How to Optimize Your Nutrition While on Weight Loss Medication

GLP-1 medications like Wegovy, Ozemipic, and Mounjaro have gained a lot of attention lately for their ability to help with weight loss. But how exactly do they work? And more importantly, how can you optimize nutrition to get the most out of them?

First Let's Understand What GLP-1 is

GLP-1 is actually a hormone that your body naturally makes when you eat food.

Here's what happens in your body when you eat:

1. Blood sugar goes up (because you most likely had carbs in your meal, and also this is a completely normal physiological response)

2. As you're eating your meal, the GLP-1 hormone is released by your small intestines and works in three main ways:

   1. GLP-1 works on increasing insulin which brings your blood sugar back down (because while it is normal for blood sugars to go up after a meal, we don't want it to stay high!)

   2. GLP-1 also slows down the rate at which food moves through your stomach so the food can have more time to get digested (this also slows down glucose absorption, further helping your blood sugar levels not get too high)

   3. GLP-1 also acts on the brain and tells it "Hey we are full now, please stop eating"

How is that related to the GLP-1 medications?

The technical scientific term for that class of medication is GLP-1 receptor agonist, which is just a fancy way of saying that these medications mimic what the natural GLP-1 does in our body.

So just like the natural GLP-1 hormone, the GLP-1 medications do three things:

1. Increases insulin to bring your blood sugar back down after a meal

2. Slows down the rate at which food moves through your digestive tract

3. Tells your brain "Hey we are full now, stop eating!"

So because of these effects, you feel less hungry, your blood sugar is more controlled (and when your blood sugar is controlled, you get less cravings), and you eat less overall. This then results in weight loss.

Side note about side effects: Nausea is one of the most common side effects of GLP-1 medications, with over 40% of people on semaglutide for weight loss reporting nausea in clinical trials. Can you guess why? Remember GLP-1 medications slow down digestion, and that feeling of food sitting in your stomach can make you nauseous. But this is also why you feel fuller for longer!

How Can I Optimize Nutrition to Get the Most Out of My GLP-1 Medication?

Balance Your Plate For Better Results

Balance your plate with high-fiber carbs, lean protein, vegetables, and healthy fats. Our body still needs nutrients and this is the best way to make sure you are meeting your nutrient needs while on weight loss medications.

Here's why each of these nutrients is important:

Why You Shouldn't Leave Out Carbs and Fiber

Fill a quarter of your plate with high-fiber carbs. No, carbs are not the enemy. Our brain alone uses about 130 grams of carbs every day! When you choose high-fiber carbs, the fiber helps slow down the rate of glucose absorption into the blood, which means your blood sugars don't spike. Furthermore, fiber helps lower cholesterol and feeds our gut microbes. Examples of high-fiber carbs include whole grains, oatmeal, nuts, beans, and fruit.

A note on fiber: Ramp up your fiber intake slowly to avoid bloating, gas, and other unpleasant GI symptoms. While slowly ramping up your fiber, also drink plenty of water. That should help mitigate the GI upset.

Why Protein Should Be a Priority

Fill a quarter to one-half of your plate with lean protein. When you're on a GLP-1 medication, make sure there is protein at every meal and snack. Protein helps keep your muscle mass and when you are on weight loss medication, you are VERY prone to losing muscle mass.

Protein also provides that long-lasting satiety factor. Ever ate a bag of chips as a snack and felt hungry again after 30 minutes? What about when you ate just a salad with no protein and called that a lunch? Did that keep you full? Probably not because there was no protein! So then you reach for another snack and another. Now go back to that bag of chips and eat it with a Greek yogurt dip. And add lean chicken to that salad for lunch. Do you notice a difference?

Load Up on Vegetables for Micronutrients

Fill the rest of your plate with vegetables. Vegetables are where we get a lot of our micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals. Eat a variety of vegetables throughout the week to make sure you get a variety of vitamins and minerals.

When you're on weight loss medications, you will be eating less food overall, which makes it harder to get enough vitamins and minerals. It may be a good idea to take a multivitamin supplement to cover your bases.

Add Healthy Fats

Ok so far, we have a quarter plate of high-fiber carbs, a quarter to a half plate of lean protein, and the rest of the plate is vegetables. Where do healthy fats fit in?

You can incorporate healthy fats in two ways:

1. Add healthy fats as toppings to your meal or snack. For example, add avocado, eggs (with the yolk), or nuts and seeds to that salad. Add peanut butter, chia seeds, or hemp seeds as toppings to your oatmeal.

2. Cook your foods in a healthy fat such as olive oil.

Fats help regulate our hormones. They're actually the molecular building blocks for some of our hormones! Fats also help us absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K. Remember that salad you were eating with a non-fat dressing and no other source of fat? Yeah, those vitamins didn't get absorbed.

Build Healthy Lifestyle and Eating Habits

Weight loss medication is a great tool for helping you lose weight. But you can't rely on it to do the work for you. You also have to put in the work to create long-lasting healthy habits. While weight loss medications are meant to be for long-term use, it is not guaranteed that you will be on this medication long-term. The pharmacy could run out or your insurance could stop covering it. So what happens when you stop the medication?

Participants in this clinical trial were put on semaglutide plus lifestyle interventions for 68 weeks. One year after they stopped the semaglutide and lifestyle interventions, the participants gained back an average of two-thirds of their original weight. However, it would be unfair of me to leave out that even though the participants regained two-thirds of their weight, they were still better off than the placebo group who only did lifestyle interventions without the weight loss medication.

So what healthy habits should I practice while I'm on weight loss medications in order to optimize my weight loss after I stop the medication?

Eat mindfully

Even though weight loss medications reduce hunger, eating mindfully is still good practice. Take your time to enjoy your meals—sit down, chew slowly, be present, and remove distractions. This will help you listen to your body’s hunger and fullness signals and prevent overeating. Learning the skill of listening and responding to your body's hunger and fullness signals will be very important when you no longer have the GLP-1 medication dictating your hunger and fullness.

Choose nutrient-dense foods

Foods like whole grains, legumes, lean meats, vegetables, and fruits pack in a lot of nutrients without a lot of calories. This is what we mean by nutrient-dense. Make sure about 80% of your diet is foods like these. Of course we have to leave room for some fun foods! When you get used to incorporating nutrient-dense foods into your diet while on weight loss medications, it will be easier to incorporate these foods into your diet after you stop the medication as well.

Address Your Sleep Habits and Stress Management

Being healthy is not just about diet and exercise. Poor sleep habits and poor stress management also play a huge role in your weight and overall health.

Key Takeaways

• GLP-1 medications like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro help with weight loss by mimicking your body’s natural GLP-1 hormone, leading to reduced hunger, slower digestion, and better blood sugar control.

• To optimize your results while on weight loss medication, focus on balanced nutrition: include high-fiber carbs, lean protein, vegetables, and healthy fats at every meal.

• Start building healthy lifestyle habits while on weight loss medication to optimize the weight loss and keep it off.

• Weight loss is more than medication—it’s about lasting lifestyle changes that support your health and well-being for the long haul.

If you’re serious about making lasting changes while using weight loss medications, our tailored program is designed just for you. Apply today and take the first step toward a healthier lifestyle.