‘Oatzempic’: TikTok Users Claim New Drink Helps With Weight Loss—Here’s What You Need to Know
‘Oatzempic,’ a drink made from oats, water, and lime juice, is going viral on TikTok due to weight loss claims. Social media users say the oat drink can help people lose 40 pounds in two months.
Experts say that while oats can be part of a healthy diet, it’s misleading to compare the drink to weight loss and diabetes medications like Ozempic or Wegovy.
With the recent popularity of weight loss and diabetes drugs, people are always on the lookout for the newest (and cheapest) Ozempic or Wegovy dupe. Enter: “Oatzempic,” a new drink taking over TikTok.
The drink—with a name that combines the words “oats” and “Ozempic”—is made by mixing oats, water, and lime juice. TikTok users are calling it the newest weight loss tonic, with some claiming that the beverage can help you lose 40 pounds in two months. One TikTok creator’s video showing her second day of the “Oatzempic Challenge,” as she called it, has gotten more than 2.7 million views. At the time of publication, the hashtag #Oatzempic had more than 1,100 posts and counting.
How to Make Oatzempic, According to TikTok
Though the ingredient measurements vary between people, Oatzempic typically has three ingredients. Here’s the most common recipe, based on TikTok videos.
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup oats (typically instant oats)
- Juice from half a lime
Combine all ingredients and blend until the mixture is a drinkable consistency.
While the ingredients in Oatzempic drinks are healthy and may help with weight management, experts caution that the drink’s comparison to Ozempic and greater weight loss claims are overblown and misleading.
“Ozempic is a hormone that affects your brain, as well as your gut. It suppresses the appetite for up to a week,” said Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. “When you eat oats, it can help you feel full for a few hours. [They are] certainly not the same.”
Can Oatzempic Help You Lose Weight?
Making a glass of Oatzempic is nearly identical to eating a bowl of oatmeal, which can help people with weight loss. “If you replace your morning meal with oats, it can put you in a calorie deficit and help you lose weight,” said Ali.
The largest contributor here is the fiber in oats—one cup packs in about 8 grams of fiber, which can help keep you feeling full and reduce your appetite, according to Ali. One specific type of fiber in oats—beta-glucan—is a soluble fiber that absorbs water, turns it into a gel, and slows down digestion.1
Additionally, a 2023 review of previous research concluded that oats “have a positive role in maintaining body weight and BMI, reducing percent body fat, and regulating appetite.”
