6 Years Into GLP-1s: What Maintenance Really Looks Like w/ Tara Rothenhoefer

Tara Rothenhoefer was one of the earliest participants in a tirzepatide clinical trial, before the medication had a brand name. After a lifelong battle with obesity, she began the trial in 2020 at 342 pounds. Eighteen months later, she had lost 132 pounds. But when the study ended, she faced a year without medication, uncertainty around access, and the emotional work of learning how to live in a body she had never known before.

In this episode, Tara shares what changed when food noise finally quieted, why medication alone was never the whole story, and how she learned that “more weight loss” is not always the goal.

IN THIS EPISODE
- Tara’s lifelong experience with obesity, dieting, and weight stigma
- How a radio ad and a clinical-trial opening changed the course of her life
- What it was like to join an early tirzepatide trial with only a 25% chance of receiving the medication
- The role of nutrition support, movement, and gradual behavior change
- Losing 132 pounds in 18 months—and what happened when the trial ended
- Navigating medication access, shortages, judgment, and compounded medication
- Why the scale and clothing sizes can become a new kind of obsession
- Recognizing when continued weight loss was no longer healthy
- What long-term maintenance looks like after a major weight change
- Using medication as one tool in a broader, ongoing relationship with health

ABOUT THE GUEST
Tara Rothenhoefer is a wife, mom, and grandma who, after a lifelong battle with obesity, joined a clinical trial for tirzepatide in 2020 that led to her 222-pound weight loss. Featured on numerous national platforms, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, and the Tamron Hall show, she now shares her journey to encourage and inspire others, while navigating maintenance and living life in a small body for the first time ever.

CONNECT WITH TARA
TikTok and Instagram: @tacklingtara
Links and resources: https://linktr.ee/tacklingtara

SPONSOR
Tyde Wellness — GLP-1 programs with licensed providers, real dosing adjustments, and long-term support
http://tydewellness.com/GLP1Hub — code GLP1Hub50 for $50 off your first month

CHAPTERS
00:00  From clinical trial to a 222-pound weight loss
01:11  Meet Tara Rothenhoefer
03:16  A lifelong battle with obesity and dieting
04:48  Finding the tirzepatide clinical trial
08:15  Taking a chance on an unknown medication
10:58  What the trial support looked like
13:56  Movement, nutrition support, and early results
16:54  Losing 132 pounds in 18 months
20:00  When the trial ended and medication access disappeared
29:00  Shortages, stigma, and public attention
35:11  When weight loss went too far
40:24  Long-term maintenance and listening to her body
43:03  Connecting with Tara

MORE FROM GLP-1 HUB

📬 Get The Steady State, Ana's weekly newsletter with GLP-1 guidance from a dietitian who's on one: http://join.glp-1hub.com

🎙 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and if this episode helped, leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify - it's the single best way to help more people find the show.

🌐 Shop GLP-1 essentials, meal plans, and recipes: https://shop.glp-1hub.com
📷 Follow on Instagram: @glp1hub
📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GLP-1hub

*Some of the links shared are affiliate links. When you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting the show.

*The content of this show is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The goal of this show is to provide various points of view about GLP-1 Medications. The personal and professional opinion of the guests and their content does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Ana Reisdorf or GLP-1 Hub.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When I started the trial, I was 342 pounds. So she, you know, she was very much aware that I'm probably not gonna go out and start running today, or even this week, or maybe not even this month or year. But she said, like, as soon as you feel like you're able, do something.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

She was in the very first trusepatide trial, back before the drug even had a name. One in four participants got the real thing, and the rest got a placebo. She got the real thing. 18 months and 132 pounds later, the trial ended, and they sent her home with no medication, no follow-up, and no idea what came next. Welcome to the GLP OneHub Podcast. I'm Anna Reisdorf, registered dietitian and GLP1 user. Today I'm talking with Tara Rothenhofer, who fought obesity for 35 years, lost her older sister to complications from it, and became one of the first everyday faces of this medication in the national media. We get into the exact moment the food noise went quiet, what happened to her body during the year she had no access to the medication, and the point where losing more weight stopped being a good thing. Let's get into the episode. Welcome to the GLP One Hub podcast. We have such a fantastic interview today. Very unique story. Want to welcome Tara Rothenhofer. Did I get that right? You start in. Oh, look at me. I was sure my perimenopause would make me forget. She was one of the original uh trial members of the first, was it Manjaro trial? Yeah, yeah. In fact, it wasn't even called Manjaro yet, it was just Terzepatide. Wow. So can you share a little bit about who you are? Where you're a little bit more about your story and how you came to this situation. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Um, I turned 50 this past September, and I have been battling obesity. Um, you know, I I go back to like nine or 10 years old and remember that I I weighed then what I weighed actually a little bit more than what I weigh right now at 50 years old. Wow. This is literally, I you know, when you say lifelong battle, you're talking the majority of my life has been spent in a larger body and started Weight Watchers for the first time at 12 years old, um, and have just done everything that you could possibly imagine for the next, you know, 35 years. And, you know, just like you hear in a lot of other stories, things worked until they didn't. You know, you'd lose 40 pounds and gain 60, and you'd lose 50 pounds and gain, you know, 80. And it was just forever the yo-yo. I came from a family who, you know, my dad's side of my siblings were all bigger, my dad, two larger people. I used to think I was big boned until one day I could actually see that I actually have bones, and I'm like, wow, okay. But it was just one of those things that I thought I was going to always have to deal with for the rest of my life. I was very lucky in the fact that I was a healthy obese person. I never dealt with high blood pressure, uh, cholesterol. I didn't at the time really feel like my weight kept me from a lot of things. But again, kind of being this size now, I do realize there are things that I avoided. Sure. Or maybe didn't even try because I was in a larger body, but I could walk, I could go up and down the stairs and things like that. It just always felt like, honestly, it felt like a character flaw, you know, because I thought I always did well in school. I, you know, I I played lots of instruments and sang and I had all these, you know, little talents of bowling, you know, why couldn't I do this? What, you know, what was why was I so weak is is really how I felt inside. And I think how society made me feel. Sure. That I just was a weak person and I didn't have enough willpower.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, it was your 100% your fault. I think that that was definitely the the narrative and still is to some extent. Did you ever have a gastric bypass or surgery for the for the weight? No, it was something that I considered.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

I never dove too deep into the process because if I'm being honest, well, A, I was scared. You know, I mean, that is a major surgery, and I've heard all kinds of horror stories. But to be honest with you, for me, it wasn't just about losing the weight. I always had a desire to have control, to have a healthy relationship with food. And I know with all kinds of bariatric surgeries, there are limitations in the types of things you can eat, how much you can eat at one time. And, you know, I'd have people say, well, I can't drink water when I'm eating my meal because that's too much in my stomach at once. I I didn't want that. You know, I just wanted to, I didn't, I don't know, I didn't know what normal meant, but that's what I wanted.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

I wanted to feel normal around food. Sure, sure. No, that that that totally makes sense. So when did you find out about the trial? How did you find out about it? Like, were you involved with clinical trials before? Like, how did this come on your radar?

SPEAKER_00 5:00

This this is probably one of my favorite parts of my story because it's I say ironic, but I'm very much a spiritual person, a believing God. You know, I I'm very faith-led. And so it wasn't irony, I know, but it was just you're talking like March 2020. So COVID is everywhere, right? You know, that's all everyone is talking about. I had been driving home from work one day and I heard an advertisement, a commercial on the radio for a clinical trial for obesity medication. And in my mind, I'm like, that sounds interesting. I should check that out. And of course, I got out of my car and never thought about it again. And the irony is that my husband, I don't know if it was that exact commercial, but he heard a also heard a commercial in the car about a weight loss medication trial. And he called and he got on the list to be screened to be in the trial. I had no idea. And he comes home one day and says to me, I'm gonna be in a clinical trial for weight loss medication. And I was like, What? Like, how did he hear about this? We weren't in the car together, you know? And he's like, Well, I heard about it on the radio and I called and you know, I have a spot. Another well, he at least had a spot to be screened. That's kind of how the process started. So I was like, Well, I want to do that. And he said, Well, you know, here's the number. Call and, you know, see what's if you can get in. So I called the next morning and was basically told, sorry, we're full. And I was like, Oh my god. You know, I was like, Thanks. But then again, I'm like, well, I guess it just wasn't meant for me. So my husband went about starting the process. Well, because the medication had already been tried for diabetes first. This trial was specifically focused on weight loss and obesity. We didn't know it at the time. And again, keep in mind this is, you know, the beginning of COVID. He found out that he was diabetic and we did not know that. But that disqualified him from the trial because they had, you know, the med, they were specific for what they were looking for. And so first thing, you know, he comes home and tells me that he's diabetic. And I'm like, oh my gosh, you know, I'm I'm like, you know, gotta go to the doctor. And he's like, he didn't have a primary at the time. He's like, who's gonna take me? You know, it's COVID. Nobody's even seeing anybody. So we had to go down that rapid hole, but we laugh about it now. But I'm like, well, hey, sorry for your luck, but um, I'm gonna call and see if I can get your spot. And he's, you know, of course, he was like, Yes, please do. And I called again the next morning. And the nutritionist who was overseeing the trial said, you know, listen, I have a lot of people on the waiting list. Can you get here tomorrow? And I said, I will be on your doorstep when you open. And by God, I was. It was about 45 minutes away. I I don't care if it was four hours away, I would have gone. I was there when they opened, got screened through the trial, and was accepted because I didn't have any of those other, you know, underlying issues. But what's even more um interesting about my trial is it was randomized. So I only had a 25% chance of actually getting the medication. The other 75% of the people got a placebo. Wow. Getting into the trial was only, you know, a part of the battle. Wow. I mean, getting his spot, getting the medication, you know, I I I I just knew that and I'm getting an goosebumps. I just knew that it was meant for me.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Right. So when when you heard about a trial about a medication, were you nervous at all? Because there have been weight loss medications that have hurt people and killed people back in the 80s, or is like the fen fen people having heart attacks and stuff. Were you nervous about that at all?

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Have any information? Yeah, so you know, they didn't really tell us a whole lot. And I didn't ask a lot of questions either because I don't think I wanted to be scared away. But again, that is just part of the whole mind-blowing part of this is that I'm somebody that if I'll go two days having a headache before I'll take Tylenol. I'm not a, you know, I just I'm I don't just go grab, oh, I'll take this, I'll take that. I I don't really care for that, you know? And to just put myself out there like that for a medication that I knew absolutely nothing about was pretty wild, really, in my mind to think about. But again, I think um, I mean, desperate is just really the word that comes to mind because in the uh December of 2018, I lost my oldest sister to complications from obesity. And she was a mom and she was a grandma. And while people didn't say this like directly to me, I I heard in conversation, I I, you know, saw the comments of people saying things like, gosh, like it's a shame that she couldn't get her, like basically get herself together, get her, you know, get herself under control. And I just like that really that hit me on a on a whole different level because I'm like, you you don't understand that it's it runs so much deeper than that. So yes, I was scared, but I had tried everything else. And what did I have to lose? Knowing that her weight is literally what killed her, I I was already in a life or death situation. At my heaviest, I weighed almost 400 pounds.

unknown 10:02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

And I'm like 5'4 or 5'5. How long was I gonna be able to go on like that? And and at what point was I gonna stop gaining weight? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

So there was like almost a hope. Like it was almost like I can either continue down this path or maybe take this step that could provide hope in a future.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Yeah, and like I said, I I think it was more so that, you know, risk versus reward, right? I knew that I mean, I didn't go into it thinking that I would quit the trial or stop or anything like that. But of course, I did know in the back of my mind that if, you know, uh uh God forbid, as long as it wasn't something serious or fatal, if I, you know, if if it got too bad or if it made me ill or anything like that, I could stop. Sure. You know, so that but that was a little bit of a reassurance as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Okay. And so when you started the trial, they were like, inject yourself with this, or they did the injection, like how did it work? How often did you have to go in? Like what it was.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Well, it's been a little over six years now, so I don't remember exactly, but you did go for a series of testing beforehand, all kinds of blood work, EKGs. Like, I mean, I can only speak to the place that I went, although I know that the manufacturer oversee, you know, gives the parameters for the trial trial. They were very thorough. They were making sure that, you know, you were healthy in every other way and complete medical background, mental health background. I mean, they really, I feel like they really did their due diligence. So that was for several weeks before I ever got an injection. But then finally, the first time, um, I had to do the injection there in the office. Like they literally watched me do it, you know, and it was like that. So in the beginning, they would you would do the injection the first of the month there in the office, and they would give you the box for the rest of the month. And, you know, basically you would record where you did it and what time and day, and you know, you kept a pretty good record. And I don't remember how many months into it, but I'd say probably at least six months into it, they would then send you with like three months at a time. Okay. But again, they, you know, they kept really good tabs on us. The nutritionist, I thought, was a huge part of my success, really kind of helping me to navigate, like, hey, from what we know, this medication is gonna do and make you feel, but you also need to make better food choices, move your body. I really give her a lot of credit for helping me to be successful, not just here, take a medication.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Do you guys remember my conversation with Beth a while back, the one that became one of the most popular episodes? Well, Beth is from Tide Wellness, and that conversation is the reason I'm comfortable telling you about them today. So many people lose weight on GLP1, feel amazing, and then six months later, they're back to where they started because the program ended or the provider disappeared, or they were never set up for the long haul. But Tide Wellness is built differently. Licensed providers who actually adjust your dosing as your body changes. A real care team you can message when you hit a plateau or have a question or need help. Nutrition guidance designed specifically for how GLP1s change your appetite. And if you've got questions, you can book a consultation and actually talk to a provider, a rare find in this space. If you're looking for more than GLP1s, they also do microdose GLP1 programs, hormone therapy, longevity peptides, and the kind of support that matters when you're trying to feel your best long term. Tide is built with support by a team that really cares. Go to tidewellness.com backslash GLP1 hub and use the code GLP1Hub50 for $50 off your first month. Again, it's TideTywellness.com backslash GLP, the number one hub, and the code is GLP1Hub50. Okay, so they did provide lifestyle support. They definitely did compare without placebo with lifestyle support without to make sure it was Yep.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

And so I mean, like, and they would ask you what type of activity had you been doing. And again, even the in the beginning, when I started the trial, I was 342 pounds. So she, you know, she was very much aware that I'm probably not gonna go out and start running today or even this week, or maybe not even this month or year. But she said, like, as soon as you feel like you're able, do something. Sure. Do a little bit more than whatever you've been doing, whether it's going to the end of the driveway and back, you know, walking around on the grocery store, um, whatever the case may be, she really encouraged that. And again, you're talking during COVID, so people weren't going to many places. So you had to get a little creative. But I think what helped is I lost 20 pounds in the first month, which was like, and so I wanted to do more to help myself, to help the medication. Sure. The more weight I lost, the more I wanted to be an active participant in my journey and in helping the medication in any way that I could.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

And during that first month, did you have any significant side effects or was it pretty smooth sailing?

SPEAKER_00 15:09

No, it was pretty smooth sailing. So again, uh, I think from the perspective of wanting to be as naive as possible, I didn't even, I'm not just gonna say I didn't read the paperwork about the trial, but I didn't really study it and know everything. I later found out that my particular trial, so it was called surmount phase one. Mm-hmm. They started us at five milligrams. So we only did five, 10, and 15. No transitions? No. Nope. And you know, of course, now they, you know, when it came out, it was like, you know, they started everybody at 2.5. I I never I never saw 2.5. 5, 10, and 15 was all I got. The I think the initial side effect I had, which they didn't even know was a side effect at the time. In fact, they told me it wasn't, and now it is something that's listed. I had a horrible migraine for like a week straight. I mean, nothing I did would touch it. Nothing. And, you know, first couple days, I'm like, I just have a headache. Maybe it's because I'm eating different, you know, eating less with less sugar, you know, less carbs. But I mean, it was like a pounding migraine for a solid week. And they were like, well, you know, that's not really one of the side effects of the medication, but you know, we'll mark mark it down in in your chart. And like I said, it did end up being that that is now on the list of things that can happen. In that first month, though, that was probably it. And, you know, she did tell us from the get-go about the potential of constipation, which, you know, I I experienced pretty much the entire time, although I learned to manage it. I never had to do anything, you know, I know there's medications that people take, you know, prescriptions. I never had to go that route, you know, talk to my doctor over-the-counter stuff. And it's never, it's never caused me an issue. Did it cause me a little discomfort for a day or two? Yes. But did it cause me to ever have to go to the hospital or um, you know, drastic measures?

SPEAKER_01 16:54

No. And how long was the trial? So how long were you on the medication?

SPEAKER_00 16:58

So it was an 18-month trial, and in the total 18 months, I lost 132 pounds. Oh my goodness. Which Wow. Yeah. So I do I tend to be an overachiever, but the again, the nutritionist kind of told me even from so I lost 70 pounds in the first six months, which was crazy to me. Because again, I will stand by the fact that I did work too. I didn't just keep doing everything I was doing before, but now I'm taking a medication. Sure. I stepped it up each time, you know, whatever whenever I I went from walking to riding a bike to going to the gym. I never got crazy with any, but you know, just swimming, but I was an active participant. I started, you know, I hate to cook. I'm not even a very good cook, but I started doing research on, you know, healthy foods and eating things I never ate before, trying things I never tried before. So I I do, I, you know, again, I I do give myself credit in that aspect for also using it as a tool, you know, not a crutch, not a magic pill, but as a tool. So yeah, 18 months and 132 pounds, she kind of told me that I was probably had the best reaction of everyone in in their group.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Sure, sure. So it became obvious to you probably that you were not on the placebo.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Well, and that's kind of a funny part of the story, too. So again, you know, the me, um sort of an instant gratification was, you know, just thinking I was gonna take this medication in the office, and the next day I'm gonna wake up and it's gonna be like, you know, angels are gonna be singing around me, you know. But I woke up the next day and felt completely the same, you know, and I'm like, okay. And day two, I woke up and I felt completely the same. I still wanted food, I still thought about food, you know, I still didn't really have like self-control. You know, if donuts were there, I was gonna eat the donuts, even if I wasn't hungry. On day three, I was sitting at my at my desk and, you know, just working away. And I happened just to kind of look down at the computer and see the time. And it was like 1140, not quite lunchtime, but pretty close. And I'm like, I don't think I ate breakfast this morning. And then I'm like, I'm not even thinking about lunch yet. And it's almost 12 o'clock. Like I was pretty much like, you know, 12 o'clock time to eat, you know, like in the opportunity, I was like, I was all about it. And so I'm like, that's really weird. And then literally I was like, my God. And I got up out of my desk. The people at that worked for me knew, you know, that I was in the trial. But I literally walked to one of the girls' offices who, like, you know, like me, had been obese for many, many years. And I was like, my God, I'm not thinking about food. And she was like, Wow, really? And I'm like, I have not had even the slightest thought of food so far today. And that was, I can't describe that moment. Like, even six years later, yeah, I'm getting goosebumps again. Six years later, having that feeling of like walking to a switch and turning it off. I like that was golden. That was I can't even put a price tag on that. I I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know that that was even a thing until it wasn't there anymore. And I was like, I literally was like, thank you, God. Like, because when I talked about feeling normal, I didn't know what feeling normal meant or what I even thought feeling normal meant. But in that moment, I felt normal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

It's that's I think that that's the most powerful piece of it for real. For me, for everybody that I talk to. It's like such a game changer, like gives you space in your brain, finally. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

It was the first time that I didn't feel like a failure. That I didn't beat myself up for you can do all these other things. You're a you're a wife, a mom, uh, you know, you have a career, all these things. Why can't you do this? Why can't you get control? Sure. And I realized in that moment that it was so much bigger than that. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Yeah, definitely. So before we got on the call, you mentioned that after the 18 months, they said, bye, good job, losing a hundred and whatever pounds. See you later. So, what happened? What happened there? Explain, explain what happened when the trial was done.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

So, again, you know, in the beginning, I wasn't really thinking about that because A, you know, I'm I'm not even thinking, A, I'm not thinking I'm even gonna get the drug because, you know, that's that's how we think, right? B, I'm not even thinking if I get it, it's not gonna work because nothing ever really has. And C, like, I can't, I can't see 18 months ahead because all I can see is what's in front of me at this moment, you know? But you get to the end, the medication is done, they bring you back one month later with you know, you haven't had any medication to weigh you again just to see if anything had changed. And then that is it. It's like nice knowing, like, and again, I'm sure this is probably how it's designed or how it works in all types of clinical trials, but I've never even I never even heard from anybody again. Not even like a a year, a six month. Hey, how you doing? You know, nothing. It was like, kick you out, you're done. But I will say, like a lot of other things, I Had tried in the past that worked for the time, I thought, okay, you know what? This time is different. This time I learned what to do. And even though I'll be honest, like I would, I'm 100% confident in saying that I did not eat like a lot of people eat who weighed 400. And I know there are a lot of people like me too that can can honestly say this. But there are a lot of people, a lot of it is choices, how they eat, how much they eat, what time of the day they eat. We we would be naive to think that we don't have some involvement. But I ate what I thought was pretty good, even when I weighed 400 pounds. I only ate lean meat and you know, white meat chicken, and everything was organic that I could possibly get, and low-fatness if it was available. Oh, again, I did it wasn't perfect. Now looking back, I realize I thought I ate pretty good, but it wasn't as good as I could have been eating. But I thought, okay, I've learned the tools, I know what to do. I'm gonna I'll be okay. I like I said, I started at 240 or 342. I got down to about 210, I guess would be about 132 pounds. Yeah, right around 210. I was, you know, a little disappointed that I didn't get under 200 pounds, but I was also very confident that I could just do that on my own. Sure. And quite frankly, I did. I got to Wonderland with no medication. It was probably about three or four months after the trial ended. I was still doing all of the things that I had learned. But slowly, no that noise. It was dull, and then it got a little bit louder and a little bit louder and a little more persistent. I it reminded me of a movie where you have like a devil and an angel sitting on somebody's shoulder, like, don't eat that. You have to eat that. That's how I felt. I literally was like, no, no, yes. Even though I never went back to eating the way that I did, the weight was coming back on. And I'm like, wait a minute. I'm doing all the things. I'm drinking the water, I'm doing the exercise. Am I eating two Oreos at night sometimes? Not every day. Yeah, but I'm like, again, I'm thinking about normal, right? Normal people do that. Yes. Normal people have a piece of pizza or a slice of birthday cake if they go to a party. Yeah. I I wasn't having four slices of pizza anymore or, you know, a slab of cake. I was eating what I felt like normal people do, but yet I was gaining weight. I'm like, I I don't know that I ever felt that desperate or out of control before than I did in that moment because I'm like, no medication is, it's not out yet. It's I don't even know if it's going to get approved. What what do I do? I'm like, I I don't know what to do. I'm I'm doing everything. I got down to 190 something, and then it's like two pounds, five pounds. And I'm like, okay, okay, that's not so bad. 10 pounds in the year between when the trial ended and the medication became available by prescription off label, I gained about 12 to 15 pounds. And it isn't horrible, right? In the grand scheme of things. But when you think again, like people who don't get this, like I I want them to hear me when I say I was still doing all the things. Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

And you saw the writing on the wall that this was it was gonna be like 15 pounds every year. Right.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Until you but I'm still eating right, I'm still exercising, I'm still drinking water, and I'm noticing, you know, my rings are on my rings are getting tighter in the beginning, even with two pounds. I'm noticing, you know, my ankles are starting to swell a little bit, and I'm like, all that inflammation, the things that I didn't even know this medication was controlling were coming back. And one huge factor that I had no idea the medication even touched until the medication was out and people started talking about this. My entire adult life, I had cystic acne. I went to dermatologist, I tried everything over the counter. My doctor would give me antibiotics to try to clear it up. Nothing would help. And I'm like, I don't understand this. Like, I'm 30, I'm 40. Like, why am I having these breakouts? Well, on the medication, it completely cleared up. It didn't really dawn on me until it started coming back when I wasn't on the medication. I was like, that's really strange. Yeah. Then we started hearing about, you know, PCOS and Hashimoto's and, you know, all these other things, you know, perimenopause and menopause. And I'm like, wow, like this even runs so much deeper than just the food noise. And the I I it was so mind-blowing to go down the rabbit hole of just all the things that this touched. There was a time during the trial where like I love to shop on Amazon. I love to shop, period. But there were several months where I'm like, my husband's made a joke, like, haven't seen an Amazon package come in a while. And I was like, hmm, that's weird. Yeah. I didn't even think about that. So I was like, wow. So anyway, thank God it was approved and it did come back out. But when I tell you the struggle is real, and some people don't know what that's like because I know there are people who have struggled to get their prescription every month. But I didn't know if I was ever gonna get it again. There was no such thing as trzepatide compound or none of that. I felt like I have never really had any sort of addiction, you know, uncontrollable addiction, well, other than food, I guess, but like drugs or anything like that. But I imagine that that's what it feels like because I literally was like, all right, what am I gonna do? Well, you know, is there another trial I could join? Is there like, oh, I'm not eligible to join another trial yet? You know, do you have to wait? And I literally was like, I reached out to Eli Lilly to see if they could give me a job to, you know, in hopes that maybe I could get access to the medication that way. I mean, it was so like I've never had that sense of like, God, I gotta have it, other than it was worse than food noise, honestly. Sure, sure. No, I believe it. I felt so out of control and anxious. I never felt that way before.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

So as soon as the medication was approved, did you call your doctor and get yourself a prescription?

SPEAKER_00 28:06

I sure did. Well, actually, my doctor is very conservative. Um excuse me. Well, he does, well, he did, doesn't now only for diabetes, but he didn't prescribe it then. So I did have to go through a telehealth company, but for, you know, name brand medication. So I did get it that way. I was lucky, one of the lucky ones to be on the, you know, the OG savings card where I was getting it for $25 a month. Um, but even that, again, people who don't know what that experience was like, calling around to pharmacies, some some of them were hours away to see if they had it because nobody had it. And if they did have it, they couldn't keep it in stock. Just that look when you went to the pharmacy to get it, and someone's looking at you like, you don't need this medication. You're not diabetic, you're not obese anymore, you're not, and I'm like, just the the judgment that we were getting uh made me sometimes not even want to go get it. I would some said my husband, like, hey, would you go pick up my prescription? Because it was I didn't want anyone to be in life. If there was a line of people, like I would get out of the line and wait. You know, this is this is the beginning of you're taking my grandma's diabetes medication from her and she's gonna die because of you. And I'm like, uh, you know, I don't want its grandma to die. It was just so bizarre. And it's it's come obviously such a long way, right? There are obviously it's not as readily available as it will be one day and as it should be, but it's I don't think people can really fully grasp what it felt like back then to literally like it it was like a pray to God every month, and like would you like begging, would you please call me in a three-month supply so that I can at least know, like, God for I live in Florida. For big my electric went out. I'm like, oh my god, get the Manjaro, you know, like I didn't care about anything else. I didn't care about the milk, the food, nothing. Like, get the Manjaro, you know? I mean, it was just looking back now, you know, we can laugh about it, but it was it was real life. I mean, net nothing like I ever felt before dealing with all of the getting it, what am I gonna do if I can't, all of that. I mean, it was it was a really crazy time.

SPEAKER_01 30:21

It really was. Yeah. So what where are you now with the medication? And it's been three years ago.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Oh, I so just and it just kind of dawned on me. I just celebrated six years from the beginning of my trial. Okay. Which is really mind-blowing because again, like I couldn't see like six months down the road at the time, let alone six years, but I did get back on the medication, you know, as I mentioned, when it became available. I was on the savings card as long as that was available. And then, you know, I my doctor did end up prescribing it for a time. My insurance approved it for a short time, very short. And then I ended up having to go the compound route, which again was kind of one of those things of like, I don't know that much about compound. That is for me when I got into the TikTok realm. I know I was very late to the TikTok party and to the GLP1 community, as far as that's concerned. But I did find a lot of great information, a lot of people, nothing like there is now. You know, it's it's it's such a great tool, again, you know, for people. It can be not so great too, but uh, there is a lot of awesome information out there and good people who know what it feels like, who truly want to help others. And so that's kind of how I even heard about compound. I had no idea what that even was. Just continued to meet people that way, you know, was I had the luck, I guess, of being somebody who was new in the space of Manjaro and GLP ones in general. Ozempic was around, but not that heard of. And so I was kind of like a unicorn. People started reaching out. I I again, I thought this was like all scam stuff. People started reaching out to me to do interviews, you know, like for the Wall Street Journal and Insider. And I heard from, you know, I was on the Tamron Hall show, the Today Show, Good Morning America. I'm like, I'm literally looking at my husband like, they want to talk to me? Like, I'm I'm nobody, you know, but again, I I I didn't look at that like, oh my gosh, how awesome they want to talk to me. I I looked at that, I felt very honored. Sure. And that was scary too, because I'll never forget the first article that I did for Yahoo. And the first launch, if you will, was sort of a soft, like people could read the article, but there were no commenting was available. Okay. I think they just wanted to see what the what the interaction was like. So then they ran the second article and people were able to comment on it. And I'm like, I'm so excited. I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to. And I'm like, what did what did that person like there were when I tell you the comments were unhinged. I literally called I have a YouTube channel, I am aware. I called the person that did the interview, and I was like in tears. And I'm like, take it down, take it down, please, take it down. And she was like, it doesn't work that way, you know. And I'm one person literally commented, of course, you know, it was like, user one, two, seven, three, nine, no picture. I'm like, okay. But they literally made the comment like, how did you let yourself get that size? You should have just pulled the trigger. And I was, I was flappergasted, was absolute, I was disgusted, I was mortified, I was embarrassed, I was shamed. Because again, all of that learning I did, if it wasn't my fault, and you know, I really needed help, gone in an instant. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I was, I was just a I was just an overeater. I just stuffed my face. It really, it really hit me hard. But my daughter said to me, Mom, stop reading the comments, first of all. And she's like, you can't, don't let it bother you. And which of course, you know, is easier said than done. But I thought, you know what? You're right. I'm not going to stop sharing my story, even though it might be embarrassing. It might be, you know, and I I even asked my family before I started this, my husband, my children, my son was eight or nine. You know, I'm like, I don't want to do anything that might cause you guys any type of embarrassment. Or I even asked my my boss at the time before I did my first interview because you know, I was a upper management, you know, position. And I thought, like, you know, I don't know what people are gonna think or say. So I said, hey, would you, is there any reason you wouldn't want me to do this? And he was like, absolutely not. Share your story. I feel very lucky that I got that opportunity to do that. And it it opened not only me, but before me, it was all celebrities, real housewives, and not somebody you could truly relate to. Sure. You know, not your average run-of-the-mill mom, wife, you know, somebody who works a nine to five, battled their whole life, lost the family member, relatable person. And so I felt like I felt a sense of responsibility. And I continue to share my story, and I'm continuing to share my story, as you can see. Yes. And I really, I'm very proud of how far I've come. I know I kind of got off uh sidetracked here, but where I'm at with the medication is so I do still take it, and that's another thing, you know. I've gotten to the point now where I'll have family literally look at me and say, My God, you're a bag of bones. Oh my god, you're too skinny. You're not still taking that medication, are you? I mean, it's literally like, geez, I wish you had so much interest in my weight when I was almost 400 pounds and you know, could have croaked. So there's still a lot for people to learn about minding your own weight, minding your own body, you know? Afraid to shut them down. I literally tell them, like, mind your business. Or, you know, they're like, I hear comments if we get invited to a dinner, a barbecue party, and you know, someone asks, like, oh, what do we have? Don't ask her, or she's not gonna eat anything anyway. And I'm like, uh, I do eat. You have to eat five times, I eat five times a day. So what what weight are you on now, and what dose are you on now? So I got down my lowest, and this is something that I I do want to touch on this if if we have a moment. I got down to 119 pounds. Oh, which I wasn't trying to do that. But one thing I will say also that I didn't know at the time. I know that it's now something recognized in people, and it's definitely something to be aware of. When, especially when you've been in a larger body for so long and you don't know what it feels like to be in a smaller body, that scale and that close size become can become an obsession. Oh, yeah. For me, it was like, I want, you know, when the trial started, all I could think of is I just want to be under 300 pounds. Sure. When I got there, I just wanted to be under 200 pounds. When I got there, I'm like, you know what? Okay, I've never never really thought about this number. Never thought it was realistic. I'm like, I think 175 is gonna be a good number for me because again, I in my mind, I was big boned. So I got to 175 and I still didn't like what I saw. My upper body was smaller, like my thighs and legs could like, you know, if I took a picture, you could see they were they didn't look proportionate to my body. They still looked much larger. So I'm like, all right, well, I'm still not happy with what I'm seeing. And so I said, Well, I'm I'm not gonna give myself a number. I'm going to just go until I am happy with what I see, which is sort of twofold. Yeah, that doesn't always happen. Then it was like, oh, it would really be cool to lose 200 pounds to be able to say I lost 200 pounds. So I did that. Then I was in the 140s. So I'm like, you know, I'm like 141. I wonder if I could get to one in the 130s. Then I did that. Then it was like, well, what the heck? Let's see if I can get to the 120s. Like I was weighing, well, I still do. I'm still learning. This is gonna be for a forever process. But weighing myself two times a day, wanting a food, not needing it, not having like the you have to have it, but saying, no, no, I can't have that. No, I can't do that. And I I again realized like you wanted a healthy relationship. This is not a healthy relationship, and so it's very important to keep yourself in check. Yeah, it's very important to know when enough is enough, right? And I'll, you know, I have no problem saying, and I I'm actually I want to get this information out there. My body was not okay at 119. No, that's too little for your height, friend. I mean, you know, if you if going by the old school uh, you know, BMI and all that stuff, my team was like, hey, this is perfect. But you know, again, I I I didn't look I started to look unhealthy. Yeah. And but I was like, but it's 119. You know, who cares? It's 119. I'm in a size zero. I went from not being able to find clothes big enough to not being able to find clothes small enough. That's such a shopping in the kitchen, shopping in like I right now I can still wear um a youth large or youth extra large. And I was in a 3X or a 4X, right? 26, 28 pants. My son is a skinny twig, and I I'm taking his hand-me-down pants now. So I I talked to my doctor, my you know, primary care, asked him what he thought, and he asked me what I thought. What do you think about your weight? And I said, Well, like, I'm okay with it. You know what I mean? Like, I'm okay with I don't definitely don't think I need to lose anymore. And he, you know, I was doing my routine stuff, blood work and all that stuff. And he said, I mean, then I'm okay with it. I don't want you to lose anymore, though. Again, you know, have to know when to pump the brakes. And I started, my my blood work wasn't, it wasn't coming back bad, it wasn't coming back coming back great. My doctor sent me to do to an endocrinologist, uh, hematologist. The next thing I know, I'm being tested. They're doing blood tests for malabsorption. So I'm like, and it ended up being, you know, I that wasn't the case. Um, and truly, another thing I don't think people realize is it takes time for your body to understand and adjust to where you're at. Yes. My body has never been here before. And so it's kind of like, whoa, what's going on? What are we doing? It goes into starvation mode, you know. So learning all of that, it it's it runs so much deeper than just taking a medication and just weighing yourself and just drinking the water. There are so many more factors to consider. I feel like I've really gotten a great education. Right now, I hover between 125 and 130, which is fine with me. Sure. I mean, my clothes what's what's really funny though, my clothes don't fit any different that when I was 119 than they do at almost 130. And again, because I think the medication is keeping the inflammation in check. I've I've run the gamut of I I've done all the within you know a safe space with my doctors and things like that. I've done every option. I've done the microdosing, the spacing out. I've cycled, so I tried semaglutide. I actually got down to my lowest weight on semaglutide. I have done compound, same brand. I've tried different pharmacies of compound. Um, I've been on every dose, obviously, in the trial, you know, we went from 5, 10 to 15. Where I'm at right now, long story all the way around to this, is um I take somewhere between 7.5 and 10 because I am on compound, so I have a little bit of control with that with my doctor. I've gone times where it was months that I didn't take an injection at all. And then and I and I feel completely fine, you know, again, the it creeps back in a little bit and I have to just be more mindful, but I don't fight it. Wait, if it gets to the point where it's like I I don't feel in control, I have I don't I don't, you know, admit defeat. I just say, okay, my body needs the medication. And so it it really it depends. Sometimes I'll go a month or two and do a weekly injection. I'll go 10 days, a couple weeks, a couple of months. The the moral of the story is I listen to my body. I do what it I do what it needs, I do what it tells me. But I I feel like I'm a poster child for all the things that these things work against. Because again, one or two pounds doesn't do this. The inflammation does this. I'll be back to the point where I can't get my rings on when it's been a few weeks since I've had the medication. Nothing else is different, but now I can't get my rings on, or my cystic acne will start popping up again, even six years later, because these things exist in my body, they're still there. Right. It's not like it went away. It's not like you know, my brain changed, it's controlled with the medication. So I just have to keep reminding myself of that. It's doing what it's designed to do, and you know, that's that's kind of just how I live my day-to-day.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Well, Tara, this has been such an interesting interview. Thank you so much for all this depth and sharing and how the journey is is not over. And I would want to ask you, where can people connect with you? You mentioned TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

Yep, so I am on I'm I'm not, you know, quite as active as I was in the beginning on TikTok, more so just because I do feel like people like me who are in maintenance still have a platform as more people get to maintenance, but I sort of save space for people who are newer and really just kind of trying to, you know, find people who are are in that part of the journey, but I do still share. My TikTok is at tackling terra, and that was very intentional because again, this was not for me just about weight, this was really about changing my life. The weight was a part of it, but it was only a part, you know, there were so many more aspects. I am on LinkedIn, you know, my name is uh Tara Rothenhofer. You can find me on LinkedIn, um, you can find me on Facebook, I am on Instagram. I'm pretty sure my Instagram is also tackling Tara. You know, if anybody wants to reach out, has any questions, I promise you I am the first person. I answer every DM, you know, comment that I get. As long as it's not a, you know, you're not being a jerk, not being hateful or nasty. Although I answer some of those too. Sure. But I want to help people. And any opportunity I have to do that, I will take it. And I just think the more we talk about it, the more we share, the more we're doing our part to break down those walls and to tear down the stigma that, hey, you're fat because you, you know, you slob because you go to McDonald's. I haven't had McDonald's maybe five times in the last six years. Not because I don't want it. I mean, not because I can't have it, because I don't desire it. If I want it, I'll go get it. And I think that's what we that's what we need to, you know, take away from this is like normalcy, right? Have a piece of pizza, have the cookies, be normal, live your life, enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Tara, for sharing your story so bravely. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode of the GLP One Hub podcast. I've been wanting to have Tara on the podcast for a while because her story is so interesting about what really happens with these drug trials. I hope you found it as interesting as I did. And know there are many more drug trials coming around and down the pipeline. So, you know, there's there's a lot to look forward to here. I want to point out also that in the GLP1 Hub membership, we will be running a three-week challenge starting on August 17th to help you develop your own nutrition framework for GLP1 medication. So we'll be walking you through how to create a flexible nutrition framework that you can take anywhere with you on vacation, on restaurants, just try and figure out what to eat for breakfast. Because I don't really believe in strict food rules or lists or eat this, not that kind of stuff. But there are there is a little bit of structure that everybody could use. So if you are interested in that, make sure you are on the Steady State newsletter, which I send out every Tuesday. I will also be sending out more information about that challenge. And you can join the membership for just five dollars for the first month and get the challenge. So make sure you're on the newsletter, and I'll see you in the next episode.