Yes, I'm on Ozempic! No, I'm not ashamed.

I've been fat my whole life, you think I'm not use to being shamed?

I was standing in the middle of JC Penney, with arms full of clothes that I knew wouldn’t fit me.

My mother insisted that I would be able to find clothes that were flattering and age appropriate– even though I was 11 years old and already a 2XL.

We left the store without buying anything.

This was a phenomenon I grew accustomed to throughout my childhood.

Age 10

I knew by middle school I was different.

I just thought something was wrong with me, I eventually learned that was true. I was running the mile in my 7th grade PE class when I felt the most excruciating pain in my life.

My coach sent me to the nurse. I was crying so intensely from the pain, they had my mom come pick me up. That night it got worse, and my parents took me to the emergency room.

The doctor told us a cyst had ruptured on my ovary, and diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian syndrome. I was just 12 years old.

A year or so later my parents would take me to a pediatric gynecologist who put me on hormonal birth control to try to mitigate the worst of my symptoms– the pills made me lose some weight.

They also made me extremely depressed. My body felt better, and my cramping stopped– but my mental health was the worst it had ever been. It was so bad that a group of my teachers pulled me out of class to do a wellness check and make sure everything was okay at home.

Age 14

Eventually I stopped taking birth control and just decided I would take matters into my own hands. To me, that meant starving myself. I would skip breakfast and lunch, and oftentimes throw up my dinner. It was around this time I decided to join the track and field team. I had workouts during school, afterschool, and I added an extra when I got home just to make sure I was “hitting my fitness goals.”. Combine excessively working out with not eating, and you’re guaranteed to lose weight.

I did– and people noticed. They praised me, telling me how amazing I looked. They didn’t realize I had a severe eating disorder. They just saw me as less fat than I was before.

I gave this up when I got to high school and just decided to deal with being the fat funny friend. I didn’t deal with bullying anymore– I was quite outgoing and friendly. President of nearly every club, and prom queen my senior year. I figured if I was going to have the biggest body, I might as well have the biggest heart and personality as well!

It wasn’t until after I graduated that the problems really started to present themselves again. While all my friends moved away, I stayed home to take classes online.

I was often alone. I didn’t have a license or a car, and I lived far outside of town. I grew extremely depressed. So I ate. I ate and ate and ate, until I got to the heaviest weight I’ve ever been.

I didn’t just eat. I drank. One night in particular I drank two bottles of wine and ate more than I could stomach. I laid down in bed and it all felt cloudy. I was clearly drunk, but something else was wrong with me.

Two weeks later, I was admitted to the ICU. My blood sugar level was over 400, and I was hospitalized for three days. I was diabetic, and the doctors made it clear If I didn’t get it under control– I’d live a short life.

Age 19

I decided to move to Houston to live with my sister. This was a big life change, and the added stress pushed me back into unhealthy habits. When you have disordered eating, It can morph and take the shape of any extreme on the spectrum If you allow it to.

I didn’t eat any carbs. I mean ANY carbs. Not only that but I started working out again, 2 hours a day– 5 days a week.

I lost 40 pounds.

As time went on I gained it all back. Working in politics is stressful, and it doesn’t help when a Congressman attacks your looks publicly and you suddenly have millions of eyes on you. Every headline about how you’ve been fat shamed– every comment section full of comments highlighting your biggest insecurities.

Right before the 2024 Democratic National Convention, I believe I was once again in diabetic ketoacidosis. I refused to go to the hospital, because I knew I’d be admitted. I was scared that I would miss the convention, and miss the once in a lifetime chance to be a speaker.

I put myself on a strict diet. No potatoes, no rice, no bread, no tortillas, no added sugar, no liquids besides water or tea– and absolutely no fried foods. Slowly my blood sugar levels came down, but they were still high. When my blood sugar is high, I swell. My face gets puffy and inflamed. It is clear to me when I look back on every photo I took.

August 2024- Age 21

When I got to Chicago, I realized it would be a long week. It was hell. I had a headache the entire time, I was starving, and I hated how I looked.

Giving a speech at the DNC is one of the worst and best things I have ever done. On the one hand it was a true honor, I became one of the first Gen Z Americans to do so. On the other hand, I became a viral punching bag.

In my speech I had quoted Ann Richards, “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

The irony of a fat girl saying that was too much for MAGA and incels to ignore. They made edits mocking me, which garnered tens of millions of views. My comment section had thousands of comments calling me a number of terrible names, and my DM’s brought me to tears.

I told a friend I wish I had never given a speech– something that was a dream of mine, and I wished it had never happened. That’s how depressed and upset I was in the days following. I came home to Houston, and locked myself in my apartment. I didn’t leave my couch for days.

Then I got a phone call. It was Tim Walz.

He told me thank you for everything I had done, and how wonderful my convention speech was. A simple and short act of kindness in such a dark time– and it brought such a spark back to me.

The next morning, I called my doctor and made the appointment.

I asked him about Ozempic. He said I was an excellent candidate for the medicine because not only do I have diabetes, but I also have PCOS. He gave me the starting dose and wished me luck. I took my first dose the first week of September.

I knew when I took the first injection that this medication would change my life.

It wasn’t just that it took away the urge to binge eat, but it took away the food noise in my head. It felt like for the first time in my life I could breathe.

That was in early September. Now several months later, I am the lowest weight I have been since 7th grade. At the beginning of this past year, I was a size 28 in jeans. By the end of next month, I’ll be able to buy a size 18.

Left: late August 2024. Right: Late September

While it's great that I’m losing weight and that I feel beautiful– the best part is that I’m getting healthy.

Late October 2024

My blood sugar hasn’t been this good in years, and I have regular periods for the first time ever. People may see Ozempic or other GLP-1 medications as “cheating” but frankly, I don’t care.

If a simple injection can bring nothing but positives to my life, and reverse some of the worst medical problems I’ve ever had— then why would I give a fuck what anyone has to say about it?

Left: January 2023, Right: January 2025

Getting my physical health in check also pushed me to get my mental health straight as well– which is necessary considering we’re about to enter a second Trump Presidency.

I talked to my doctor, and began taking medication to help me balance my moods. Before this my apartment was a disgusting wreck, my email was flooded with unanswered questions, and my diet was up and down– everything has changed.

I have real routines. My apartment is CLEAN, and my diet is more balanced and healthy than it’s ever been. For the first time in my life I feel healthy in truly every way.

December 2024

Which is why I feel the need to be honest. I don’t want people looking at my social media feed thinking that my life is just perfect. Life is hard! I won’t set fake expectations that make people think political work is easy, or that having a public persona doesn’t take a toll on you– it does! I want people to know that getting help or taking medicine isn’t something to be ashamed of. You’re not cheating or crazy– you’re just adding some tools to your toolbox.

And I definitely don’t want to lie about losing weight. If more people were honest about their appearance or cosmetics, I think social media would be a much better place. I will however HAPPILY be showing off my new clothes!

And by the way, Ozempic knows Ozempic. That specific Congresswoman on the right who is adamant she is NOT taking it, she definitely is. Maybe for her it is just gender affirming care ;)