I LIKE glp-1. (and yes, I am naturally thin.)
TWO WARNINGS:
No AI was used to generate any of this post…the em dashes are all mine.
I’m peeling the curtain waayyyyyy back here. This is vulnerable. And a lot of you may roll your eyes . So. Fucking. Be. It.
Ok, so…I have always been known as a thin or slender person. If I am being really open with you all; I was sometimes known amongst my friend groups for being someone who struggled with disordered eating, whether it be too little… or the popular cycle of restricting then bingeing.
As I have matured, it has become much less serious and just chatter in my brain—What will I eat today? When will I eat it? Should I wait as long as I can to break the seal? Should I have eaten that? Is that a normal amount to eat? Oh! No one is at the house so I can eat something bad!” *opening a bag of chips*
Problem #1: Food Noise
There is a buzz phrase that you may have heard of recently called “food noise”. (This term is the most appropriate name of anything named appropriately in the english language that has ever been appropriate, ever.) It is a very real thing for a lot of people big or small and no one really talked about it before a couple of years ago. The tricky thing about “food noise” is most of the time, you don’t really know you have it, until you don’t have it.
Since I was on the slender side my entire life, I assumed that I DIDN’T have food noise. I had always had people in my world who were less fortunate in the weight department than I was and they struggled socially. And I felt for them, I really did. Even to the point that I felt guilty about being thin. Truth be told, when you are a naturally thin person, people don’t think you eat bad or obsess on it. And then you believe that yourself and life goes on. But slender people most certainly can, and I did. I just didn’t know it.
Problem #2: Bloat
Besides the food noise which I didn’t know I had, there was a bigger problem that was affecting my quality of life. B L O A T I N G. Sure, it’s not uncommon. The word “Bloating” is a significant and consistent search term on Google.
In my experience, from morning to night, no matter what I ate or didn’t eat, I would struggle with a gradual bloat that would be debilitating by the evening. When I worked in offices, I would have to wear elastic waistbands to make sure I could finish my day without being so uncomfortable that I wanted to crawl out of my skin. People would actually say things to me like “OMG, Lis, what did you EAT?”And this problem got worse and worse as I headed into the wonderful phase of perimenopause. (women—aren’t we lucky?) Here is where some of you who have laid your actual eyes on me may begin to roll them. I get it, I am not overweight…but anyone would be uncomfortable if their waist grew 5 inches throughout the day—no matter what size waist you started out with.
From morning to night, my waist size would vary by 5 inches! (my pjs were a gift from my mother-in-law, ok?)
Now I don’t want to mislead you. I was never the poster child for healthy eating. I had a mix of good and bad, just like everyone else. I tried a lot of things throughout those 20 years of bloat. I tried gluten-free, then vegan, then FODMAP, cortisol supplements, anti-stress techniques, and the list goes on. A couple of years ago, I had a food sensitivity test that did show that my body hated pretty much everything I would eat regularly. In the RED were all the things that had the milk protein casein (all dairy products) and …onions! Have you ever tried not to eat anything that has a trace of onion? Onion powder is in EVERYTHING on this earth that has flavor. Seriously, look it up.
You know what though? I was a good sport about it, even crying happy tears to my naturopath that at least we had identified the problem. I began to feel better by eating only things that tasted like cardboard. I gave it a good solid month and a half of omitting dairy and all things onion from my diet. The bloating did decrease, but it didn’t go away… AND I was dying for something to eat that would have a hint of zest. I couldn’t do it any longer, the bang wasn’t worth the buck. So I stopped (caved, actually).
The Best Thing I Have Ever Done Without Really Knowing It Was:
Actual footage of me hopping on the GLP-1 bus!
So, Yep. I did it too peeps…just like everyone else on your TikTok feed…I decided to try a microdose compound of a GLP-1/GIP, called Tirzepatide with B-12. It’s been a month and a half and I want to share my story in case any of you need this. Stay with me.
THE GOOD NEWS:
I have lost the perimenopause weight that had crept up without me really realizing. I mean, I kind of did realize it intellectually but not emotionally, I guess. My pant sizes were slowly going up, and I didn’t really feel good about myself…but none of that really scared me enough to take too much notice. After all, I was still slender enough…so I chopped it up to reaching the big 5-0 and being ok with an “average” instead of “thin” bodytype. Full transparancy— I went from a 137 lbs. (my heaviest throughout the months…hormones!) to now my goal weight of 120 lbs. (I am 5’ 7”). I feel like I have my body back—before aging started to be my full time job, ha. I felt a certain way in my body for a lot of my normal life. Since hitting age 45, that started to fade, even though I was running 4 to 5 miles a day. And I know what some of you are thinking… “oh…she is now having disordered eating again.” It’s not the case, I promise. I feel like my old self again, but without the disordered eating, food noise and bloat…a happier, healthier, and more confident self. And did I mention less sluggish?
My bloating is completely gone! Now, I can’t say this is everyone’s story—it is only fair that I mention that one of the main side effects listed for taking tirzepatide is bloating. So, I was very nervous about that. But for me, it has been a life-changing thing. I haven’t felt bloated in over a month, and that just wasn’t my story—ever! I can wear what I want, and not have to plan for room to grow. It may sound superficial to some of you but you have to understand that it felt really uncomfortable and I had forgotten what life was like without bloating. It’s such a different way of living my day-to-day.
I now know that I DID have food noise. It was awful and I didn’t even know it. Now my brain literally has so much S P A C E in it. It has for the most part quelled my emotional eating, or at least helped me identify it as such. And, I just have a sense of peace that I didn’t have before. I can’t explain it any better than that.
I have more energy. Lately, I have been noticing that things are cleaning up, literally. I have taken on big cleaning projects without a hesitation. I laugh more. I am happier.
THE BAD NEWS, IF THERE IS ANY:
I don’t know what all this means and how it will end…or not. A lot of you may ask, “well, if you get off of it, won’t you go back to the way it was?” And I just don’t know that answer yet. I bought a 3-month supply for an affordable (for me) $290 ish a month. There are a LOT of different places to buy this kind of thing from for even thin-ish people…apps like Hers, Noom, MidiHealth and medspas and more. Some of them make you sign up for a 6-month supply. I went to EllieMD (link here if you are interested!, don’t forget the B-12 part!) and they offer a shorter commitment to see how you feel on it. I liked that. And yes, I talked with a doctor.
I was tired the first couple of weeks. This is another side effect until your body gets used to it. But it has subsided, especially when I pay attention to my protein intake.
I don’t feel the need to drink alcohol much anymore. This isn’t really a bad thing, it’s of course much healthier, but socially it isn’t as fun.
The micordose compounds are not FDA approved—yet. However, the FDA approves of Oreos, so there’s that.
I use a shot. So at first I wasn’t keen on the idea of that because I can’t even watch people prick my finger…but it turned out to be nothing, and so easy. (They DID just come out with an oral prescription too!)
Anyway, if you are still reading this, you may be interested or have more questions. Absolutely, feel free to reach out to me. Use my email lis@freshnotcanned.com. I am happy to share my story more in-depth and answer any questions you may have. The choice is only for you to make. I know I was nervous when I started it. But I am so thankful that I found it, and want to spread the word for anyone else this could help find a better quality of life. It’s not something to take lightly (har, har).
Thanks for reading. I am going to go clean something now. Bye!
