A Real Client’s GLP-1 Journey

Watching GLP-1 weight loss drugs explode in popularity has created a weird mix of hype, shame, and bad information, so we wanted something simpler: a real story from a real person. Our client Chris joins us to share what four-plus months on Mounjaro has actually been like, starting at roughly 380 pounds and working down into the 330s while focusing on health, not just the scale. Chris walks us through his long dieting history, the familiar cycle of losing 30 to 70 pounds, hitting a plateau, and gaining it back, and why this time feels different. After a serious blood sugar spike and a diabetes diagnosis, he had to confront a hard truth: trying to “tough it out” alone wasn’t working. We talk about what changed when he stopped treating help as weakness and started treating medical support as one more tool in a bigger lifestyle plan.  We also dig into what many people don’t hear when they get prescribed a GLP-1: clear guidance on calories, protein, fiber, and nutrient quality. Chris explains how appetite suppression and getting full faster can be a game-changer, but also how easy it is to misuse that benefit if your food choices stay the same. He shares the side effects he’s noticed as his dose increases, how portion sizes had to recalibrate, and why “lose weight to be healthy” is the only goal that actually holds up.  If you’re curious about GLP-1 medications, Mounjaro, appetite control, side effects, and how to avoid rebound weight gain, this conversation will give you practical angles to think about and questions to bring to your doctor. Subscribe for more honest client stories, share this with a friend who’s considering GLP-1s, and leave a review with the biggest question you still have.

TUT Radio is a podcast about weight loss, behavior change, and building a healthier life without pretending you’re someone you’re not.

Hosted by father-and-son coaches Brian and Vincent of Time Under Tension, TUT Radio challenges many of the beliefs that have made weight loss unnecessarily difficult: that you need more discipline, that your favorite foods are the problem, or that success requires following a restrictive diet for the rest of your life.

Instead, we explore the psychology behind the way people eat—the habits, cravings, environments, memories, and experiences that shape our relationship with food—and how understanding those forces can help us create meaningful, lasting change.

We’ll talk nutrition, training, obesity, metabolism, food behavior, and the science of weight loss. But more importantly, we’ll talk about how to apply that science to a real human life.

 The goal isn't merely getting someone to lose weight; it's designing the path so they don't have to abandon it once they get there. 

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Transcript

Why We’re Talking GLP-1s\n

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Okay, so today we're talking with a client that has decided to use GLP1s to help him lose weight. This is a controversial topic, and we wanted to give you a real life testimony from an actual person and not a paid actor. So before we get into it, let's talk about your dieting history, Chris. And you can go back as far as you like. So go ahead, Chris. The show is yours.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you guys having me on. You know, love uh talking with you guys and listening into the show and and everything like that. And really excited to be able to uh kind of share my experience, you know, over the last few months with the GLP ones and then kind of my journey overall.

Chris’s Weight History And Plateaus\n

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Just a quick little background story on me. Uh 40-year-old male. I was as high as 380 pounds, essentially at the start of this year, January 1st at the start of this year. Pretty much my entire life since my 20s, I fluctuated between about 230 pounds to, you know, 350 pounds. You know, tried multiple different diets on my own, whether it's cutting out carbs, whether it's high protein, you know, trying to monitor calories on my own, all kinds of different, different pathways that you kind of learn and you kind of take. And, you know, you do this or you do that. And the biggest thing I've noticed is every time I always would lose weight, I'd lose 30 pounds, 40 pounds, sometimes as much as like 70, 60, 70 pounds. There would always be a point where I really would plateau out and then I would fall off the wagon, which would cause me to come back and then gain the weight right back because there was not a set, you know, lifestyle change and mentality change that really allowed me to be successful moving forward and to sustain it long term. And so that's why, you know, where I'm at now, I feel like that's a huge stepping stone that I've really taken over these last few months, you know, being on being on Monjaro, which is the drug that I'm personally taking. It's been a little, about four, a little over four months now. I'm down to 337 pounds, you know, lost over over 45, you know, 40 pounds, you know, since really starting the drug and since really focusing in on it. And it's been a great opportunity for me to, you know, not only lose the weight, but do it in a healthy way. And I think that's really, we'll we'll touch on it here more as we we go, but that's really an important piece of it for me and something that I've really learned in this journey is not just to lose weight, but how to lose weight and how to sustain it.

The Decision To Get Medical Help\n

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah. So, Chris, so give us an insight. Like tell us your about the decision you made to originally hop on GLP ones. Like what made you decide that this is a positive step for you to take?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yeah, absolutely. I I will say, you know, about three years ago, you know, I I really had a spike in in my blood sugar. I was diagnosed, you know, type one diabetic. You know, my A1C was through the roof, my my blood sugar was through the roof. And and, you know, at the time, you know, hey, you got to lose weight, you got to lose weight. And I really try to convince myself that I could do it on my own. And it worked for a little while, kind of like how we talked, it was, you know, hey, hey, you know, I lost 30, 40 pounds, and my blood sugar started going back down. Then it reached a point where that stopped, and then it went right back up. And it didn't feel sustainable. And so, you know, looking through things, you know, talking to my wife, talking to, you know, the doctor a little bit, and really just some soul searching on my own. I, you know, I really convinced myself is like, hey, don't be too prideful to get help. And to me, you know, taking that step and getting and going to the doctor and say, hey, this is something I want to do now was a big step for me. It was tough for me because I, you know, I'm not the type of person that normally likes to ask for help, you know, but there are things in life that, you know, if the medical technology and everything is there, then I think we're really doing ourselves a disservice to not look at other outside sources and and to use it not as, you know, a crutch to to lean on, but to use it as like a tool to actually, you know, help with the process. And so that was that was basically how what I convinced myself. And I think I'm super happy with the decision that I made.

What The Doctor Didn’t Spell Out\n

SPEAKER_02 4:22

The thing I wanted to ask you about was can you talk about what information you you received from the doctor about the best way to begin, you know, your medication treatment plan? So, in other words, was there a specific diet or exercise plan that your doctor recommended? Were there any, you know, details you got from your doctor about how the drugs actually work? So I'm only asking this because I want to make sure I think a lot of people watch a commercial, they decide that, hey, I want to take this drug. Then they go to the doctor and they're given the drugs, and then they just don't eat anymore. So t tell me about like how your experience was.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Right. Yeah, no, it's it's actually pretty, pretty similar to kind of what you described. You know, I have a great primary care doctor. I think she's amazing. She was super supportive in my decision, you know, to start on to on the Monjaro and on the GLP1s. But when we when we kind of sat down and really talked about it, you know, once once we made the decision to go forward with it, you know, she she told me, you know, you know, obviously gave me the warnings on what possible side effects could be. She told me that, you know, you know, your your hunger would be very suppressed, you wouldn't, you wouldn't be eating as much, you're, you know, you're gonna have a calorie deficit. She talked about that. But we never really specifically talked about what are the types of foods that you should be eating, what are the, you know, what what should we be doing to really supplement alongside the drug, you know, and that's something that, you know, was very, you know, fortunate to me. Fortunately, you know, having you guys around already having that pre-existing relationship and and you know, you guys are amazing and it made it great, you know, and so it's whether it's through that or or any other type of option, I feel like a lot of people when they start up these drugs, that they don't have that other knowledge. And it really, you know, can hinder the long-term effects of taking the drugs, you know, and the short-term results, you know what I mean? Because you don't get hungry and it does you no good to have a suppressed hunger if you're eating McDonald's every single meal, you know, because you're still gonna eat, even if you're eating less McDonald's, you still might be eating 25, 3,000, 2,500 or 3,000 calories worth of McDonald's every day. That's very easy to do, even if you're eating less. And so, and and you know, you want to make sure, you know, you get the right proteins, you get the right fibers, some of the other options that you have, so that not only are you losing weight, but you're losing weight in a way that's allowing you to be healthy. And that's really important. And that's something that the doctor really didn't provide. I had to initiate the conversation.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Right. Did she even give you like a and I know your doctor's a good doctor, but did she give you a range? Did you say, listen, try and eat at least X amount of calories a day?

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Nothing specific. Like there wasn't anything written down. I mean, she she made the comments of like, hey, just you know, you're gonna you're not gonna feel as hungry. You want to make sure you keep eating. But it wasn't like you need to make sure you're still eating 1,500 calories a day, or you're still eating X amount of protein a day, you know, and you're still getting this, you're still getting that, or you know, like we never we never discussed, hey, you know, because you're gonna be eating less, you might be getting less of the nutrients, nutrients you need. Consider possibly doing a multivitamin, doing all kinds of things like that. Just little things like that never never came up in conversation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

It's interesting to me because it's such a it's such a big, like you, it's a lot of effort on your part to do this the right way. And so when they just prescribe it with no real instruction, especially when it comes to something as as pivotal to weight loss as energy balance, like how many calories should I eat, Doc? You know what I mean? I give me something here because I understand I'll I'm gonna take it and we're gonna get into, you know, you've you've already touched on the fact that, you know, you're not as hungry all the time. But like, you know, what what do I do next? So, so Chris, I want you to kind of expand on that for us a little bit because you've already, again, mentioned that, you know, you're not as hungry. Tell us about some of the other side effects that you have experienced so far, if any, while taking Manjaro.

Side Effects And Portion Reality\n

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah, so, you know, with that, I'll start out by saying, you know, for myself and from what I've talked from talking to other people, most of the time, anybody that starts the drugs, what they'll basically do is they'll start you off on a beginner dosage, a very, very minimal dosage that you'll do for your first month. And then after your first month, you know, that dosage gets doubled, then it goes up to, you know, then it goes up a little bit more. And then it, you know, it continues to increase until you reach basically a level of like, okay, we're not gonna go any stronger with this dosage, because you're starting to feel the side effects. Right now I'm on the third level of the dosages that I've had. And for the first, for the first couple of you know, dosages, I didn't have a ton of side effects. It was really just the the decreased hunger, the feeling of, you know, not only getting hungry less often, but you're also getting hungry or you're getting full faster. And so what I experienced, at least especially at the beginning, was before your your mind and your eyes are used to getting hungry faster, you overeat because you're used to saying, you know, I like to give the example of Pollo Tropical, which is a local, you know, restaurant fast food, you know, it's like rice bowls that we have down here in Florida. And, you know, they have a full a full-size portion and then they have a half-size portion. I used to be able to eat the full-size portion like it was no problem. You know, sometimes could even get like a side dish or something on the side as well, in addition to it, and would easily be able to put that down, no issues at all. I'd feel full afterwards, but not crazy. You know, after taking the drug, I could only I could only get the the smaller, the smaller portion of it and only eat about half of it. Now you know like you can't eat to those levels that you ate before. Like your body is just not gonna want you, it's not gonna be able to handle that. You know, and so being able to cut that back, and then I, you know, the more I did that, and the more I started, you know, getting getting up, getting food and making plates at home, is just really cutting the portions down. And then, you know, if I'm still hungry, then okay, well, okay, we know we can we can afford to go have a little bit more, but let's go ahead and cut it down and see how your body feels afterwards. And really, you know, I would say 49 times out of 50, you know, I'm good after that four first portion of whatever I make it. So now that I've gotten into the third, a little more higher dosage, I did start to feel really the first week. I'm on the third week of that dosage right now. That first week, I did start to feel a little bit of the nausea, a little bit of, you know, not the I know diarrhea is one that people have talked about. I I've fortunately not experienced that yet, because I know that's not one that a lot of people like to talk about or think about. Right. Fortunately, been enough to not to not do that. But there was definitely a couple days in there where where the nausea was there. Next, next week I'll start the uh the the next, the fourth level, essentially, which is is kind of the level where you know at that point they'll they'll reassess. I have another doctor's appointment, they'll reassess what we want to do. But as of right now, it's really been minimalized. And I think a lot of that is is no different than when you're not on the drug. If you don't eat healthy and you don't eat smart, the side effects are gonna be worse. You know, and I think that's that's one of the biggest, you know, takeaways that I've really had from it, is really trying to focus on what your body needs, not what you think your body wants. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

So let me ask you this question.

Coming Off The Drug Without Rebound\n

SPEAKER_02 12:00

So now that you know, clearly, you know, your appetite is better controlled, are you nervous about the fact that when you're done and you come off the drugs, are you worried about gaining the weight back?

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Not really. Not like I, you know, I have been in the past because and you know, I think we might touch on this a a little bit later. Is, you know, there's been some massive lifestyle changes with my diet when it comes to like I don't eat fast food nearly as much. I don't completely exclude it. I I won't say I've had zero fast food in the last four months, that would be a lot. I think a lot of us, you know, we can we can eat less than we think we can and it'll make us full, even without the drug. And I think, you know, so when I get off the drug eventually, because you know, this is not something that I plan on taking for my entire life, you know, I still have quite a ways to go on my journey. But there will be a time where I get off of it. I I think that I'm more prepared now than I've ever been in the past, just because of the knowledge on my body, the knowledge like the things that I've seen, the things that I see that work and just the way that I feel, you know, knowing how how how much energy natural energy I have, knowing, you know, this better sleep that I've been able to get, you know, eating this way and and having this kind of situation, I feel like I'm gonna be in a better spot moving forward, coming off of it.

Advice For Anyone Considering GLP-1s\n

SPEAKER_01 13:25

So, Chris, I'll ask you this last question. As somebody who's been on the drug for four months already, what advice would you give to listeners who might be considering hopping on some of these weight loss medications?

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, absolutely. I I would say first and foremost, you know, make sure that you you are in a situation that, you know, you have the tools necessary around you to do it properly. There's zero point in losing weight if you don't lose weight to be healthy. You know, this isn't, you know, you you see you see celebrities do it all the time, you see other people do it all the time. They lose weight to lose weight. You know, okay, I've been 200, you know, it doesn't matter if you're 380 pounds and you're trying to get to 220, or if you're 160 pounds and you're trying to get to 130. It doesn't matter what it is. If you lose the weight and you're not healthy, it will do you no good. You won't, you won't feel better, you won't sleep better, you won't have more energy, you won't have your life will not be better because of it. You know, you might mentally feel better because you fit into a different t-shirt, you know, and that'll last for a day, a couple days, a week, maybe. But if you want to actually improve your life, you need to make sure you do this the right way. And it might take a little bit longer. And that's what I would tell people is be prepared for this to be a journey, not a quick fix, because it's not what it is. You got to do it a journey. It goes back to like you guys were talking about how to make sure you do it and sustain it once you're off the drug. That's and that's the most important part of it is you want to make sure you do it smart. If you're gonna do this and you want to do it because you care about yourself and you care about your health, and you want to live older in life, you want to live healthier when you're older in life, you gotta make sure you do it the right way. Right on, man.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

So if I can sum this up for you, would you agree with a couple of these statements? One, if you're deciding that you are are gonna go on GLP1s or these weight loss drugs, that you then one, make sure that you are prepared for a longer journey, that this isn't a quick fix. Two, it's super important that you want to educate yourself about what are the effects of the drug and not just the side effects, but the long-term effects. And then third, if it would say that it's really important to eat the right thing so that at the end of this whole long journey, you want are a healthier person, which you've mentioned more than once, and you don't experience that rebound. Is that fair to say?

SPEAKER_00 15:52

100%.

Three Takeaways And Closing

SPEAKER_02 15:53

Well, then we're gonna wrap it up with that. Hopefully that gives people who are listening today some guidelines about you know whether they're considering taking these types of drugs. Chris, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. I know we'll speak to you again and again. Just to remind everybody, uh, he is now six months into this journey right now and is about 40 pounds down and has done an amazing job as he as he kind of talked about. So thank you again, everybody, for listening. And again, thanks, Chris, and we will talk to you guys soon.