GLP1 Users Beware
Why I Believe GLP-1 Takers Need Relationship to Food and Body Coaching:
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are changing the landscape of weight management. Originally developed for diabetes, these drugs are now widely used for weight loss—and while they may shift numbers on a scale, they don’t magically transform the deep, complex relationships people have with their bodies. As a health and wellness coach who works from a trauma-informed, weight-inclusive perspective, I believe body image coaching is not just helpful, but essential for those taking GLP-1s.
Weight loss doesn’t guarantee food or body peace. In fact, for many people, rapid weight changes can intensify body anxiety, disordered eating patterns, and long-standing self-worth wounds. Most GLP-1 takers have a history of chronic dieting, body shame, and a deep hope that smaller bodies will finally mean freedom. But what often happens is unexpected: even after losing weight, the inner critic remains loud. The mirror still feels like an adversary. Clothes fit differently, but comfort in one’s skin remains elusive.
That’s where body image coaching comes in. This work isn’t about promoting a “love your body” mantra on repeat—it’s about creating a space to process the emotional and psychological residue of decades of diet culture, medical weight stigma, and internalized shame. It’s about learning to relate to your body as something more than a project or problem to fix. Especially for those experiencing identity shifts due to body changes, coaching offers a place to integrate, recalibrate, and reclaim agency.
For some GLP-1 users, weight loss stirs up grief: the realization of how differently people treat you in a smaller body can bring up anger, sadness, and betrayal. Others find themselves struggling with loose skin, changed hunger cues, or the disorienting experience of not recognizing themselves. These are not problems to fix—they are invitations to feel, to be witnessed, and to find new language for embodiment. Coaching supports this work gently, without pathologizing.
Importantly, many GLP-1 takers also need help navigating the terrain of disordered eating. These medications can dull hunger, which might feel like a relief at first—but over time, it can disconnect people from their body’s wisdom. Coaching helps rebuild a sense of trust, connection, and attunement to bodily signals. It helps people learn to nourish themselves—not just with food, but with rest, pleasure, movement, and compassion.
This is not a before-and-after story. There is no “arrival” where body image is perfectly healed. But with the right support, GLP-1 takers can step off the rollercoaster of diet culture and begin to build a more honest, respectful, and kind relationship with their bodies.
Body image coaching offers that support. It invites GLP-1 users to come home to themselves—no matter the size, the medication, or the story they’ve carried. Because sustainable change isn’t just about weight. It’s about wholeness.
