246. You Lost the Weight… So Why Doesn't It Feel Like Enough?

You lost the weight. You hit your goal. So why doesn't it feel like enough?

Maybe this speaks to you. You're taking a GLP-1, you've hit your goal, but somehow now it doesn't seem like enough. Now you want more.

In this episode, Dr. Adrienne Youdim explores the perils and exhaustion of chasing more—and what the practice of weight loss has taught her about our deeper hunger and our lack of satisfaction with ourselves.

What You'll Learn:

• The science of "too much weight loss"—What is and isn't possible on GLP-1s and why these medications have a natural ceiling effect
• The hedonic treadmill explained—Why your brain adapts to any win and immediately resets expectations for more
• How culture capitalizes on dissatisfaction—The cost of living in a world that celebrates "lose more, do more, earn more, achieve more, be more"

"The scale may change… but the mind always is itching for more. This is what psychologists call the hedonic treadmill: We adapt quickly to any win—then reset our expectations." — Dr. Adrienne Youdim

The Three-Part Framework for Reclaiming Enoughness:

Regulate: Celebrate What You've Accomplished

Before: Constantly moving the goalpost, dismissing achievements, staying stuck in "not enough yet"

After: Pausing to honor your wins, recognizing how far you've come, giving yourself credit

Restore: Make Peace with the Plateau

Before: Viewing stability as stagnation, equating plateau with failure, addiction to constant forward motion

After: Understanding plateau as integration, adjustment, and real life—a place to actually live in your achievement

Reframe: Redefine "More" as Depth, Not Quantity

Before: Chasing more in numbers—pounds lost, hours worked, goals achieved, control over your body

After: Pursuing more as deeper presence, greater alignment, joy in simple moments, emotional freedom, connection to your body

The Practice:

Today, pause and ask:

• "What am I really chasing?"
• "What would enough look and feel like—for me?"
• "And how can I give myself permission to arrive there?"

Explore this further with Dr. Youdim's book Hungry for More—available on Amazon and Audible. 

3 Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You

1. Subscribe to Dr. Adrienne's weekly newsletter https://www.dradrienneyoudim.com/newsletter
2. Connect on Instagram : Follow @dradrienneyoudim for tips and inspiration on well-being and peak performance.
3. Come back next week — Every episode of Health Bite explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual hungers that drive us, and delivers the essential “nutrients” you need to thrive.

Transcript

Maybe this speaks to you. You are talking a GLP1, you have hit your goal but somethow now it does not seem like enough. now you want more. 

This week we are going to talk about the perils and exhaustion of chasing more. And what the practice of weight loss has taught me about our deeper hunger. Our Lack of satisfaction with outseves the desire for more- 

I wonder how many of you are driving yourselves to over-eating, over-drinking, over-working and people-pleasing.
 As a physician, mother and type A personality, I know first hand how we neglect ourselves in the pursuit of doing it all and how it can leave us hungry for more.

I'm Dr. Adrienne Youdim—physician, author, and expert in medical weight loss and mind-body medicine—and I help high-achieving professionals understand the deeper hungers that lead to burnout, reactivity and self-sabotaging behaviors.

And you're listening to HealthBite. Each week we will explore essential nutrients to help you shift from self-neglect to self-respect, vitality, and intention so you can achieve personal and professional success without sacrificing your health and well-being.

You lost the weight. You hit your goal. Remember that 20 pounds you prayed you could lose? You reached a healthy range, maybe you got rid of prediabetes or some blood pressure issues or fatty liver and yet
instead of feeling proud and at ease you feel like it’s still not enough.
Five more pounds. Maybe even 5 more. I cannot tell you how many of my patients are grapling with this- whether they are on GLP1 drugs or not, it is not enough and they are grappling for more.

And that right there, my friends is the deeper issue.
not the fear of too little, but the endless hunger for more.

Today’s episode will explore both:

• What the science says about “too much weight loss” What is and is not possible on GLP-1s
• And the more subtle but powerful conversation around why we’re never satisfied, even when the goal is met
  
  
  

Let’s address the clinical question first.

GLP-1 medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide are not unlimited weight-loss drugs.
 They slow appetite, reduce food intake, and support healthier metabolic patterns,
 but there is a ceiling effect.

What we know from studies:

• Average weight loss is 15–22% of body weight
  
  
  
• Some patients lose more, some less, but almost everyone eventually plateaus
  
  
  
• The body adjusts — both metabolically and behaviorally
  
  
  

That being said, I often come across a conversation with patients when they have reached and exceeded their goal weight, they have achieved the health benefits they set out to improve and are within a goal BMI range (even though that is not the goal-ie hitting a certain BMI) but nonetheless they are there or are at the lower end. And the right thing to do is to maintain and so we need to stay or even reduce the dose in order to maintain and yet people are reluctant. They want to push the envelop and see how much more they can lose.

They want more. Always more, no matter what. 

SO the real question is:

“Why aren't we happy?” WHy are we always hungry for more?

Here’s the truth:
 The scale may change… but the mind always is itching for more.

This is what psychologists call the hedonic treadmill:
 We adapt quickly to any win—then reset our expectations.

Let’s talk about the hedonic treadmill, because even if you haven’t heard the term before, I’m willing to bet you’ve lived it.

This is a concept from positive psychology that explains how humans have a tendency to quickly return to a baseline level of happiness, even after positive life changes.
 

The term was first coined in the 1970s, and has since been backed by decades of research—including studies showing that lottery winners and people who experience major life success eventually return to the same general level of emotional well-being they had before or even lower level of wellbeing.

Why- because the 

Your brain is wired to adapt. It gets used to the new car, the new job, the new body. And then- here is the messed up part- now it wants more
 That new weight you worked so hard for?
 The success brings a spike in satisfaction… but over time, your nervous system normalizes it. The novelty fades. And the craving for “more” kicks in again.

This adaptation isn’t personal—it’s biological.
 It once served us as a species by motivating continued action, growth, and survival.
 But in modern life, where achievement and image are constantly on display, this drive toward “more” can become exhausting, demoralizing, and toxic.

The result?
 You’re constantly chasing an ideal that keeps moving, just out of reach.

Can anyone out there relate? I certainly can. 

The truth is we are wired for this behavior and Our World takes advantage of this inherent inclination and capitalizes on our Dissatisfaction

Our culture feeds this hunger.

We live in a world that celebrates more

• Lose more.
• Do more.
  
  
  
• Earn more.
• Achieve more
  
  
  
• Be more

YOu work hard, achieve the goal And  then suddenly what you worked so hard for—feels like not enough.

And even if we were satisfied- a moments scroll thru social media sets off a spiral of comparison and dissatisfaction. 

But this wiring has a cost.

While the constant pursuit of “more” may look like motivation, it steals our joy, our peace our health and wellbeing. 

• Because we dont pause long enough to celebrate
  
  
  
• because we’re stuck comparing and performing
  
  
  
• because we push harder, to reach arbitrary goals
• Because we never give ourselves time to just be
  
  
  

Even as the body changes, the mind stays stuck in scarcity. 
 If we don’t challenge this, GLP-1s become just another tool for self-judgment, not self-liberation. And as you can see I am obviously not just talking about the weight loss. 

💡 Part 5: Reclaiming Enoughness (~4–5 min)

So Let’s talk about what it looks like to shift from “more” to enough.

1. Celebrate the good. Take time to celebrate what you have accomplished. Remember your old self, the one who said they would be so happy if

-I just lost 10 pounds, 

-I got that degree

- I could afford my own X

Think back to the old version of you who may have never dreamed you would be where you are. YOu might not see it from this vantage point but the younger version of you does.

2. Be OK with the plateau-

Stability may not be as exciting as forward motion but it is value.  

The plateau is integration. Adjustment. Life.
Allow yourself to live here for a while.”

Remind yourself that what may feel like boredom is not backsliding. And on that note - consider how you might be addicted to more. No one could blame you, thats where we have all been hijacked. Our instant and abundant access to everything has failed to set realistic expectations in our lives. Remember when we had to wait till next week or next season of our TV show- if you are a certain age you have no idea what I am talking about but your parents do. But you know- there was something valuable there- teaching us patience and satisfaction. 

2. About Satisfaction- Practice it

Ask yourself:

• What has change, or what have i done that I am proud of?
  
  
  

NOw savor it. 

Give yourself permission to be satisfied with your accomplishments and make an active practice of savoring.

Compliment yourself, celebrate yourself, acknowledge and validate yourself. And dont be afraid to do it again and again. Satisfaction and savroing is a practice that must be cultivated.

Finally Redefine “More” as Depth, Not Quantity

We often chase more in numbers: pounds lost, hours worked, goals achieved.
 But what if “more” meant:

• Deeper presence
  
  
  
• More alignment
  
  
  
• More joy in simple moments
  
  
  
• Energy
  
  
  
• Presence
  
  
  
• Emotional freedom
  
  
  
• More connection to your body instead of control over it
  
  
  
  

What if that was the “more” you’re really hungry for?

So today, I invite you to pause and ask:

“What am I really chasing?”
 “What would enough look and feel like—for me?”
 “And how can I give myself permission to arrive there?”

I encourage you explore this further with Hungry for MOre- found on Amazon and Audible. 

And Thank you for joining us on today’s episode. If you love what you hear—help us spread the word by leaving us a review and sharing the episode with someone you love.

Until next time, I’m Dr. Adrienne Youdim, and this has been your HealthBite.
 Wishing you good health, mind, body, and soul.