104: My GLP-1 Update: What No One Talks About

Today’s episode is a personal update you’ve been asking for.

A few months ago, I shared my experience starting a GLP-1—and since then, my DMs have been full of questions about what’s changed, what I’m still doing, and how I’m feeling now.

In this episode, I’m giving you an honest, real-life update on my peptide journey, where I’m at today, why I chose to continue, and the biggest differences I’ve experienced over time.

We talk about:

• Why I’m still microdosing tirzepatide
• The unexpected benefits beyond weight loss
• The additional peptides I’ve added (and why)
• What I’ve learned about energy, sleep, and muscle growth
• Common side effects (like hair loss) and what might actually be causing them
• Why this isn’t a “magic fix” and what still matters most

This is not medical advice... just my personal experience and what’s been working for me.

If you’ve been curious about GLP-1s, peptides, or just wanted a real update from my journey, this episode is for you.

And if you still have questions, send me a message on Instagram. I’m always happy to share what I can.

Check out my full GLP-1 story here:
Episode 72

xoxo,
Rachel

Where to find me:
Instagram: @heyrachelcoons

Join me for my free training to learn the 5-step RESET Framework: Register HERE

Transcript

Why This Update Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Today's episode is going to be a little different than normal. Three months ago, I shared a podcast about my personal experience on a GLP1. And recently I've gotten a lot of questions about what's happening now and an update on my peptide journey. So today I am going to share everything I can with you in this episode. So stay tuned. Hello and welcome back to the Money Mom channel. I am your host, Rachel Coons. If you're new here, I am a mom money mentor and I help women feel safe and better with their money. Now, this episode has nothing to do with money and everything to do with the fact that I have a community on Instagram that I've built over many years. And sometimes I'll do frequently asked questions on my Instagram story. And recently I got a lot of questions about my peptide journey, where I'm at now, and asking for an update on my experience on a GLP1 and other peptides as well. Now, I want to start this episode by first my story in depth, explaining why I started a GLP 1, what it was like first going on it, and why I decided to end up taking a GLP 1. That episode is episode 72 on the podcast. So if you're watching on YouTube, you can go look up the Money Mom podcast, episode 72. It is one of our most downloaded episodes, and you can go get my whole story there. I'm not gonna go into the background of that on this specific video. But what I do want to do is give you a quick update on what it's looking like in my life right now and whether I'm still on it or whether I'm off it and what has changed with my body since I last shared my story. Now, I do also want to just really hit home that I am not a doctor. I cannot give medical advice, and I highly recommend that if your health is important to you, work in tandem with a medical professional. It doesn't have to be a general practitioner. In fact, I know a lot of people really struggle with getting microdosing options with a general practitioner. So go look and find other people that are certified in the space, know the research, because I am just a one person who is sharing my experience, and I'm not giving medical advice in this episode. That medical advice is for the trained professionals. And if you would like to receive that, go find that out for yourself. So here's where we left off on the last episode. I started microdosing terzepatide, which is a type of GLP1 peptide, in December of 2024. It is now March of 2026, and I am continuing to microdose that same peptide, terzepatide. There was a while there where I thought that maybe I would slowly start to lower my dosage and maybe eventually get off of the peptide. And I did that for about a month, where each week I would just like, I'm in control of the dosage that I give myself. And so I was at two milligrams. And then the next week I would give myself 1.8 milligrams, and the next week I would give myself 1.6, and I just slowly was working my way down until one week I just didn't take it at all. And I will tell you that some of the benefits that come with a GLP one, it's not all weight loss. In fact, for me at this point, like I don't want to lose any more weight. I lost about 20 pounds when I first went on trazepatide. I have not lost any weight since like the same time last year. So I've kind of just maintained my same weight, but I've stayed on it because of the other amazing benefits that I've received being on a GLP one. I have more energy, I eat better. That's a huge thing for me, is I feel like I can eat higher quality foods when I'm on a GLP one. I sleep better, I have less inflammation in my body. Just feels like my body is running better. And I don't really know how to explain that, but I've talked to a lot of people who are also on a GLP one where they're experiencing the same thing. It's not just about the weight loss, it's just about having my body feel the best that it's ever been. And so for me, I don't really feel the need to get off of this drug right now. There's no problem with me for taking a small dose every week. It's really affordable the place that I get it. I'm not going to be sharing where I get my peptides, but you do your own research, figure out where that is for yourself. And there's really, really affordable options out there. So that's my update. I'm still on it. I still plan to take it for as long as I feel good about taking it. And yeah, there's not much has changed since the last time I shared. I'm taking the same amount of dosage. The other thing I shared recently that I got a lot of questions over is what other peptides I'm taking. I've since added in some other peptides as well. And those two peptides that I've added on, one of them is Sumoralin, which is a growth hormone activator. So it actually, the way that the peptide works is it goes into your pituitary gland and it stimulates the pituitary gland to increase growth hormone in your body. Now, again, this is one that I would highly recommend working with your doctor for. But for me, as I am, you know, I've lifted heavy weights for the last 10 years. And as I'm approaching my 40s, I have tried to put on as much muscle as possible. And Sumoralin is one of the peptides to help increase lean muscle mass. Now, again, I am not trying to lose weight. That is a side effect that some people lose fat when they're on it. I don't know if it really has made me lose fat, but it definitely has increased my muscle capacity in my body. I am more strong. I feel like my muscles are getting bigger. I've been way more successful in the gym since I've been on this peptide. It's a little bit annoying because you do have to take a shot every single night and you kind of cycle on and cycle off. So I'll go on for three months, then I'll go off for three months, and then I'll go back on it because your body can get used to it. And so again, it's like you gotta do your own research. You gotta talk to your own medical professors and figure out what works for you. But I have loved Samoorin as an added peptide in there as well. Another side effect that I really like about Samoorlin is that it helps you sleep. Like your sleep is higher quality when you do sleep. Like it's easier for your body to go into a deep sleep. You take Samoorlin at night before you go to bed in a fasted state. You take it right before you go to bed, and it's supposed to help with that growth hormone in the middle of the night. The third peptide that I'm taking is NAD. And NAD is a peptide that helps with brain cognition and energy. So I take this once or twice a week in the morning. I don't know with this one specifically, like the other two, I can 100% say I feel a difference when I'm taking it because I've gone on it and I've gone off of it and I can tell there's a difference. Now, with NAD, it's not as tangible for me if it actually is doing a lot. I will say I feel like I have higher levels of focus after I take it. And I'll take it before I go to the gym. And I do feel like I have better workouts. I have more energy in general when I take it. Some of the questions I got a lot, and I talk about this in the first episode, but I want to hit on it again here in case you haven't listened. The side effects. And the main side effect that people have asked about is hair loss. Have I lost any hair or other negative side effects on it? I am such a big believer in like you still need to eat on these peptides. And when the problem is when people start taking these dosages of higher levels of GLP ones, it's physically impossible to eat enough protein and to eat enough food. And so that's one of the reasons I never got into a normal dosage for it, because the lower dosages were just taking the edge off for me. And I was able to make healthier food choices and still be able to eat enough. So if your hair is falling out, that is probably a sign that you are not eating enough and you're not eating enough protein as well. So I would be very, very cautious if you have some of those side effects. I would work with your doctor. I would advocate for yourself and taking a lower dose. You still can get some of the massive benefits, the inflammation, the energy, all the other benefits that we find with the GLP one, you get those benefits at a lower dose. You don't need to be increasing your dosage to make it work. So if you are losing weight, that's a big red flag for me. If I was losing weight on it, I would get off of it and I would find a different doctor that was able to work with me. I think it's a sign that something else is going on and you're not healthy. Like your body is literally shedding your hair because it can't maintain what it's doing. I am a big proponent of weightlifting as well as part of your exercise resume. So if you're taking a GLP one, I said it before, I'll say it again, you better be lifting weights. You better be doing everything you can to increase your lean muscle mass on your body because if you are losing a ton of weight, you're going to lose muscle. And as women, you're heading into the years of perimenopause and menopause without muscle on you, and you're setting yourself up for disaster. So make sure you're lifting weights, make sure you're eating enough protein, make sure you're doing this the right way. You can heal your relationship with food. You can focus on eating healthier on a GLP one. It has all those amazing benefits, but you can also be really careless with it and create a lot of lasting damage. So just be really careful about it. And this is not a magic fix. Like you're not just magically going to make yourself healthier by going on any peptide. You do need to still be intentional to still make correct food choices. And I think done in a proper way, it will maximize your benefits. Okay, that is my quick update. I am happy to answer any questions if I didn't answer them here on this episode. You can leave them in the comment box below or message me on Instagram, hey Rachel Coons, and I'll see you in the next video.