In part 1 I mentioned Paul. I write about him in my book and he started working with me to give intuitive eating a try. Paul wondered if GLP-1s were his answer to his out of control eating experiences and constant food noise. He had read how people noticed their food noise dimmed as they ramped their dosage up. Paul asked his doctor if he would be a candidate for it and she quickly handed him a script since she thought he could lose some weight. Before filling the prescription, that he would have to pay out of pocket for, his partner encouraged him to meet with me to discuss. While I have my own opinions on GLP-1s for weight loss and food noise, this was not my decision. Instead, we made pro and con charts.
I took a deep dive into GLP-1s in a previous podcast episode found here. The intriguing and even seductive side of these medications have been how people feel free around food–it sounds magical. And while I am not here to debate whether or not to take GLP-1s, I do hope you have informed consent on the risks. The risks are definitely minimized. I encourage you to read the pieces on GLP-1s from Ragen Chastain’s substack. Contribute to her paid subscription if you can because she does extensive research into these medications as well as other topics to help you make your own pro and con list.
I have seen medications promising an end to food noise before: namely Vyvance and fen-phen. In the short term they helped many people not feel a burden with their food thoughts. Vyvance, especially if someone also had ADHD, helped a few folks for a long period of time. Maybe you. But for most people I spoke with it was only temporary or they didn’t tolerate it. The fen-phen craze felt eerily similar to GLP-1s today and it was tragic. If you weren’t around during fen-phen, content warning if you google it: it had fatal consequences.
Do any of these including GLP-1s permanently eliminate food noise? I don’t think so. Only time will tell if I am correct or not with GLP-1s. I think these medications push a button temporarily and when the medications are taken away the food noise will resume.
Most people I have spoken with so far report even louder food noise and more guilt after they stop the medications. Food feels like even a bigger burden.
I won’t judge you for using a medication to even temporarily dim the food noise. You choose your steps forward AND i hope you have full informed consent. There are real risks to taking these GLP-1s and we can learn from our past medication “miracles” as warning signs.
Consider before you start these medications: what will your future self, who no longer can be on these medications, want for you? More likely than not, going off these medications will just turn the dial back up like hearing Bestie Boys Sabotage for the first time or even more likely, make it louder than before. Ironically Sabotage is the song I randomly chose and I predict many people will feel that way after stopping these GLP-1s. I won’t even say I told you so–you are doing the best you can with the tools offered. You are just surviving this hellscape constantly fed diet industry lies. I just hope you can hold the compassion you need as your future self navigating food noise again. I also don’t want you to blame yourself when the medication isn’t the miracle promised to you. I don’t want you to be angry at yourself yet at the very diet industry that pathologized the noise in the first place.
What if your food noise isn’t a YOU problem? What if it is an alarm letting you and I know there is a much bigger issue?
In the end Paul decided to wait on the GLP-1s. The risks were just too high, it was too expensive, and he wanted to try a few things first. He wanted to practice that self-compassion now without making the food noise worse off.
In Part 3 I will share some non-diet strategy on how to meet the needs the food noise is alerting you to.
Until then, take care.
Julie
