Here's what I think about GLP-1s
After spending a year talking to doctors, dietitians, and people on these medications, I have thoughts.
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When I got out of rehab for my drug addiction for the second time, I started working regularly with a therapist. I had so much to unpack: my addiction and how to live a life without drugs; the damage my addiction had caused to my relationships, job, and health; how to see value and worth in myself again. Underneath all of that (as if that wasn’t enough to work through), I also had to confront the sexual abuse I experienced as a teen, which led me to use drugs in the first place.
In conjunction with group and one-on-one therapy, my treatment team prescribed Prozac, an antidepressant. Within a few weeks, the impact was profound. This was how I’ve described it: I had a lot of work to do in therapy. Before Prozac, I was sitting down to do that work at a very messy desk. (Imagine papers everywhere, four half-empty water vessels, meat stick wrappers, and pens with no caps. This is basically my desk right now. I digress.)
Prozac tidied my desk. It didn’t do the work for me—no medication or substance could. But it created space, calm, and clarity, which helped me sit down for that work with far less noise (distraction). It was a godsend, and for the first time, I was able to make real progress in therapy.
I stayed on Prozac for about two years, until my treatment team and I decided I could wean myself off. Today, I’ve been in recovery for more than 25 years.
Creating space
I was clinging to recovery by my fingernails. I was clinically depressed. I was attempting to address and process the most traumatic experiences of my life. The work ahead was deep, and difficult, and painful. Would you say taking Prozac as a means of facilitating that work was “cheating?”
Maybe you would, but certainly not to my face. In truth, I doubt any one of you would begrudge me any and all available tools to help me heal.
I think about GLP-1s in exactly the same way.
For those experiencing chronic health conditions, a GLP-1 can be a literal godsend. But much like Prozac, it doesn’t do the work for you. The medication can’t make you avoid the chips aisle. It can’t force you to go on a walk. It can’t prep and cook more whole foods.
It does, however, create a mental and physical environment that makes those decisions easier. It makes it easier to bypass the chips (or have just a handful). It gives you the confidence and energy to go for a walk. It allows you the space, calm, and clarity to choose whole foods with far less effort, willpower, anxiety or fatigue. Perhaps it even makes those decisions—especially “I’ll just have a few chips”—truly accessible to you for the first time ever.
It cleans your desk—a desk cluttered with food noise, chronic stress, pain, fatigue, and anxiety. And taking advantage of a proven, effective tool to support your healing is in no way “cheating.” Who are you even cheating? Other people? It’s not a competition, and your GLP-1 use doesn’t affect me or anyone else one bit. Yourself? Hundreds of people have told me, “This is the first time I’ve been able to make tangible, meaningful, sustainable changes to my health.” And there are no bonus points for tackling your health goals in the hardest, most uncomfortable way possible.
You’re serving, not cheating. Period.
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In addition, early reports from those doing the Whole30 on a GLP-1 are overwhelmingly positive! People report needing far less willpower to complete the program, and having more mental capacity to pay attention to how their bodies are responding to different food groups. Using Whole30 Foundations to guide and lead your next Whole30 (whether or not you’re on a GLP-1) will help you to go even deeper into the program, with a stronger focus on your emotional relationship with food and creating new stress management tools.
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More than weight loss
The media often touts the use of GLP-1s as a weight loss “hack,” but these medications are so much more than that. GLP-1s can lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, and even death from cardiovascular causes. They help lower blood sugar, improve cholesterol, and yes, support a healthier weight.
In addition, the mental health benefits, for many, outweigh the weight loss benefits tenfold. The sense of empowerment, calm, and confidence a GLP-1 can bring act as the very foundation of your successful and sustainable health transformation.
GLP-1s aren’t a one-size-fits-all; nothing really is. As with all medications, there are risks involved with taking these medications. And yes, some people do abuse them, using them to facilitate quick weight loss while upholding diet culture. But anyone who calls them “cheating” clearly doesn’t understand the health conditions these medications treat so effectively, nor the breadth and depth of benefits they can bring.
They are life-changing. And as the co-founder of Whole30, I know a thing or two about that.
In summary, yes, I am pro-GLP-1, when administered responsibly and under the care of a qualified physician. More than that, though, I’m pro-you.
I want you to be empowered to make the choices that feel right to you. I want you to feel confident in those choices. I want you to take advantage of whatever tools are available, safe, and effective for you.
If a GLP-1 can clean your desk and help you feel more prepared do the work, I am 100% in support of you using them. More than that, for those of you who have written to me, I’m thrilled that you have found a treatment plan that feels so good, and has proven so effective at helping you reach your goals.
XO, MU
P.S. You can read more of my thoughts on the intersection of GLP-1s and the Whole30 in this article.
As a healthcare provider, for both acute care and mental health, and somebody who has struggled with body image issues my entire life, I cannot express how grateful I am for your post. Destigmatizing the use of medication’s to help us is so important. If using a GLP-1 can help someone’s long-term health and potentially avoid multiple medications to treat those things – but not cure them – then all hail the GLP-1s. Using Tizepatide has changed my life. I know that my long-term health is headed in a much different direction than it was three months ago.
I hope that these medications become available to more people who can benefit profoundly from their use.
Thank you again, Melissa.
My doctor suggested I use the GLP-1 in combination with the Whole 30. I had success on the Whole 30 years ago. When I switched from the Whole 30 to the idea of " Food freedom"--it was much more difficult for me. Now, with the GLP-1, it is much easier.