Congratulations will not be in order
As of this morning, I am two pounds from the goal* I set, not back in February, but at some point along the way as I learned how tirzepatide, aka Zebound, actually works.
I stood on the scale, chuckling to myself and thought, “I wonder if angels will sing when the scale shows me the magic number?”
Will I feel like shouting it from the rooftops like I did the last time I lost a significant amount of weight (20 years ago)?
The answer was an immediate NO.
Because I no longer see it as a measure of my worthiness.
It's not an accomplishment. I haven’t “worked hard.” I don’t need (or want) a prize for “good behavior” or for “making healthy choices.” I haven't conquered anything. I didn't win a battle. I didn’t join a whip-your-booty-into-shape boot camp. Can we just stop with the use of war-related analogies when it comes to our bodies?
Don’t get me wrong: I feel amazing on many levels. I feel more "me." I feel freer mentally, emotionally, and physically. I felt that way shortly after my first injection and before I lost any significant weight.
And the reason I feel that way is precisely because this wasn’t a will-power-ed, white-knuckled, all-out “weight loss journey” designed to prove for once and for all that I am not an ignorant pathetic loser fat slob who can’t control herself…which is what I spent much of my life trying to prove.
It was easy. As well it should be.
All of that being said, it took a good friend (who is also on tirzepatide) to lovingly catch me with my internalized-diet-culture pants down.
I was very reasonably sharing with her how, when I transition to maintenance (which means either going down in dose or staying on my current dose and stretching out the time in between injections), I may have to tolerate “food noise” and “control myself” when that happens.
Ooof.
It’s only now that I can hear it…the shaming, restrictive, “you must not be trying hard enough” and “it’s not a worthy effort if you’re not suffering” voice.
One of the reasons I started this Substack was to explore how GLP-1 weight loss medications might just be the thing that actually takes us, collectively, out of diet culture altogether…if we let it.
It’s gonna take a while. It’s embedded in all our systems and institutions, and in us individually.
We go on this medication thinking it’s a diet. Our doctors tell us (like mine did before I educated him) that “once you’ve learned some good habits and lost the weight,” you won’t need this medication. You don’t want to have to rely on it.
As if we are, ahem, ignorant slobs who can’t control themselves and god forbid have to rely on something outside ourselves. That we receive a level of care that is, for the most part, gentle.
It’s important to understand how tirzepatide works (and let me preface what I am about to share with this: it doesn’t work this way for everyone but there is much research and development on related medications that will work…stay tuned).
That same friend who showed me my internalized diet culture loves to do deep-dive research and translate it into words that make it easier to understand. These are her words:
To say it just makes you eat less / makes you less hungry is an oversimplification that fosters the belief that the problem is behavioral. It isn't. It's hormonal.
Tirzepatide targets two hormones: GLP-1 and GIP. It slows gastric emptying (so you feel fuller longer and can't eat as much) and it helps the body regulate blood glucose and insulin sensitivity. When the body is insulin resistant, the body cannot burn fat. Insulin like a "gate." If the gate is closed, fat cannot be accessed. The GLP-1 agonist opens the gate.
The other receptor, GIP, binds to fat cells and helps the body regulate what is called "fuel partitioning." Fuel partitioning is the body's way of burning carbs or fat. When the GIP hormone binds to the fat cells, it is essentially telling the brain that there is plenty of fuel to burn and that there is no need to consume more. Because the insulin gate is now open and the brain can "see" how much fat is available, hunger signals become regulated.
When these things are not happening, you will be hungry and have cravings (and thus may feel like you "have to" restrict because the fat is locked behind the insulin gate and the brain doesn't know it's there and available to use.
So, it does make you eat less. But because of the hormones at play, it makes eating less a "non-issue." It will not feel stressful or like you have to fight against your tendencies with cravings and hunger.
Rather than putting my body back into the stress/survival response that would result from the “food noise” coming back and my hormones no longer working the way they’re supposed to, then telling myself to eat less, maintenance will be about finding the sweet spot where the “food noise” stays at bay and I can eat enough to maintain my goal weight.
It’s not about stress, shame, discomfort, powering through, scarcity, and restriction.
It’s about comfort, thriving, receiving nourishment, and being open to abundance.
*How I chose my goal weight: I eventually chose a particular number of pounds to lose because it represents an exact 30% loss of my starting weight. Plus, it’s an even number and I like even numbers. It’s not based on BMI and in fact, is five pounds “over weight” according to BMI.
