A Health Coach’s Thoughts on GLP-1s

*As the title says, I am a health coach, not a medical doctor. I do not prescribe medicine, I do not recommend starting or stopping any medications without discussing with a medical doctor. I wouldn’t take medication without talking to my doctor about it and neither should you. 

These are my thoughts and opinions on a popular topic in the field I work. 

Weight loss medications such as Ozempic are very popular right now. I haven’t personally taken any of these medications but I have worked with and discussed with people who have. They seem to be very powerful, helpful and even life changing medications. 

I have been a trainer/coach for 10 years now. Not the most seasoned but I’ve been around long enough to see fads come and go. As far as I can tell, these GLP-1 medications are not a short term thing so I figured I would share my perspective on them. 

The Benefits

As far as I’ve seen, they work. People who take them generally lose weight. How much weight is a different story. Some people lose a lot, some people lose a little, some, rarely, may not lose at all. They curb appetite well, maybe too well sometimes. 

I’ve seen some people suggest losing weight with these medications will cause people to lose muscle mass. That depends. If you can do everything properly, eat lots of protein and lift heavy weights, I have seen a typical muscle preservation. Meaning you can keep your muscle the same as you would losing weight without the medication. You do have to be diligent though. If you skip the protein and/or the weight room, you will lose muscle just as you would if you were losing weight by other means. 

Potential Downsides

As with any medication, there are side effects. I will only discuss things that I have seen. And I add a caveat that these are observations. I’m not doing studies on this stuff so what I see could be attributed to other causes.

The most obvious and probably most common down side is that you do exactly what the drug is meant to do. You stop eating. Which leads to a lack of energy. When your calorie intake goes down by 1000 calories or more you will see a loss of energy. It is what it is.

Another one along these same lines is the potential for dehydration. Because individuals feel full, they have a hard time or just don't get the signals that they need water. Some people may scoff this off like it's no big deal but if you are taking these medications long-term, that means long term dehydration. 

There are other side effects such as nausea and light headedness I have witnessed as well. 

I believe the low energy and dehydration can be combatted but it requires diligence and measurement. And a willingness to force yourself to eat or drink even when you don’t feel you want to.

How to Avoid the Downsides

I think tracking your calories and macronutrients is a very important part of this process. It may seem counter-intuitive to track because you aren’t eating as much but we want to make sure you are getting adequate nutrients. It is also important to be sure you are making the changes necessary to your nutrition to be a healthier individual.

The hydration also requires some tracking if you really want to be sure you are optimizing your health. I would use a specific water bottle that has measurements on it and set timers on your phone to remind you to drink. Keep a journal as well so you can determine the amount that works best for you. And add some electrolytes to some of your water. Even if you aren’t exercising. Because of the lower food intake, you are likely going to be lower on electrolytes as well.

These are tedious steps but ultimately needed to ensure you are living your healthiest life.

The Haters of Medicated Weight Loss

There is a large portion of people opposed to using these weight loss drugs. I guess the rationale is that people should just work harder and lose weight. As I have worked with many people attempting to lose weight, I know it is not that simple. In theory, sure, just eat less and move more. This same argument could be made for many other diseases as well but nobody makes this argument for high blood pressure or glucose intolerance. 

If a medicine can help someone in need and dramatically reduce their risk of disease, why not take it. Move more, eat less is clearly not helping the population as the vast majority of Americans are overweight. 

Another angle to consider is this, If someone needs to lose, let's say 150 pounds, they likely struggle with movement in general. Joint pains and injuries are difficult to overcome. If the medicine can help jumpstart them to lose 50 pounds so they can move better, this is a huge win! I for one, am all for a healthier planet. It would be great if we were all perfect and ate no processed foods and exercised 2 hours everyday but it's not the society we live in.

Final Thoughts

I am in the business of helping people become healthier. That can happen through many different avenues. A new and very promising avenue is GLP-1s. I am in favor of anything that can help people improve their health. With that being said, this is still not THE magic pill. These medicines don’t improve your cardiovascular endurance, they don’t add lean body mass, they don’t make you stronger or faster. That all still takes work. So, just like going on a diet, if you want to be your healthiest self, you still must do everything else to help your body.

As a reminder, I am not a doctor, I don’t prescribe medication or recommend it. Whether you choose to take these medicines is between you and your doctor. I hope this information can help guide you either way.