Unless you've been living under a rock, Ozempic is talked about everywhere as the new wonder drug for weight loss. Every celebrity is fashioning their emaciated faces nowadays after telling the world to be happy with their bodies at any size ... but I digress.
As a weight loss coach and trainer, it's been interesting to hear about how these drugs work, the side-effects of them, and their pros and cons - because there are pros to consider, too.
Wouldn't it be cool to take what we've learned so far from these weight loss drugs and apply the strategies for our own weight loss goals without having to take the drugs ourselves??
I thought it would be interesting to break down how these GLP-1 drugs work and how we can adjust our lifestyle to mimic the same affect without using them.
1) GLP-1 drugs slow digestion and reduce hunger hormones.
With less food cravings and less hunger it would mean that sticking to a calorie deficit for weight loss would be a lot easier. Battling hunger is the main reason why most people fail to adhere to their diet plan.
To combat hunger, we can do a few things with our habits. First, fill your meals with enough protein, fiber and water. These main ingredients together help us to feel fuller for longer and reduce cravings for refined carbs and sugar, which usually are to blame for going over our daily calorie budget.
Second, we can utilize weight lifting and walking instead of high intensity cardio for better appetite regulation. Long bouts of steady state cardio has a way of increasing hunger in a way that weightlifting doesn't. Adjusting our exercise mode can be a simple shift with big benefits.
2) GLP-1 drugs lower blood sugar.
Managing blood sugars is a helpful thing to keep in mind when you want to lose weight because with high rises and falls of blood sugar come fierce sugar cravings. Every time your blood sugar crashes your body is signaled to seek out sugar to raise your levels again. Many Americans stay on this blood sugar roller coaster all day, eating too much refined carbs.
To fix this, we can enjoy carbs but make them mostly from whole food sources like whole grains, veggies and fruit. We can also pair our favorite carbs with protein and fat to help balance blood sugar levels and prevent sugar crashes that lead to sugar cravings.
3) GLP-1 drugs produce muscle loss - not just fat loss.
One of the biggest disadvantages of these drugs is the result of severe muscle loss. Now, with any sudden, fast weight loss, whether it be from these drugs, bariatric surgery or a severe calorie deficit, the weight loss is usually always a mixture of both muscle and fat, with muscle loss taking priority. The body sees fat as more valuable because of its ability to help us survive famine, so when a stressful event like a steep diet comes along, the body will want to drop its muscle weight first instead of fat.
A body with less muscle and more fat is a body with a down-regulated metabolism and lowered hormone levels like thyroid hormones, for example.
To avoid muscle loss with any calorie deficit plan, we want to take a slow and steady approach as well as combat the muscle loss with weightlifting and protein.
When I start my clients on a calorie deficit plan, I set the calorie deficit to be the least amount of a cut needed where we begin to see the scale go down. This means the calorie deficit may be set for a more sustainable 1700 calories instead of 1200 calories. Doing this is a much safer approach long term where the body can slowly drop more body fat than muscle mass.
Adding weightlifting to the plan will ensure we keep the metabolism healthy and maintain or even gain muscle in the process as well. This results in a person who has a better metabolism with less fat and more lean muscle by the time their diet is over.
4) GLP-1 drugs are typically prescribed for forever use.
Being dependent on a drug your entire life is not something most people are looking for. That, and with how expensive these drugs can get, it's a more cost-effective plan to lose weight through lifestyle change if we can.
To make any lifestyle change stick we have to set up better systems and routines so that eating more protein, veggies, whole foods and exercising becomes easy, convenient and enjoyable.
Look at the little things you do everyday. Brushing your teeth, drinking coffee in the morning, putting makeup on, letting the dog out. Why do you do these things without even thinking about it?
Usually with every habit there is a link to either an unwanted consequence (like bad breath or cavities) you're trying to avoid, or because it's enjoyable (like that morning cup of coffee).
If you can adjust your routines and habits to make healthy eating and exercise more enjoyable and easy in the same way, you will most likely stick to it for the long run.
Think, eating healthy foods you really love, watching your favorite show while you walk on a treadmill, working out with your spouse or best friend, or buying easy meals that are ready to grab and go. If you enjoy your healthy lifestyle you'll want to keep it up!
GLP-1 drugs aren't going anywhere. As a trainer I completely understand the time and place for them. However, for most of us they don't make sense to use them for a variety of reasons, but we can take what we are learning from these drugs and implement similar strategies to reap similar results without the need for them.
If you're looking for a healthier approach to food and a weightlifting plan to follow for sustainable fat loss, you can work with me through any of my programs when you sign up here.
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Have you or anyone you know used GLP-1 drugs? What was their experience? Leave a comment and let me know!
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