GLPs Are Not Cheating
We live in a world chock-full of dogmatic fitness professionals who claim to be inclusive while actually excluding everyone who wants to try a different approach than what they are comfortable with. A perfect example of this is Jillian Michaels, who has appeared on numerous talk shows, proclaiming that GLP weight loss medications like Ozempic/Wegovy and Mounjaro/Zepbound are dangerous and dismissing those who use them as merely lazy. Despite the fact that GLPs have been successfully used in functional medicine for over 15 years, helping millions of people, she continues to spread this kind of propaganda.
Obesity is a disease, just like type 2 diabetes, yet we continue to shame people who have this condition for wanting to feel better and look better. The elitist attitudes of some fitness coaches are appalling. If someone cannot achieve their goals solely through diet and exercise, they are often made to feel less worthy. This is what I mean by elitism.
After coaching thousands of patients who have used GLPs, I can assure you that they have nothing to feel ashamed about. Many have struggled with insulin-resistant PCOS for most of their lives, and some have underlying metabolic diseases or damage. All of these patients share one commonality: they have tried everything, and nothing has worked—until now!
You might wonder why they were not successful in the past. The reality is that most of our patients cannot make exercise and nutrition a full-time job, nor should they have to. Of course, they need to eat healthily and exercise, but they should be able to do so like anyone else. Ideally, they should be able to work out at a moderate intensity four days per week for 45 minutes while following a healthy diet, and still lose weight and maintain that loss. However, that often doesn't happen, and we must stop pretending that it is their fault when it doesn't work. Disease is not someone’s fault.
GLPs are a secret weapon to finally help these individuals. They help patients feel fuller for longer, eliminating the need to starve themselves on a diet. They regulate insulin levels, and they improve cardiovascular health, sleep quality, and sleep duration. It's important to understand that most patients will likely need to stay on a low dose of GLP for weight maintenance. But who cares? People live on insulin for the rest of their lives—why shouldn’t they use a GLP, especially since it lowers the risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, and dementia?
