GLP-1 Stall? Why Your Body Stops Losing Weight | Dr. Michelle Gordon

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GLP-1 Stall? Why Your Body Stops Losing Weight | Dr. Michelle Gordon

Hosts Kim Carlos and Kat Carter talk with obesity medicine specialist Dr. Michelle Gordon about the biological factors behind a GLP-1 weight loss plateau. If you are on a medication like tirzepatide or semaglutide and the scale stops moving, it is driven by a complex neuroendocrine response.

Dr. Gordon explains that the hypothalamus operates like a stubborn thermostat, defending a specific weight set point. When you lose weight, the brain reads the change as a threat and triggers physiological defenses. To prevent further weight loss, the body increases hunger hormones and simultaneously lowers its energy expenditure.

Key topics include:

• The Mechanism of a Stall: A weight plateau occurs at the exact point where your declining daily energy expenditure meets your rising natural hunger signals.
• Menopause and Fat Oxidation: Midlife hormonal shifts cause fat oxidation to drop, which alters metabolic burn rates and shifts fat storage to the stomach.
• The Chronic Disease Reality: Clinical data shows that stopping a GLP-1 medication typically results in regaining about two thirds of the lost weight, proving obesity requires continuous management.
• Muscle Mass Preservation: Rapid weight loss from any method causes muscle loss, making strength training essential to preserve lean muscle and protect long-term functional health.
  
  Connect to Dr. Michelle Gordon:
  
  Substack: https://drmichellegordon.substack.com/
  
  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctormichellegordon/
  
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drmichellegordon/
  
  Practice Website: https://drmichellegordon.com/
  
  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichellegordon/
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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hey plus science community, before we jump into the podcast, do me a favor, like, subscribe, and share if you haven't already. This helps us get referred up in the algorithm so we can find more people that need our help and guidance from our doctors. Thanks so much for supporting the show. Let's jump in. If you're like most of us, you've been denied a GLP1 at least once. But did you know that less than 1% of denied claims are ever even appealed? Even though the data suggests that over 60% of appeals are often approved, that means that people who should be paying $25 a month are instead paying thousands of dollars a year out of pocket. Not necessarily because appeals don't work, but because the process is confusing and time consuming. But that's where Honest Care comes in. You go to their site and then you just start with a quick assessment. And then Honest Care will build your appeal with the clinical and medical arguments that your insurer needs to hear and then guide you through submitting it. If you've been denied, don't stop there because most appeals must be filed within 90 days. So don't wait. Go to findonestcare.com slash Kim to get your free assessment today. That's findhonestcare.com slash Kim.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

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SPEAKER_03 1:38

Are you interested in understanding GOP1 medications like the sympathetic with OP and Landjaro? Then join us on the Plus Psych tracking the Obesity Code, the groundbreaking podcast helping people change their lives one episode at a time.

SPEAKER_06 1:52

The Plus X podcast is Disruptor. We're breaking down barriers, smashing stereotypes, and sharing inspiring stories that'll leave you feeling enforced and empowered.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Join us every week to learn from doctors who are specialists around GLP1 medications like OSISBIT, Pogovia Manjaro. We'll provide you with science and facts to validate this incredible story. But that's not all. We'll also bring you the voices of the GLP1 Manjaro TikTok community, real people who face the challenges of obesity related diseases and disorders and discover the incredible plus sides of GLP1 medications. Our episodes are filled with heartwarming stories, laughter, and moments of triumph. You'll connect with our amazing community members who are reclaiming their health and experiencing their fullest lives. Are you ready to embark on a journey of discovery and empowerment? Tune in to the plus sides, cracking the obesity code, and together we'll change the narrative around obesity and the stigma. Subscribe now on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform and join our incredible community. Let's celebrate the plus sides of life together because every story deserves to be heard. Every life deserves to shine, and everyone deserves access to expert knowledge and medication. The plus sides podcast. You're not alone. It's not your fault.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Welcome, welcome to the Plus Sides Podcast. Hey Kat. Welcome. Come on in. Cityspel. Cityspel, you sound lovely. Yeah, I like your and have a cup of coffee with me.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm having my profit too. I just finished it. Protein coffee. Well, this is my second coffee, so it's just creamer. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah. Check out my read it. It says it says, bitch, please. I'm so fucking fabulous. I piss glitter, shit cupcakes, and fart rainbows. And you know what? That's a perfect, perfect description of you. This was a gift. I did not purchase this. This is a gift. So thank you, person, thinking of me in such a way. Friends are joining me. Um, if you've not been to our podcast, we always do quick intros.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

If you already know us and you're loyal fans forever, this is your cue to fast forward. Okay. This is for all the new people. Uh this is the plus sides podcast. My name is Kem Carlos, and this is Kat Carter. We uh talk about metabolic disease. It's an education advocacy podcast. We are multi-award winning, but ranked in the top 1% of all podcasts in the world. And this is the things that we talk about here. We keep it free every Wednesday for you. If you want to pay for no ads and all that stuff, you can, okay? But it's free for you because we think that you deserve that, that you have all this information. We interview experts as well as people in our community all about the disease of obesity, different types of treatments, things are available for you so that you have all the information you need, like to advocate for your health, really. That's what we want. And for you to really get to a place where you're healed in a way, I guess, like forgive yourself, forgive others, be able to, you know, move forward and really just be like things that the healthiest you you can be. I think this whole idea of being this like strict guidelines and numbers that people want you to be in is just not realistic. So that's what we talk about here. And we're so glad to have you. Um, and uh look, long story short, in terms of GLPs, I've been on them for four years. Um, I've also had lap band surgery. Um, I have found that when the food noise turned off for me, I never had that happen before, no matter what I had done. Um, it just was like earth-shattering, life-changing. And I knew I needed to know everything I could possibly know about it, and I knew I didn't tell everyone. So I went to my friend Kat and I was like, who was also on them, and I was like, You want to do a podcast? And this is where we're at three years later.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

So yeah, tell us a little bit about you, the field. Hey, I'm Kat, and I am so fabulous. I pee glitter and art rainbows. Um yeah, and I also want to note too is with our podcast that we uh Kim likes to call it the softer side of Sears. Remember that commercial? So sometimes we do expand into like say fashion episodes or uh The Plus Sides Goes Running um with uh Sandra McCusick. Uh you can just check out that episode as well. I re-listened to it this morning. That's why it's on top of mind. Um, and also recently with Dr. Sherry on some childhood trauma that can bring about um, or we can say it freely on this channel, eating disorders. So it's the softer side.

SPEAKER_03 6:04

And we talk about menopause and all the different things because there are things that affect your life and affect your weight and affect your mental health. We talk about that too. We have dietitians on.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Give us a like, follow, share. Um and five-star reviews. We love those. And I'm not too proud to bag. I'm not too proud to bag. Anyway, either. Hey, I'm Kat. I um I dropped 100 LBs, give or take, maybe sometimes 90 to 100. Who's counting? I maybe weigh myself like once every two weeks. Um, I am an OG as well, four years on this stuff. Um only been just the one thing, the uh the Mongioro or the Tisepatite. And um, we also have had Kim and I both have had a little bit of a bout of perimenopause. And uh wow, what we have been discovering on this show with like a lot of these menopause specialists, um just it it blows uh blows your mind. But HRT has definitely helped us along the way as well. So that's us in a nutshell or in the nuts, or we are nuts.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Yeah. So something we're gonna talk about today, and we have our guest, um uh Dr. Gordon is going to join us. Um, we're going to talk about a lot of debunking, okay? Not just debunking, but understanding, I think, things at the different levels of your journey. I think in the beginning, a lot of people, it's more about just like, what do I eat? How do I move? You know, how do I take out medicine? How do I learn to manage side effects? As you start to get through, you hit these stalls or plateaus or whatever it is, and we'll talk more about what those are and how they're defined and all that. Really? Because neither one cat and I are medical people. That's why we bring people on that know what they're talking about. We're gonna talk about that. Here's this other level, okay, of understanding this as a chronic disease that not a lot of doctors are talking about on social media. Okay. And I think it's for a few reasons. I think one reason may be because doctors don't want to be seen as telling people not to diet and exercise, um, which is a hundred percent not the case. Okay. Um, and then I think that also maybe it's not the most popular, and sometimes people think it's discouraging, but it's important. And it's definitely, I think, more important than just a quick three-minute TikTok. I think there's, you know, articles you can read about it, and we want to make sure that that's brought here to the show for you to understand as well. Okay. So that's what we're gonna talk about today, is all those different things. And we have Dr. Gordon joining us, so I'm going to invite her in. Okay. Dr. Gordon. Hello. Hello, I'm great. How are you? Good. Well, we're so glad to have you. Um, I've been following you probably wow. I haven't seen you on TikTok much lately, but I saw you on TikTok banned me.

SPEAKER_05 8:38

Oh, did they the cool kids then? She got it. Yeah, the TikTok TikTok banned me way back in uh I want to say end of March, early April, uh, for disordered eating and body image. Unbelievable, right?

SPEAKER_03 8:53

Yeah. Man, you gotta be so careful what you say over there, which is even harder when you're a doctor because you really want to be very specific. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've got I've had better luck on uh uh these days on even Facebook and um and Instagram. Facebook and Instagram and Substack are where I am. Substack, yeah. Yeah, we got to talk all about that today. So people don't know you. I mean Kat and I do, but tell us a little bit about who you are and how you help people.

SPEAKER_05 9:20

So I am Dr. Michelle Gordon. I was a general surgeon for 20 years or 15 years of practice, uh, five years of residency. Um and in 2020, I closed it, I had a multi-million dollar surgical practice. I employed four of the surgeons. And in 2020, I closed it all down. I was already heading into burnout, and the pandemic came, and it was a perfect opportunity to close it all down. And kind of suffered from a bit of burnout and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. Uh, left medicine for a while, was doing some coaching around menopause. And I about 2022, 2023, I was like, you know, I think I want to go back into medicine. Let me see what my options are because I'm trained in medicine and it's kind of like part of my personality.

SPEAKER_04 10:11

Sure.

SPEAKER_05 10:11

And I saw that there was this obesity board, and I was like, oh, I've always been interested in this. Let me learn more about it. And I got bored in obesity medicine. I took the lifestyle medicine exam as well, because they really do complement each other. I'm a diplomate for both. Um and I also did a another fellowship uh through a company called A4M, which is like the longevity people, but it's it was more functional medicine kind of stuff, so I learned all that, but I don't consider myself a functional medicine doctor. I I but it's just it's a different way of practicing medicine, if unless there's FDA approval and things like that. I I don't I don't go for the non-approved kinds of things. Um so I started practicing obesity medicine uh full-time in 2024. I I passed the obesity medicine exam, hard exam, probably the hardest board exam I've ever taken. Really tough. Wow. Started studying menopause on top of that, because the menopause education that I was was kind of consuming was all about uh the WHI and and how it's you know, we're not supposed to take hormones, we're only supposed to take them for five years and that sort of thing. So I had to um kind of do a maya culpa around that. I had to relearn that education that women do a lot better on hormones than off of them. And started practicing um for a telehealth company to kind of get my feet wet. And then I ended up opening my own practice, and it's called Thrive Spi Medical, and it's an exclusive uh small panel practice that is application only. That's awesome. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 11:54

Yeah, I think everybody's journey to becoming an obesity specialist is like is is so unique. So I'm I'm so glad that that you've done it because we definitely don't have enough of them. I'm also an obesity medicine patient.

SPEAKER_05 12:05

And uh when I had I was I was always athletic and and thin and didn't really have any trouble with my weight, and then I had a baby. Oh god, yeah, and uh I was not able, I gained 50 pounds of my pregnancy and just was really had a hard time losing weight after that, and I always thought it was my fault. And so being an obesity medicine doctor was um healing for me as well, learning about the fact that it's not a moral issue, it's not a willpower issue. There's actually a complete disease process going on that is trying to keep me back at a higher weight.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Yeah, absolutely. That's fantastic. I'm so I'm so glad to know that. I think that brings a certain level of empathy. Um, I've actually asked people before, would you rather have a doctor that has obesity treat you that's an obesity specialist or not? And all of them have been like, oh no, no, I want someone that goes through it and understands, you know? So not like the medical piece, but has felt it because it's very different, you know? And um, so I love that. That's so great to know. Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Let's get to it. So we've learned that uh well from obesity specialists that weight is heavily regulated, regulated by the brain. Um, why is that? And how does the brain actually regulate body weight, hunger, cravings, and energy expenditure? All the things.

SPEAKER_05 13:28

We have a thermostat in our brain. It's regulated by the hypothalamus, okay. Um and what happens is your your brain will say, okay, this is where we want to be. This is our set point. This is the place. Now again, set point is a theory, but it's a theory that looks like it's true based on based on everything we know. Um, and then your body says, This is the weight. So whatever it is, you know, wherever you are, this is it. And you go down here, okay, you go down a little bit. So for people who are just listening, I'm I'm raising my hand up and down. And um when when you get to this weight that your body wants to defend, and then you take it down, your your body says, Okay, here's the hormones. The hormones are gonna help you and they're gonna keep your body at this this weight. But you bring it down, and then your body says, No, we have to go back up. We have to go back up, we have to go back up. And so all these hormones, this hormonal and it's a neuroendocrine thing, but because the hypothalamus, the hormones come and they say, No, we need to go back up. And this is why dieting is so hard and it fails. And so there's a a hormone called leptin, comes from your fat, it says, Hey, we're full, we don't need anymore. Yay! Right? Um, and then so stop eating. And then there's ghrelin that comes from your stomach that says, Oh, I'm really hungry. Okay, so those are our two main, and then there's a couple other ones. Um, you've got insulin, you've got GLP1, you've got peptide YY, right? So the whole system is kind of working together, but then on top of that, you have the whole dopamine reward system, and that's eating for pleasure, right? Those are the cravings. Um, and that's separate from hunger. That's why you can be full but still want that cookie. Yeah, this is what so GLP1s will work on that reward center part and help it so that you can walk by that cookie, or you don't have to eat more than five chips, right? Your your fat stores are really defended. There's a New England Journal of Medicine uh review by a guy named Bradford Lowell, it was in 2019. Um, Beth Deaconess, Beth is real deaconess, and um average person's energy stores drift by about nine calorie a day calories a day, even though a couple thousand calories will move through you every day, right? So it's a really super tight thermostat. But when you lose weight, your brain reads it as starvation. Anytime it's a threat. Anytime you lose weight, your body senses threat. And it says, no, no, no, we have to go back up, we have to go back up. And you can't reset that at that point.

SPEAKER_04 16:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 16:09

You can't. And your body just will always try to go back. And that's why that's why obesity is considered a disease. Now, is it it? I I recently did a real you probably saw it on o overindulgence versus um, I didn't. Let's talk about it. Yeah. So it what's you know, it can obesity be caused by overindulgence, or can you overindulge for a few months and then go back? And it's it's really fascinating because yeah, some people can. They can, you know, you look at actors who gain weight for a role and then they're able to lose it. That's not discipline. It's it's I mean, it may be discipline to like put the weight on, but but then they just go back to their normal weight because that's their normal weight. But when you have the acting disease of what like I've heard you say that it's discipline to put the weight on. Like I some of them, yeah. For some, you know, yeah. Well you think about it.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

The person I think about a lot is Christian Bale or Robert De Niro, who both put on weight for for roles and then Yeah, it makes you think of uh Charlie's Therone when she um gained weight for Monster.

SPEAKER_05 17:18

So remember, every chronic disease has a behavioral component, right? And so if if you're somebody who is uh really active and you know, like m most actors, I mean, they they live off their body. They're uh actually actors are probably professional athletes as well. And so all they had to do was stop exercising and eat shit.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

That's exactly what Charlize Thirone said. She said she um didn't she stopped exercising and she ate um convenience like gas station food. Yeah, right, because that's what the she played wait so she started living the character, which is really sad.

SPEAKER_05 17:53

But um yeah, so so is there a difference? You're I I think that for some people circumstances and environment contribute, obviously, right? But for others, it's where 40 to 70 percent is um genetic. So you know, when you lose weight, your brain your brain still thinks it's a threat. Okay, hunger goes up, and your body's gonna defend that set point. Um, but that's not that's that's not your fault. That's the point I want to make. It's not your fault. And society wants to tell us it's our fault. It wants to say that you have a discipline problem. And this is where the Jim Bros get it wrong. Do thermodynamics matter? Yes, of course. Thermodynamics is a law, conservation of energy is real, but it's not that simple because we're not static machines.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

So when we say thermodynamics, I feel like that's really important for our audience to understand. That's the whole idea of eat less, move more, calories in, calories out, right? Yep. Okay. And then, um, and so it's not that that doesn't play a role, like deficit and those different things, right? But I think what you're saying, and I want to make sure I'm following, there's pieces of this that are hunger, right? And then there's pieces of this of your body's just gonna do things in terms of how it expends energy, right? Like how much it chooses to burn or not that are out of your control, right?

SPEAKER_05 19:11

Yeah. The the problem is that you will not lose weight if you're not in a caloric deficit. And I mean, I'm I'm I've never disputed that. What I say is calories in, calories out is incomplete, especially for midlife women, because of the hormonal shifts. And where the men don't understand is that women, women's hormones are very different from men's hormones. Men have relatively stable hormones throughout their whole life. What what may happen for a man is they're you know, they may lose a little testosterone, we may have to supplement it. But you know, the gym bros are all, you know, they're they're they're jacked up on gear. Many of them are jacked up on gear. Not all of them. There are some natural athletes, but a lot of them are are manipulating their hormones so that they'll build muscle or they'll lose fat. You know, there's there's a whole there's a whole cohort of gym bros who are using experimental retatide uh just to lose fat. So I think I think we have to we have to temper all of the gym bros what they say based on that.

SPEAKER_03 20:14

Right. So it's different for men a lot of times because they don't have as much hormonal fluctuation as we do as women.

SPEAKER_05 20:20

They don't create life. So in order in order for us to have for women to have the ability to create life, we have a a lot of hormonal fluctuations. Remember, we 3D print humans. Okay, and all life comes from the comes from the feminine. All life because women make the eggs. Cannot make physics. So thermodynamics is a law, energy cannot be created or destroyed. This is absolutely true. Yeah. Um, the bigger thing is 3,500 calories equals a pound, right? So you need a 3,500 calorie deficit in order to be it to lose a pound a week. Okay. And so that means 500 calories a day. And that's like the maxim, right? And have you guys have heard it, right? A bunch of times. Everybody says take take your you know, take the calories that you're eating, take your RMR, your BMR, and then uh reduce it by 500 and you're gonna lose weight. But it's not that simple because if you were walking one extra mile a day, you're gonna take off more than 50 pounds in five years. This is a new English medical medicine, right? It's called the look ahead trial. But what happened, and what really happened is they would lose, they lost about 10 pounds.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I caught one of your reels and made me think of this. Um it was about a biggest loser. Is that something that like it really wasn't about like the the caloric deficit they were in, it was just the intense amount of movement they did every single day. Yeah, that's what made the difference.

SPEAKER_05 21:55

That's what, yeah. So they had a fight, you know, that the the biggest loser data looked at a about a five hundred calorie uh resting metabolic rate change uh for those people. But in reality that's not normal. That's not normal life. Like nobody is eight hours a day unless they're a professional. Yeah. And that's not sustainable for people. Yeah.

unknown 22:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

I kind of heard the people who had been able to maintain it did end up being like personal trainers. Like these sort of like, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:23

Well I mean I watched the I watched the documentary on Netflix and the people people who actually maintained or you know went to GLP ones or surgery.

SPEAKER_03 22:32

Yeah. Yeah. Which is another thing to consider, right? Um yeah, as we go, you know, I think through this journey of things to talk about is there are people that I mean it seems like in my in what in my experience everybody's different, right? And we see it because we do lives and so people come in and we meet different things, right? But um people get at different levels of their journey. And in the beginning it just like it's easy to just fall in love with the way that you feel and oh my God, this is the cure and all these things. And and I think that also it is easier to lose weight on a GLP one because it does sort of put you in a natural accidental deficit, I think when it starts to work like it does, right? But at some point you get to these stalls, right? And then or at some point you do stop losing. Right. And then I think that what I see in my comments on Facebook, and I'm sure you see it too, are people saying just continue to low your deficit, just continue to exercise more. But at some point when people get and they're taking eating like 900 calories a day or 500 calories a day to get to goal weight, right? I find that very concerning because I can't imagine that doesn't affect their body and organs in a significant or brain and everything in a in a very bad way. And I think that that's like I I'm terrified of that because that is the common I think thing that people think to do because of thermodynamics, right? Because they know if they continue to lower.

SPEAKER_05 23:55

But but your body your body's going to go into starvation mode and it's going to defend even harder. So it's that's that's not that's not recommended. I like I never recommend a lower a low very low calorie diet. I don't supervise those and you can get into some electrolyte imbalances that could be deadly so I don't recommend those. But um people think when they plateau on a GLP1 that the drug isn't working and it's absolutely not true. The drug works the drug works remember it started off as a diabetes drug right it lowers blood sugar in the presence of excess glucose it's I mean it's really cool the way it works right uh because it it works in in that in that milieu um but your biology is going to catch up and for a lot of people after you can tell me how you feel Kim because you've been on GLP1s for four years but the food noise might actually even come back. It just becomes easier to manage.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

Yeah yeah I don't even know if I can say that the food noise comes back here here here's been my experience. Everybody's different right my experience and I've had obesity severe obesity a long time um so I would say what happens to what happened to me is that when I started these treatments and they started to get to a therapeutic level, um my noise and my um appetite which you well yeah hunger went off at the same time because before when I started on GLP1s um I was either hungry all the time or stuffed. There was nothing in between the majority of my life you know at some point when that turned off it was very easy to eat 500 calories a day. Very easy. And you know of course that also made me very tired and all those different things too right but I got to a point where I was like okay I know this isn't like I need to get in like a place and a balance. This is where the use of like kind of the full circle comes in like where you're thinking about nutrition and your movement and all that kind of stuff. I think also like stress management has been a big thing that I've been trying to learn and harness and um sleep is already hard because the whole perimenopause thing, but it's changed. So what happened about year two for me is that my hunger came back um but my satiety stayed right and so I learned that there's like this difference right between hunger and food noise when I originally thought it was all the same thing because I would eat and feel very hungry but I would still be satisfied early. You know, I still would to eat a a small amount you know um and so I mean I think that could be a couple of things.

SPEAKER_05 26:33

It could be that your leptin resistance was addressed and so you know you got your your satiety signal signals were working. Remember GLP1s will they they slow gastric emptying for I don't know 50, 60 weeks I can't remember how long but but then it's then after a while it it comes back and and gastric emptying is not slowed anymore. So you have normal gastric emptying.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Our um reactions were were different. Like I don't think I can recall ever getting food aversion except for like once in a while um I always kind of had still a healthy appetite I would just hit a very strong wall and that would be it um sometimes um I still kind of catch myself telling myself I need to kind of eat it's easier for me to consciously say I need to eat lighter or I will be sick. My stomach will hurt so I have to be careful. But it just makes it easier but as far as having a 500 calorie day absolutely impossible that never happened um I still have sweet cravings and good crunchy salty cravings. I guess food noise I had but it was the obsession kind of stopped yeah and the obsession of having to be stuffed every single time I ate definitely went away but I wonder if I think I think the the one of the big changes a lot of people see is that they don't have to finish.

SPEAKER_05 28:02

Yeah okay yeah so weird yeah it's the weirdest it literally goes yeah sometimes if I do weird thing and I'll just be like done but sometimes but but you know if you have a habit of overeating you're you're a lot of people are going to overeat on these medicines and find out you know like it's the fuck around and find out that sure was I I'll tell you that story I when I was maybe three to three or four I don't know four months maybe six months into it. Anyway so I was really hungry super super hungry. Okay. So we ordered hamburgers from this place around the corner and it's a good like good Whole Foods restaurant. It was like a real hamburger but I ate the whole thing and the fries I could not sleep that night I had a hamburger hamburger so this guy Kevin Hall did this um he's he's the one who did the biggest loser um study what happens in the plateaus is you know your your medit the medication will early on crush your appetite like kills your appetite right for a lot of people not everyone not everyone but a lot of people do have um lower appetite and then what happens over the time is your intake increases because leptin falls and then hunger comes back up and then um your body your your energy expenditure drops because there's less of you okay yeah makes sense all right and so then the plateau is where those two meet and so you might just be at a new set point because of the medicine because obesity is a progressive disease and and if you stop your medicine you're gonna the disease is going to progress. So it doesn't mean the medicine isn't working if you're like most of us, you've been denied a GLP1 at least once.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

But did you know that less than one percent of denied claims are ever even appealed even though the data suggests that over 60% of appeals are often approved that means that people who should be paying $25 a month are instead paying thousands of dollars a year out of pocket. Not necessarily because appeals don't work but because the process is confusing and time consuming. But that's where Honest Care comes in you go to their site and then you just start with a quick assessment and then honest care will build your appeal with the clinical and medical arguments that your insurer needs to hear and then guide you through submitting it. If you've been denied don't stop there because most appeals must be filed within ninety days so don't wait. Go to findhonestcare dot com slash chem to get your free assessment today.

SPEAKER_05 30:43

That's findhonestcare dot com slash chemic it means that you are you are still you know you're just maintaining and your maintenance may may be not your goal weight. Yeah we have and and the problem is is that because of our self-concept uh we look at ourselves in the mirror and we see the same body yeah even though it's not the same body or we look down after a while of being in this body look down oh I'm fat again. Yes. This is this is very common. There's a I've got a YouTube video on uh nobody warned me this would happen which is all about identity shifts and um how to like kind of manage the identity shift that comes with weight loss and and the more attention and things like that that can happen. But so you don't want to stop the medicine if you have a plateau. You want to continue it if you stop the medicine so surmount four shows you stop the medicine you're gonna get regain about two thirds of what you lost. Yeah that's the data. So don't don't stop. That sounds like yeah that's significant you know two thirds yeah it's like two sizes yeah yeah majority of what you you work so hard to push off. GLP one's gonna it it works on your brain to decrease the the amount of weight that you that is defended um but if you stop it you're gonna regain. There are some people I think there are some use cases where we could we could argue and I think I think we're gonna need the data and we're gonna need the funding. But I think there's an argument for use of it in the perimenopause period for women because it helps reduce visceral fat. But so does hormones and so I think that there would be it would be a really interesting study to do um a double blind placebo controlled stu trial where we did just hormones hormones plus GLP1 and nothing.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

Yeah that'd be very interesting.

SPEAKER_05 32:47

Yeah or in hor with with hormones GLP1 uh hormones and GLP1 and nothing that would be the study um the problem is is that there's no money in hormones that's why that's why there's a patch shortage because they can't that there's nothing novel about it and so it there's no money in for the drug companies and even though it having a healthy female populace is really good for the world. That's nicer well it's not that's nicer I mean we let's let's just look at what happens to women as we age in our society. We're discarded yes but most of us are our most productive in the last part of our life and menopause perimenopause brings on a lot of illness that we can mitigate with hormones.

SPEAKER_01 33:39

Yeah yeah I think it's true pasture you know like it's yeah it's crazy. Why would we do that? We're smarter we're wiser that also makes me think because we've talked to so many doctors um that makes me think of talk Dr. Kat Brown when from Winona what was the first menopause study came out what in the 90s like when they actually well so it used to be that they didn't study women because the hormones were too complex.

SPEAKER_05 34:03

Yeah and then and then there was a study where they wanted to they wanted to study the effects of estrogen on the heart and they enrolled 1800 men.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

Yeah yes and well wasn't it like clinical trials just included men up until like a maybe just in the 90s I think.

SPEAKER_05 34:19

Yeah yeah because because we're controlled so let's talk about insulin resistance and leptin resistance let's and which is a problem for all women. So leptin is made by your fat and it tells your brain again that you can stop eating okay and we just this was discovered in 1984 I just did it I did a whole long article on Substack about it because they thought that it was going to cure obesity because it did in rats or mice. But humans are not mice. Yeah um so what what you'd think that when you have more fat on your body there's a louder signal to stop eating. So you're what happens is the the leptin goes up and and your brain doesn't see it it just it just gets deaf. So that's leptin resistance. There's more of it but your your brain doesn't see it. And then there's hunger which also is comes from the brain and the subconscious and in um in obesity there's a lot more hunger.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

It just it's strong the more leptin you have basically the h and can you hear me the more leptin you have the hungrier you become your body gets confused is or the I I wouldn't say that.

SPEAKER_05 35:36

Okay so let me let me say it again. Leptin's job is to tell your brain you've you've eaten enough. Right. Stop eating okay um but your brain goes deaf to the signal so the more fat you have the leptin goes up but your brain doesn't hear it it only hears so much. Okay. And then so the signal is screaming it's so loud it's saying stop stop stop but your brain is like no no no it thinks you're starving even though your covers are full so hunger goes up your butt burn rate goes down. But insulin insulin's job is to unlock the cells so that sugar can get in. Yeah all right and insulin resistance the lock stop stops turning okay pancreas uh just starts putting out more and more okay and the glucose goes up the pancreas puts out more insulin but the lock stops turning and so then you have more glucosuria glucose in your in your urine glu well that's diabetes but glucose in your bloodstream and that's insulin resistance and then boom over time it's prediabetes and then diabetes yeah that can be reversed yeah we can be reversed with surgery um a lot of with a lot of people who have bariatric surgery actually have diabetes hypertension high cholesterol weight loss can drop can change that GLP1's now with retatritide coming approaching bariatric surgery levels but you have to take it forever yeah stop getting a chronic disease yeah and I'll tell you what I'll take an injection over surgery any day.

SPEAKER_03 37:25

Yeah you know I think it's um something that I consider and I know a lot of people have that it's sort of when we get to what I think you said is enough, right? So realistically we've always had different size humans tall, big all the things, right? Um and um I think that like like I've always been I've always been tall and big like genetically my family tall and big you know my mom was average size, you know, but like my dad, my dad's like six five he was like and so I think like there's so much like you said there's a good piece at this that's genetic about how your body's going to process weight or the size that you're gonna be but everybody is definitely trying to get to this other place. And it I think that what I've heard you talk about too is sort of like do you do you have sort of combined treatments? Is it GLP plus your nutrition, your movement like your manager these things plus anti, you know, other anti-obesity treatments um and like how those things can possibly like work in concert. And then the other piece is at what point do you need to get surgery? And I think like it depends maybe on this maybe the severity of obesity that we've seen like um like sometimes I even think because I've had regain on GLP1 since the perimenopause thing started.

SPEAKER_05 38:35

Even though the only thing I would say is that I'm not eating more you know what I mean but well fat oxidation goes down in menopause. What does that mean? So you don't burn as much fat it's all in my stomach that's menopause. But if you're not on hormones it so hormone therapy will decrease visceral fat. That's that's that's proven so if you're not on hormones then that's something to discuss.

SPEAKER_03 39:04

How do you feel about the strength training versus like cardio when it comes to weight loss and then even with health like is that they're they're both important but the best exercise is when you'll do is some people just can't just are really exercise averse.

SPEAKER_05 39:19

So getting out for a walk maybe all you can get out of somebody that's that's fine. I'll take it right yeah I'm saying yeah but I mean so on GLP1s weight loss so anytime you have weight loss you're gonna lose muscle we have to talk about that. Bariatric surgery rapid weight loss muscle mass loss okay and then then slowly over time they're able to rebuild their muscle some of them not all of them so on a GLP1 I don't want my patients losing more than one to two pounds a week that's really important. I do want them to lift weights but they may or may not eating protein is not enough. So if you want especially in perimenopause and menopause if you're gonna so if you're gonna maintain your functional health yeah all right you lose 1.5% muscle as you age per year 1.5% of your muscle the way to prevent that is to get strong so we don't lift weights in exercise for weight loss and for me I had to like come to a whole new relationship with exercise because I exercised because I wanted to change my body and my body refused. Okay then I got on a GLP one and my body changed and exercise was like well why would I do it now? Okay. And so we have to look at it from a different perspective. How long do you want to live? So weightlifting is a longevity habit. Um weightlifting is something that will keep your brain sharp so remember there's a few things that that we do so that we don't get dementia right now some of that you can't control but what you can control is you know the kinds of the food the kinds of foods you put in your mouth and the kind of exercise you do. And just going for a walk can get more blood to your brain and and help decrease dementia. So it is really important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:17

Yeah I think that's true. I think what I try to tell people too and and and especially those of us who've just been like bathed in diet culture since like adolescence, right? I think that sometimes it's just about moving your body in a way that gives you joy. So like um I like to walk outside but it's not just walking and being on a machine I like to walk outside. So when it's hot as a Satan's asshole as Kat would say that's harder, you know um I also enjoy um strength training and I let me tell you why because when you're when you're on a treadmill and you're just running one it's really boring. You know but weightlifting you do your reps and then you take a deep breath you recenter you do the other thing it's much more I don't know it's more fun really like it's it's um and I but I didn't know that. You know I didn't yeah yeah it is very it also is so nice to feel strong. Like yeah and I I got away from it some you know my I've told you like my sister passed away at the depths of despair like there's just no way around it and I just felt like I couldn't do anything. I was just like trying to survive. And so all of my movements stopped um and definitely I've had about 10 pounds come on since then. And I'm not overeating. As a matter of fact I'm I'm and I think this is what's important is when people need to realize it's not just what you eat. It's like when you eat and all these things are really important because what I did I've been in such despair I always tell people I break all the rules and I tell you what I did to fix it and you know let you know you know um and like for me I I don't eat I'm I'm getting better but I don't eat the executive function piece of it at all. Like I just I don't eat anything and then I'm like fuck at the end of the day I should eat and whatever's there I just put in my mouth. Whatever whatever. And those are not nutritious things they're whatever my kid is sitting around or when we're out and we do fast food. And it's not that I'm doing it for enjoyment. It's not that I'm doing it because I'm craving it. I'm really just trying to eat something you know and I'm just now getting out of that and basically kind of what I did is I I said I'm gonna I'm gonna put I I started I got these like charcuterie things that have like nuts, various things and I know exactly how many calories are in them and then I know I'm going to commit to eating that and I, you know what I mean like I'm so I'm trying different things, right? And then I've started my strength training again like just little things get back plus also antidepressants. So but like there are many times in our lives where people are going to die. This is just part of life especially people that are dear grief is funny.

SPEAKER_05 43:39

Um and and the grief grief is the is a long companion yes so I I I never fault anybody in how they manage their grief because it is you know when somebody who was really supportive of your life is now suddenly gone, it's complicated. Yeah it's hard.

SPEAKER_04 43:59

It is

SPEAKER_05 44:00

And and any way of coping is better than not coping.

SPEAKER_03 44:05

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And like I kind of tried to do things on my own for a while and then I was like, this isn't freaking out. And that's okay. You know?

SPEAKER_05 44:13

Yeah. I mean, and and I would say uh if you are somebody who needs an antidepressant and you're obese, the the class of antidepressants is probably the the ones that are in the well butrin type family, uh not not in the SSRI family. Well, well butrin is is one of the di one of the anti-obesity medications in in com combination with um naltrexone.

SPEAKER_01 44:37

What combined therapies they always uh uh speak of, right? With the well butrin and the therapies. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:44

So when people lose like, and this is all just in relation to our questions, but when people lose like, like myself, losing like 110, and I've gained I've regained, and now I'm gonna change some things and stuff. I know you've made some videos sort of about what it is to sort of readdress. Like how does the treatment need to change? What is the part that you control? What is the part that you don't? And then when is the point where we have a conversation, right? Or what you do with your patients where you go, this is probably it right now with the treatments that we have. Like, you know, um, because I I think a lot of people that may be 50 pounds or that might be 200.

SPEAKER_05 45:16

Yeah, I think we have to look at there's there's some there's some things we look at. So uh the other thing we should talk about, just kind of going back to the plateau. Yeah, which is you want to make sure that you're getting enough fiber. Because sometimes if you don't have enough fiber or your gut bacteria um are not optimized, and and the the best thing you can do for your gut is to eat more fiber. It's not it's not to eat a probiotic that gets destroyed in your stomach.

unknown 45:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:46

Have you gotten your fruits and vegetables today? Here were all of my TikToks.

SPEAKER_05 45:49

Have you gotten your fruit and yeah, fruits and fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables, psyllium husk, these are the things that will will really help move the needle in that in that space. But if if if it's enough, I mean I you know, I think I think the the drugs have limits, you know. I just just like just like if we have somebody who's a brittle diabetic and and we we do multiple therapies with them and we still can't control their blood sugar, those people are gonna lose limbs. They might go blind, they're gonna have stroke. Did you say you mentioned it brittle diabetics? Yeah, that's a diabetic that's really hard to treat because the blood sugars don't respond. I don't do that. Wow. Yeah. So I mean the natural progression of disease is is sad and it's hard to watch.

SPEAKER_04 46:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 46:38

Um so if we can stall it, if we can get you to a point where you stop gaining um or that you've lost a certain amount and you're able to stay there, you know, any any time if 5 to 10% weight loss is cardiovascularly important and decreases cardiovascular and diabetes risk. So when you're looking at how much weight you want to lose, a lot, a lot of my patients will come and say, you know, I want to lose a hundred 200 pounds. And I'm like, okay, let's look at let's look at a more realistic goal to start with. Not to say that you can't, because you might be able to, but that might take 10 years.

SPEAKER_03 47:17

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it might take a long time, that piece of it. Yeah. I think that's important. A lot of people think, oh, I'm just gonna die and I'm gonna get there in a year. Because maybe they've done that before, like in their life, where they just restricted, restricted. They were younger, they hadn't progressed as far yet, right? And they get down to whatever and they're like, I know I can do it because I've done it before. And so I think that people think Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

It could also be that people are seeing like fast responders as well. And you know, comparison is the the mother of evil, right? Or whatever, what is the joy, the mother of joy. But I think that also kind of gets in people's heads too, the the the fast responders.

SPEAKER_05 47:55

Well, here's the here's the thing: none of us are are genetically equal. We're all unique, right? So your your story, Kim, is not my story, your story, Kat, is not my story. My story is different, and I think it's very, very important to stop comparing your story to someone else's. What worked for you may not work for your friend. What worked for what didn't work for my embialic, which is a big story right now, yeah, is is not you. And I think that that's a cautionary tale for her. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 48:30

Like I had only I only heard about that just a little because um Dr. Salis Whalen had posted about it. Yeah. Yeah. And um uh, but yeah, I don't I don't know much about it, but I think that I can't speak to it without knowing how much she took. Yeah, absolutely. And I think too that the thing is is like this isn't I think a lot of people think GLP ones are sort of set it and forget it. Like you don't need additional care and speaking and you know, and I think that is m massively incorrect.

SPEAKER_05 48:58

No, yeah, there's there's so many people. I mean, I you know, look, I I did work for one of the big telehealth companies, and I did my best to try and oversee as well as I could, but yeah, what can you do seeing somebody for 15 minutes every six months?

SPEAKER_03 49:14

Absolutely. Yeah. Um, that's why like the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, that's what you know, we meet with lawmakers and we want to get passed with PC Action Coalition and stuff is so important because that full circle of care isn't, and many doctors, especially like PCPs, they don't understand these, these, these nuances and caveats that are incredibly important. I think it's because they do see it as weight loss, not as treating a chronic progressive disease.

SPEAKER_05 49:35

And that's right. Well, that's I mean, the whole calories in, calories out, and and you know, you go to the doctor and the doctor blames everything on your weight. And, you know, women are really, really gaslit in in society, especially obese women. So it's the the narrative has to change. We have to, but we also need to treat, we need to train our doctors. We need to train our doctors in in women's health, period. So it's not just obesity, it's perimenopause, it's genal urinary syndrome and menopause. I mean, these are all things that if we if we can treat people earlier, then you know, we can follow through.

SPEAKER_03 50:17

No, I actually think that's really cool. I mean, we again like we've had some we had some a researcher on a doctor um about talking about PCOS, P uh PMOS, um, and we talked a lot about that piece of it and testing that. I think that, like you said, it's gonna have to be what I have found in this space and that we've been able to accomplish in a short amount of time is us standing up and saying it's not okay. And enough of us not okay. My sister always said it's just a skin suit anyway. But I think that, you know, it's these are all things that like I I think are important. And they're and like if you think about this broader, like what Dr. Gordon is talking about, I think is important. We are always trying to adjust our body, right? And that body adjustment may be because of health, it may be personal, or maybe because we're trying to please whatever or whoever, right? And that piece of it, right, I think in general, what our podcast does in terms of education advocacy, we're trying to break down all that shit. So it's important to understand that, like, if you're always trying to meet this goal of what everybody else thinks that you should be when it comes to the shape of your body or levels of attractiveness, then I think that you'll probably never hit that. Or when you get there, you may not be pleased because you were trying to please somebody else.

SPEAKER_05 51:20

Well, here, yeah. I mean, I think it's really important to remember that the goal, the goal is not gonna make you happy. You're gonna get there and you're gonna say, What's now? What's next? That's the nature, I think, of it all for sure. Happiness is a choice. And so when you put all of your eggs into this basket of um of like when I get to this, then then I'm gonna feel this, but now I've got this, and now why don't I feel that way? That's the beauty standard. And we are not little girls, we are women. We are you know, we're fully autonomous beings. And when you when you think of it from that perspective, that you know what what is a little girl is somebody who's living in a hip hypnotic state learning the world, because up to age seven, that's what's happening. The brain isn't fully developed yet.

SPEAKER_03 52:12

Yeah, you know, it's I when you say that thinking about this TikTok that came across or Instagram or something I came across my feed one time, and it was a dad that was talking to, I guess, another dad, I don't even know, on a podcast. Um, keep in mind, guys, anybody can have a podcast. And um, and they were talking, and he was like talking about his daughter, his teenage daughter, and how she was starting to get hippie. So he put her on Red Up because she was getting hippie, and now it's better now because she's not hippie anymore.

SPEAKER_02 52:39

First of all, second of all, what you know you know, and I just like the whole I but that is we may not always say that in our feeds.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

It's weird that I did.

SPEAKER_05 52:51

I mean the notion of that gay, you know, like those things are happening that we live that that women exist for male pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 52:59

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 53:00

It's not okay, and that you it's not okay, it's not okay. You know, that's not even been approved for adults yet. Like, you know what I mean? Like all of these different pieces, right? Like it's and that's why pieces like education like this, or we're specifically what Dr. Gordon's saying, is like trying to ground it in science and things that have been studied and peer-reviewed and stuff like that. Like, that's what we try to bring you. We're open-minded and talk about other stuff too, but you should know which things are grounded in science and which things are a little more loose, which is fine. Like, I I don't have any problem with the fact that Western medicine doesn't have it all figured out, but you should know the difference.

SPEAKER_05 53:33

No, Western medicine doesn't have it all figured out, but also you don't want to be an experiment. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So we just we have all these untested peptides that we don't know. We don't know.

SPEAKER_03 53:47

So many people are our um and my friends have tried that. And it's not that it isn't, as my sister would say, the magical things are so seductive. She loves magical things, you know. Um, and it's true. It is, it's like so, ooh, I wonder, ooh, I wonder. And then there's the commas thing like, well, why don't I try a peptide because you know, even my vitamin isn't FDA approved and like stuff like that. And so the mentality is there, or well, doctors aren't able to help me, so I might as well try this. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 54:11

Like, but for I mean, I think I think that women obesity affects men and women, right? Women, I think, I mean, I treat women, so I'm gonna talk to women. Women go through three distinct hormonal shifts, right? We go through we go through puberty, we go through perimenopause, we go through menopause, and then another one, childbirth. These are major hormonal shifts that can change your body every single time. And the the scientific community just taught treated women as an afterthought. Like it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_03 54:50

Yeah, I mean that's what the data shows. Like this is like an objective, like that's that is what the data is.

SPEAKER_05 54:56

Yeah, not a priority. And and we have a $51 billion fund for NIH, and less than 12% of that is to women, women's health. Yeah but women are responsible for 100% of the humans that come into the world.

SPEAKER_01 55:11

Yeah, that makes it think of even like what it's what PCOS just now recently was talking about. That might drop right there.

SPEAKER_02 55:19

Like, but we're talking about 100% of the humans that come into this world.

SPEAKER_05 55:24

It always comes back to that. For me, I mean, anytime you see my my stuff, I I always it always comes back to that because these are these are things I'm passionate about. I'm passionate about women and women.

SPEAKER_03 55:36

You understanding how things are all connected, you understand there are it. I don't think anybody can objectively look at our healthcare system, right? And think that we are doing a great job. You know what I'm saying? Like it there, oh there go my fireworks. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think that we can all say, like, their neat, I don't care like where you say why we do it. There's no way. That's why a lot of times it's bi person, right? Because everybody's like, oh yeah, this is kind of garbage. Maybe we should rethink this, you know.

SPEAKER_05 56:02

Yeah, no, the healthcare system. I mean, don't even get me started there. The healthcare system is a sick care system, it's not designed for a healthcare longevity.

SPEAKER_02 56:10

It's that does go back to policy. It does go back to running things. It does, like, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 56:17

And I don't know, I mean, I don't see that getting fixed ever in as long as we have a government that's supporting corporations over people.

SPEAKER_03 56:28

Yeah, yeah. Um I don't I'm not sure I've in my lifetime I'm I that I've ever seen anybody in office where that's how it is. I feel like our economy's built.

SPEAKER_05 56:38

Yeah, well, it started with Reagan. It was it was better before Reagan. And I wasn't hearing it. So I I mean I was. I I I voted the first time I voted in a presidential election was in the 80s, and I voted for Reagan because he was charismatic and you know, thought thought he was gonna pick, but trickle down doesn't work. None of it works. So it's time it's time for us to to do some revolutionary things. Revolution.

SPEAKER_01 57:05

Yeah, I like to think or hope that you know guy with the handlebar masta mustache on revolution, revolution. The GLP community is is doing something.

SPEAKER_05 57:17

Yeah, I think I think that you know we need to we need access. We need access to these medications. And what I'm really upset about, so I met with the um I met with the CEO of uh Eli Lilly yesterday. I was invited to a coffee round table and I specifically asked a couple things. I said, what are you doing about women's health specifically? And I said, um, is retatrotide going to be classified as a biologic?

unknown 57:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:43

And I didn't put the cap the the second part in there, which was so that you can build $1,500 for it and or more $3000. The main thing was they they're I think they're trying to keep it out of the compounders' hands, even though it's available. Um it already is. Well, it's available as an experimental, what is it, um, you know, research grade. And we don't know what it is. So you really don't. Yeah. I mean, I'm not a chemist, so I don't know. Yeah, I'm not a you know, if if if you're a chemist and you're taking Reddit and you know how to test for it and find whatever, but you know, I I don't know. I just I I I think that accessibility is a real problem. Um, you know, I mean like I I have a very exclusive practice and you know, right now it's for the wealthy.

SPEAKER_03 58:31

I I can't so lovely though. Well, let's go back to your substack. So Dr. Gordon has a substack and it's not very expensive. It's not like you know, and and you can pay and you have and you have a free tier, right? Too.

SPEAKER_05 58:41

And yeah, there's a free tier and they get some maxes. But I charge $121 a year. It's not it's not a lot. $12 a month or $120 a year.

SPEAKER_03 58:51

I mean, so like bare minimum, if you know you're gonna have maybe care that's not the best, if you can learn these things and understand these things and then have language to whatever provider you do have, then you can know like what it should be and what you should be asking for and how you know what I mean, like how you should advocate. So having something like this, you know, from an obesity specials, I think it's just worth it. I'm saying stop paying me anything to say that, guys. I just think it's it's something to consider like at a deeper level, right? Um, and so I want you to make sure that you check it out because I am gonna put it in the notes.

SPEAKER_05 59:21

I think it's the substack is really great because I I'll answer questions from the uh paid community once a week. I do at least one paid article a week, and then once a month I do a live QA where people just send me questions and I answer them. And the goal is to give you the tools you need to talk to your doctor. Absolutely, yeah. And and to just educate you about the disease of obesity. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:45

I think it's I think it's great. Um, and such a wonderful tool. I hope we get more of them. Because, like you said, I mean, if you go see an obesity specialist, let's just say you don't have insurance, it would definitely cost more than $120, right? And so at least now, like if you have like this piece of it, this $12 a month where you're getting, you know, this really good information and be able to do it, then that really puts you, I we have to solve for this because freaking out of that. The the amount of people that are about to get access from a Medicare Medicaid perspective, while it is wonderful in what we've been fighting for, like OA from OAC and all the things, right? We do not have the infrastructure to support the level of need that these people will have, not only to get started and start losing weight, but what that looks like as they go along from a mental perspective or anything. And accidentally, the plus sides sort of built that, like as we were kind of going along because we have all these experts here. But something more tangible, right? Like a substac article, like that breaks these things down with experts writing them, right, is I think wonderful for people to have access to because this is going to explode and it is for the hard work. We'll send you all the links and all the things. Uh all of our links in the show notes. It's been wonderful hanging out with you. Thanks for sharing.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:58

Thanks for having me. It's been really growing. I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:02

Have a great day. And for all of our fans, uh, we'll see you next week. Asta La Pasta. Are you interested in understanding G O V1 medications like Ozempic, Wolfovi, or Minjaro? Then join us on the Plus Side, cracking the Obesity Code, the groundbreaking podcast helping people change their lives one episode at a time.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:21

The Plus Sides podcast is Disruptor.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:23

We're breaking down barriers, smashing stereotypes, and sharing inspiring stories that'll leave you feeling informed and empowered. Join us every week to learn from doctors who are specialists around GLP1 medications like obesity, Pogovia Manjaro. We'll provide you with science and facts to validate this incredible story. But that's not all. We'll also bring you the voices of the GLP1 Manjaro TikTok community, real people who face the challenges of obesity related diseases and disorders, and discover the incredible plus sides of GLP1 medications. Our episodes are filled with heartwarming stories, laughter, and moments of triumph. You'll connect with our amazing community members who are reclaiming their health and experiencing their fullest lives. Are you ready to embark on a journey of discovery and empowerment? Tune in to the plus sides, cracking the obesity code, and together we'll change the narrative around obesity and end the stigma. Subscribe now on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform and join our incredible community. Let's celebrate the plus sides of life together because every story deserves to be heard. Every life deserves to shine, and everyone deserves access to expert knowledge and medication. The plus sides podcast. You're not alone. It's not your fault.

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If you're like most of us, you've been denied a jail point at least once. But did you know that less than 1% of denied claims are ever even appealed? Even though the data suggests that over 60% of appeals are often approved, that means that people who should be paying $25 a month are instead paying thousands of dollars a year out of pocket. Not necessarily because appeals don't work, but because the process is confusing and time consuming. But that's where Honest Care comes in. You go to their site and then you just start with a quick assessment. And then Honest Care will build your appeal with the clinical and medical arguments that your insurer needs to hear and then guide you through submitting it. If you've been denied, don't stop there because most appeals must be filed within ninety days. So don't wait. Go to findhonest care.com slash Kim to get your free assessment today. That's findonest care dot com slash Kim.