The Golden Opportunity: How to Use GLP-1 Medications Wisely

It's not easy addressing the underlying psychological aspects that contribute to obesity. The key part to using weight loss injections correctly is understanding that they provide a break from this complexity. They press pause on all those intricate psychological aspects that underlie an unhelpful and unhealthy relationship with food that literally fuels obesity.

But this respite from the food noise only lasts as long as you take the medication. Once you stop, it comes back. Those underlying issues were always there, but just given reprieve whilst you took them. This might sound depressing, but it is actually a golden opportunity; an essential breathing space that allows people time to work on the underlying issues without being distracted and tormented by their appetite.

It's all too easy to see these medications as a magic bullet: a simple answer to the complex question of obesity. Patients have flocked to online pharmacies to get these drugs but too often they are being dished out without the additional psychological support that is essential if these drugs are going to work in the long term. Instead, it needs to be seen holistically, with these drugs as only part of the solution.

Research now suggests that a significant proportion of people on these medications regain some or all of their weight loss after stopping the medication. One study showed that participants regained about two thirds of their prior weight loss within 12 months of treatment withdrawal. Another study found that after stopping semaglutide, participants regained an average of 11.6% of their body weight.

The reason? They haven't done the psychological work that's needed to ensure they change their relationship with food and their body. Old habits die hard, and people need support and guidance on how to address the underlying issues that resulted in them being overweight, yet this isn't happening.

Who really wants to take a drug unless they really need it? It's all too easy to put someone on these medications and then hit the repeat prescription button again and again. This approach, however, turns what could be a transformative intervention into a lifelong dependency, which serves neither the patient's best interests nor addresses the core issues that led to obesity in the first place.

The goal should be to use these medications to get to a healthy weight range and then stop whilst maintaining the progress made. This requires using the medication as a window of opportunity to do the psychological work necessary to ensure that when you stop, you can maintain your weight. With the right approach, these medications can be the catalyst for permanent, positive change.