GLP-1s & Weight Loss: Tool or Crutch?

Why These Medications Are Not “Cheating”—And How to Use Them the Right Way

By Coach JB, PN1 | 6 Fitness & Nutrition

GLP-1s are NOT cheating

Let’s Get This Out of the Way First: GLP-1s Are Not Cheating

There’s a lot of noise right now about GLP-1 medications. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and most of it is either sensationalized or downright judgmental. Scroll through any comment section or talk show panel, and you’ll hear things like, “That’s the lazy way,” or “People just don’t want to do the work.”

Let’s be clear: taking a medication that helps regulate your hunger, control blood sugar, or manage a chronic condition isn’t cheating. It’s not weakness. It’s a medical tool. One that may finally give someone the traction they’ve needed for years.

I coach people who’ve struggled for decades with food noise, joint pain, and weight gain that isn’t just about willpower, it’s about biology, environment, and compounding setbacks. If a GLP-1 gives someone a window of clarity and physical relief to finally start making healthier choices, why wouldn’t we support that?

We’re not here to moralize medicine.

We’re here to help people get healthier.

Period.

GLP-1 Weight Loss

What Are GLP-1s and How Do They Work?

GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) are a class of medications originally developed to help people manage type 2 diabetes. But researchers soon discovered these drugs had another powerful effect: they significantly reduced appetite and led to sustained weight loss.

Here’s what they do:

• Slow gastric emptying (you feel full longer)

• Increase insulin secretion (better blood sugar control)

• Reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin (less desire to overeat)

• Impact the brain's appetite regulation centers (you eat less without white-knuckling through hunger)

On average, GLP-1s help people lose around 15% of their body weight, a clinically significant result that also improves blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol.

For Some, GLP-1s Are Life-Changing

If you’ve been struggling with food noise, severe obesity, or type 2 diabetes, GLP-1s can quite literally add years to your life. More importantly, life to your years.

They don’t magically build healthy habits for you, but they can give you the breathing room to start building those habits while your body and mind feel more in control.

This isn’t about vanity.

This is about staying out of the hospital. Lowering your risk of heart disease.

Gaining energy.

Reducing joint pain.

Living longer.

Living stronger.

What GLP-1s Don’t Do

GLP-1s don’t teach you how to eat to support your muscles, move your body daily, or build a lifestyle that keeps you healthy when you come off the drug.

And that’s the big conversation most people aren’t having.

What happens after the prescription ends?

Many will regain the weight they lost, sometimes even more, if they haven’t built sustainable behaviors along the way. That’s where fitness, nutrition, and coaching come in.

Use the Tool. Then, Build the House

GLP-1s can act like scaffolding for people in a tough place with their health. But at some point, the scaffolding comes down and what’s left standing depends on what you built.

Here’s how to do it the right way:

1. Lift Weights While Using GLP-1s

These medications can cause lean muscle mass loss if you’re not strength training. And trust me, you don’t want to be lighter but weaker. Losing strength means losing independence, especially as we age.

2. Prioritize Protein

Muscle needs building blocks. Eating enough protein daily (ideally 1.0-1.2 grams per pound of goal body weight) helps preserve lean mass and keeps you satiated even if your hunger cues are off.

3. Track Habits, Not Just Weight

When the scale moves fast, it’s easy to forget what matters most: consistency, strength gains, energy levels, and habits. These are your long-term wins.

4. Work With a Coach Who Understands the Whole Picture

You don’t need judgment. You need strategy. If you’re using GLP-1s, work with someone who can help you phase out safely, maintain muscle, and transition into sustainable health behaviors.

So, Are GLP-1s Worth It?

That depends on your goals, your medical history, and your readiness to take responsibility for the rest of your health.

For some people, GLP-1s can be lifesaving. For others, they’re unnecessary. But calling them “cheating” dismisses the very real struggles many people face with appetite regulation, insulin resistance, and chronic disease.

Let’s stop judging the tool and start focusing on the builder.

Whether you’re considering a GLP-1 for diabetes, weight loss, or both, do your homework. Talk to your doctor. And most importantly, think beyond the drug.

Think strength.

Think function.

Think freedom.

And if you want help building that path…

Ready to Get Stronger, Leaner, and Healthier, With or Without GLP-1s?

I work with mid-life clients using science-based fitness and nutrition strategies to support sustainable fat loss, preserve muscle, and increase energy for life.

Whether you’re starting a GLP-1 regimen or trying to come off one the right way, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Click here to schedule a free Nutrition Strategy Session