GLP-1’s are everywhere. They help you lose weight, manage your blood sugar levels, and next we’ll hear how they’ll make us live forever…kidding of course.
Like all medicine, nothing is a fountain of youth nor a miracle cure. It is vital to understand how these treatments work and how to supplement them to ensure their long-lasting effectiveness.
But first the basics. What are GLP-1s and how do they work?
GLP-1 medications, or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists are a class of medications that are used to treat type 2 diabetes and in some cases are approved for the treatment of obesity. They work by mimicking the action of the hormone GLP-1, which helps regulate blood sugar levels and suppresses appetite in addition to other so far positive side effects. Okay sounds pretty good right? Now we know what they are, let’s take a quick look at the risks and benefits.
Benefits:
- Significant weight loss with a reduction in blood pressure, blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and all the additional positive effects of weight loss.
- Reduced cardiovascular risk and inflammatory markers (joint pain, etc).
- Lower cravings and quiet the “food noise.”
Risks
- GI issues due to the slowing of your gastric system (making you feel full longer) such as constipation or the opposite. Some also experience nausea.
- Reduced muscle mass. Whenever you lose weight quickly, you will most likely lose muscle mass.
- Nutrient deficiencies. While you may feel full your body won’t be ingesting as much as it needs.
- Gallstone, pancreatitis, mood disorders.
One major point that is important is the way people are currently employing these medications. Meaning many people are just taking them as is without using them as a foundation to make the necessary lifestyle changes for sustainable health.
For most, this class of medications may be forever drugs. It will be interesting to see how ultimately people come to live with these medications. Some may continue taking it weekly, while others may be able to reduce the dose and frequency of the medication. We still don’t know enough how this impacts fertility and pregnancy outcomes. Only time will tell.
How to use them for success?
Even with the risks and the unknowns, GLP-1s have incredible potential to drive positive outcomes across a spectrum of individuals. They key is that you can’t just take them and be done. These are powerful medications that significantly alter the way your body works and as such you have to have a plan and team to support you and ensure you achieve your goals. So what does that look like?
As someone who has seen thousands struggle with everything from losing a pesky few pounds to those needing significant weight loss due to health issues, I see GLP-1s as a tool in one’s tool belt in their health journey. The health wins are still on you. Here’s some tips for how to supplement GLP-1 use to ensure lasting success:
1. Optimize Your Diet
It’s critical that you eat a nutrient dense diet in order to prevent nutritional deficiencies and minimize side effects. You can also help to support your body’s natural release of GLP-1 – which works in addition to the GLP-medications to improve overall health outcomes.
- Include a protein with every meal plus your snack if having one- this can be plant-based proteins (i.e. beans, legumes, tofu, etc.) or animal sources (eggs, fish, poultry, meat, dairy, etc.). Ideally, it’s a combination of the two.
- Include a fiber with every meal (i.e. vegetables, fresh fruits, beans/legumes, nuts/seeds). Fiber is important for many reasons: helps support a healthy gut microbiome, keeps you regular and helps with cardiovascular health and balanced blood sugar.
- Hydrate: aim for at least 64 ounces depending on size, activity level, etc.
- Healthy fats (i.e. avocado, nuts/seeds, olive oil, fish oils): fats fuel metabolism and help you absorb key nutrients (i.e. A, D, E, K), are important for brain health and hormone production.
2. Incorporate Strength Training At Least 2-3 Times a Week
And get in daily walks! As mentioned above, when losing weight quickly, many tend to lose muscle mass and with a decreased intake of food it is incredibly important to build and/or maintain muscle mass especially as we age.
3. Work With a Dietitian
The above recommendations just barely scratch the surface. You really need to work one-on-one with a practitioner who can access your specific needs, optimize your digestive health, read and/or recommend certain labs and make whole-body recommendations that include customized supplements. There are a lot of things to navigate here and a dietitian can be incredibly impactful.
We are still learning how these medications fit into our day-to-day world. For many, they are a game changer and for others they aren’t the best fit. It is certainly nuanced and needs to be treated like that.
