My GLP-1 Update

What three months has taught me.

Hi friends!

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a while now because so many of you have been asking about my experience with Zepbound. (If you missed me sharing I was using a GLP-1, here’s the post where I explained it.)

My only regret is not starting sooner.

Not because I’ve lost 15 pounds (although that’s certainly been a great bonus!), but because I forgot what it felt like to feel good in my own skin.

Since starting Zepbound on April 12, I’ve lost 15 pounds. My nurse practitioner, Betsy Bail at Beyond Gyne Health in Lake Forest, thinks I’m very close to my goal weight. I’d still love to lose another five to seven pounds, but after that, my plan is simply to maintain.

Over the past few months, so many of you have reached out with questions about my experience. While I’ve tried to answer all of them as they have come in, I thought it might be helpful if I gather them all in one place.

And as a reminder—an important one—this is just my experience. I’m not saying that taking a GLP-1 is right for everyone. This is only what has worked for me.

So, in no particular order…here we go.

Q. What has surprised you most about taking a GLP-1?

A. Honestly, the thing that has surprised me most is how easy a GLP-1 has been to use in helping me lose weight. I feel like I’ve tried so many different weight loss strategies that turned into part-time jobs. All of the special grocery shopping, calorie counting, and cooking—it was so much work for almost no results.

Through this process, I have also learned that my portion control was off before starting a GLP-1. While I was eating pretty clean, I was definitely eating more than I needed to. That’s been very eye opening.

Q. Does it seem to quiet the noise for food?

A. That was another surprise for me. The “food noise” goes away. I didn’t know what that was until I started Zepbound, but my cravings to eat literally stopped. I am rarely hungry and that is the weirdest thing. Even the pangs I would get when I was just tired or bored went away.

As far as it curbing other impulses (to drink, to spend, etc.), I’m not sure. I gave up drinking 7 years ago, so that’s not been an issue for me but I know there is research saying that GLP-1s can help with this. And spending…I’m pretty disciplined with this but I’m curious to know if others have found that a GLP-1 helps with this.

Q. Did you have any side effects? Feeling nauseous or food aversions?

A. I have been really lucky—no real side effects at all. At the beginning, I had a little nausea or I would feel tired the day of the injection, but nothing more than that. Chicken was a little weird for me at the start, but that aversion has subsided, too. I know this won’t be everyone’s experience, but this has been a mind-over-matter situation for me. I really wanted this to work. Maybe I’ve overlooked some symptoms knowing that on the other side I was going to feel so much better! But truly now, I have zero complaints.

Q. Love to know if you’re still at the 2.5 dosage or if you have gone up?

A. I’m still at the 2.5 dosage. Because that has worked, Betsy was comfortable keeping me at that level. Since I’m close to my goal, we have talked about spacing out my dosing from every week to every 10 days, and then spacing it out even more after that.

Q. How do you preserve muscle, skin elasticity, etc. while taking a GLP-1?

A. Protein intake (30 grams per meal) and strength training (2-3 times per week) are a very important part of using a GLP-1. I struggle daily to meet these goals, but I try! I’m religious about putting collagen (Vital Proteins) in my coffee every morning and I’m lathering myself up with all of the lotions and potions that might help. Ritual also sent me this Daily Skin Hydration supplement to try. It’s hyaluronic acid in a capsule form. I’m not sure this is necessary, but I figure that it can’t hurt to give it a whirl!

Q. So many people on GLP-1s never exercise because they see the weight fall off. Have you changed your routine?

A. I have always been pretty active (daily yoga + 10,000 steps) and I’ve kept to that routine. It was a little tough in the very beginning because I was eating less and I wasn’t fueling enough before a workout, but I feel like I’ve figured that out. I have added one strength class each week and I need to get that up to at least two. My schedule hasn’t allowed for that yet, but it’s the plan once our summer settles down a bit.

Q. Was the needle hard to get used to?

A. Not at all! But I also think I was so ready to do whatever it took—needle or no needle! The instructions are super straightforward and I was able to figure it out pretty easily.

Q. What do you do when you are at a goal weight?

A. When I reach my goal, I’ll go into a maintenance phase but I don’t know what that will look like yet. More to come on that down the road.

Q. How do you feel about possible long-term side effects?

A. At this point, the pros outweigh the cons for me. It seems like the more research that is done on GLP-1s, the more benefits they uncover. I will continue to reevaluate things as new information is presented, but for now I’m comfortable with my decision.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have other questions, please feel free to send them my way!

XO Ann Marie