My Thoughts on GLP-1s

I’ve heard more and more people talking about how their friends, family and co-workers are jumping on the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) train, and how it’s hard not to be swayed to do the same. 

Let’s untangle this. 

Dr. Michael Greger recently self-published a book called OZEMPIC: Risks, Benefits, and Natural Alternatives to GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs that you can buy for $15 if you want to do a deep dive. I have not read the book, but I have read excerpts, listened to him speak about it, and watched some of his videos on this topic. These are all great resources for understanding what the science says, and this is a particularly good blog post to start with. Please note that we have no affiliation with Dr. Greger. 

What are the potential benefits of GLP-1? 

• Effective appetite suppression and weight loss 
• Improved blood sugar control

What are the potential risks of GLP-1? 

Common side effects and downsides: 

• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation
• Gallbladder issues 
• Accelerated facial aging and sagging
• Weight loss plateaus after about a year
• When the drug is stopped, appetite returns and weight tends to come back
• High ongoing cost (up to $1,350/month if not covered by insurance) 
• Uncertain long-term safety 

Rare but serious risks:

• Thyroid tumors
• Pancreatitis 
• Acute gallbladder disease
• Acute kidney injury (often from dehydration due to vomiting/diarrhea)
• Allergic reactions
• Worsening eye disease in people with type 2 diabetes
• Increased heart rate that may require monitoring
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviors
• Increased risk of low blood sugar when combined with other glucose-lowering drugs

Beyond the physical 

Those are some of the physical downsides of taking a GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda), tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), and dulaglutide (Trulicity), but let’s take it a step further and look at the downside of taking shortcuts. When we take a drug to suppress our appetite, we miss out on getting to know ourselves fully, understanding our bodies and what they truly need, expanding as a human, getting ridiculously healthy, protecting ourselves from chronic disease, building resilience, strengthening the relationship we have with food, dialing in our hunger scale, understanding the emotions that lead to overeating, learning how to trust ourselves, experiencing and accepting all of our many emotions, accepting and maybe even loving the imperfect parts of ourselves, and truly benefiting from how all of the above shapes us. 

There is so much richness and long term benefits to be gained from NOT taking shortcuts. That’s the real flex, not injecting yourself with drugs to trick your body into not being hungry. 

Being hungry is not a problem that needs to be fixed. It’s as important and natural as breathing. 

Tending to your hunger with care, love, support, and nourishment is what changes everything. 

This is the work that leads to the real magic. 

Do you know that most lottery winners go broke within a few years of winning? That’s because they haven’t learned, practiced, or understood the skill of having and managing wealth. They are given a shortcut and, because of that, the riches are short-lived. It’s the same thing with weight loss. 

Shortcuts are tempting, especially when you see people getting results without trying. But please know it’s all in the trying. The trying is the part that the shortcut bypasses, and that part is gold. If you want true, long-term results that will support you and keep you healthy and strong for the rest of your life, take the longer path and steer clear of the shortcuts. And when you see people in your life who choose to take these drugs, send them love and know that they are on their path and you are on yours. One isn’t morally better than the other, they just provide two very different experiences. 

If you want help losing weight in a sustainable way, check out my free masterclass.

Molly