients where they feel very isolated because they don't know how to cope without food you know sometimes it's just nice to be able to see that actually I'm not alone you know there's a big group of people who are all going through together to keep each other positive to keep going for that goal and to know that actually yes it's a small sacrifice right now for something that's really really major in the end.
• 23:46
  For anyone listening who might be right at the beginning, just thinking about starting, maybe feeling nervous, unsure and, you know, I suppose maybe even embarrassed to reach out. What is the one piece of advice that you would give for somebody wanting to start that you would want them to hear?
• 24:05
  I think the biggest thing they can do is actually just research, research, read as much as you can really, really know that this is something that you want to do. Don't go like, of course people can be inspired by other patients results. And, you know, people can look at Mark and be like, how amazing is that? And of course there's huge community out there. That's like, you know, sharing their stories. So listen to those, but know that if you're doing this, do it for yourself, don't do it for anyone else. Because like I said, you'd need that commitment and it needs to be a long-term commitment that you're making to yourself to be in a, in a, in a place and,
• 24:34
  mentally that you think actually I'm ready to make that change and I'm ready to commit to this as well. You know we've seen patients who kind of start these journeys and two months down the line they just give up because they can't be bothered anymore. So of course it's a very expensive medication you have to again you know know that if you're putting the effort in then just be really really prepared and if you want more information honestly I would say just book a call in you can book a call in you can book a video call in you don't even have to have an order with us if you're just considering this if you're just thinking about starting medication
• 25:01
  We actually have a consultation on the website, which just says initial consultation. So if you want, if you have any questions, if you want to know anything specific about your conditions or medications and you're not too sure, you can actually book a consultation with a prescriber before you even start the journey, just to make sure that this is the correct step for you. There's a lot of weight loss options out there. So, again, you need to make sure this is the correct one for yourself. You know, sometimes it just feels like, oh, wow, I can't believe you're going all the way to the hospital.
• 25:26
  injections, but at the same time, this is one of the most effective ones, you know, weight loss in this way is only secondary to surgery and obviously a lot safer. So it's about kind of like finding that balance and knowing a lot of the times people who are going through weight loss journeys, they're the experts in losing weight because they've done it all their lives. They've done it.
• 25:44
  three, four, five times where they've lost three stones, four stones, but they always put it back on. So it's like, what is it that's going to be different this time? And a lot of the time, yes, the GLP ones are going to support that decision because, yes, they do make it a little bit easier. And yes, you do see the results with that. But if you don't put that effort for lifelong, then of course, you know, there is a risk that you might end up where you started. So you just need to have that 100 percent kind of like commitment to yourself that you're going to do this and follow through.
• 26:10
  Yeah, no, I think that's all really, really good advice. And yeah, I know you touched on, you know, obviously, about booking a consultation and all that there, but just to really wrap things up, you know, were, I know you were directing people to the website there, but like, have you got social media that you can direct, people can go to, if you like your website, what kind of, you know, other services do you guys offer that maybe- Yeah, we have social media, of course. So, you know, we've got TikTok,
• 26:38
  We've got Instagram, we've got Facebook. All of those channels are there. I wouldn't say that those are the best channels if you need clinical advice. However, if you just want to kind of get a feel of the pharmacy or the, you know, what we offer and the services we offer, of course, you can utilize those. In terms of the website, if you do want to make a consultation, you just go to the weight loss section and there's a big button that says book a consultation. So just click on there. You should be able to book one in. All you need is a quick account with us.
• 27:03
  to be able to do that. We've also got our own community on the website, which is again, an addition that we added for that patient community feel, like I said earlier. So you're more than welcome to join this. Thousands and thousands of patients on there, all sharing the journeys, all having discussions about what this journey could be. And if you have any of the questions, you're more than welcome to ask those patients as well. And they're very friendly, everyone's lovely.
• 27:25
  you're more than welcome to join that group as well. But yeah, like I think do your research, really, really keep a focus on knowing that this is a change that you're making for yourself and enjoy the journey as well. I think the, you know, the biggest downfall for a lot of patients is when they compare themselves to others as well. You know, it's a unique journey. This is your own journey sometimes.
• 27:42
  you won't get the results in the same manner as maybe your sister does or someone that you've seen on social media. So just stay positive and know that even if you lose one stone at the end of three months, that's a stone less than where you started. And sometimes patients will spend years and years trying to lose that stone. So, you know, it's an accomplishment within itself. So, you know, really, really celebrate all the wins that you go through.
• 28:03
  throughout the journey as well. And I'm sure you can relate to that. You must have seen patients who were losing, like, you know, it's crazy out there. People are like, oh, yeah, woke up this morning and I lost eight stones. Like, it doesn't happen. So like, just keep it realistic and know that you're in a competition with just yourself.
• 28:17
  Yeah, no, definitely. And I think, you know, you hit the nail on the head there with about not comparing yourself to other people, because, you know, for me, I get that question all the time. You know, why am I not losing as much as you have or whatever? And, you know, I always say everybody is so different. You know, we're all different genetically. We're all different, have different daily routines. We all have different.
• 28:39
  exercise regimes that we do some of us are you know have kids that we run around after and all there's so many different aspects that people lose weight differently and yeah I think you just have to focus on yourself and whether it's you know one stone you lose in a month or two pounds or one pound you know a loss is a loss in my view a loss is a loss and it all adds up it all adds up very very quickly so even if you're losing
• 29:04
  two pounds a week which is obviously exactly what we want you to do but people losing two pound a month yeah that would add up you know over six months over a year of course that will add up and I guess that you're the healthiest you've been in such a long time so really really celebrate that as well.
• 29:17
  No, 100%. No, thank you so much. I've covered a lot of ground there in such a short space of time. And I'm sure anybody listening will find a lot of value in everything you've said there. Because I know I have. And I've been doing this journey over, you know, well over a year now. So, yeah. Thank you so much, Hera, for joining me for the second episode of This Is My Journey.
• 29:39
  Thank you for having me. Honestly, it's been great. And just watching you has been so inspiring. And I think I'm sure a lot of our patients love it. But, you know, even us, we really, really admire what you're doing. So well done. This is amazing.