A year goes by quickly, for sure. I was looking at my weekly Zepbound log and realized I had been doing this for 52 weeks – that’s one whole year!

I’m still on that dose and holding steady. I had experienced some plateaus for several weeks, then another drop of a pound or two over the next several. Once in a while, I would pop back up a few pounds, depending if I ate a saltier meal with a few drinks the day before. I’m more convinced now that alcohol also plays a role in those temporary spikes.

Once I resumed my normal eating habits, the number would always settle back down in a few days.

A year by the numbers

I started the 2.5 mg starter dose of Zepbound (tirzepatide) weighing in at 182 lbs. By week 16, I had dropped to 175 and plateaued. I increased the dose to 5 mg, where I’ve remained since. By week 52, I had dropped to 160. In total, over the course of this year, I’ve lost about 22 pounds. I say “about” because there’s always a little fluctuation up or down by a pound or two.

One of the pieces of advice I’ve kept in the forefront is to use the smallest dose that has the effect you want. For me, 5 mg was the sweet spot. It has proven to have the most benefit with the least side effects.

In total, I’ve shed around 12% of my original body weight. For me, that is enough. If I stay at this weight and maintain my muscle mass, I’ll be a happy woman.

My observations

I think the GLP-1 offers a sense of consistency in how my body feels regarding food. I no longer have the desire to fill my plate, especially when there is a variety of tempting things offered. It’s like my brain knows that an over-full plate will end in huge discomfort and I have no interest in that feeling. It contributes heavily to my attitude towards and desire for food.

I do get hungry, just not as soon and I’m not as ravenously “hangry” as I used to be. I still try to have something small and nutritious every three to four hours. Usually, I try to find some sort of protein or fiber. Sometimes, I do forget to eat if I’m particularly busy. That’s when the hunger starts to creep in and I realize that it’s been a while since my last meal. But, it’s not overwhelming and a little food goes a long way.

I love food, especially food that’s really delicious. When I’m out and there’s a menu or someone else’s cooking, I’m happy to partake. I just know that there’s a limit. Sometimes, I’ll just go for an appetizer or two. If I have a full entree, I’ll happily take half home for another day. The drug hasn’t changed my enjoyment of eating. It just affects how much is enough.

The only downside that I can report is when I don’t drink enough fluid and eat enough fiber. The constipation problem is real, and must be mindfully managed. There are days when I don’t really eat a lot and I forget to get those extra servings of fruits and vegetables. I always put fiber and chia seeds in my protein shake in the morning, but that’s not nearly enough to get the 25-35 grams per day I should be getting. That’s on me to stay more on top of that.

So what are the benefits that I’ve noticed this year?

Five real benefits of GLP-1 use (for me)

1. Improved lipid panel

The co-morbidity that was necessary for my insurance to approve me starting the medication, other than being overweight, was a high cholesterol count. While technically, it just tipped over the “high” range in August 2025, it was enough for the approval.

As I reported in February, my lipid panel showed significant improvement since starting the medication. Specifically, my total cholesterol improved (206 to 190), the triglycerides plummeted (160 to 54), my HDL remained the same (60, which was great to start), and my VLDL also reduced by a lot (32 to 11).

I’ll have another panel done in late August. To be continued…

2. Feeling the need for less food

I remember, before the medication, I had done the tracking, saw the nutritionist, tried to sustain 1400 calories (which never lasted long). I always felt hungry, no matter how much “willpower” I was trying to use. It was frustrating, doing the right thing and feeling like I couldn’t sustain it. And the scale went up and down mercilessly.

Once I established the dose that seemed to work best, I learned that I don’t have to worry too much about how much to eat or when the hunger would stop. It became clear very quickly that I didn’t need that much. As long as I was careful about getting protein and fiber, everything else would fall into place (nutritionally speaking). I already enjoyed a variety of good food. I just didn’t need as much of it to feel sated.

3. Feeling less desire for dessert and alcohol

Before the medication, I’d have a glass of wine with dinner most nights of the week. It was just a habit, I suppose, a treat for myself. I’m much less interested in alcohol now. Maybe it was more about learning just how bad it is for you, but I don’t even buy it anymore to have in the house. If I go out to dinner, I’ll have something. But to be honest, I don’t even feel the buzz of that one drink anymore. It’s just not interesting to me and certainly not worth it to keep it in the house. Plus, it leaves me dehydrated and saps my energy.

As for dessert, I still like it, but I’m much happier with something small. A huge slice of cake is unappealing to me. But a little ice cream, a cookie or two, or a few squares of dark chocolate will certainly hit the spot. Too much really feels too much.

4. Recognizing the body shape I want

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super thrilled with the meno-pooch I was sporting for years. I still wore a leotard to gymnastics, but I had to “get over” the belly that I couldn’t get rid of. As the weeks progressed and the fat shrunk, not only did I notice, but others did too. It’s funny, people are (for good reason) reticent to talk about someone else’s body shape. But once in a while, a friend or colleague who knew me well would quietly let me know they noticed.

I’ve always been strong and mobile. But, in navigating middle age and perimenopause, the expanding visceral fat-wrap around my middle felt sadly unavoidable. I hated it, because the body shape didn’t reflect the body that matched what I was able to achieve in my gymnastics training. It felt like a cruel trick the universe played on me. I think most middle-aged women would agree with that sentiment.

Now, I see the athletic body that I have been cultivating for years. I have no desire to be “snatched” or “ripped” or whatever the skinny-obsessed gym-heads call it. But when I look in the mirror now, I see the muscle shaping I’ve been building all these years. It’s very satisfying for the image I see in the mirror to more closely match the image I have of myself in my head. My athletic performance also reflects that work.

5. Less weight = easier training

In addition to the visual disappointment, the extra weight made that training harder in every activity. When you’re swinging from a high bar, doing handstands, or landing flips, twenty-plus pounds makes a big difference on your joints and skeletal system.

Despite that, even as I’ve navigated this extended life change, I’ve managed to “up the ante.” I’m not just maintaining, but actually building more strength and skill through my gymnastics activity.

Let’s be real: When you think about an average woman over fifty, do you think about her as an athlete? Usually, no. Any movement they do is focused on preventing the physical decline of aging, not building athletic strength. For me, the latter is my focus. Preventing decline in the next forty to fifty years will be a happy side-effect.

It feels like the weight loss has helped me to gain new skills with a little less impact to my joints. Here’s the caveat: with GLP-1 medications, part of the loss often occurs in muscle in addition to the fat. Knowing that, I’ve been very intentional to prioritize protein in everything I eat (since I’m not as hungry and I feel satiated much faster). I think that alone has gone a long way to keeping the strength curve going up.

Thinking about starting a GLP-1?

My advice is to see your doctor. Get the bloodwork done. See what your cholesterol levels are. If you can, get a DEXA scan done. With the insurance companies, sometimes being overweight isn’t enough. They may need a co-morbidity like high cholesterol to approve it.

Also, whatever you do, avoid the compounded versions of GLP-1s that are running rampant all over social media. They are not regulated at all and you don’t really know if the dose you are getting is accurate. Best to go with the prescription stuff. And there are more versions that are being tested as we speak. In the nearish future, I imagine the shots will be replaced by pill forms.

For more information

One of the docs I’ve been following closely is Dr. Michelle Gordon, a board-certified Osteopathic Physician (DO) with lots of letters behind her name. Her specialty is “clinical education on midlife metabolic physiology and obesity medicine” and shares freely the current research that is not easily accessible to the general public.

I’ve learned so much from her posts, which seem to support my decision to stay on the medication. She also provides the caveats that, depending on your medical situation, might make you think twice before starting.

She’s also great at taking on the noise of the “gym-bro culture” on social media, offering the honest science with receipts. Her website talks about her practice and offers articles about obesity and the menopause transition. She also has a Substack that you might find interesting if you want to dig a little deeper.

A word about the naysayers

I’ve heard a lot of “opinion talk” people have about GLP-1 being considered “cheating” or lack of willpower. That opinion is a load of crap. Sorry, not sorry.

If you have high blood pressure, when you go to the doctor, they’ll likely put you on medication to lower it quickly and put you in a safer health space. Then you can (and should) work on improving the habits that will put your body in a better state of overall health long term. The choice to start a GLP-1 follows a similar line of logic.

Dr. Gordon talks about obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease that needs precise medical attention. GLP-1s are an excellent tool that are now widely available to help us achieve the health outcomes we seek. They are also proving to benefit the heart, kidney, liver, insulin response, and reduce systemic inflammation. As more studies come out, more benefits are discovered.

I’ve also heard a lot of complaints about hair loss as a result of taking GLP-1s. That is not my experience; I don’t see any more hair in the shower drain than before I started taking it. That said, I have read that hair thinning (called telogen effluvium) is due largely to rapid weight loss, the stress on the body that it causes, and the subsequent nutrient deficiency. If you lose the weight slowly and gradually, your body won’t be working so hard to maintain your nutrient needs and you should be able to mitigate the hair shedding. This is an article about it from the Cleveland Clinic.

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I acknowledge that no medication is for everyone. But everyone can and should be properly informed about their health options. Don’t subscribe to the BS that is touted by non-medical “influencers.” There is plenty of access to research and solid science that can inform your conversations with your doctor.

You can read my first post called GLP-1 and Me to learn more about what went into my decision to start one year ago. If you are considering it, hopefully my story will help you in your decision-making process. Never take starting new medications lightly, as they definitely affect everyone differently. But, don't deny yourself a valid medical strategy because of incomplete or unreliable information.