Better Me with BodyByBree
Better Me with BodyByBree
GLP-1 Peptides Unpacked: Health Effects Beyond Weight Loss with Dr. Melissa Loseke
Have you ever wondered if GLP-1 therapies could be the key to unlocking better health and well-being? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Melissa Losecki, a leading functional medicine expert, as we navigate the complex landscape of GLP-1 peptides and their multifaceted benefits. Discover why these therapies aren't just for diabetes but have transformative potential for conditions like PCOS, metabolic dysfunction, and even mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety. Dr. Losecki unravels the science behind GLP-1s and provides valuable insights into how they can be effectively integrated with lifestyle changes to maximize health outcomes.
We address the elephant in the room—shame and misconceptions surrounding GLP-1 therapy. Dr. Losecki emphasizes the importance of tailoring treatments to individual needs, highlighting how personalized dosing and holistic approaches can foster positive results without compromising overall health. From enhancing gut health to promoting muscle retention through strength training, we explore strategies that empower women to achieve sustainable weight loss and wellness. By spotlighting success stories, we advocate for an informed, stigma-free perspective on using GLP-1s as part of a comprehensive wellness journey.
Our discussion extends beyond the science, touching on the emotional and psychological aspects of embracing GLP-1 therapy. We encourage listeners to break free from societal judgments and embrace a community that supports self-improvement and personal growth. With gratitude for our engaged audience, we invite you to be part of this empowering conversation, where education and empathy pave the way to better health.
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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. Welcome back to the Body by Brie podcast. I'm Brie, your guide to all things fitness, wellness and mindset podcast. I'm Brie, your guide to all things fitness, wellness and mindset.
Speaker 1:Today we're diving into the third and final episode of our three-part series with joy, women's wellness and their amazing functional medical doctor, melissa. This series is all about helping you make informed decisions on GLP-1 medications, and this episode is packed with the info you've been waiting for. We'll be covering all the bases, from the dangers and the benefits to the different protocols, how the obesity protocol differs from the longevity protocol. Ever wonder why some people on GLP-1 meds look like they've discovered the fountain of youth, while others seem to struggle. We're getting into why that happens and what you need to know if you're considering this route. And, of course, the big question is GLP-1 right for you or should you stay away and explore their options? This is going to be a fun, insightful and honest conversation, so whether you're curious or cautious, you're in the right place. Before we jump in, just a quick disclaimer I am not a medical professional. Everything we're discussing today is based on the expertise of a functional doctor at Joy Women's Wellness and it's for educational purposes only. Always consult with a medical professional before making decisions about your health. All right, let's dive in and get all your GLP-1 questions answered.
Speaker 1:Dr Melissa Losecki is a DO and a PhD. Dr Losecki is an innovator in medicine and a dedicated physician specializing in anti-aging and regenerative medicine, peptide therapy, cellular repair and optimization, sports medicine, tissue and joint repair, and she is widely considered an expert of women and men's hormonal health, sexual health, aesthetic and overall wellness. I can't wait for you to learn from her, melissa. I'm so excited you're here. I have been waiting so long to interview you and you are such a wealth of knowledge. Can you give our listeners a little background of who you are, what you do? Yep, introduce us to Melissa.
Speaker 2:So my name is Dr Melissa Lowski. I am a medical director and advisor for Joy Women's Wellness, and background is in family medicine. Only made it about a year and a half in family medicine before I went on this journey of what I will call kind of longevity, wellness and innovation in medicine. So my focus is how do I help both men and women feel their best and what are the tools in our toolbox that we can get us there?
Speaker 1:I love that. And how long have you been practicing? So I have been practicing for almost 15 years now, okay, and you're in functional medicine. Now I'm in functional medicine.
Speaker 2:Correct, awesome yes.
Speaker 1:And you have your own practice right.
Speaker 2:Also got my own practice as well in Omaha.
Speaker 1:Nebraska Awesome, that's so cool. So you are an expert. I'm excited to pick your brain, sure.
Speaker 2:I'm excited to tell you my knowledge.
Speaker 1:How long have you been dealing with peptides, in particular?
Speaker 2:So peptides since 2018.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so quite some time. Yeah, and how many you've been prescribing these, so you have a pretty good gauge on what you're seeing. Correct, okay, yes, great, all right. Well, I'm excited. Can you educate people on what a GLP-1 is and what it does in the body, so they kind of have a foundation before we start?
Speaker 2:So I always like to take that step back and say, okay, well, what's a peptide? A peptide is just a chain of amino acids. It's a shorter clip of something that your body already naturally makes that we then give to a person or ingest in the body, inject, however we're doing whatever that delivery system is and it allows the body to turn on some of its own natural functions. So I'll use analogy it's like having a friend help you carry a couch. It's things that your body's already doing, but maybe not as optimally as we want them to. Body's already doing, but maybe not as optimally as we want them to. So GLP-1 medications are going to be medications peptides that are going to help you regulate, loosely speaking, insulin levels, hunger and other things like that.
Speaker 1:Okay, so how does that help with type 2 diabetes and balance your blood sugar and your insulin Correct?
Speaker 2:So type two diabetes is going to be a disease that creates a dysregulation of generally speaking blood sugars and meaning that there's not enough insulin to support how our body is regulating that. So and that often happens over time from processed foods, habit changes, et cetera. But we're also seeing some changes in that perspective where we're also seeing insulin receptor issues and insulin production issues that we would have exclusively thought was just a type one problem as well. So a GLP-1 is going to help regulate those insulin levels so that those blood sugars can come down and so that the body can process what we're putting into it much more effectively.
Speaker 1:So now that we have our foundation, I know that there's two kind of classes of ways that you would prescribe this peptide therapy. You would have the obesity and diabetes path and then more of maybe my clientele that is like a stay at home mom that maybe has tried everything and their body's being super stubborn and they maybe need to lose 30 pounds, 20 pounds, even 15 pounds. So I'm curious what the difference is and how you would prescribe for either.
Speaker 2:So it's exactly what you just mentioned. I'll kind of loosely call them. You've got an obesity pathway which is based off of BMI, which is not a perfect system and like if we look at the rock, he would be called morbidly obese, but we know, looking at him, that that's not true, and then what I'll kind of call that longevity wellness pathway, where maybe the rails haven't completely fallen off completely, but we're on a pathway where we could go down that direction of an obesity pathway. So those are really the two different pathways that I look at and how, how you end up prescribing in that those two different arms, really depends on what our goals are and what that individual comes to us for.
Speaker 1:Okay, Because I've seen I'm going to be brutally honest here. Yes, I was always against um, like weight loss medication, because as a personal trainer, it goes against everything I believe in. Right, Like I'm like no, you, we, we're not going to just prescribe people medication. They need to wait, train, they need to work on their gut health, and I'm going through all of these checklists of things and and I've seen people I know where, where they're just throwing up, they're losing their hair, they're losing all of their muscle, they feel sick. So in my mind, we're trading being healthy for being skinny.
Speaker 1:But as I start researching this more, I've been researching it for about four months now Awesome.
Speaker 1:And then I had some people I know come to me say hey, I'm taking this actually for my PCOS and my insulin resistance or my fibromyalgia and one of my other friends for rheumatoid arthritis, and they've never felt better. And you know, I've had other people come to me, who their clients. I have one client and this is actually who made me change my mind about everything was they were able to do this in smaller doses and they did not lose muscle and they were able to feel amazing. They never felt nauseous, they were consistently going to the bathroom, they were able to lose weight in a slow and steady pace and they look amazing and they feel amazing and it was like that little boost that they needed. So I was like, okay, there's gotta be something I'm missing here. Let's look into it. And that's kind of what you're talking about with the longevity aspect is, let's talk about some of the benefits that aren't even weight loss. Like what are some of these benefits for people who maybe they're not obese or diabetes or diabetic, but they want to feel better?
Speaker 2:Correct. Well, and I think that's the whole big point of this conversation is how do we lose the shame and the stigma around GLP ones? I'm very open about my own personal situation. I will raise my hand. I have been on GLP ones for the better part of two years.
Speaker 2:When I started yes, it was because I was that perimenopausal gal who had just seen the scale creep up. My hormones were optimized. I was getting 130 grams of protein a day. I was resistance training two and three times a week. I wasn't over-exercising. Sleep was dialed in Like I checked the boxes.
Speaker 2:I would have been that person coming to you going, hey, what do I do here? And I felt like I was like a lot of women beating my head against the wall. It's the do less with more I guess I need to do. I need to trim calories. Where do I give up from that perspective, when I already feel like everything's dialed in? So I'm so glad we're here having that conversation.
Speaker 2:How do we get rid of the shame and stigma and that it's okay to do things like this before there's a problem but that's part of the problem too is most of us don't know what internal problems there are. We may not have had a blood test to know what's my fasting insulin look like? What is my thyroid function markers? What are? Where are they acting? What are my hormonal markers look like?
Speaker 2:So when I approach this I'm really looking at, just like we mentioned, the obesity. Or are there other reasons? I'm doing it and not unlike your stories? I've had a ton of gals with PCOS do fantastic, which logically makes sense. Yeah, they're at a higher risk for insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, they struggle with weight loss, there's just a whole slew of things that kind of sets them up from a negative standpoint. But the surprising things that I have seen are also IBD. Ibs has gotten better, so maybe undiagnosed Crohn's my own sister has Crohn's disease and has done really well from just a bowel habit standpoint on her GLP ones. But I've seen depression, anxiety, I've seen brain fog start to improve. So it becomes this whole you mean an improvement in depression and anxiety.
Speaker 2:Correct, correct, thank you, yeah, it's just. Oh, I'll tell everybody. If you think of any condition that has inflammation, there's potential benefit with a GLP-1 because we know when insulin is high and even if it's not and there is general inflammation, we're going to help target that inflammation. But there's also studies out there showing it can improve muscle mass, it can improve sleep. So that's where those conversations from a longevity standpoint really start to happen.
Speaker 1:When I feel like this is not talked about, like I never had heard that before. I've only seen the media be like oh Zempik, oh Zempik, people are losing their hair. You're going to get thyroid cancer. Like this scary shaming, like craziness. I need to stay away from this. It's bad. Yeah, that's all I've ever heard. I didn't know that there was another path and a way to make it healthier. And also tell me the difference between, like an Ozempic or and semaglutide or a trizepatide. There's differences, correct.
Speaker 2:Yes, there are. So all going to fall under that category of a GLP-1. Okay, ozempic is going to be a branded. Semaglutide is going to be more of a compounded, generally speaking. So it has one component from a GLP-1 that targets ghrelin. Your trisepatide is a dual action which also is going to target that ghrelin but has another component to it which is just going to further help from that weight loss, longevity, anti-inflammation standpoint and a lot of times one of the bigger things we'll talk about clinically is far less side effects with a terzapatide which is going to be in that same category as a Zepbound, a Monjaro that you're going to find from that perspective, yeah, I've seen the people that I know that were on higher levels of semi-glutide were sick and then the people that were on the triseptide lower dose had literally zero side effects like weren't even nauseous Correct, like literally, they're only.
Speaker 1:And I'm like you have to be lying and they're like, literally, my symptoms were that I didn't crave sugar, I didn't want to eat bad food anymore, correct. And I stopped binging and they were like that was it, but that is all I felt and I was like, well, that kind of sounds amazing. And then I in my mind, because you're not eating the sugar, the processed carbs and the junk, you're going to lower your body's inflammation, naturally, too. Correct. You're going to sleep better, you're going to have more energy. So in my mind I'm like, okay, this is amazing. But let's talk about why people hear about the side effects of losing hair, throwing up. Is that a prescription problem? A provider problem? What is that? Yes, and why is it?
Speaker 2:happening? My answer is going to be yes. So I think what we see from all those negatives is you'll see kind of this standard set, dosing regimen, whether we're talking a branded Ozempic or we're even talking a compounded. What you'll find is and again, practitioners matter having that regular follow-up, having someone who can talk you through this, and where it's not just cookie cutter right, because we're not cookie cutter.
Speaker 2:What works for me isn't going to work for you. But that's part of the problem is, we've seen so many different situations where it's cookie cutter Okay, so you're going to start on X dose, you're going to do that for four weeks and then in five, week five maybe we'll have a follow-up, maybe we won't, but then we're going to the next dose and then we're going to be on the next dose and the next dose, whether they're seeing results or not.
Speaker 1:They just keep upping, whether they're seeing results or not.
Speaker 2:Correct. And so you may have a gal who is on 25 milligrams a week and her friend is on the same dosing, and one gal is losing four pounds a week and the next gal is only losing a half pound a week If I'm continuing to dose escalate.
Speaker 1:The gal who's already losing four pounds a week. She's going to be miserable, right? She's probably going to feel very, very crappy and lose all of her muscle, correct?
Speaker 2:are we losing weight or are we losing muscle? What's, yes, actually happening here which is part of the conversation here too is it's. This is more than just oh, I'm doing a glp1, you have to have other things in place too. Your nutrition better be dialed in. You had better be on some resistance training to help support those things. It's not just I'm going to take my GLP-1 and be healthy or lose weight. This is a whole wider picture of things that we have to talk about from that perspective.
Speaker 1:So if somebody's having those complications where you hear in the news, like stomach paralysis and all of these semi-glutide gut, it's because they're on too high of a dose generally speaking.
Speaker 2:Okay, or you know, I believe that dosing is patient specific, but the frequency of that dosing can also be patient specific. We think of semi-glutide in a or your GLP ones in a bell shaped curve. If you inject on Monday, you're going to peak in that Wednesday, thursday timeframe and then have a taper down. Well, I've had gals who basically their dosing was so high that, let's say they injected on Monday, they basically didn't have a meal until Friday. Appetite was so suppressed. Well, now we're binge eating on the weekends. I guess they've lost weight, but not in a healthy way because your appetite is so suppressed. I'll usually loosely tell patients the right dose is the one where you're still eating your three squares a day but you're not craving the things that you know you shouldn't be eating.
Speaker 1:That's when I train clients that are on these peptides. I will say if you're not able to hit your base TDE calories, you're too high because you will lose muscle. Correct, and that's like my.
Speaker 1:Well, that's like my standard you know, and if you're not able to do a workout and you're too exhausted and have no energy and you can't lift weights, that's not helping you. Correct A hundred percent that and that is not how you Correct A hundred percent and that is not how you should feel. You should have energy and feel really great, and so if you're not, that's your sign that we need to have a conversation. Is my dosing right Is my frequency right.
Speaker 2:Kind of the same thing from a bowel movement standpoint. If you're going seven days without a bowel movement warning, warning, warning. But is that hydration? Is that dosing? Is that protein? It's just. You start to realize how much more factors into that.
Speaker 1:But it is very comforting to me to know that there are providers like you who are doing this in a responsible way and checking in and making sure they're eating enough protein and fiber and strength training. That's very encouraging to me because I'm like there's gotta be some sort of follow-up here and you do see people doing it in a irresponsible way and it's sad because you can tell they look unhealthy, they look drained and tired and sagging and just like not a vibrant person and you can tell the muscle's gone.
Speaker 1:You can tell the muscle's gone. Let's talk about muscle. Why is it so important to keep muscle and what are you doing to make sure that they maintain?
Speaker 2:it. One of my favorite lines is muscle is the currency of life.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love it.
Speaker 2:Plain and simple. If we want a long, healthy life, you have to build muscle. I was one. I had a partial hysterectomy and she was like I really don't want you lifting heavy. So my brain said, oh, I never need to lift again. Until I started to see my muscle decline. It was like, okay, you need to get back on this, whether you're male or female, especially as a female, to protect that bone, that overall health. If we want to live vibrantly, you need muscle.
Speaker 2:So muscle should should be a conversation, whether we're having a conversation, whether we're talking about GLP-1s or not. Yes, let's just plain and simple. You should be in the gym at least three times a week doing some resistance training and if you don't lift weights now, start somewhere. Yeah, I would, even if it's body weights. I have a fight with my 15 year old, who's mad when he's stuck at home and I'm like you have the best option. It's your body Right. Do some air squats, do some sit-ups, do some pushups. Just start somewhere, with any as with anything. So, as you can hear, it's always part of a conversation.
Speaker 1:I have with any patient Like you.
Speaker 2:You need muscle. It's what's going to keep you going and keep you vibrant through life. Yeah, so, just like we've mentioned resistance training, having that conversation, if they need help, let's hook them up with somebody who needs, who can support them through that.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm excited about I was talking with Katie about. I was like do you have anything set up for these patients that you're giving them these peptides and then you're saying you should work out, but they don't know what to do, correct? They don't know how much protein they should be eating. They don't know what to do, correct, they don't know how much protein they should be eating. They don't know what their base TDE calories are. No clue. I'm like ding, ding, ding. That's me. I can help because I want to help these people who are on this medication. I want to help it be lifelong right, like I want that these habits to be lifelong Correct, and I want them to feel their best and have that change. And hopefully what I've heard from this, if done right, is it sparks your motivation, because momentum is motivating and it'll spark that like oh, okay, I.
Speaker 1:It gives people hope, like it gives them just that little push to start seeing the results so that they can lift, they can start making better choices. And when you start eating healthier, you start, you stop having those cravings and you start having more energy to work out. So it's like a domino effect. So I do believe, as I'm learning more, that there is a place and that it can be a huge blessing for people. Yeah, if done, if done right, and they're willing to do the lifting which is exciting.
Speaker 2:You and I have had the conversation that, especially for females, there's that mental where you've, you've tried everything and the minute you start seeing that scale move, even just a couple of pounds, you're motivated to keep going like, oh, whether it's the GLP one, whether it's the workout, the hormone optimization, the better sleep, whatever you've done, now you're motivated to keep up with those trends and all you're doing is impacting your own personal health and wellness for the better in the longterm.
Speaker 1:Thousand percent, and not every provider does check-ins. Like sometimes they can be just mailed to your house and then you're just oh, I go up in four weeks, and so I love that you guys do check-ins to make sure that they're seeing results.
Speaker 2:We always want patients to know that you've got a support system, and especially for me as a provider, I've got red flags If you're losing more than a half pound to a pound a week. At two pounds a week, my warning systems are like blazing in my mind. Oh, either either we need to drop back from dosing or we're not going to escalate anymore, because I don't want you to lose that muscle, I don't want you to be sick, I want to optimize in that safe, healthy way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I was telling Katie, when I was talking to her, I was like I could educate your clients on why you don't want to lose the muscle. So, because she said sometimes clients will get impatient and they'll want quicker results, and she's like we really want to educate them on why you don't want quicker results, and I'm like, yes, okay, I love that you guys are doing this in the correct way. And providers matter, like you said, and the why behind it matters, because it can be a big cash grab and they could just, oh, I'm selling vials, it doesn't matter. So it does matter who you go with and that's why I feel a responsibility to like network and find people that I trust, that I know are doing this the right way, that I can be like okay, if you feel like you want to do this, here's who I would trust with you. You know, cause I I don't put my stamp of approval on a lot of things.
Speaker 1:I'm very picky because it's you know you want to take care of your people, correct. So I love that and I think that's really cool that you have such a close relationship that it's not just mailed to your door.
Speaker 2:No, and we want to follow up. We want to know how you're doing. And, like again, I'm always a very open with my own experience and I make twice a week injector. Most of the traditional dosing people would chew me alive and say that's not appropriate, it's not how it's meant to be. But I couldn't tolerate more than that without my protein intake suffering, without potentially some nausea. So I wasn't willing to compromise, just to be healthy or maybe lose 10 pounds.
Speaker 1:Right, right. And what a lot of people don't realize, and when we're training clients that are on this, is that they really should, when they're lifting, focus on strength training and not cardio. So I'm like, if you're doing orange theory, f 45, those things, we're going to cut those out. And we're going to cut those out and we're going to do, like, strength training, we're not going to go for a long run. You will burn through your muscle and, um, you know, and there's a way to do muscle splits and it's just, it could be done so well and it could pair so perfectly.
Speaker 2:And it's so hard for us gals to give that up specifically us gals because we've just been told cardio, cardio, cardio cardio instead of oh, I actually need to be in the gym and I need to be lifting and you can do that without bulking. Exactly, yes, you can look long and lean and healthy.
Speaker 1:Yes, most people don't realize that the body you want is on the other side of muscle. You just don't realize that because you're hung up on the dang scale and muscle weighs more than fat and all they're seeing as success is the scale going down, which we talked about this earlier. But people would be like oh yay, I'm losing three pounds a week, but half of that is muscle, and that's actually horrible because then as you lose the muscle and you lose the fat, if you ever get off and you have no muscle now- you're in a worse position.
Speaker 1:Your metabolism has now slowed down Even further, even further, cause muscle is your metabolism. So I'm like there is this huge like responsibility that we have to make sure people are doing it the right way, correct, or else it could be super dangerous. A thousand percent, yeah, I love that we're on the same page. So let's talk about gut health, because that's kind of my forte. I love your happy place and my happy place. Yes, I love teaching people about how important their gut health is. So how does this affect their gut microbiome?
Speaker 2:So still data to be determined on that. From that standpoint, what we know is that you're going to slow all absorption, so potentially you could be impacting the gut microbiome. But I also like to look at look at it from the practical side. If, let's say, your cravings were sugar and carbs, well, if that's what you're feeding your gut, you're not giving your gut microbiome anything in the first place. If you get on a GLP-1 and now you find yourself I'm not craving the sugar, I'm not craving, I'm actually putting whole foods on my body. All you're doing is improving your gut microbiome from that standpoint.
Speaker 1:That's true. I didn't think about it that way, cause, yeah, the people that I know say that they're like I reach for an apple instead of a donut, like I crave an apple, and that has to be good for your gut health, correct, yeah, that's fascinating.
Speaker 2:You're putting more color, more wholesome food into your body instead of the refined, processed junk that you were feeding it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the sugar that feeds the bad gut bacteria. Yes, that's true, and which is probably why so many people feel less bloated and less inflammation and less brain fog. Less brain fog they're sleeping better because they're eating better. Correct, that's true. So would you suggest people doing? I've heard of people suggesting a digestive enzyme with this because it is slowing your, your gut transit time, so to say yeah. I take help with absorption Potentially.
Speaker 2:I take that on a case by case, patient by patient basis. Again, like we just said, it's really going to depend on how quickly are they making some nutritional changes? What are they incorporating before we decide, is that a pathway we need to go down?
Speaker 1:Okay, so what are the most common side effects that you do see?
Speaker 2:Nausea Okay. Obviously some vomiting can come with that Okay.
Speaker 1:Fatigue and constipation Okay, and how common is it, if they're on a very low dose, extremely rare. So that's more when you're up in the higher doses, of people needing to lose a lot of weight.
Speaker 2:Generally speaking, you will find some patient populations redheads, for example, tend to be more prone towards nausea.
Speaker 1:Interesting we find it in anesthesia.
Speaker 2:They need more anesthesia, they need more numbing in those situations and they're going to be more prone to nausea post-anesthesia. So we also can see that they can tend to have a little bit more nausea. Not that you can always tell, which is a great reason to again start low, go slow, right tell, which is a great reason to again start low, go slow. And if let's say 25 milligrams is too much or whatever we're talking about from 2.5 milligrams of 25 is a really high dosing. 2.5 milligrams of terceptide, maybe that's too much, cut it in half. You have that flexibility from that perspective. I will sometimes see some constipation initially, which most of the time will regulate. It just depends if they are already somebody who struggles some constipation initially, which most of the time will regulate.
Speaker 1:It just depends if they are already somebody who struggles with constipation but that, or if they're eating fiber, a high fiber diet, and it also blows open the door for well, how much protein are you getting?
Speaker 2:Which leads you down, right down the muscle pathway too. I mean, I can't and you probably see it too, so much I can't tell you how many women I have to tell them. Okay, pick, pick your chin up off the ground. I want you eating 120 grams of protein a day, and there you can see them. Mentally calculating, I think I'm at about 50 for the day and you're like yeah we'll work our way there, but let's start increasing that up.
Speaker 2:I definitely, just like you said, the protein hydration is a big factor from that standpoint, with the constipation as well. Um, and then making sure they're getting the protein fiber with it too. Yeah, our easy ways around it. I love that Most of the time the nausea is transient, as long as we're on appropriate dosing.
Speaker 1:So who? Okay, let's say that they decided to do a low dose. Let's say they don't have diabetes. They had the 15, 20 pounds that they wanted to lose. They get on it, they feel great, they lose the weight. Now, what can they be on this long-term? Do you suggest they cycle off of it? What do you suggest?
Speaker 2:I'll typically take that by the patient. Maybe you know we're going to want to re reevaluate what was their diet like beforehand. Have we made some pretty drastic dietary changes? Where it's a okay, do I need to be on this? Do I not need to still be on it? Are there other medical conditions? Is it PCOS, where as soon as they get off their inflammation flares and they're like, nope, this is a lifelong for me because I feel so great. So those really come on a patient by patient basis through those conversations.
Speaker 2:But if we're at a grade point, I also tend to do a taper down on a dosing. So let's say I've got somebody on that 2.5 milligrams of terzapotide once a week. I'm going to spend another month to six weeks potentially longer tapering them down. Should they decide they want to come off, that, hey, I want to see how I do without this, because we may find that at a significantly lower dose I can keep cravings at bay. But now we figured out that lowest effective dose as well. Or they may be able to come off completely and say, hey, I did really great. I'm going to cruise for as long as I can and see. Do I feel like I need it again, especially, you know, if you we traded the apple from the donut maybe. Maybe we don't need it in that instance yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:One of the people that I know. She lost 60 pounds. That's amazing. It was amazing. But the coolest part is because I see on Instagram people are like how much have you lost on semi-glutide? They're like 60 pounds in three months and I'm like how much have you lost? 45 pounds in eight weeks.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh, what is happening? There went all of your muscle.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I just cringe at it. I'm like this is not good. But she lost 60 pounds over the course of, I believe, nine months, which is fantastic, and she was tracking her muscle mass every month and making sure she wasn't losing muscle and she made sure to hit her base TDE calories. She was working out five days a week lifting, and she was eating her protein and fiber Love it and she only lost three pounds of muscle Right. So it's possible, correct, and I.
Speaker 1:So what you're telling me is, if someone decides, this feels really good to me. My inflammation is down, I feel amazing and they want to stay on a low dose for a long period of time. It could be beneficial. So the other cool part is this person that I know that got off, she cycled off of it and she's kept her results because she said I feel so good and I've now changed my habits and my foundational lifestyle and I've gotten off all of my depression anxiety meds and it gave me that, like it got me out of the dark hole and it gave me that motivation to be my best self. And then, once she got there, she's like I feel like I didn't need it anymore and I cycled off and then I kept it because I felt so good, correct, and I was like, well, that is worth it. Then Right, if it gets you to be your best self and you're not losing muscle, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yes. So it's cool to know that, even if people do decide to cycle off it, because what you hear is you always gain it back. But in my mind, you only gain it back if you have not adopted the foundational habits correct. So if you're lifting, if you're eating your protein and if you have those lifestyle changes, you shouldn't be gaining weight back.
Speaker 2:You should not, okay so you the hope I mean again right ever, never know what life's gonna throw at you what stressors are gonna happen. That could der, but generally speaking, if we've made some true lifestyle changes, we would expect that to continue on Right Until perimenopause or menopause for us all comes in and throws that wrench in Right Correct, which I do feel.
Speaker 1:What I love about Joy Woman's Wellness is they do take a holistic approach. Let's talk about how you do a whole blood panel and you look at hormones and absorption and insulin and glucose. Talk about that.
Speaker 2:So at joy. Women's wellness. We don't want to just be that. Just like you said, we don't want to be that companies that here's your drop ship, here you go, here's your medication. Best of luck, figure it out, because I I've got all these tools in my toolbox and if I don't use them, you'll never know.
Speaker 2:So let's say that this same friend who lost 60 pounds she got on a GLP-1 but didn't lose anything Well, how do I know what her thyroid looked like? How do I know what her fasting insulin looked like? How do I know what her hormones were sitting at? There's so many other factors there that play into that. I mean, it's no different than, let's say, going to the gym. I can go to the gym and I can lift five days in a row, but if I come home and I eat like crap, it's on me to sit there and it doesn't do me any good to sit and complain. Right, why am I not seeing the results I want? Oh, because I ate McDonald's for three meals out of the day Like no.
Speaker 2:You have to optimize everything and you have to take that whole patient approach, and that is something that drives me absolutely crazy from this GLP-1 standpoint is and you've probably heard it too, if you're in a group of gals who've been on it, or you'll maybe see it on the chats and whatnot.
Speaker 2:And they're like, well, I'm on X dosing and it did this for me and somebody else is on this dosing and they're trying to compare everything. Stop comparing yourself to the person next to you, because you don't know what the rest of that metabolic marker panel looks like for them, which is why it's so important for us at Joy to make sure we're looking at that whole picture, because I want to set you up for success. I don't want to just drop a GLP in your lap and say without telling you oh hey, by the way, your testosterone levels are crap. You could kill yourself in the gym and maybe really struggle to gain that lean muscle or your progesterone levels are off. So, yes, I did this, but you're still gonna be moody, crappy and not really sleep well at night. So for us, it's about let's figure out all the factors that really do optimize you.
Speaker 1:Well, and then it's not a blanket oh, you're overweight here. Then it's not a blanket. Oh, you're overweight. Here's a peptide, Like let's look at your whole. I tell all of my clients to do a blood panel. I'm like you have to have a blood panel. You need a roadmap to see what your body is doing. That's like a number one. Like, if you're not seeing results and you're doing everything, do a blood panel. And then if you decide that in the blood panel you're looking through, hey, yeah, maybe this peptide will help you, Great, yes, but look at the it as a whole. It's not just like a one size fits all, and I love that you are educating people on that.
Speaker 2:And we can stair step it too. I know I've had conversations with patients where they're like, yeah, I think my low energy and my low libido or whatever they're experiencing is really just because I've put on this 20, 30 pounds and I don't feel comfortable in my skin. So at least, though, we've planted the seed to say, hey, here's some of the abnormalities that I've seen 110%. I support you starting that GLP-1 as a starting point here, but let's revisit this as the 10, 15, 20, whatever pounds come off and see, are there still factors? Maybe you'll say you know, yeah, I am still fatigued. Those things didn't change for me, or maybe they did because you made other lifestyle changes too. Definitely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's talk about the shame around it. Like, I have some people really close to me and they've had amazing experiences, but there is a shame around people using it. I think it's because they feel like one, they'll be judged. Or two, if they say that they're on a low dose of triseptide, it takes away all their hard work. Like who cares that? They've been tracking macros and protein and in the gym five days a week and trying to eat healthy foods. All that goes out the window If you say that you're on a low dose of triseptide. Cause people are like it's the drugs. It's the drugs, it's not you. So how do we what's that conversation look like?
Speaker 2:I don't know. That's my plain and simple. But it's why I also share my own personal like the only way we'll ever get there is by being open about it and just doing. Why judge anybody? However you got there. I mean I'll have people say, oh, you're so athletic, you're so slender, and I'm like, okay, but that's, that's not just genetics, that's work, that's diet, that's nutrition. We wouldn't judge a man on testosterone, right. We'd be like, oh shameful.
Speaker 1:Or a woman on um spiral lacto.
Speaker 2:Correct For her PCOS, like you don't say you're on spiral lacto but you can't manage your PCOS on your own? Yeah, we would just never say that. Yeah, so why are we doing it with a GLP once? I mean, honestly, the best thing I can do is use your voice, get out there and let's just stop judging each other.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do feel like once I learned all of these benefits, I was like I need, I need to share this, Like I need to remove the shame so that people don't feel like this is a cop out to hide it. That they have to hide it Right. It's like this like everyone's going to judge.
Speaker 1:Correct and it's sad because it's true, they're not like making it up in their head, it's true, right. So I'm like maybe, hopefully, some of this information that gets out there can really help with the shame and the judgment. And and also, I think a lot of people attribute, like, all they think of is Ozempic and oh, you're taking it unnecessarily, right, a medication that you don't need, and so learning all of this hopefully will help open people's eyes. It's all we can do.
Speaker 2:Keep trying to change the narrative.
Speaker 1:So with your final thoughts? Yes, oh wait, actually, before we do final thoughts, I had one last question for you. Do you ever turn people away? Is there ever someone that should not be on this?
Speaker 2:Yes, so you do have a couple of classes of categories of people. There are some thyroid conditions in which we will tell you know. Active cancer is another one. I mean, regardless of the type, I'm pretty hesitant with a history of eating disorders, specifically anorexia, for kind of some obvious reasons there. And then if I've got some known gallbladder issues and or some known pancreatitis history of pancreatitis issues, there are reasons for us to pause pretty heavily. What if they've gotten their gallbladder taken out? I don't typically consider that an issue for me. Okay, it's an okay for me.
Speaker 1:What about breastfeeding?
Speaker 2:The loaded question, the pregnancy and the breastfeeding gals. Yeah, typically we'll tell them wait until you're done breastfeeding.
Speaker 1:I would in my mind. I'm like if we don't know how it could Correct.
Speaker 2:Nobody wants to take that risk.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Even though we can generally assume, because if you're a diabetic mom who is on insulin, we don't tell you to stop your insulin when you're pregnant. So there's some generally assumed safeties there. But in this situation let's just do the smart thing and pause until that timeframe.
Speaker 1:Right, you were telling me that it was helping people with bulimia some of your clients with bulimia, correct and alcohol addiction. Alcohol addiction is a huge one.
Speaker 2:How does it help with that? So bulimia, so with the GLP-1s, you typically find your carbs and sweet cravings are gone. And then the other thing I'll talk about with people is early satiety. Like you could take me out to my when I was really on it from a weight loss standpoint, my dose is so low. Now I'm not not in a weight loss perspective, but you could take me out for my favorite meal, and I'll hear this time and time again from people like maybe it's a birthday dinner, they'll get appropriately full and no matter how much they love that meal, they're just able to say I'm good. I mean, no matter how much they love that meal, they're just able to say I'm good.
Speaker 2:I mean we look at the American, the size of portions in America right now and we should be only eating a third to a half of what's put in front of us when we're out to eat anyways. So it almost just comes to this natural regulation where it's easy to say oh, my brain says I'm full, that connection is there, I'm good, I'm done here. So for the bulimics, it takes away those cravings. For them. They find I'm not controlled by what I'm going to eat when I'm going to eat. It just shuts off that portion of the brain for them. Again, it can be a really slippery slope just because that is a history of an eating disorder. But there is some data out there showing some pretty impressive support for them. So you'll find a lot of people who are hesitant to go down down that pathway. But there again another one where I'm not just dose escalating, we're not picking a random dose 0.25 milligrams we're going to be really conservative here from that perspective.
Speaker 2:Alcoholics well, sugar, alcohols, which. So a lot of times I'll find that my alcoholics well, sugar alcohols which. So a lot of times I'll find that my alcoholics, once they give up alcohol, find something else. I've got one in particular, who traded his alcohol for Reese's peanut butter cups. Well, the sugar alcohols from that addiction center are all still the same.
Speaker 1:And it's still a pleasure center. It's just trading one vice for another, correct.
Speaker 2:Well, with the GLP-1s again we're dampening those cravings for them, for sugar and carbs, which is what most alcohols are made of, so they're able to again turn off that food noise or alcohol noise that controls them and just kind of move away. That's fascinating, I tell everybody. Buckle in so cool. Buckle in because I think the next five years we're going to see so much true data from a research standpoint and I bet the stacks are going to be so high. Of all of the different types of disease states that GLP ones have been shown to show some benefit in yeah, I feel like peptide therapy is going to be the first line of defense against all of these diseases.
Speaker 2:Correct, which is all the more reason like can we just drop the shame here? Yeah, who cares why you're doing it? Yeah, you're doing it to make your life better. Great.
Speaker 1:If someone says, melissa, you look amazing, do you feel an obligation to be like cause? One of my people that I know was like, do I say I'm on? Do I have to say like, oh, it's cause I'm am on a small dose of triseptide, or can I just say thank you?
Speaker 2:You just say thank you.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Yeah, Cause I'm like I don't think you owe it to anyone to say anything Like it's your personal health. You don't say I'm on spiral lactone.
Speaker 2:I have PCOS, correct? I think the appropriate answer is thank you. Yeah, again, you're going to have some girlfriends and some groups who are like okay, how did you do it? Yeah, oh well, I ate 140 grams of protein a day. I was in the gym five to six days a week with heavy resistance training.
Speaker 1:I optimized my hormones.
Speaker 2:I made sure my calories were good, I got sleep, I prioritized water and, yes, I did a very low dose, but it's the combination of everything.
Speaker 1:It just makes it correct.
Speaker 2:It wasn't the GLP one that triggered it. It was all the other work that you put in to get to that point.
Speaker 1:Well, and also, the peptides can't lift for you, correct. They can't make your body look toned and lean, correct? So the people that look really good on it are the people that are doing those things. So yes. Okay. So final thought with all the hype around these peptides that are coming out, what should someone consider before they decide, or, if they decide, if this is for them?
Speaker 2:My first consideration would be to tell you to have a sit down with a true medical provider. Find a company, joy, we would be more than happy to have that conversation with you. But I also want you to be in a situation where you're getting that follow-up and I want someone to have that supportive. Let's talk How's your mindset, how's your muscle? Let's have those conversations as well, which is where partnerships are super fantastic, where you're getting that whole 360 support. This isn't just again like we've talked about the drop ship. It showed up in my mail and I'm left to try and figure it out on my own. I just and keep your head high. Let's have the real conversation and the potential reasons why you're exploring it and why you want to talk about it, and let's figure out if it's the right fit for you.
Speaker 1:I love that For someone that is on these medications. What advice would you give them so that they don't have all of the negative side effects? Start low, go slow, Love it. It's what we've been saying the whole podcast. A hundred percent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and find a dosing schedule that works for you. I run into that so much. Where people have been prescribed just that very regimented routine and it just doesn't work for them, where maybe even you know they'll start to overeat in a couple of days or the cravings come back, and now you open that whole mental door as well, too. Well gosh, I was really good for days one through five. What's wrong with me? Why can't I fight through my cravings Especially, I think, females in that perimenopausal state? We beat ourselves up, right. Why can't I just say no to the cookie?
Speaker 1:Yeah, why can't I just say no to your body's working against you.
Speaker 2:Correct. But that requires the right practitioner to ask all the important questions to figure out. What is that dosing for you?
Speaker 1:I do want to address that mental piece because I feel like that is so important. When we're training clients that are on these peptides, we're always trying to help them with accountability check-ins. We're helping them to make sure that they're doing habit coaching, working on the relationship with food, working on even their mindset shifts around how they see their bodies, because sometimes when they get to that point and they have lost the weight, it's not enough. Then they go too far and then they're never happy. So there's definitely a mental component that I'm excited to hopefully bring to this audience is the mental side, the habit coaching, the mindfulness, the nutrition and the weightlifting yes, and that's what I think is going to be a killer combo and I think we're going to literally change lives. I love it. I'm so excited to explore it further and see how we can help each other, and I think that's going to be a really beautiful blessing for a lot of people.
Speaker 2:And I think you bring up a really great point is I've seen it time and time again again, we keep harping on the females, but I feel like it's such a difficult. The stimuli for us to be thin, be pretty, be, be, be, be, be is so overwhelming, and as a mom of a daughter, I am even more acutely aware of it. From that perspective, I see it so often where a gal will come in and she'll say, well, this is my X goal weight. And then she gets to it and she's like, oh, if I could get five, just five more.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Honey, love your body. Yep, it's okay to sit in the body you're in and love what it's done for you, what it's brought to this world, what it's giving you day after day after day. There's no perfect. This isn't a 5, 10 and 120 pounds is the ideal.
Speaker 1:Love your body Right, and that's what we really help our clients with. We do meditations and mindfulness trainings and that's for me. It's the missing piece for a lot of the clients is the mental side component. So well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, appreciate it. I've been really excited to interview you. You're just a wealth of knowledge and I learned so much from you. I've been with you all day. We've got to pick each other's brains.
Speaker 2:We've got to pick each other's brains. We've had a ton of fun.
Speaker 1:We've gotten to have fun hang out and it's been really fun to go on this journey and I'm grateful that I have you in my back pocket to help educate my followers.
Speaker 2:So and I'm grateful for you out there spreading the word Like how do we get rid of the shame? Keep an open mind. It's not all bad, so thank you.
Speaker 1:All right, I'll talk to you later. Sounds great. 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 Bree training program. Click the link in the show notes to get more information on how to transform your life from the inside out.