Your GLP-1 Medication is a Tool, Not the Solution

I need to be direct with you today: Your GLP1 medication is a powerful tool, but it's not doing the work for you.

The medication is doing exactly what it's designed to do - suppressing your appetite and helping you feel full sooner. However, here's what it's not doing: teaching you healthy habits, ensuring you're getting adequate nutrition, building strength, or creating sustainable lifestyle changes that will benefit you long after you've finished the medication.

Suppose you're relying solely on the medication to do the heavy lifting. At the same time, you wait for the hunger signals that may not come so you don’t eat. Or maybe you feel that it’s an opportunity to eat anything you wish and are loading your diet with processed, foods, higg in fat and simple carbs. In both cases, you're doing your body a profound disservice.

This is the time - right now, while you have this tool - to build the foundation that will carry you forward. Practice habits that have you building a sustainable lifestyle that supports your weight loss. And sometimes that means something counterintuitive: you need to ignore your hunger and satiety signals and eat intentionally for nutrition. You also need to be aware of the foods you’re eating, the exercise and movement you’re bringing into your day and other habits you’re practicing.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Timed Eating: Don't wait to feel hungry. Eat on a schedule that ensures your body gets the fuel it needs - typically three to four balanced meals per day.

Balanced, Smaller Meals: No snacking, but purposeful meals with protein, healthy fats, and nutrient-dense carbohydrates. Your portions may be smaller, but they need to be intentional.

Movement Matters: Bring in regular movement to maintain or build muscle mass, support your metabolism, and establish habits that last beyond the medication. This isn't optional, it's essential.

Hydration: As a general rule of thumb, drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Your body needs this to function optimally, especially while losing weight.

Sleep Hygiene: Create and maintain a healthy sleep routine. Quality sleep supports everything - your metabolism, your decision-making, your energy, and your recovery.

The medication has given you a window of opportunity. But opportunity without action is just wishful thinking.

You deserve better than to reach your goal weight only to find you haven't built the habits to maintain it. You deserve better than to lose weight while compromising your health through inadequate nutrition.

This is your wake-up call. The medication is your tool. The habits are your work. Both are necessary.

What habits are you actively building this week? What support do you need to make them stick? Let's talk about it below.