Reflecting 1.5 years into this journey; what I’ve learned
Hi all, I’ve posted on here a few times and cannot express how accepted I’ve felt from this community. I wanted to share my experience 1.5 years into this and reflect on the successes as well as the struggles I’m still facing. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this.
• I’ve realized the “honeymoon” phase of my GLP1 is long gone. The initial loss of appetite and reduced food noise does gradually come back, at least in my experience. This is NOT to say it is what it was before my GLP1 and I can still easily consume reasonable portions without binge eating. However, not being nauseated by food 24/7 initially freaked me out. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. I still spiral sometimes thinking “the medicine has stopped working!!!” When it’s just my body telling me it needs food…
• I’ve been a slow loser. I’m still very much overweight despite my labs improving. I am nowhere near where I thought the GLP1 would take me, especially given the posts I’ve seen online of people’s bodies significantly changing. I’ve only gone down maybe 1 size in clothes but haven’t had to buy a new wardrobe.
• I’ve come to realize most people I know who are on GLPs are eating less than me and doing so in a sometimes concerning way. I have a friend with a history of disordered eating and I watched her use her GLP1 to essentially never eat. There are many criticisms of these medications and while I don’t agree with most of them, I believe there’s far too many people using them in a harmful way. Existing within the GLP1 community is just straight up triggering and toxic at times.
• dosing. I’m on semaglutide and due to my weight plateauing, I’ve decided to increase to 2.4mg. Making this decision? It led me to tears. I always wanted to stay on 1.7mg as long as I could which sounds a little silly when I type it, but I guess it was a psychological safety net for me. In my mind, the 2.4mg represented a last and final effort if things got worse. Realizing now, my body might be at a maintenance point, while also accepting that it’s not the body I was expecting to have from this GLP1…it’s just been an emotional experience.
All of this to say, I don’t regret any of this at all. This community encouraged me to take the first step and just try it. It’s not been easy. There’s been so many hard days where I’ve wanted to give up. But there’s been just as many good days, knowing my body is finally getting treatment for the metabolic dysfunction it’s been suffering from for years. I’ve come to understand by body more, appreciate food in a different way, and view my health more holistically. And frankly, I see this as a lifelong medication, so being 1.5 years in, I know I need to give myself grace. This isn’t a race, and there’s a long road ahead.