Atlanta Wellness Clinic Podcast

The Medication Stigma: Why GLP-1 Weight Loss Shouldn't Be a Secret

• Catina Wilson • Episode 14

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The "Secret" to Success: Navigating Shame and Secrecy Around GLP-1 Use 

Why do we whisper about weight loss medications when we proudly announce our new workout routines? The stigma surrounding medical approaches to weight management runs deep in our culture, and it's time we talked about it openly.

The Atlanta Wellness Clinic tackles this thorny issue head-on as licensed nutritionist Catina Wilson and co-host Millie explore the shame and secrecy that often accompanies GLP-1 medication use. Catina shares compelling insights about why medical support for weight management deserves the same respect as treatments for other health conditions. "You've got high blood pressure. Do we say that you shouldn't take medication for that?" she asks, challenging the double standard that pervades our thinking about obesity treatment.

Throughout this thoughtful conversation, we dismantle the notion that weight loss medications offer an "easy way out." Instead, Catina reframes these prescriptions as tools that level the playing field for those battling hormonal imbalances, genetic predispositions, or environmental factors beyond their control. The medications may quiet food noise and slow digestion, but patients still must do the work of developing sustainable habits, maintaining proper nutrition, and incorporating regular movement. For many, these medications provide their first real opportunity to build lasting healthy routines without fighting an uphill hormonal battle.

 Ready to reframe your thinking about medical weight loss or start your own journey? Visit ATLWellnessClinic.com or call 770-726-8978 for a free 10-minute weight loss consultation that might just change your perspective—and your health.

To learn more about Atlanta Wellness Clinic visit:
https://www.ATLWellnessClinic.com
Atlanta Wellness Clinic
1827 Powers Ferry Rd. SE, Bldg 1 STE 250
Atlanta, Georgia 30339
770-726-8978

Speaker 1:

welcome to the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast hosted by licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. We're here to kickstart your weight loss journey because, let's be honest, the only thing we want gaining weight is our wallets. From medical weight loss and nutrition coaching to body contouring, we help metro atlanta women get real results. Let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

There's no shame in seeking help, but that doesn't mean the stigma isn't real. In this episode, we talk openly about judgment, self-worth and why medical support deserves respect. Welcome back everyone. Millie. I'm co-host and producer back in the studio with licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. Katina, how are you? I am doing great, fantastic. Producer back in the studio with licensed nutritionist and clinic owner, katina Wilson. Katina, how are you?

Speaker 3:

I am doing great, fantastic day. How are you?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing quite well. I'm really grateful we're diving into this. It's such an important conversation that so many people are afraid to have. Talk to us a little bit about the secret to success. How do we navigate shame and secrecy around GLP-1 use, you know?

Speaker 3:

it's such an interesting topic because you know, I remember when I first told friends and family that I was even launching this wellness clinic and that GLP-1s were going to be probably the center of one of the service offerings that we were going to have, so many people people who I considered close friends had told me that they themselves had been on GLP-1s, but they were so afraid to tell people what they were going through, their journey and that the fact they were on this medication and then, the more I dug into it, I felt like this was just something that you know, I wanted us to talk about on this podcast, because I don't think there's any shame in using medication like this to help you achieve your health goals. Why people are secretive or feel shame, I think a lot of it just comes down to society. It comes down to what we see on the media. We're just so obsessed with the struggle calories in and calories out, exercising really, really hard until you can't exercise anymore, and you know we're just so obsessed with those things, and people are so obsessed with doing it the hard way, you know, or what they consider it to be the right way, and I think you know the problem is we don't recognize that obesity is a disease like a lot of other diseases, like alcoholism and things like that.

Speaker 3:

I think, you know, it's just starting to come to a point where people are recognizing that obesity and an individual struggle for weight loss. There's a whole host of reasons why people struggle. It's not always due to just sheer willpower. Sometimes it's hormonal, sometimes it's environmental, you know, sometimes it's even genetic right, and so you know there's no shame in seeking help through a medical professional when you struggle. You've got high blood pressure. Do we say that you shouldn't take medication for that? Or you have diabetes and you have to take insulin? Do we say that you're cheating because you have to take that medication? So you know it's such an interesting topic because there are quite a few people again, people that even that I know that as they were going through their own journey, they were afraid of what others might say, you know, as it relates to taking these medications to get into better health.

Speaker 2:

And so how do you support clients who feel like choosing medication is cheating?

Speaker 3:

So I remind them and I know you, know you and I've chatted about this before, you know on some of our other earlier episodes that at the end of the day, this medication, it's a tool, right, you know, if you've got some challenges, you know, with losing weight due to hormonal imbalances or due to genetics, you know this medication is really going to help, like, balance those things off right. So it's almost like it's going to level the playing field. And so what I remind people is, as you're taking this medication, this is your opportunity. This is your time to really, like, learn better habits, different habits. This is your opportunity to figure out what's going to work for you.

Speaker 3:

The medicine is going to do a lot of it for you, right? It's not a pass, you know, to eat Reese cups and ice cream all day, every day, and think that you know, once you stop the medicine, you're going to lose that weight and keep it off. But it is a tool. It is an opportunity again to level the playing field and to give you an opportunity to start to learn how to make improved choices, different choices, more movement and things like that. And so I remind people that the medicine is going to do a lot for you, like quieting the food noise, slowing down. You know the digestive system so that you know you're going to take in. You know fewer calories and so it's just an opportunity again, you know, to just start to learn and really like build that muscle of better habits, different habits than maybe what you were doing before.

Speaker 2:

And I think one thing that is important to remember is that shame, I think, is surrounded around how other people feel about your choices, because if you're confident in what you're doing, then you don't really have that shame. And knowing that you could take celebrities, for example, people are never going to be satisfied. If they're big, they have something to say. If they take, you know, glp-1s, they have something to say. So I think that's a good way to kind of just relieve yourself of some of that shame is that people are going to have their judgments, you know, either way it goes, and there's a saying you know, everybody's got a you know what.

Speaker 3:

And they also have an opinion, right and when that opinion is valid to you.

Speaker 3:

You know it's really up for you to decide. It's not at the end of the day, it's not any really anybody's business, right? So you don't have to share. But you certainly should not feel shameful because, again, this is a tool. It's something that a medical doctor is only going to prescribe if they feel like. You know this is something that is going to help you again overcome some of those genetic challenges that you know would be difficult to overcome, you know otherwise. Or balance out some of those hormones and things like that. Right, you know you're not just going out there and just grabbing something off the shelf. You know this is something that, in partnership with your doctor, they're going to help you together make the best, you know, decision, you know, based upon your health. If you want to, if you want to empower others with the knowledge of how these medications work, you know great.

Speaker 3:

But there's no need to feel shame about it because, again, it's not the easy way out. I have many patients that will tell you it's still a lot of work, right, because you know you still have to eat enough. You know we have some patients who have problems eating enough, right, because of the medications work so well and so we have to remind them to eat and to drink and to do things like that. So it's not the easy way out. You know it's a tool to help again, you know, people onto that better path for better health, but it's certainly not the easy way out. And the thing is, is that this mindset of having to struggle, eating things with no taste, no fat, no salt, exercising in the gym, you know, several hours a day, twice a day you don't have to struggle either. Right, this medication is there to help, but you still have to do your part with the hydration and the movement, as well as the nutrition. You still have to do your part.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and a lot of those opinions, I think, are based on a lot of assumptions. They're assuming that that's your first choice, when you know, like you said, some people have tried the diets, they've tried you know everything else and this might be a last resort for them to to get kickstarted. They're assuming people aren't eating right. They're assuming people aren't in the gym. So a lot of those opinions are based on a lot of assumptions. So we can just kind of let go of what other people think. But what can loved ones and community and family members do to reduce that shame and offer encouragement to people who might be feeling that way?

Speaker 3:

You hit it on the head, offer encouragement, keep your opinions to yourself good, bad or otherwise. Right, because you know, even when people are losing weight and you want to be positive sometimes that still feels, you know, a little uncomfortable to talk about somebody's body. Like why are we talking about people's body and how they look anyway, right.

Speaker 3:

You know it's their personal choice what they want to do and how they want to do it. And if it's not hurting you again, why are you offering? You know, your opinions, your unsolicited opinion, in most cases right, but I know. But I think what loved ones can do is just be there to support, you know, to encourage and maybe even to learn you know, ask good questions, thoughtful questions about the process and their journey. But you know, but not in a judgmental way. Don't judge, and I think when people feel judged, I think that's where the shame comes into play. Absolutely, I think everybody just needs the shame comes into play.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, I think everybody just needs to feel strong in their choices and thank you so much for opening the door to that conversation and changing the tone around just the thought process of using these medications. Thank you so much for your insight today. We'll see you on the next episode. All right, thank you.

Speaker 3:

Have a great day, Millie.

Speaker 1:

That's a wrap on this episode of the Atlanta Wellness Clinic podcast. If you're ready to kickstart your weight loss journey, and not just your bathroom scale and frustration, visit ATLWellnessCliniccom or call us at 770-726-8978 for a free 10-minute weight loss consultation, because the best time to start was yesterday. The second best time right now. See you next time.