Episode 206: Did Ozempic Just Kill Weight Watchers?

Jonathan Ressler Transformation Guide

Hey, welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the podcast where we cut to the noise, the nonsense and all the bullshit that died in the streets All those internet gurus and Instagram influencers are throwing your way. But today I really want to talk about the diet industry and really I want to talk about the massive dinosaur in the room which is Weight Watchers.

Yeah, that Weight Watcher is the one your mother, your aunt and probably maybe even you paid good money to join so you could sit in a circle and count some points and feel guilty about bread. Well, guess what? The diet industry’s poster child just filed for bankruptcy Chapter 11. That’s what they did.

It turns out that all those frozen meals and weekly weigh-ins couldn’t keep up with. The little thing called Ozempic Weight Watchers right now is trying to wipe out over a billion dollars in debt, and that’s not like I didn’t misspeak. 1.15 billion gone why?

Well, basically because people are ditching decades of eat this and not that brainwashing for a once a week injection that actually works, kind of. We’ll get into that. You don’t need willpower when your appetite disappears faster than Weight Watchers’ stock price.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to sell you on Ozantica. I’m not your doctor and, I’m damn sure, not your drug dealer. But I am here to talk to you about why it matters, because this isn’t just a company tanking. It’s a massive shift in how people are thinking about weight loss.

The diet industry is shaking in its crazy, overpriced keto-friendly boots. And here’s the kicker If you think that this drug is going to fix what decades of bad habits broke, you’re missing the point.

It’s still about choices. Whether you’re counting points or skipping dinner because you’re not hungry, you’re still the one in charge, and if you hand over all your power to a needle or a brand or a trend, you’re just outsourcing responsibility, and that’s really not how this works. It just doesn’t work that way.

So, yeah, weight Watchers might be down for the count, but the real question is are you still playing the same losing game? So stick around, because I’m going to unpack this whole mess for you and I’m going to give you something better than a plan. I’m going to give you some perspective.

All right, so here’s the deal Weight Watchers officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 6th of this year, 2025.

That OG diet brand that’s been making people feel guilty about toast since the 60s is now crawling into court begging to erase $1.15 billion of its $1.6 billion debt. That’s not just bad business, man, that’s a fucking disaster.

It wasn’t just some quiet slip into irrelevance, it was a full-blown headlines everywhere how the mighty have fallen moment. And, honestly, it was coming and it was coming fast.

Weight Watchers didn’t just trip. They face-planted into 2025, trying to play catch-up in a world that moved on from counting points. And now people are into popping prescriptions.

Hang on, let me back up for a second.

In a last-ditch attempt to stay relevant, weight Watchers actually bought a telehealth company in 2023. That was a smart move, right?

They saw the writing on the wall. People weren’t interested in journaling meals or squeezing into meetings with these folding chairs that kill your ass. They wanted a Zempik, wagovi, manjaro, glp-1s real drugs, real fast, real results.

So Weight Watchers said, hey, okay, fine, we do drugs now, and tried to pivot. But the problem is they pivoted way too slow and way too clumsy.

So, despite launching their virtual service to prescribe the GLP-1s, they still posted a massive loss of $345 million last year their subscription base. They were bleeding out.

Why pay $20 to track your sadness in an app when you take a weekly injection that literally makes you forget to eat right.

And here’s the cold hard truth. Weight Watchers built an empire on the idea that people needed constant monitoring, shame and community peer pressure to lose weight.

That only works if people believe they can’t do it on their own. But GLP-1s, they’re cutting the cord, they’re saying hey, maybe your problem is a lack of willpower, maybe it’s biology. Take this and let’s see what happens.

And that’s a death sentence for a company whose whole identity is based on willpower as a service.

So now Weight Watchers is in survival mode, telling creditors don’t worry, this is a strategic move. Yeah, yeah, sure you can slap a spit on it.

But this is what happens when a brand ignores real innovation for too long. The real kicker they’re hoping to be back on their feet in 45 days.

45 days after decades of teaching people to lose one pound a week. Talk about irony.

Look, this isn’t just about a brand going broke. It’s a symbolic collapse of a whole diet culture mindset that’s finally cracking.

The business of guilt is losing ground to the business of chemistry, and that says a lot about where we’re headed.

But hang on, before you start celebrating and signing up for your miracle shop, pump the brakes, because what’s replacing Weight Watchers might be shiny, but it’s not necessarily smarter.

And that’s what I’m going to tell you a little bit more about in a second.

So while Weight Watchers was busy spiraling, it was Zemp and its cousins Wagovi, jaro Zepan were out here absolutely dominating the weight loss world, like they just dropped the hottest mixtape of the decade.

Right, you’ve got celebrities, influencers, your co-worker in a county, maybe your grandmother? Everyone is suddenly magically dropping 30 pounds and swearing they’re not on anything.

A little spoiler they’re on something.

So let’s break this down. Ozempic is a GLP-1 receptor drug originally created for people with type 2 diabetes, but side effects include included dramatic appetite suppression.

So now it’s the darling of Hollywood, the boardroom and definitely your Instagram feed.

These drugs work by mimicking a hormone that regulates blood sugar, slows down your digestion and makes you feel full for longer.

So the translation is you don’t want to eat Like like at all.

The fridge is full, the cookies are calling, but you’re out here shrugging like food is boring.

It’s every diet marketer’s worst nightmare and every emotional eater’s secret fantasy.

But here’s the kicker it’s not just working. It’s working fast and people are losing serious weight, sometimes 15% of their body mass, in a matter of like months.

And this time they’re not doing with kale crunches and shame smiles, they’re doing it with science, which sounds awesome, right?

Well, yeah, kind of, because while these drugs are legit medical tools that can help with obesity, they’re quickly becoming the ultimate shortcut, the escape hatch for decades of bad habits.

And the narrative is shifting from let’s build a better lifestyle to let’s numb the hunger and call it fixed.

And that’s where this thing kind of gets tricky.

So the old diet and results struggle. You need us to help fight yourself.

Glp-1s sell relief. You don’t have to fight at all.

That’s why Weight Watchers couldn’t keep up. They were selling VHS tapes.

In a world of streaming, the hustle is over, the drug is doing all the work.

But here’s what nobody wants to say out loud If the only thing stopping you from binging is a pharmaceutical leash, you’re a drug addict.

Have you actually changed anything?

Let’s be clear Ozempic can be life-changing and even life-saving for people struggling with obesity or metabolic disorders.

I’m not anti-medication, I’m anti-magical thinking.

If you use it as a tool, great fine.

If you use that as a replacement for responsibility, that’s where I have a problem.

Because when you come off it and most people will at some point what’s left?

No habits, no coping skills and all the same triggers waiting to punch you in the face.

So yeah, ozempic may have killed Weight Watchers, but the real danger, it might also be killing the motivation to change.

And that is what’s really important out here.

And that is what’s really important out here the motivation to change and the understanding of why you want to change it.

All right.

Now you know what to do. Shut up and choose.