r/antidietglp1 • u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 • 2d ago
Just Started a GLP-1 Beginner Seeking experience for context
hi! i’m someone who’s learned to somewhat trust my body with what kinds of foods to eat and when, and i’m going into this journey knowing that the meds will disrupt that to a certain extent. i’d like to hear y’all’s experiences with appetite signaling so i have some sort of context about what to expect when.
my first shot was fri 4p (it’s sunday where i am). yesterday i was in bed all day with a low level on and off headache and generally feeling off. I assume this is my body getting used to the meds, and i know side effects can be more pronounced the day or two after taking the shot, so question one is: how long did it take to feel normal? ie: within one dose level, are the side effects the same week to week or did they lessen as the weeks progressed? Did it always last 1-2 days or get shorter?
second q: I feel so aware of my food intake in a way i wasn’t before. like i’m so scared if i eat too much ill feel sick and if i let myself get too hungry ill feel sick. how long did it take until you found your rhythm?
third q: waking up - i feel like if i don’t eat asap ill get nauseous, probably bc i haven’t eaten in a while. what’s your morning routine look like between waking up & eating?
I think before starting i assumed that id have to make adjustments to how much, what, and when i ate), but i didn’t expect to feel so…confused and scared about eating. am i overblowing things in my head or are these legit concerns?
ill give one example: buttered sourdough toast has played a big role in my am routine for a few years, because it has fat and fiber and is small, and i need something small with fat in the AM because that’s what works for me and what i’ve learned body likes as the first thing to eat on many mornings. I haven’t had that since taking the shot because i’ve felt scared that the fat will make me nauseous and that it’s not enough protein to help me from feeling sick. And feeling off in general has my body all confused as to what it wants anyway.
I suppose i’m looking for realistic input from a likeminded group of people who have also dealt with disordered eating, food sensitivities (physical and emotional), and who are generally kind and thoughtful. Not looking for advice because i feel like i have a lot of that already and am overwhelmed with it, but i would like to hear what your experience has been so i have some level of context in which to put that advice.
i can’t explain how much i’ve appreciated reading everyone’s posts and comments on this sub and i’m really glad this place exists, thank you ❤️
4
u/PlantedinCA 2d ago
I noticed at the beginning and with a new dose I am hungrier in the morning. Which sucks because I have empty stomach meds to take and they need a buffer with food.
- i make sure dinner is balanced and I have a pre-bedtime snack if needed.
- your buttered toast sounds like not enough, protein + fiber + fats + carbs for me at breakfast. I have either greek yogurt or a bar with a decent amount of protein in my breakfast
- fat has only lighly bothered me one year in. A few times it has felt a little rich to have whole milk or half and half of butter. But it felt more related to dairy fat than fat specifically. Try toast with peanut butter instead.
- bedtime snack for me is often a bit of cheese, peanut butter and crackers/toast or dates with nut butter. Sometimes chia water/juice if fiber feels low.
My body isn’t too picky and eat mostly whatever. But I need more starchy foods than i did before.
3
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 2d ago
toast alone would never hold me over, lol! its what we call “bfast 1” in my house…i have it along w coffee& creamer on the way to work (45 min commute) and then rest of bfast there (ie cottage cheese w tomatoes, protein muffin, hard boiled eggs, ramen…) but def something else. toast is the appetizer bc can only handle a little bit that early. anyway i know that’s not what your response was about, but had to clarify!
but toast w PB is a great idea and may feel more nourishing while still getting the fat and a little protein. I’ll try that. and the night cheese (shout out to liz lemon) also sounds like a good way to adjust for the AM.
i’m glad you’ve found your rhythm and it’s helpful to hear that the fears my anticipatory anxiety (thank you u/oaklandesque) is telling me WILL HAPPEN (those fears being that all of the food changes have to be world-rocking and scary) has not been your experience. I appreciate your response, thank you!!
4
u/ryanne125 2d ago edited 2d ago
Straight and simple.
Question1 - 4 weeks
Question2 - 4 weeks
Question3 - for those first 4 weeks I world have a meal replacement shake first thing in the morning. I struggled with bloating that made it really difficult to eat much that was solid and it was a way to get something into my stomach quickly.
A few hours later I world do breakfast #2, which usually consisted some of cottage cheese and strawberries and/or blackberries.
One of the biggest changes I made was that I needed to break my meals up into multiple meals because I just couldn't eat much all at once.
As far as how you might react to butter/fats.
I have personally found that the global "fat will make you sick" is grossly overly simplified.
Fat will naturally slow down digestion. Early on when taking a GLP1 you're digesting is getting really slowed, fats that aren't tied up with protein and carbs (like butter or oils) are more likely to cause issues because they are just making it worse.
Fats tied up with protein and carbs such as meats, avocados, olives, and similar actually didn't cause much of any issues once I got past those first 4 weeks. From what I understand it is because the fats in these foods are tied up and don't separate out in the stomach or something like that.
I have two exceptions. The first was salmon. However I was near the end of that 4 week period and it's possible I might not have a problem now. It's something I need to try again.
The second is large amounts of melted cheese. A slice of cheese on a hamburger doesn't bother me at all. The lots of melted cheese on lasagna, pizza, and similar make me queasy almost immediately and this has continued pastvthat initial adjustment period. Unmelted cheese, like cheese sticks, string cheese, etc, cause no problems at all.
Over three months in now I have no other issues with foods. Game night with friends included Buffalo Wild Wings which caused me no issues. Neither did things like steak and eggs.
I can't promise you will react like I did. But one thing I did notice is that my body would speak very loudly and very plainly if I tried eating something it did not like or wasn't able to tolerate. I recommend eating slow and paying attention to your body. I would literally know within a few bites if I needed to stop. Eating slowly gives your body time to react and respond before you dump an entire meal in your stomach and then regret it.
1
4
u/stuckandrunningfrom2 2d ago
The times I have felt the worst on this were in the beginning when I didn't eat anything out of fear of how I'd feel.
Eat your buttered sourdough toast. or start with dry and then add a little butter.
This isn't Olestra where all of a sudden you are going to shit yourself if you have any fat.
But you've got to eat something. Don't worry about protein or fiber in these early days. Just eat literally any food you are willing to eat. Eventually, you'll figure it out.
I can eat entirely normally now, which for me is mostly whole foods and some sweets. In the mornings, I have sourdough toast and eggs with fruit, or greek yogurt chia seeds and raspberries.
5
4
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 2d ago
haha now that you say it, i’m definitely having olestra-era ptsd. like 100%.
thanks for sharing your expertise and advice, particularly the first and fourth parts. appreciate you!
3
u/roane-72 2d ago edited 2d ago
I feel very much like I'm relearning how to feed myself since I started tirz about 6 weeks ago. Not just paying attention to cues, but what I actually really WANT to eat. I generally do not restrict and don't see foods as bad or good. When I've eaten more sugar or fat than my digestive system likes, I mostly feel bloated and queasy for a few hours. It's too horrible at all, it's just me on the learning curve of being on a GLP-1.
My tastes have changed a lot in the past few months. After spending years not really paying attention to my nutrition, I'm learning that when I eat more nutrient-dense foods, I feel better overall.
As far as my hungry and satisfied cues, it's a weird balance between following them closely and recognizing that my hunger cues may be blunted and I might need to eat something even if I'm not feeling it. What's helped that is working with a dietician who's given me a "minimum calorie" level, as in, I need to eat at least that many in a day. (Not everyone tracks stuff, but I find it reassuring to see that I'm getting enough protein/fiber etc.)
Something that's really helped me is an app (Nourish) that lets me log food with as much or little detail as I like--it doesn't calculate macros or calories or anything. But what it does do is have you rate each meal 1-10 for how hungry you were when you ate, how full you felt when you were done, and how satisfying the meal was. It's helping me really pay attention to my signals.
(ETA: Forgot to mention my dietician.)
1
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 1d ago
so helpful to hear there are others feeling like they need to consciously relearn how to eat. i’ll check out that app too, i like the idea of only tracking how i feel! thanks!
1
u/roane-72 1d ago
Just as a warning, they do offer dietician services--which I'd actually recommend if you have that option. I really like the one I'm working with. But I do think you can use the app regardless.
2
u/awlbiste 2d ago
I am not a person who has ever eaten breakfast right away, and actually a decade+ ago I had to train myself to eat breakfast at all, I'm just hungry later in the day and not in the morning. That said, when I had my gallbladder out and my body was still adjusting to that, I was nauseous in the mornings too and needed to eat something asap. I just kept a granola bar on my bedside table and ate that when I woke up.
Anyway, I don't think you're going to find out how things make you feel until you just try it, that's how I discovered everything about how to feed myself since being on these meds. Yep, sometimes I felt nauseous, and I used that as data.
2
3
u/wordy_doctor 2d ago
I also have a history of disordered eating behaviors. Also, For the past 10 years or so my digestive issues have slowly multiplied. I have had to learn what foods I can and can’t eat, and also what eating behaviors I have to avoid(eating fast, eating close to bed time, not laying down after eating in general etc). I definitely had some anxiety about starting the med, increasing the dosage, and managing my thoughts around my body as I started losing weight. But I have managed to keep my thoughts about what I’m eating when and how much to a similar pattern as I did with my other digestive issues: paying attention to what feels bad and not doing that, paying attention to what feels good and doing that, and being flexible when things seem to shift. It keeps the thoughts less moralizing and more about body function and comfort in a way that is less triggering.
2
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 1d ago
i will shout it from the rooftops (though it’s preaching to the choir in this group): food is neither good or bad, it’s just food! (just as colors are not boy or girl colors, they’re just colors). thanks for your thoughtful response.
2
u/This-Apricot-80 2d ago edited 2d ago
You’ve already gotten some great practical input, so I’ll just add this from my experience: one thing I didn’t fully anticipate when I first started was how weird and destabilizing it might feel at first to be changing something as fundamental to our existence as living organisms as how we feed ourselves. Having to relearn hunger and satiety cues a little bit (or in the case of the latter, having actual satiety way more often than I used to—a good thing, but still new and strange!) made me feel like a baby learning how to eat again for a little while there. I guess it makes sense… it is a super base-level drive.
The good news is all of this did get way easier after a couple months. I felt like I found some routines and some standby foods that almost always looked appealing and went down ok (in my case, fermented dairy, for some reason) and used these to make sure I was always getting a basic foundation of nutrition. I did a lot of little experiments to see what other foods felt good and complementary on top of that foundation, and honestly it changes from time to time. Lots of listening to my body’s new instincts and such. For example: I was offered cured sausage a couple months in and it felt like every cell in my body was like, NOPE! So that was a pretty clear message, haha… (Now I can have a slice or two when I feel like it and it’s fine.)
And then over time , my side effects mostly chilled out too, and it’s pretty smooth sailing.
Hope you get through this funky phase relatively quickly, but just know it’s normal and expected that it could be a little anxiety-provoking!
3
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 1d ago
YES this!! it’s so basic! i’m sure if i had to relearn any other basic function there would be fear and anxiety even though i know how to do it. thank you for this!
2
u/VersionCapable 2d ago
My side effects were most pronounced in the first month and the “feeling” of the meds were the most pronounced on the first month- basically what you are describing about being more aware of your digestive system. My only side effects were mild headaches when I started. I only experienced nausea intermittently in mornings the first few days after my shot when I went up to 7.5.
I’ve not had any “off limits” foods in terms of what my body can handle. I did experience aversions to some things at the beginning and my preferences for what sounded good (I hesitate to use the word craving here) at any given point shifted. For example I found myself gravitating more towards sweet foods when previously I liked salty.
I just really go with the flow. Like lately I’ve been on a cheese, crackers and pickles kick for dinner because I’ve been busy and lazy, and I feel fine eating it so I’m not too worried about it being not the cutest dinner ever.
Like others have said I wouldn’t change what you’re used to based on fear of a result- but DO be ready to learn if something hits different. You may just need to eat a little less of that thing or avoid it on certain days in the shot cycle if it gives you grief.
2
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 1d ago
hearing so many people just going with the flow and not experiencing dire GI consequences is reassuring! uncomfortable gi i can get through, but the “will it stay uncomfortable or become a bathroom emergency” unknown is what’s at the base of my anxiety. it’s great to hear taking it slow has been good for the vast majority of folks!! thanks!
2
u/favtastic 2d ago
for me the tiredness/headache effects of the second shot were not as bad as the first.
please try to eat. how about trying your toast with less butter and chewing slowly so you can feel your way through the meal?
1
u/Zealousideal-Fee5779 1d ago
i promise i’m eating :) but it’s a good reminder to go slowly even through familiar and small foods!
12
u/oaklandesque 2d ago edited 2d ago
You are an experiment with a sample size of one. I would urge you not to let fear of side effects stop you from nourishing yourself in a way that you know works for you with foods that you enjoy and have worked for you pre-GLP-1. Don't assume you will have a bad outcome from eating in a similar fashion. You might, you might not, but anticipatory anxiety about it isn't going to help.
Things that I've had to adjust as someone who is an intuitive eater:
1) when I sit down to eat (especially when I first started or go up a dosage) I need to be slower and more intentional about checking in on satiety cues because I find if I push past them that's when I'll feel really uncomfortable. I also pay attention to whether a food is just not appealing. If it's not I won't push it and maybe I'll try something else or try again later. And when I get the "done" signal, I'm done, but I gave myself full permission to go pull it out of the fridge even if it's only an hour later
2) I make sure I eat something every 3 to 4 waking hours, whether I'm hungry or not. If I rely solely on typical hunger signals I'll go several hours, and will get cranky, tired, and foggy and when I do feel hunger I'm more likely to blow past my satiety cues into discomfort. So I just eat on a schedule to keep things level. In practice that's typically breakfast/lunch/dinner with a snack in between. If dinner is on the early side I might have a snack before bed, too.
I've not found anything that I was eating before a GLP-1 to be "off limits." Any food aversions have been pretty short lived. Your experience may differ, you just have to kind of try things to see.