r/antidietglp1

This is for those who, like me, have seen their body change size multiple times in life. I dieted for a long time, got smaller, but always to see my weight regain anyway. Eventually I realized it was not my fault, that this is the story of the vast majority of people who try to lose weight.

So, I turned to intuitive eating, anti diet, body positivity to accept myself at a larger size. The fact is, there was no way to permanently shrink myself so the best thing I could do was try to be healthy at a larger size and accept my body as it is. Only my health got worse the bigger I got and I was never happy with my larger body.

Enter … glp-1s. It changes everything because now we may actually have a way to address and treat the root cause. I know I have obesity, this is a chronic condition, and Zepbound is treating it. Extremely successfully so far. I’m nine months in and almost at weight I hope to maintain. Most importantly, my health has improved by several measures.

But now I have this fear and the book Flowers for Algernon keeps coming into my mind. If you are not familiar, it is a fiction novel about a man with a very low IQ who is a participant in a study using a medication that makes you smarter. It works, he becomes extremely smart but eventually it has negative effects and either stops working or he has to stop taking it. In any case, he goes back to who he was in the beginning. It’s a very depressing book.

What if i am just enjoying a temporary body? What if it does lose its efficacy over time? I feel so much better, physically and mentally about my body. This is the healthiest I’ve been in years. I’m just so scared it won’t last and I already know I am not happy in a big body. (Yes, even after therapy and reading multiple books)

Anyone else feel like this and what are you doing about this fear?

I have some pounds to lose no matter how much i try to shed them, they stick. I started Tirzepatide but havent told anyone.

I dont wanna hear the criticism of my husband or anyone else. I am not telling my dr and i know alot of you will disagree with that. I don't have high cholesterol or high a1c or sugars. My blood work and health is pretty good. Now I dont have a thyroid so I get blood work every 6 months. Will my dr know?

Hi all,

Mounjaro has in the past been pretty effective for me for IWL, T2D, food anxiety, and metabolic dysfunction, but the side effects are becoming intolerable. About 12 hours after injection, like clockwork, I experience severe bone-crushing fatigue for at least a day and a half, usually two.

This isn't from lack of hydration, nutrients, or protein. I eat full and nutritious meals. The fatigue seems to be a direct reaction to the surge of medication in my system before my body adapts. I suffer from moderate ME/CFS and already experience bouts of severe fatigue, so with the added mounjaro fatigue it's overwhelming!

I have had to take several breaks from Mounjaro due to the fatigue and am currently trying 7.5mg every 10 days as I couldn't cope with 2 days of shot fatigue per week even at 5mg. I am only managing to maintain weight on this dose and dread going up.

For this reason I'm tempted to try a daily medication instead as it will remain at a steadier level in my system and hopefully be less of a shock to my body.

My options in the UK are:

Saxenda/Liraglutide daily shots

Foundayo pill

Wegovy pill

I have experienced very few GI side effects so I imagine I will tolerate a pill. Despite my energy limiting disability I think I could manage daily shots or the finickyness of the wegovy pill if my GLP fatigue lessened. I would be happy with slower weight loss or even maintaining if I could just avoid the crushing fatigue.

What I'm stuck on is which to try next - each one seems to have its drawbacks and there are reports of fatigue for every GLP med.

The cost is less of a concern as any of the above would be cheaper than Mounjaro.

If you were in my position, which would you try next and why?

The most persistent and annoying of abound side effects for me is constipation. Before starting glp-1, I’d been constipated only once before-right after starting on Vyvanse and before I knew you have to drink approx infinity ounces of water on Vyvanse. On Zepbound AND Vyvanse, even drinking infinity-squared ounces of water a day, I am constipated. And many days, I confess, I end up consuming only 64 ounces or so of plain water.
What I’m here to say is that if you are horribly constipated, nothing but rabbit pellets at best for multiple days, and you’ve already tried two nights of Mag07 earlier in the week, and now in desperation late one night because you’re in actual pain down there, you decide you’d better drink the full 10 ounce bottle of magnesium citrate left over from your last colonoscopy, and still not much happens over the next 48 hours, JUST WAIT another day before trying anything else.
I took the magnesium citrate on Thursday night at about 11 pm. Some activity on Friday and Saturday, but nothing that suggested completion. Last night I considered taking more, but went to bed instead. It’s now Sunday mid-morning, and there’s A LOT of activity. So much that I’m staying close to home.
The glps and the Vyvanse slow things down. That’s why they constipate us. The magnesium citrate bottle says it can take 30 min to 6 hours to work. I hoped for 30 min but expected maybe 8 hours. Turns out it took about 60 hours.
Good luck out there.

I'm trying to unpack some feelings around diet culture and wondered if anyone else relates. I don't think I'm really looking for answers, more like I need to rant about it and this feels like a safe space to do it in.

My mum has been dieting for as long as I can remember. I'm in my 30s, and over the last few years I've been trying to unlearn diet culture, challenge the idea that thin = better, and accept that I might never be skinny, and that's okay. Listening to Maintenance Phase and watching Your Fat Friend really helped me feel validated in understanding that my struggles with weight aren't simply a personal failing, and that we should celebrate everything other than weight loss.

My mum is 70 and has recently lost a lot of weight through fasting. I'm genuinely happy for her because she feels great, and I know how much her self-esteem has struggled over the years, and I want her to be healthy and live longer. She looks very small now but still has her "goal weight", even though she feels great, she's still enmeshed in the culture of I've set a number and must stick to it.

My mum recently posted a photo on holiday, which didn't look true to her (AI or a "good" angle), but she did look very thin, at the gym, that's attracted loads of comments about how skinny and thin she looks. Every single comment is about her weight. Nothing about just looking good, good for her going to the gym on holiday at 70.

I felt irrationally angry, then thought maybe I'm jealous, but after processing a bit, I realised I'm upset that, even at 70, the thing people seem most compelled to celebrate about this beautiful woman is that she's skinny. I wish the comments were about how happy she looks, how much fun she's having, or how amazing it is that she's out there pumping iron on holiday at 70!

I think what hurts is seeing how deeply diet culture has shaped her, while also recognising how much society reinforces it. I'm happy she's feeling good, but I wish she could receive that same validation without her weight being the focus. And it makes me sad that these messages are so ingrained in all of us.

An additional pain I think that was sitting in the background was when I told her I was starting MJ, she was supportive and understanding, and knows the journey to body positivity I've been on. She talked about how easy her fasting is and that she doesn't think about food. Within days, she offered to send me clothes 4 x sizes too small for me and when I said that's too small, she said oh no in a few months on MJ you'll be there. I know she's trying to be supportive but it just felt like an unrealistic expectation on me, and I know that's on me, but it's still hard to hear. I know some people don't tell anyone they're doing it, but I thought she would understand given her 50 years of dieting.

I'm trying to navigate weight loss for my health without slipping back into the mindset that being smaller is the ultimate goal. This incident won't stop that, but how do you manage when the examples of injustice are so close to home?

I don't want to shame my mum or take away her happiness. I just feel angry and sad about the culture we live in, and I want to find people who understand that you can pursue better health while rejecting the idea that thinness determines your worth.

Does anyone else experience this? How do you navigate weight loss while trying to disentangle yourself from diet culture?

Has anyone listened to this episode of It's Beyond The Food: Non-Diet Health Coaching, ep 492, out Oct 1. With Elyse Resch, the co-author of the Intuitive Eating book?

I loved that book, but this episode is disappointing. I get that the podcast host is anti-GLP1, but it's really disappointing to hear her and Elyse talking about them with such pity dripping from their voices "they take away hunger, they take away pleasure from foods, it's just so sad."

I feel like they haven't actually talked to anyone who takes these and still has "normal" hunger and fullness cues; who still gets pleasure from food; whose Starving Victorian Orphan that has been screaming and crying in her head for years, no matter how much "unconditional permission" she gave it to eat, finally feels full.

It sort of makes me feel like an author of a book on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy going on a podcast and speaking with pity about people taking anti-anxiety medications because it means they can't feel their hearts beating out of their chests anymore, or feel sickening physical sensations.

Like, yes, the techniques in your book are helpful, but also there are times when meds are needed because someones nervous system or genetics are different than yours, and you don't need to feel pity for them, you could actually feel happy for them because they are more able to use the techniques you write about without it taking every ounce of their energy and brain power.

Hi all!

I have been on Zepbound for about three months. My pace of weight loss has been somewhat rapid thus far, likely due to the Zepbound treating my insulin resistance from PMOS.

My body is starting to visibly change, and it's freaking me out.

I've been big pretty much ever since I hit puberty (thanks, PMOS!). I've been at a stable weight for about a decade, so these changes in my body are quite jarring and feel scary. It's like my brain is struggling to connect what I see in the mirror to "me."

Has anyone else experienced this in any capacity, and if so, what have you done to cope?

I appreciate any responses, advice, or solidarity. <3

I recently started zepbound. The primary reason for this is i have PMOS and want to be able to have better chances of conceiving, and losing weight helps that.

I have been open with my close friends and family about my decision and the reason behind it and everyone has been super kind and supportive which I’m so grateful for.

But one thing that has bothered me is that more than one person has said that it will be good for other reasons than conceiving too, and specifically cite the arthritis in my knee.

For context, 2.5 years ago i had a freak accident where i fell and dislocated my knee. I eventually needed a super intense surgery due to my patella being really high, but because of insurance problems it was delayed three months, during which my knee dislocated every single day. This caused severe damage that even surgery didn’t fix. This outcome would have been the same at any weight.

I’m feeling frustrated because it feels like my supports are contributing my knee pain to my weight, when my arthritis is completely unrelated. Dealing with my own internalized fatphobia has had me realize that I’ve been embarrassed to mention my knee issues because I’m worried people will just contribute it to my weight, and i feel like this confirms that.

I’m probably reading too much into it and I’m also hormonal and extra emotional haha but it just feels bad right now and i wanted to vent.

EDIT:
Thank you to everyone who has commented and shared the perspective of GLP1s having anti inflammatory effects. I didn’t even know about this, and I was projecting my own insecurities onto my loved ones. I’m going to do more research on the effects on arthritis and be less quick to assume someone’s intentions 🥰🥰

Does TIRZ pretty much make you very logical and less emotional and for example, my mom is yelling at me in the morning. It’ll hurt me at first but then you just think that I know that it’s because she’s mentally ill and it rubs off much quicker? do things that upset you it’ll upset you for a little bit and then it rubs off so fast? Whereas before you were spent the whole day thinking about it?

Hi GLP people!
I’m really trying to make it work with semaglutide but I’ve started thinking maybe it really isn’t for me. Not asking for medical advice, just seeing if anyone was in the same boat and wondering how it worked for them.

I was on semaglutide previously for a few weeks and ended up with horrible anxiety after one dose of .4 after starting at .25. I’m trying again now and just got my 4th .25 dose on Wednesday and am supposed to be moving up to .5 next week. Just last night I’ve started with the sulfur burps and nausea and actually had colonoscopy-prep level diarrhea all night and hardly got any sleep. I haven’t thrown up yet and only had a cup of soup and some saltines and grapes today and my nausea is starting to come back again. I’m so scared I’ll be up all night pooping again and am on the verge of giving up. I did have a bowl of sugary cereal before bed last night so I think that may have pushed me over the edge. But should the nausea be coming back again after being careful all day? I was not feeling 100% today for sure but the nausea had stopped until tonight.

Anyone else experience this? Do you think maybe it just isn’t for some people?

Hello all! I've seen posts of others going from the pill to the shots, but has anyone done the opposite? I did talk with my doctor this week about all of this, and I'm just waiting for a new Prior Auth to come through to fill the new prescription, so I'm not looking for any medical advice. Just wondering if anyone else has switched from the shots to the pills, and what your experience was? I feel like I've mostly seen negative stories, but I also know how the internet works, and people are much more likely to share the bad over the good.

Long story, short...I've been on Zepbound for around 2 years. Good experience for the first year, and rocky for the second (largely due to increased life stressors). I know I need to stay on a GLP-1 for the metabolic benefits I get from it, but the shots are giving me way too much anxiety now, and I can no longer tolerate the spikes and drops each week. Also, cost will soon be an issue when my insurance stops covering it in a couple of months anyway, so the pills would be slightly more affordable out of pocket.

My goal is mostly to maintain the metabolic benefits, so I plan to be on the lowest dose that works (hopefully the actual lowest dose). I was able to stay pretty low on Zepbound and was on either 2.5mg or 5mg for my whole time on it.

FWIW, we decided on the Wegovy pill over Foundayo since my current insurance covers Wegovy but hasn't added Foundayo to its formulary yet. We decided I should start with the one that will cost me less, even if it's only for 2 months. That way, I'm not out of pocket more than I need to be if I can't tolerate it.