Better Me with BodyByBree
Better Me with BodyByBree
GLP-1 Client Experiences Part 2: Andrea & Julia
Discover how GLP-1 medications are reshaping the landscape of weight management and health conditions such as PCOS. Through a tapestry of personal stories, including Alyssa's successful weight maintenance journey, Ashley's relief from PCOS symptoms, Andrea's wellness transformation, and Julia's candid decision to cease semaglutide due to adverse effects, we explore the multifaceted impact these medications can have on individuals. Our conversations with experts and clients aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and risks, empowering you to make informed choices about your health in collaboration with your healthcare provider.
This episode also highlights the challenges and considerations of using GLP-1 medications, such as managing "semaglutide gut" and the importance of balanced approaches combining diet, exercise, and supplements. Julia's raw insights into the emotional and physical hurdles of weight loss drugs remind us of the broader implications on mental well-being and self-image. Ultimately, we advocate for a holistic view of health, one that transcends medication as a quick fix and embraces education, support, and a mindset prioritizing overall well-being. Join us as we navigate these personal experiences and expert insights to foster healthier, more empowered lifestyles.
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Are you looking for a space where you will learn to improve your mental strength, emotional health and heal your insecurities from the inside out? Take the first step to living a more meaningful life with the Better Me with Body by Brie podcast. I'm your host, brie. I'm a certified personal trainer, entrepreneur and mother of three. I've helped empower thousands of women to take action through fitness, nutrition, meditation, personal development and aligning thoughts with action. This podcast is for those who are ready to feel inspired and motivated to live a more purposeful life. Let's grow together.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Better Me with Body by Brie podcast, where we dive deep into the tools and strategies that empower you to take control of your health and wellbeing. Today, we're tackling one of the hottest topics in the wellness world right now Ozempit, also known as semi-glutide, or another common GLP-1 known as trizepatine. It's a medication making waves for weight loss, but there's more to the story than quick results. We'll explore the benefits it promises, the dangers that come with it and how to navigate your fitness and nutrition journey. If you're considering or already on this medication, let's break it down together, because it's not just about weight loss. It's about making sure you are healthy from the inside out. For the last four months, I have dug deep into the peptide world, learning from workshops, podcasts, research journals and interviewing top experts in the field, and I wanted to share what I found with all of my followers so that they can make an informed decision for their own health. It's important for me to cover all the risks, the benefits and first-hand experiences to bring a very raw and vulnerable insight. This episode is part two of a three-part series all about the truth behind GLP-1 medication, the benefits, risks and what you need to know. In this episode, I interview four clients who have had personal experiences with GLP-1s and their stories. I wanted to highlight Alyssa, who lost 60 pounds on semi-glutide and then weaned herself off and kept her results by training with the Body by Brie team and focusing on lifting to build muscle and shifting her lifestyle habits for life.
Speaker 1:Ashley has PCOS and tried a microdose of triseptide after her husband, who is a doctor, suggested that it could help with her symptoms and she was able to get off of her spiralactone medication that she was previously taking for her PCOS. Andrea has been on triseptide for six months now and says it's been an answer to her prayers she can quiet the food noise and stick to her macros and continue lifting to feel her best. Julia was on the one of the first rounds of semi-glutide and she didn't like how it made her feel. She decided to wean herself off because she didn't like being on medication and it did make her feel sick. I wanted to try to get you a sample of a lot of different firsthand experiences so you can make your own decision for yourself.
Speaker 1:I'm in no way pushing people to get on this medication. My goal is to educate and then let you decide what's best for you. I'm not a medical professional and I have no medical background, so, as always, please speak to your trusted medical provider If you have questions. Let's learn together. This is Andrea and her personal experience with triseptide. Hi, andrea, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm so good. How are you? I'm good. Welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited. I love that you were ready to do this. Last minute I was talking to her and I'm like hang on, we got to share your story. Can I record our conversation? You're such a good sport. I'm just always ready for a podcast. You, you're such a good sport. I'm always ready for a podcast. You are, you're such a good. I thought it was important to share your perspective because you're unique in the fact that you are super healthy. You've been working out, consistently, tracking your macros. You have all these healthy habits and you are using GLP-1s as a tool in your toolbox to get you where you need to be. But let's start from the beginning. Tell everyone a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I have. Actually, I think I've been. I was just thinking in my mind. I've been a client for probably three years, but we met a year ago at retreat met a year ago at retreat and I work in an HR job, a desk job. I I've probably developed some food issues from a young age. Uh, I feel like just genetically, I have a fair amount of of muscle mass and so that's always made it hard to lose weight when you just feel dense. But yeah, I've just been working with my Body by Breathe program and I love it. But yeah, I just was not seeing results the way I wanted it to be and that's why I was feeling so, so discouraged.
Speaker 1:You felt like something was off, Like you've been telling me that for a while. Like Kate guys, I'm hitting my macros Like something is off. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing and you're so good at working out and doing all the things, so yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:I just was at a point where I thought something's got to change. And I wasn't. My A1C wasn't in the pre-diabetic range, I didn't meet the markers for having this. My insurance cover this. So I went to my doctor and said what can I be doing? Because this is what I am doing with my workout program, my eating, but what can I do to see results? Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:So what did they say when you said that?
Speaker 2:She was super positive about it. I said this is what I'm thinking and she said, yeah, let's give it a try. I've seen some clients have seen our clients patients see some really good success using using this. Um. I'm on a compounded triseptide.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's what I was going to ask so you're on triseptide and she was encouraging it. So tell us kind of what was going through your mind. You were excited about doing it? Had you researched it? Were you nervous about starting it? Do you have any hesitations? What were you thinking when you were on this journey of starting?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was nervous that I would be told well, you're not in this diabetic range, so no, or I I've. I actually came. I was diagnosed with the condition earlier this year. I was nervous about would my, would my condition match up with match up with this medicine? And so I actually talked to my primary care and my allergist, who are both very positive, because my allergist was saying, yeah, actually there's some good studies where we've seen some they're seeing really good results from the GLP-1s helping patients in with asthma and other kind of inflammatory conditions, and so she was really positive about that. But I was nervous, thinking, okay, giving myself injections, that sounds really scary. I've never done something like that before. Is this going to work? Am I going to be throwing up or having really bad intestinal problems? I didn't want to introduce that into my life because I've been trying to kind of eliminate some of those things like reflux from my life.
Speaker 2:So this was really kind of unknown to jump into it. But I was really, really surprised, and really happily surprised, at how she reacted to me asking the question and was really on board and supportive. Yeah, and she wanted to know other things that I was doing as well my lifestyle, not just giving me a medication as an easy fix, but to say what's your lifestyle like?
Speaker 1:Are you working out? Are you hitting protein? Do you have these healthy habits?
Speaker 2:I'm glad that she asked those questions for you. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So what did you feel when you first started? You started on the lowest dose, yeah, so.
Speaker 2:I don't know how it translates to the other because it's compounded Right. I was on 20 units. It was compounded with B6 and B12. And I started at 20 units and B12. And I started at 20 units and I actually was feeling really good. You know, first day of injection, my first couple of weeks, I did feel a little bit of like soreness, but, and never any. I really haven't had any nausea or even any intestinal pain at all.
Speaker 1:Probably because you're on such a low dose, like 20 is very low, that's like the starting dose, very, very low Like yeah, yeah, okay, keep going.
Speaker 2:So initially with the, with the lower dose, I just started recognizing when I would feel full. And that was something that was kind of missing in my life of, and I felt like, oh my gosh, this is where I've been self-sabotaging because, without even realizing it, because you're, I was misreading hunger cues and like the satiety wasn't there exactly, and so now I'm kind of able to eating and I can say you know what I'm done, or there's treats or things that I've been wanting, you know, that were kind of calling my name before.
Speaker 2:It's like I'm good, I can actually say no and move on with life instead of just constantly feeling like I was on the prowl for something to seduce me, yeah, so you felt really good on it, like you're happy with your experience.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm very happy. I'm sleeping better, my skin is better. I, I, I. When I upped my dose, because we went from 20 units to 40 units, I did experience some um, irregularity, a little bit of bloating, but I've been able to manage that because I'm really watching my protein and my fiber. Really, holding in on fiber has been a huge change just in even the last week or two. But I'm also balancing this with this. I have a whey allergy and so that's kind of also I'm kind of trying to understand was that too much dairy? Was that too much?
Speaker 1:of this. But that's like is the bloating from this or from what you're eating? That's hard to tell why did you bump it up?
Speaker 2:So I was realizing, or is recognizing, that by about day five after my dose it was wearing, I could tell it was wearing off. I was getting that like I'm hungry, I'm looking for things and I just said and honestly, my weight loss was just like petering out. That was probably about six weeks in.
Speaker 1:Okay, that was my question how long before you felt like you had to up it a little bit?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was about six weeks in and but I feel like this dose I'm at right now I can sustain this for a while. I'm seeing, I'm my, my, uh, the symptoms, I guess, or the reaction to, or those negative results, the negative feelings from. It is just kind of where I'm able to manage those but still seeing weight loss.
Speaker 1:It's still it's minimal, but that's what you want. You want it to be slow and steady, or you will lose your muscle and you want to be able to eat. I like hearing that. I'm like great.
Speaker 2:Part of your brain is saying lose weight fast, because that's what you see people doing. But my other, more rational part of my brain is saying it's okay.
Speaker 1:It's good, it's healthy.
Speaker 2:This is what you want it to be yes, because I'm maintaining my muscle mass, I have good energy, I'm losing, you know, between one to two pounds a week, sometimes less.
Speaker 1:That's perfect.
Speaker 2:One to two pounds a week is golden, yeah, and so I've been really happy with that and just how I feel and the food noise is a big one. I was thinking about that the other day, kind of even saying what is food noise. I was having that conversation with my sister and she's like remember how you had that food.
Speaker 2:I developed a food fixation, kind of out of a stressful situation. It was about two years ago and for a a year I was just I couldn't do anything, focus on this one brand of chip and I was eating way too much of it and I cut it off and I've not had it for a year but I still every day. It was just like I need this and it was like an addiction. It was an addiction, yeah, and I have. I've realized I've not desired that for at least four months why I could go and I was like me in my skin and then seeing results from my efforts has been such a confidence booster because I was just constantly down on myself. I felt like a failure and it was translating into other areas of my life where I just felt like I can't do anything right. I can't even control my hunger, I can't control my body, All of these things. I know I have a control issue, but that was just really-.
Speaker 1:No, that takes a toll on you mentally and even talking.
Speaker 2:so I work with a primary care physician, an allergist and a therapist and my Body by Brief team. I have this whole team around me to feel like I am worthy of good things and also just feeling like I can make this happen.
Speaker 1:It's hope I can achieve this. It's giving you hope.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and to feel proud of yourself, like, yeah, I love that. That's. I'm like we need to remove the shame. We need to remove the shame of this. People just don't understand and that was me.
Speaker 1:I am the person that didn't understand. Like I only saw people throwing up, losing hair, losing muscle mass and I'm like why are we trading being healthy for being skinny people? But I didn't realize that you could do two, I guess, programs or two ways, and one is the obesity route and the other one is a longevity route and it's microdosing these smaller micro doses where people feel amazing and peptides are naturally occurring in the body and so when you start seeing people using these like this is better than you know if you were to do any like a different medication where you're introducing a foreign substance into your body. Like GLP ones are naturally occurring and they're part of a branched chain amino acid. So I do feel like there's a healthy way to do this and I do feel like it's exciting to see the success of clients that are doing it the healthy way and that feel amazing and I can see like the light in your eyes.
Speaker 1:You're just like you're like I feel so good, I'm so happy and that's amazing for you and and I think you did it the right way by having a support team and not trying to do it on your own and not going as high as you can, like staying as low as you can for as long as you can. Yeah, what do your doctors say about how long you can be on it, or can you be on it forever? Do you need to cycle off? Like what are they saying to you?
Speaker 2:You know I've been seeing her every month and so I'm on month. So I just finished my fourth month. So, um, actually no third month. And um, I've, I'm following up with my doctor every four weeks and and really they've told me that this is safe enough to you could be on it for a life if you needed it. Right, mainly for diabetic reasons. Right, I'm not diabetic. So I first, I see myself giving to a comfortable weight. I know that I'm not because of my, my genetics. I know I'm never going to be Jennifer Aniston. You know that's'm not because of my, my genetics.
Speaker 2:I know I'm never going to be Jennifer Aniston you know that's just right how my build, but I know I can give you a healthy weight where I feel strong. That's my main. My main goal is strong and and just feeling my best, where I can enter the next half of my life feeling like I can. I can be strong and take care of myself and the needs I have. But I I foresee myself probably tapering off once I get to a desired weight and how I feel and just I don't know what that weight is. I hate to put a number on it. I just want to feel strong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you'll know. I think you'll know I've had some friends that they were on it and I had one friend lose 60 pounds and three of those pounds were muscle because she lifted every day. She was really intentional. She took, I think it was seven or eight months to lose the weight. It was a very slow, steady process and then, because she was doing all the foundational things, when she weaned off of it, she completely weaned off of it.
Speaker 1:She's like I feel amazing. She didn't gain any of the weight back and she's like I feel so good and that was promising to me to be like, okay, you could be on it forever if you needed, but also, if you don't want to be, you don't have to be Exactly and it doesn't automatically mean that you're going to gain the weight back. If you have these foundational habits. And also I think it helps, like you said, with that food noise, I feel like it also helps when you're eating healthy, then you recognize how good your body feels and so, even if you are off of it, I do feel like you're going to remember, you know, oh, I feel so good not eating that sugar or not eating the junk food, or man, that feels so good to not be bloated and now my gut health feels so good. It's like giving you that little push that maybe people need.
Speaker 2:So yeah, exactly, and some of the things I have in my little arsenal of supplements that helps me. Digestive enzymes, I mean no one's going to say this yes, but my digestive enzymes, my probiotics, I mean those were always daily for me.
Speaker 2:But I'm taking fiber, I'm just trying to help my body run its best, which there's a lot of things that I had been running. I didn't realize it wasn't normal. Yeah, that, like TMI, you know your regularity of your bowel movements. I didn't realize what I was experiencing was not normal, right, and now I'm having more normal experiences there and I'm like, wow, this is what a person's supposed to feel like. This is kind of cool.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. That's so cool. I'm so happy for you, Andrea. I really am so happy for you. I'm so glad that you're doing this in the healthiest way possible. You have a supportive team around you. You have your Body by Breed team that's cheering you on and helping to make sure that you're hitting your calories, which you are, and I mean she's still eating.
Speaker 1:You guys, like 1,800 calories, like three meals a day, snacks, like you are still eating. You're not not eating. And I think when we see those scary stories, it's the people that are on way too high of a dose and they're not eating and they're malnourished, and that's when you see the scary stuff happen.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I'm, I'm enjoying. I'm enjoying cheat. I'll say treat meals, yeah, and even right now I ran out of my daily chocolate. I have like two dove chocolates with my lunch and I feel like this is great. And I have a cookie every once in a while. I just am enjoying that. And I have a cookie every once in a while. I just am enjoying that. I can eat like a normal person and still see results, because I'm really putting in this work. And when I showed the doctor, I pulled up my body by Brie app and I showed her this is what I'm doing and this is how I track, and she was like this is fantastic, I'm so glad you're doing this, so yeah, and then that team, I can't just.
Speaker 2:I'm just so happy, I'm just, I'm just found this happiness inside me. Even people who have no idea what I'm doing outside of work, in the gym, whatever they're saying, there's something, there's something different about you, what's, what's different? And I'm like there's something, there's something different about you, what's?
Speaker 1:what's different and I'm like I just feel so good. Yeah, it's that hope, that confidence, that inner confidence. You know that you're keeping your word with yourself, that you are making progress, like that's everything. So whether you're you're on triseptide or not, that's an amazing feeling. You know like that's just such a good feeling. And yeah, I'm really, really proud of you and I'm happy that you can keep these healthy habits and be with the Body by Breed team and continue to, you know, build that muscle and feel your best.
Speaker 2:So I just consider it one of the tools in my toolbox, my little arsenal of things that are helping me feel my best, and yeah, I just was. I've been so inspired by your team and by others I've seen and just really what it was just looking to find find Andrea inside, inside Cause.
Speaker 3:I knew she was in there.
Speaker 2:I just needed to find her.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm so happy for you, Andrea. Thank you for sharing your story and being vulnerable and getting it out there. I think you're going to help a lot of people with your story.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thanks to you and everything you've done for me, I'm just so happy?
Speaker 1:Why are you getting emotional? What are you feeling?
Speaker 2:Because it's just that notion of like I was. I was always a chubby kid and I was told I was told that by everyone and I thought chubby was a cute word until I realized it wasn't and what they were really saying and I've just never felt like I was seen for who I am. But I've always been, if you think about, like there's the main character in a movie and I'm always the chubby funny friend and I feel like I'm finally finding myself at 45. I'm finding my worth. I knew it was there and weight loss shouldn't matter, but I just, for all the things I've tried, for all the things I've felt and felt like a failure in this has been such a such a freeing experience to realize I can do hard things and and it pays off.
Speaker 1:Yes, you don't feel like you're treading in mud, you feel like your efforts are working. Yep, that's so beautiful and it is an emotional experience. All of this is so emotional, so I'm glad that you shared that part of your journey, because that's the why, right? That's the whole reason, the whole reason behind everything. It's not just to fit in your genes, that's not why. Finding that deeper, why is so powerful and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to what you just said.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing and being so vulnerable. I just love you, andrea. You're such a light. You're the main character in my life, andrea, you're such a joy. You're the leading lady. You're the leading lady you like. Bring so much joy to any room that you walk into, like. You're just such a gem and so special and I'm really happy that this is helping you feel more confident about yourself. Thank you.
Speaker 2:I think it started back honestly. I mean, I've been a client for a while, but it started at retreat. I found Andrea and so that's where I was like I know she's in there.
Speaker 1:I've got to release this beast yes, she's talking about our Body by Brie retreat that we did. Oh, I love that and and I saw a part of that when you were going down that slide that was terrifying jumped off the ledge, jumping off the high dive that everyone's terrified to do. You're like, I got this. I saw that andrea coming out. That's so fun. Well, thank you for sharing your story. I really appreciate you, andrea, thanks Brie, thank you.
Speaker 1:I'll talk to you later. Bye, this is Julia and her personal experience weaning off semi-glutide. Hi, julia, welcome to the podcast. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm happy to be here. I'm so excited you're here. I just was laughing because we were talking about how long Julia has been a client and she said she's been a client on and off for 10 years. That's crazy, that's amazing. That's so cool. I love it.
Speaker 3:We've done lots of challenges.
Speaker 1:How many workouts do you think you've done with Body?
Speaker 3:by Free. I wonder if I can log on and it will tell me.
Speaker 1:That would be so fun. Hundreds Probably a lot. Hundreds, hundreds, yeah, all right. So, julia, I wanted you on this podcast because I wanted to share your unique experience with GLP-1 medication. So when I posted hey, I want to share other people's authentic, real experiences Julia reached out to me and was like I want to share my story, and I think it's a very powerful story. I think it's something that people really need to hear the good, the bad, the ugly, everything and so I think it's really great to hear from someone firsthand, not just reading research, but your personal experience, and that's what we're going to talk about today. But before we start, tell us just a little bit of a background of who you are, what you do, your family.
Speaker 3:Okay, my name is Julia. I've been a member of Body by Bree since the beginning. When I started following you on Instagram, you had 2000 followers.
Speaker 1:You're an OG. This is really cool, Julia.
Speaker 3:This is really cool, so it's so fun. I totally believe in what you do. I have five kids, one biological, four step and busy mom. I just really scaled back in my business. So I'm a cosmetic laser practitioner, so I do laser work, a lot of cosmetic work, pre-surgical, and I work in a busy medical office and so a lot of times I'm a guinea pig for some things that come out. And that's where my GLP-1 semiglutide started was yes, it was coming out and I volunteered, for whatever reason.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's get specific. So when was this? When did you volunteer to be the guinea pig for it?
Speaker 3:Okay, I would say January, probably of 2023, because insurance was just cutting all the GLP-1s on people who did it wasn't a medical necessity, so people were having to start to pay for it and we found some pharmacies that were willing to compound it. So we wanted to see how well it would work, what the side effects were, what we liked in the compounds, what we didn't like. The initial one that I took was bright red. It had B vitamins in it, which would help with the nausea and the energy levels, and it worked well, I would say In the beginning, it's say in the beginning. It's really cut back my appetite. So shall we say medical anorexia a little bit, just because you didn't want to eat but you didn't have the hunger pains.
Speaker 1:Well, okay, let's start from the beginning. So first I want to know your motivation for wanting to try it. Okay, so tell me your motivation of why you were looking in. And specifically, you told me this is semi-glutide, yes, okay, so why were you wanting to be the guinea pig? What was going on internally for you?
Speaker 3:Okay, I think this. I'm not going to cry during this podcast Great.
Speaker 1:I want you to cry. I want you to be real and vulnerable, like people. People need it, they need it.
Speaker 3:Yes, um, so okay, then I'll just start out crying, um, that's okay. It just stems back to never being good enough for myself, which is something huge that you preach, and I think that's why I have always come back and wanted to be a part of your program, because it's so important, I think, for people to love who they are and to also understand what their body is capable of. I am proud to have a really strong body. I have a lot of muscle and my frame. So I'm 5'4". I generally ride around 150 pounds. I'm never going to be 120 pounds. I would look very unhealthy at 120. But for some reason, I always am like, no, I can look very unhealthy at 120. And but for some reason, I always I'm like, no, I can be 130 again, but my lifestyle doesn't want that. You know like I'm not willing, I'm not, I can't do that, and so.
Speaker 3:But before this time, I always just wanted to be that number. I wanted to be smaller, skinnier, obsessively smaller, and so when this first came out, it was kind of the miracle weight loss medication. It's something the kind that I took you you inject yourself. There's a lot of clinics that make you come in to inject this one I actually did myself. I don't know if it's because I'm a medical professional or I can do it, whatever. But um, I just wanted to be smaller and so I decided to be the Guinea pig because I was like great I'll, we'll see if it works. If it's a miracle, awesome. So mentally I wouldn't say I was in a great spot, because I just wanted to be skinnier Right and and I guess that's where it started, time one.
Speaker 3:I've been on it twice, so the first time that's where it started, okay, and I started taking it and at first it was fine, I didn't really have any big issues. And then it started. So it slows down your digestion and they say it's so that your body has time to pull out nutrients At least back then. That's what it slows it down, so that your body has time to pull out more nutrients. But on the bad side of it is sometimes it just rots, like the food gets in your stomach and it just turns into just rotten food and then you get food poisoning. Essentially, a lot of people are hospitalized because that's what happens and they don't feel good. Their stomach hurts so much so that they feel like they need to be hospitalized. I wasn't, I ended up not going to the ER. Mine didn't get that bad.
Speaker 1:Yes, pause, let's back up. Sorry, before you start going into that, I want to like paint the picture of what you were feeling and and what was happening. So let's talk about your first injection. So how, what was your dose? And I want to know were they checking in on you Like? Were they like, okay, how's your appetite? How are you feeling? Let's start with this starting dose. So, what was your starting dose? Do you remember my starting?
Speaker 3:dose was 20 units, okay. And? And you rotate where you put it. My first dose was in my stomach. You put it anywhere there's fat Stomach, back of the arm, your booty, and you just rotate week after week, okay. And then oh, what were you saying? I was going to say it doesn't hurt, I do want to see a needle, oh it doesn't hurt. I have a needle, show us a needle.
Speaker 1:Show us what it looks like you, yeah, show us the needle.
Speaker 3:Show us what it looks like you do it once a week, right? This is the needle. Yep, once a week, every seven days, and the needle is tiny. Can you see that? Yeah, that's tiny. Yeah, you can put it all the way in and it doesn't hurt. You might feel a little prick on your belly but it doesn't hurt, at least for me. I'm not scared of needles. Yeah, my daughter actually would give me the injections because she wants to be a doctor. So I was like perfect, let's start you out at nine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I'm going to get to that because I want to know what you, how. You talked about that with your daughter, so I want to get to that too. Um, so tell me, what did you feel on your first and second injections? Did you feel okay? Did you feel nauseous? What were some of your side effects? Or were you like this is awesome. I don't have an appetite.
Speaker 3:Pretty lethargic, not a lot of energy, nauseous for the first couple days. It's kind of like did you ever have braces? When they tighten your braces it hurts for a couple days and then there's, it doesn't hurt.
Speaker 1:It was kind of like that. Okay, so the first few days after you inject, I've heard, is like the highest dose, so you do feel a little more nauseous and then it kind of evens out.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, you feel a little nauseous and then, probably by the end of the week, is when I would start to get my energy back and feel normal, and then it's time for another injection. So then you give yourself another injection and then the cycle starts over.
Speaker 1:I think for the first month I did 20 units and then I'd start going up by five every week and slowly so in the first month, when you're feeling that, do you think you were tired and lethargic because you weren't eating enough calories, or was it because of the shot? So do you think if you were eating enough calories that you wouldn't be tired and lethargic, Like? Your glucose levels are probably super low because you're not eating enough, right, yeah, what? What were you eating? What do you think your calories were when you were on it?
Speaker 3:Um, oh man, that's a great question. I usually, when I track, I try to stay around 1800 to 2000 calories, depending on what I'm doing. I would say in the first couple of days, when you're super nauseous, maybe 1200 calories. Oh sweet, that's a huge cut. Yeah, but I wasn't tracking either. So I mean, some days are more. I do know that when you would eat something really greasy, like a hamburger or something, just something unhealthy, it would make you sick. I did notice that. So it's almost like it would force you to eat healthier by default because you're like no, I don't want to eat that, because it makes me feel worse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like when you're getting over the flu and you're like I just want fruit, right, like maybe that feeling I'm imagining like the beginning stages of being pregnant, where you kind of just want like smoothies and like lighter stuff because you're kind of a little bit on the verge of nausea. That's what I would assume. Is that what you're describing? Okay, that's what my friends have said that are on it.
Speaker 3:And I didn't have as bad as nausea as some people, or some people like debilitating nausea, like they couldn't get out of bed. Yeah, they lost 30 pounds in eight weeks, but yeah Cause they couldn't survive Cause you're sick.
Speaker 1:That's like saying I had the flu and I was. I was in bed all week, but at least I lost five pounds. You're like, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:It's going to come right back. Yeah, so I'm glad I didn't have it as bad as some people. It's going to come right back. Yeah, so I'm glad I didn't have it as bad as some people. I think it's because I naturally eat pretty healthy anyway. Yeah, but once, like when you would eat a steak or pork, red meat that would just really sit in your stomach and fester.
Speaker 1:And so you kind of had to learn how to eat.
Speaker 3:There is a learning curve, but once you figure out what works, then for the most part it's okay. You have some bad episodes. Once you get over that, then you're okay.
Speaker 1:So do you think that it matters on how nauseous you are? What I've heard is that dosing matters. So if you have a higher dose, you're more nauseous. So do you think that that matters, in like, what you're prescribed and how you react to it is your dosing or do you think it's the actual?
Speaker 3:It is the dosing. I think that's why I was increased so slowly, because you kind of get used to it. Okay, how did? If I was super nauseous at, say, 40 units, then I wouldn't go up the next week, I'd wait till my body was okay. With 40 units, I got all the way up to 65 units, I think, which is a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's like totally slowing down your whole gut.
Speaker 3:And I think that's why there is such a problem is because people are getting overdosed. Because you're like no, I want to be skinnier, skinnier, skinnier and yes, turns into an issue.
Speaker 1:So let's tell the rest of your story. So you said the first part of of it was great. You were losing weight, you felt fine, mild side effects. And then what happens?
Speaker 3:So I didn't lose weight as fast as a lot of people. Again, I think it's because I naturally work out, eat healthier, and so just I was pretty much just forcing the weight off by having lower calories. So there are. I had a friend who lost in like six weeks, 20 pounds, but she couldn't get off her couch. That's so unhealthy.
Speaker 1:I know, can we just talk about how unhealthy that is? That that's not like, that's not something to brag about. That's not a flex, that's. That's very bad.
Speaker 3:Yes, that's a very terrible way to lose weight, so I'm kind of glad mine came off slower because I did have to keep functioning in life and then, and since I was the guinea pig, I would kind of report back like, okay, I'm fine, I'm fine. Well, I almost died last night and I remember and a lot of people go through it, I don't know. Like we talked about microdosing. Those people probably don't have this problem. It's the people that are steadily increased. That we now know is an issue. Back then I feel like we didn't.
Speaker 3:And you get to a point where you're really constipated and then it turns into diarrhea, because that's just what happens to your body. And I remember I and it's kind of I call it the giggle diarrhea because there's no stopping it, you just laugh through it. It's just, it's hilarious and it. I remember I got up in the middle of the night giggle diarrhea went to the bathroom and I remember I had, like this, really, really bad pain in my. It was in my stomach, lower stomach, I would say, like ovaries, like period cramps, severe period cramps, and I remember thinking, oh my gosh, and it wouldn't stop, wouldn't stop. And then I was like, is this one of those times where I need to go to the emergency room?
Speaker 3:I remember having this internal dialogue and I was like, okay, I'm going to wait for it to stop, I'm going to get up and get my husband and tell him something's wrong, I need to go to the ER. And then I stood up and it got really, really bad. So I sat back down and then it went away and I was like, okay, and then it came back again one more time and then again I had the internal dialogue. I got to stand up, I got to go get my husband so we can go to the ER. And then I stood up and it went away and it never came back. I have heard of people having cyst rupture. I don't know if that's what it was. I can't confirm that's what it was, but from anything I've read, that's what it sounded like. I didn't have any bleeding, I didn't nothing, but that's just what it felt like. It was just very uncomfortable and a lot of people have that to the point where they do go to the D E.
Speaker 1:R and and they just call it semi-glutide gut. So did you ever have to go to the ER, or it was more like just a lot of pain that you were feeling A lot of pain and it went away, so I didn't if it would have persisted. Oh, okay, for some reason, I thought you did have to go to the ER. Okay, I didn't.
Speaker 3:I know several people who have Okay, and it's funny because I would tell people. So I changed my med spa name to include weight loss because we were like this is a miracle, we need to tell everybody about it and and so I would actually tell people you're going to feel like you're going to die, it's fine, it will pass. I'm like it's just a glutide gut, it's food poisoning.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I feel like that's not good.
Speaker 1:That is not good to me. This is like red flags flashy. As a wellness person, Obviously your dose either was too high or it didn't sit well with your body, I don't know. For me, gut health is your center of everything. So I'm like do not mess with your gut health thing. So I'm like, do not mess with your gut health. So that makes me, I think, hearing what you're saying is maybe the dose was super high, because if you're not going to the bathroom and it slows to almost a halt and it has time for that food to rot in your intestines, that's a problem. And that's the scary part of when people are like I need to lose faster, I need to lose more. I wanted to lose 10 pounds in a week or I wanted to lose 30 pounds in two months, Like all these other people. That's the danger. Like this is the dark side that can happen and that's super scary.
Speaker 3:Yes, and that's an interesting fact. So I was testing out a different. I take all of your supplements. I was testing out a new one. I won't say which one it was because I wanted because I was on board with their skincare and how they talk about your body manifests through your skin. It's you know, an organ, so I was trying out a new probiotic digestive enzyme. During this time I had four UTIs and food poisoning twice, so do you think it's?
Speaker 1:I don't know the shots or because of the case.
Speaker 3:So the second time I told myself I'm going to take breeze, digestive enzyme, probiotics, salmon oil, all the things, and that's non-negotiable. And I didn't get a uti or food poisoning the second time, so right there if you need.
Speaker 1:I've actually read I have actually read the research that you should be taking a digestive enzyme if you're on GLP-1 medications and a probiotic to help with your gut health. So that is amazing. I'm so excited. The second time around did you go slower and do lower doses?
Speaker 3:No, I did it about the same, and so the second time.
Speaker 1:This is leading up to the second time. Yeah, let's back up. I want to know why you stopped, what you felt when you stopped, and then why you decided to do it again.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the first time I got food poisoning for the second time, which we did go to a sushi bar. We had raw salmon. Okay, a lot of us got food poisoning that wasn't bless me Okay, everybody else's was the normal food poisoning that came and went in a couple of days, whereas mine, I think I was on day 10 and I still had massive pain in my stomach.
Speaker 1:Well, if you think of that food sitting in your stomach for so much longer, it makes sense Like you're literally poisoning yourself for a lot longer.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes, so I actually went off cold turkey because I had had so many issues and so I was like, okay, this medication is going to kill me, I don't want to be on it anymore, and so I just stopped taking it. I still had some in my fridge, just like this time. I still have some in my fridge, just like this time, I still have some in my fridge. And I just, completely, cold turkey, went off. And how did you?
Speaker 1:feel when you went off. I felt fine. I remember my. You didn't feel ravenous or like feel like, and how much weight had you lost before you quit, and how much weight had you lost before you quit I would say I probably lost 10 pounds total.
Speaker 3:This was over about six or seven months. Oh, okay, so this could have been done with diet and exercise for me personally, yes, but I kept telling myself it was the magic shot that was doing it. I wasn't exercising during the time because I didn't have enough energy. I felt like that's the problem I always hear yes, and so I was like and I'm on magic medication, I don't need to exercise.
Speaker 1:There's so many thoughts that just go through your mind that's what I want to change are those thoughts that you need to do it fast and that you don't have to work out and that you don't need to eat enough protein. I'm like, if you're going to do it, let's do it healthy. So okay, keep going, Keep going.
Speaker 3:So then I went off and that's when I started doing my bulk with you. So I intentionally was eating more and we did slowly work me up, so it wasn't like all of a sudden I was going from dieting.
Speaker 3:Yeah for sure. And reversed me up. I gained a lot of muscle. I think I ended up gaining 25 pounds and my lifts were amazing. Like I felt so powerful, so strong. And then it got to a point where I was like okay, I think I've got enough on here, I'm fine. I was starting to feel uncomfortable because my you told me I would get fluffy.
Speaker 3:I did, I got fluffy and and I decided I just I was time, I wanted to be done with my bulk and so I did a cut. I don't remember how many calories 200 calories maybe that we cut. And then, after six weeks of cutting, I remember I had gained a half a pound. So I was like, oh geez what's going on?
Speaker 1:We probably needed to do a more aggressive cut, but okay, keep going yeah.
Speaker 3:And when it comes down to it, I mean, yes, I was eating the numbers, but I wasn't necessarily worried about micronutrients, it was more get the numbers in. I wasn't doing it grittingly.
Speaker 3:But that's just where I was mentally. I was preparing myself to be convinced to get back on the stomach and so I was like no, I want to be skinnier, this isn't working. Nothing works because you do. You want an easy way out. So I had talked to the nurse practitioner again. I said I was on a cut and I wasn't losing as fast as I want. She's like well, just get back on semi-glutide and let's just see how the second time goes. So I did. I got like twist my arm, no, give me the magic. So I got back on it.
Speaker 3:Second time wasn't as bad. I did not have the same formulation. It was still semaglutide. It did not have the B vitamins in it. There was a little bit of the lethargic feeling, but you'll find this interesting. So this was shortly after your manifest book challenge and I had manifested that morning about should I get back on this medication? And I got a no, do not do it. And I still did it. Interesting, can you believe it? I know I felt guilty the whole time because I did get a confirmation.
Speaker 1:You felt like you were going against your gut instinct.
Speaker 3:Okay, and I was able to increase doses faster. I started at 20 units but I didn't have to be on it for a month. I think I did it for two weeks, went up to 25 units and I was able to increase quickly up to 65 units. I was probably going up 10 units a week as opposed to five.
Speaker 1:I didn't have the nausea up 10 units a week as opposed to five. I didn't have the nausea. Were you able to still eat enough calories to keep all that muscle that you worked so hard to gain?
Speaker 3:I know, right, I wasn't tracking again. You know you convince yourself of all these silly things, and but I was eating healthier, I was taking, but again, I still wasn't working. I remember Ashley messaged me. She's like Julia, you haven't opened your app. Yeah, so long, that was during that time.
Speaker 1:So what's going on here? Yeah?
Speaker 3:You're usually consistent. You just did a bulk what's going on, yeah, and which was another shout out to your program. Like, you guys care about your people, we do, we do, we care so much, yep, and so that was kind of motivation for me. Fine, I'll get back working out and there's um. I have some friends that teach some fitness classes, so I would go to the fitness classes, I do your program and um, but this time I didn't. I had completely different symptoms. I had what they call sulfur burps.
Speaker 1:Have you heard of those? One of my friends was talking about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it was like constant the whole time. In fact, I was out with some friends and, um, my friend kept blaming the guy behind us saying that he was farting, and then I started realizing it was through the whole night. She's like, oh my gosh, it smells so bad, you guys.
Speaker 1:And then I started realizing it was every time I burped like it smelled, like it's like the rotting food in your stomach, like coming out.
Speaker 3:It was me. It was me. So, friends, if you're listening to this, that was me the whole time. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I had those. Was that when you were on the higher dose, the 60 milligrams? Yeah, so that didn't happen when you were on a lower dose, because maybe it wasn't sitting in your stomach as long. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Once you get to the higher dose. But I had it every day, all day. I was talking to my brother he's really in a fitness, really in shape and he's and he kind of told me he's like what, like what are you eating? And and I started kind of tracking what I was eating when I would get the sulfur burps. And, um, tick talking how to get rid of sulfur burps. They were so gross, tick-tocking how to get rid of sulfur burps. They were so gross so they smelled so bad. Um, and it was after. I ate real protein, like any chicken, any pork, anything that's hard for your body to digest.
Speaker 3:So then of course you know you're like, oh well, maybe I should stop eating protein, which I knew was bad. I'm like so healthy food is now an issue, yeah and um. Food is now an issue, yeah and um. And that I, like I told you I had my daughter the second time.
Speaker 3:She was the one giving me the injections and I remember just being like what am I teaching her Cause? She asked me one day she loved doing it, she was the one that would come to me on Sunday night and be like mom, we need to do your shot this week. Yeah. And one day she asked me on Sunday night and be like mom, we need to do your shot this week. Yeah. And one day she asked me she's like what's this for mom? And I remember I just stopped and I didn't want to say to get in here, but that's why I was doing it. And I just remember I just looked at her and I just said, um, this is supposed to help my food absorb nutrients better, because I want to be skinnier. And she said why? And I just was like I don't, I don't know, because in her eyes I'm like the most beautiful, strongest, most amazing person.
Speaker 3:And that's kind of when it hit me, when I was like why am I doing this? This is not something that I should be doing, nor should I be teaching her. Instead, I should be teaching her like how you teach your kids, when they sit down to eat a giant bowl of cereal. And then I'm like, okay, so where's your protein when? Like yes, yeah, and so um. So it wasn't necessarily anything that made me stop, it was more just I need to stop doing this. I can do better. And I didn't lose a lot of weight this time. I'd say maybe five pounds in about six months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you could totally do that with macros.
Speaker 3:I know that's ridiculous. That's why I'm like it did not and it's expensive too. Yeah, it's very expensive. It did not and it's expensive too. Yeah, it's very expensive. And once I got off that's the second time I immediately felt better. I know it takes a week to get out of your system, but that's why I think a lot of it was mental for me, because I immediately felt better. I immediately started nourishing my body. I started eating healthier, eating better food. In fact, I just saw a friend this morning and she's like you look so good, what are you doing? And I said not semi-glutide. So I think I've been off of it for three months, is it? And I feel so much better.
Speaker 3:And I took an influencer saying she's like me same height, same weight. She actually dipped down below 150 pounds and she said I actually like my body between 150 and 155. And it was so nice to hear someone normalize that, because to get myself down to like below 145, I'm like peeling the weight off. I cannot cheat, I cannot do anything. So for my lifestyle, I'm like actually, I like being between 150 and 155. It works for me. It's almost like you needed that permission yes.
Speaker 3:And much way in a better place. I mean, I don't, my body's just healthier, I don't get hormonal acne anymore. In fact, that's the other reason I stopped. I don't, my body's just healthier, I don't get hormonal acne anymore. In fact, that's the other reason I stopped. I don't know if this is going to show it. I stopped because my your skin looks perfect this is skincare and I was starting to get darkness. So when you get darkness on certain parts of your face, it's because of a gut issue.
Speaker 3:Liver damage, same thing, with acne, and so right. And I have a growth on my liver, so right, when I saw the darkness on my face I was like, nope, I, if this is starting to hurt me on the inside, I'm out. That was another mentality.
Speaker 1:Like you're not going to trade being healthy for being skinny. Yes, for sure. That's what.
Speaker 3:I always tell people yeah, and this is period acne, I have none. So once you get your health and your gut in order, you don't have to go through all of the nonsense we go through when we're struggling mentally and physically.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, that was my second round, okay. So, knowing what you know now, do you one regret taking it, and two like what would you do differently? I would say I guess would you do it again Like you know. Knowing what you know now, what would you tell yourself If you could go back in time? What would you tell yourself If you?
Speaker 3:could go back in time, what would you tell yourself? I will. I would tell myself like just the normal stuff, you are enough. I'm glad I did it because it got me to this place where I'm. I love my body. I'm so proud. When my husband needs help lifting something, I go out and I help him. I am strong. I can get stuff done. I'm learning and teaching my kids how to eat healthier and I would never do it again.
Speaker 3:And when people say they want to do it, I think it's important that they do understand the risks. Tell them I tell them things that they need to look for. What to expect, what? What shows up on your skin? That is bad. So that's actually damaging your insides. Yes, you're getting skinnier, but what are you doing? Long term, yeah, long-term, um, yeah, I want to tell myself no, don't I. I want to go back and tell myself not to do it, but I wouldn't have learned what I learned. But when people say they want to do it, I'm like listen, why do you want to do it? Like, what are your reasons? Because if it's only to get skinny, you're going to damage a whole bunch of stuff to get yourself there.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I think you're right. Like the, your mental state matters when going into this. Like if you decide to do it and you are not willing to work out to eat healthy, to you know, hit your protein numbers, eat enough calories, and if you're just doing it to waste away on the couch to be skinnier, that's a problem. And even if you're just doing it to waste away on the couch to be skinnier, that's a problem. And even if you do hit your goal weight, you will not be happy because you're not healthy mentally. So for me, I see red flags with that side for sure.
Speaker 1:I'm like I have some friends and some people I know that have done it in an unhealthy way and I have some friends that have. Actually they do have a really good mentality. They are working out every day, they are eating healthy, they are making sure that they're doing it very slow and they're doing like a micro dose is what I've heard is like a triseptide, not semi-glutide, that has like lower side effects and I just see the difference where it's like enough of the edge to kind of help them hit their macros. That's a completely different experience than someone that is doing this, like you said, just to get skinny and not actually care about their health, cause I when, when this first came out, I was very against it, like I was saying unless you have obesity or diabetes, do not touch this. Like. No, like we are not trading being healthy for being skinny. That's how I saw it, because I saw all these people having gut issues, which I'm like. That's your number one indicator of your health is your gut.
Speaker 3:And we know that. What do gut issues lead into? They lead into hormonal issues, which leads to depression. So exactly that.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's the other thing is, I heard that there was some side effects of depression, because your gut houses your serotonin levels, so if it's unhealthy, you're not getting that feel good. And so I just saw all these things and I'm like this is so bad and I feel I do feel like, as it's starting to progress, I'm seeing, okay, people are learning like learning the compounds, learning that you can't do the doses, so high learning, like, okay, we don't want the food to rot in their stomach. So high learning, like, okay, we don't want the food to rot in their stomach, you don't want the sulfur, sulfur burps and um, you know, like I do feel like there is definitely.
Speaker 1:It depends on the intention behind it. If you're willing to do it a healthy way, do you even need it? Like you said, do you even need it? Like I do feel, like so many people, it can be a miracle for a lot of people. It can also be a crutch, and that's what I'm like. Really I feel like we need to educate people. It's like do you really need it? Is this going to make you happier? And if you're going to do it, let's help you do it the healthiest way possible, Like I do want to try to, because some people it's been amazing and I don't want them to feel shame or guilt around it so.
Speaker 1:I'm really trying to have this open dialogue, but I love what you shared. It got me so emotional, like what you're telling your daughter and and what a beautiful place you're in right now and seeing this beautiful like you. Still you want to lift, you want to be strong, you want to be healthy, and you felt like, personally, it wasn't the best thing for you and I honor that, like I love your story, I love your experience. I think it's an important story to share and I think a lot of people will be able to make a decision based off of what they hear from you and if they're maybe in that same boat. I want to remind you that I am in no way pushing a medication for weight loss. My goal here is to try to broaden your horizons. I want to show you that there are different ways to use this medication. I have seen a lot of benefits with friends and family and clients. I've also seen people who have really not liked the side effects. So, that being said, I'm hoping to broaden your horizon so that we can remove shame, remove judgment and you can make the best decision for you.
Speaker 1:As always, I'm here to help with any questions regarding fitness and nutrition and mindset and habit coaching. But if you have specific questions about the medication, I am not a doctor and I would not give you medical advice. I would suggest that you seek out your medical provider. Thank you for joining us in today's episode. If you liked the content and want to hear more, remember to hit that subscribe button and write a review. As a small business owner, I appreciate it more than you know. If you are looking for a program to help with self-confidence to lose weight, get in shape and work on your mental, physical and emotional health, check out my training programs on wwwbodybybreecom. My team and I help to hold you accountable through the Body by Bree app, where you log in to see all your workouts, custom meal plan made specifically for you and your needs and communication through the messenger. You are never alone when you're on the Body by Breed training program. Click the link in the show notes to get more information on how to transform your life from the inside out.