Why I won’t be taking GLP-1s

First off, I just want to start by saying I am not writing this in anyway to shame people that have already made the decision to start taking GLP-1’s themselves, I’m just simply sharing my history and my thoughts surrounding why I will not be trying this method to help me lose weight, at least at this time. I’m not saying I wouldn’t consider it in the future if my health needs changed, but at the current time, while I am about 50 pounds overweight, besides the heartburn that I’ve shared about, I don’t feel like I have significant health risks that would warrant the need for prescription weight loss, especially one that we do not yet know the long-term effects of.

I started looking into what GLP-1’s even are recently when a couple of my friends suggested that I take it to help with my weight loss journey. What I’ve learned, is that for one thing, once you start taking it, you’re pretty much signing up to be on it for the rest of your life, maybe at a lower dose when you reach your maintenance weight, but multiple sources have reported that if you use GLP-1’s to lose weight and make no other changes to your diet and lifestyle, when you stop taking them, you will gain the weight back. 

Another reason that I won’t consider taking them right now, besides the fact that I hate needles and shots and I don’t think I could bring myself to give myself a shot every day, is my mistrust of the healthcare system in general.

I’ve never been one to turn to drugs or medicine to treat ailments. I wasn’t brought up that way, but throughout my 30s, as I struggled through an unhealthy marriage, and probably some postpartum depression with the birth of my children, I eventually succumbed to the pressure and let my doctor prescribe an antidepressant. Again, totally not meaning to shame anyone who is on antidepressants, or has used them in the past, I think they can be an excellent tool in certain circumstances. My disappointment is that my doctors never had any plan to get me off of them, in fact, it seemed more likely that the side effects from the antidepressants were going to cause a need for more prescription drugs, and at one point I was taking Vyvanse in addition to my antidepressant in order to try to treat my symptoms. If you’re not aware, Vyvanse is a registered narcotic, not only was it expensive, but it’s addicting and again, there was never any plan to go off of it. I didn’t feel like myself while I was taking it, and I didn’t think that it was going to be healthy for my body long-term. I also just really want to believe that I can manage my health and weight with nutrition and exercise, and not need to rely on big Pharma.

When our family moved to Mexico in 2016, part of that move was to try to get myself off of those antidepressants. I did end up taking one for a couple of years after we got back from Mexico as I struggled through the divorce, single parenting, and therapy where we really dug into the trauma from my childhood. But my goal was always to be healthy without the use of medication, and I’m happy to report that I haven’t taken antidepressants in a couple of years now and I’m doing great.

I don’t want to get on another slippery slope of medication use by opting for what I see as kind of the easy way out with GLP-1s. Like much of our western medicine system, it may treat the symptoms, but it doesn’t address the underlying cause. I would rather spend a little more time researching and experimenting with nutrition based approaches, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, I even bought myself a grounding sheet a couple months ago, and have noticed a difference in my sleep quality.

I have been really focusing on my protein intake and tracking my macros and it’s amazing how eating whole, nutritious, unprocessed food has curbed my sugar cravings, and helped me feel full so I don’t overeat or snack mindlessly.

I’ve also been supplementing with things that are good for my gut microbiome because I believe that also plays a hugely critical role in our physical and mental health.

I wish our health care system could actually focus on caring for our health and well being, not just treating symptoms and disease. Something has to change and for me that change starts with taking control of my own health and making good choices about what I put into my body, what thoughts I let occupy my mind, and trying to get some form of movement or exercise most days.

If you are on a similar journey, I would love to hear from you. I believe that we are stronger together and if you too dream of a healthy life without the use of prescription drugs, let’s support eachother!

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