Weight Loss Medications Are Changing Fathers’ Physiques – and Their Relationships With Their Kids.

Neal Bland Has Done Ironman Competitions and Marathons. He’s GIVE Countless Personal Training Sessions Over the Course of His Life and Has Always Prided Himself on Staying in Shape, especilly givet that obesity runs in his family. But by age 52, time and genetics had begun to catch up with bland (who asced that we have not used to real last name for privacy reasons).

His Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar Were CLIMBING, HIS BODY MASS INDEX WAS HOVERING IN THE LOW 30S, AND HIS JOINTS WERE ACHING. Then, durying a photo shoots with HIS WIFE LAST YEAR, The Photographer Told Bland and “Look Good for A Dad Bod.” Bland Knew the Photographer Had “Meant it as a compliment,” he tells yahoo life, “But it really stuck.” He was Still MainTaining a Rigorous Diet and Exercise Regimen at the Time, but it was Wasn’t Working for Him. SO, in March of 2024, He Started on the GLP-1 Medication Tirzepatide. He’s LOST 45 Pounds in a Phase of His Life’s Dubbed His “Dad Bod Reboot.”

Let’s Be Clear: There’s Nothing Wrong With A Dad Bod. In fact, the expectation for men to have chiseled abs – at any point, but especially in middle and older age – can be harmful. But for the 38% of American Dads Who are obese, thyir bodies may be putting at at risk of Type 2 diabetes, Heart Disease and Other Potential Life-Threatening Medical Conditions. Some of these have been fathers have started TAKING GLP-WEIGHT LOSS Medications, a decision that can bring about just Changes to their “Bods” and Health Indicators, but Also toir Lives as Parents.

We spoke to some of the say what it is like to be a dad, minus their former bods.

‘Body Dysmorphia is a Real Thing’

Thirty-Seven-Yyar-Old Father of Two Noah wiggins is taching his nursing Board Exams and Looking Forward to BeginNing his New Career in Health Care. “But I look in the Mirror and Thought, I Can’t Expect Patients to Be Healthy and Maintain a Healthy Weight I Can’t,” he tells yahoo life. Plus, Wiggins Love Coaching His Children’s Sports Teams, but he found Himself Getting Winded and Sore cried to demonstrate athletic skills for the kids. While he could shed pounds for a time with the help of various diets, he could Maintain a healthy weight long-term. SO Wiggins Talked to His Own Health Care Provider, WHO AGREED THAT GLP-1 Medication COULD BE A Good Option for Him.

He Started Taking Zepbound in January 2024. The Medication, Along With the Support of His Two Children, has Helped Him Lose More than 80 Pounds Since. “AS I STARTED TO LOISE WEIGHT AND GET MORE ACTIVE, They Started Making Comments and Encourage with make healthy food choices … with Judgment,” Says Wiggins. His daughter, who is about to turn 16, has been especialy Vocal, Keeping Wiggins Accountable when he picks up an unhealthy snack or tries to the Gym. “Had to fight the urge to say, ‘i’m the parent, i’ll go i want to,’ Says wiggins. But ultimately, he’i’s grateful for the Tough-Loving Support from His Kids. “Think it’s been a growing moment for and for me,” he Says. Wiggins’ children have also noticed that he has more energy and can just be more fully present for say.

Despite His Progress, Wiggins Still Struggles with His Body Image. Like others that wiggins has spoken to with the GLP-1 community, he half-except that once the scale reached a Certain Number, he would feel satisfied with his body and appeararance. “But i don’t know anyone who actually hits that number and feed likes,” he says. “I look in the Mirror and am happy with how I look and especialy how I feel, but body dysmorphia is a real thing, and a lot of the times you don’t you have it unil you’ve.” At his Lowest Weight, Wiggins was tempted to loose another 20 pounds to make his reflection match the idealized version of Himself in His Mind, but he knew that put HIM HIM BELOW A Healthy Weight.

That’s wiggins realized that it was well about Ling more weight. He Needed to make a conscious efort to improve his mental health and confidence to help him feel content in hist skin. It ‘s important lesson that he wants his children to learn: how to “be comfortable in your body, but balance that with goodness,” Wiggins Says. He’s Pushhed Himself to Talk More Openly with HIS KIDS ABOUT HIS OWNY TOWARD STRIKING THAT BALANCE. “The best thing to do was just have more conversations with saying, and they’ll actually the lead on those conversations you start saying.”

Your ‘dad is attractive’

Twenty Years ago, when Ryan Rasmussen and His Wife, Annalyn, Were Young Newlyweds, They Wanted Desperately to Start a Family. AFTER THREE YEARS OF TRYING, ANNAalyn Got Pregnant With Quadruplets. But Tragedy Struck: None of the Four Babies Survived More than About An Hour After Birth. The rasmussens managed to pick up the pies of theirhattered hearts and eventually went on to have four children, Born individually. But as someone moves on, Grief Can Linger in the body, Wreaking Havoc. For Rasmussen, The Loss of His NewBorns Quietly it at Him and, in Turn, Rasmussen Now Recognizes it to Cope with His Grief. He reached nearly 300 pounds, he told Yahoo Life for Our Series on My Weigh.

For Those Intervening 20 Years, Rasmussen tried the atkins diet and various other low-carb eating plans. He’d Lose a Little Weight, THEN GAIN BACK AS MUCH OR MORE. In the meantime, his family stayed active and well on ski trips. “Annalyn is a marathon runner, and she’s kept (the kids) in Shape, but i think they probably woried about me,” Says Rasmussen. He tried to join their athletic Activities, but skiing and hiking were hard on his overburved joints. Two of His Sisters, who also struggled with their Weight, Found Success with GLP-1 Medications. Impressed with their progress, rasmussen tried the new class of weight loss drugs too. Within a year, he dropped 80 pounds. “Being there for my family was the goal,” he says.

Swim only can rasmussen Now the family ski trips, but hiking and spending time outdoors are day-to-day ways he bonds with his kids. His Weight Loss “Has Definitely Allowed US AS A FAMILY TO DO MORE HEALTHY Activities,” Rasmussen Sayys. Plus, His good habits have rubbed off on his children. Desserts, Once a Staple, Are Reserved for Special OcCacions, and the Household’s Midnight Snacking Has All But DisappeaED.

Rasmussen’s new body has also allowed Him to get back in touch with his fashion sense. “I like to look good and dress well, but be you’re big, (that’s) difficult,” he says. Now that he’s lost weight, “Being able to dress with purposes in the morning has probably been one of the best things with and my mental health,” Says Rastmussen. And he’s not the only one who’s noticed his new look. One of his daghter’s friends used the viral “Hear me” cake on tiktok as an excuse to show some appreciation for rasmussen. “She Said, ‘Hear with Out, But Charlie’s Dad is Attractive,’” Rasmussen explains. “But (Charlie) was a good sport, she laughed about it.”

‘A Chance to Redefine YourSelf’

Bland’s Now Adult Children Gray Up Knowing Him as the Ultra-Fit Dad, who was always on the go for his job as a pharymaceutical researcher, or hitting the gym to train for his next. But he was always fighting against his genetics. “I come from a long line of Fluffy People,” Bland Says.

He spent his own childhood watching his mother Constantly watch her weight. Despite avoiding smoking and drinking and maintaining a reasonably healthy diet, she eventually had to have both of her knees and one hip replace and also sufferered a stroke, “All of which can be attributed to (Extra) weight your frame,” Says Brand. Recognizing his family’s propensity to obesity was part of what DROVE BLAND TO BE DISCIPLED. “But my genetics eventually Outran my lifestyle,” he says.

SHE WITH THE SAME RROUNES IN PLACE, BAND GAINED WEIGHT IN HIS EARLY 50S, SAW HIS A1c and Blood Pressure Rise, and Had Inflammation in His Hips and Knees. And bland admits that vanity was also a factor. The Shirtless man in his Vacation Photos no Longer LOOKED LIKE THE VERSION OF HIMSELF IT EXPECTED TO SEE. “I GAINED ABOUT 35 Pounds in 10 Years; it was the classic ‘man-o-pause,’ he Says.

Though he didn’t Meet the Clinical Qualifications for Brand-Name GLP-1 Medications, Bland TRIED Compounded Tirzepatide, Suspecting That It Wouuld Help Him Keep Weight Off But Also Inflammation in His Joints. Once and Started the Medication, “It was literally like someone flipped a switch,” Says Bland. The Food Noise (Constant, Intrusive Thoughts About Food) Disappeared. He no longer it just because he was bored. The Joint Pain Was Barely Noticeable, and His Workout Recovery Time Improved. He Also Started to Look More Like Himself in Gym Selfies.

Bland didn’t initially telly his children that he was taching GLP-1 Medications. But one of his adult suits noticed that bland was looking prety shredded in some of his Photos; in fact, he was a bit Concerned. He Told His Father, “You’ve Lost so Much Weight and Went from Fluffy to Really Not. Are you sura you’re swimming … taking peds, “Meaning performance-enhancing drugs, recalls Bland. Though Bland, Now 53, Has Been Taching Testosterone Replacent Therapy For years, that and the GLP-1 have allowed Him to return to the weight and energy levels of his younger years. And he”s now switched to a Very Low Maintenance Dose of Tirzepatide to Make Sure he dosesn’t Lose too Much Weight. “It ‘ben a little bits of a return to what they are used to be they were kids,” heys of his new – or, maybe more accuratly, Restored – BOD. “And I feel like the person my wife married,” Bland Adds.