Jim Hill:

Welcome to Weight Loss And, where we delve into the world of weight loss. I'm Jim Hill.

Holly Wyatt:

And I'm Holly Wyatt. We're both dedicated to helping you lose weight, keep it off, and live your best life while you're doing it.

Jim Hill:

Indeed, we now realize successful weight loss combines the science and art of medicine, knowing what to do and why you will do it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, the “And” allows us to talk about all the other stuff that makes your journey so much bigger, better, and exciting.

Jim Hill:

Ready for the “And” factor?

Holly Wyatt:

Let's dive in.

Jim Hill:

Here we go. Holly, I'm really excited about today's episode.

Holly Wyatt:

So am I. Because today we have a very special guest with us. Someone who's had an incredible weight loss journey using one of the new generation medications and I know our listeners are very interested. And I think her story is going to be great and her transformation isn't just about weight loss. So, you know, I love that. But it's also going to be about how her life has changed.

Jim Hill:

Yeah, we know that many of our listeners are very, very curious about weight loss medications. It's one of the most interesting topics out there, I think. How do they work? What do they feel like? Are they sustainable? What is it like when you go on one of these medications and stay on it long term? So today, we're diving into the real experience straight from someone who's lived it.

Holly Wyatt:

Let's get into it. Welcome, Maggie, to the show. We are so grateful that you're willing to be here and share your story with us.

Maggie:

Yes, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be able to share as well.

Holly Wyatt:

All right, Jim, you want to start it?

Jim Hill:

Yeah. So let's go back to the start. Before you started the medication, sort of what was your life like? What were you thinking? What motivated you to start thinking about meds? Where was your head at before?

Maggie:

Well, I have, I guess, kind of struggled with my weight a lot of my life. I won't say all of my life because, you know, as a young person, I was in pretty good shape. But, you know, I gained weight in college and that kind of started an endless cycle of gaining and losing weight, yo-yoing over the years. And I got into my career as a 20-something and really decided to focus on work and career over myself for so many years. And there was a period of, I'd say, a decade where I just... Gained weight constantly. And I would say over 10 years, I probably put on 100 plus pounds, 130 odd pounds, probably back and forth dieting and just kind of lost myself along the way as well. I was overworked, fatigued constantly and sacrificed my health for everything else. my career, pleasing other people, and just became a completely different person.

Jim Hill:

Wow. We hear that a lot though, Maggie, of you neglected yourself for all these other things. And it sounds like you kind of figured out it's time to take care of yourself.

Maggie:

Exactly. I feel like I did have a moment that was almost like an epiphany that I just realized all of these things are within my control and no one else can do it but me.

Jim Hill:

Wow.

Maggie:

And it's not that I hadn't tried before, but it was at a breaking point to there's got to be a more long-term solution to doing this and doing it the right way. I constantly wish that I could take some magic pill and wake up in the morning and be fit and everything would be better. And And then I realized one day that that wouldn't solve all my problems because I still had a lot of work I needed to do on myself. I think it was a shift in my mentality and going into this that has helped me have the success that I've had and hopefully will help me have long-term success.

Jim Hill:

Wow, Holly. This plays into exactly what you and I are saying.

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, I told you this is good. Yeah.

Jim Hill:

It's more than the scale. The scale is one measure of success, but that's not the only measure of success. And the other thing, Holly, you talk about this a lot, is actually taking care of yourself in other ways helps on managing the weight. The two are interchangeable.

Holly Wyatt:

Right, right. People think they're independent, but they're very much hooked together. So I think we got a good feeling of where you are, and I think that's a lot of our listeners are going to say, yes, I recognize all of that or pieces of that. What made you think about a weight loss medication as part of your journey?

Maggie:

I have tried other weight loss medications in the past, not without success, but I would go on a medication. Some of them you can only take for so long. And then I would go off of it, gain weight back or even plus more. I've tried different weight loss programs and nothing really had stuck. And I was approached about a clinical trial for oral semaglutide and I'd been at this breaking point of like I've got to seek, further intervention. I was considering like, do I consider some sort of surgery? Do I consider something extreme at this point? Because I cannot continue the way that I am. So when this clinical trial came up, I was very hesitant, of course, because it was a double blind study. There'd be no guarantee that I would get on the drug. And it was a significant time commitment, almost a year and a half. And if I happened to get in the placebo group, I would still have to commit to the year and a half. And, you know, I was at the point where I was ready.

But I thought a lot about it and weighed the pros and cons and eventually decided that taking this opportunity would be more of an advantage than disadvantage. The only thing I had to lose was time, but I had a lot to gain if I were on the medication, the study medication. So my start on this GLP-1 journey was probably not going to be typical for everyone else, but it became evident right away that I was on the medication. And then, of course, after that ended, I continued on the medication on my own and have tried different versions of what's out there with GLP-1s and finally found the one that works for me. I've been on almost all of them. The way that I got started is probably different than most people, but it was a great start for me specifically because not only was it working with a dietician who was guiding me with, exercise and diet, eating habit tools, but it also came with a cognitive behavioral therapy component, which I think is huge. And I know a lot of people on these types of medications, a lot of friends, and not all of them are in programs that have that focus. And I have seen, I think that's the difference between the success I've had and some of them getting off the medication and gaining back.

Holly Wyatt:

I want to back up just a minute because I know our listeners are going to want to know, what did it feel like when you first started the drug? Like, what was the difference, especially with these new generations? Sounds like you've been on some of the older medications before, but with these new generations, what did it feel like? You said you knew you were on the drug. How did you know? And I know you were blinded, but you felt like you knew. Tell us about that.

Maggie:

Oh, yeah. There was a lot of things that were evident from the very beginning. I would say just in the very first few weeks, of course, you first noticed like a slight decrease in appetite. One of the things that this particular drug did was food stays in your stomach longer. It slows down your digestion. I don't know the science of how it works exactly, but you can literally feel the food stay in your stomach for hours, you know, beyond what would be normal. And it wasn't necessarily a horrible feeling. I mean, at times I would eat a meal and then a few hours later go on a walk or something like that. And I could still feel the food in my stomach from a prior meal. And that was, you know, could sometimes be uncomfortable. And then obviously there's some nausea that goes along with these medications. But I think what I experienced in comparison to most was fairly minimal. I struggled at one particular dosage in the in the study, getting up to the highest dosage. But I really haven't had many issues with nausea apart from that. Beyond those physical feelings of what it felt like, you hear a lot of talk around these medications about food noise.

Jim Hill:

Yeah, that's a biggie.

Maggie:

I had never heard of food noise, but it was almost immediate that there was just something that was gone. Something that was like a dark cloud in my brain that had just evaporated. And it feels to me like also a little bit more than that. There's almost like my brain just now works the way it's supposed to. I know that kind of sounds weird, but it just changed something in the chemistry of my brain, it feels like to me, that is beyond suppressing appetite and beyond, weeding out food noise. It's just something works differently, you know?

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. And you didn't recognize it until it was gone. You just probably thought that was normal.

Maggie:

Exactly.

Holly Wyatt:

You're just like, that's the normal way to feel. And then suddenly it's gone and you're like, aha, this may be how normal people feel.

Maggie:

Yeah. Exactly.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. Wow.

Jim Hill:

So Maggie, how long have you been on the medications?

Maggie:

So I started this clinical trial in October of 2021, almost three and a half years, but there have been a few months here and there where I've had to be off the medication. For example, when the study concluded, I had to be off of it for a full two months before starting any other weight loss intervention to finish the study and gauge the results. And then, of course, there have been supply chain issues and supply and demand issues. And so there have been times where I've had to kind of go off the medication because it wasn't available. But overall, about close to three and a half years.

Holly Wyatt:

And how much, you don't need to tell us what you weigh, but approximately how much weight have you lost on and off the medications for that period of time?

Maggie:

I'm right about 100 pounds down.

Jim Hill:

Wow, that is fantastic. And by the way, you guys listening can't see her, but she looks absolutely fantastic.

Holly Wyatt:

But they can hear it, Jim. They can hear it.

Jim Hill:

They can hear it. Yes.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes.

Jim Hill:

All right. I want to get into maybe some of your future plans, but I have a question I want to ask you about when you started. When you started the medications, were you thinking about a long-term plan? Were you thinking this is something I'll do forever? Were you thinking I'll try it for a while? Did you have a long-term plan at that point?

Maggie:

I will say I did not have a long-term plan as far as the medication itself, but I had a long-term plan for my approach. I decided when I went into this that I was going to do it, quote-unquote, the right way this time. I was not going to let the numbers on the scale rule my mood or dictate my success. I was going to be determined to look at other metrics and be committed to a more of a health journey. That's kind of how I refer to it internally is my health journey rather than weight loss or diet. Because again, I was just at a point that regardless of if I lost weight, I just needed to be healthier. I needed to get more exercise. I needed to eat better.

Maggie:

And for more reasons than just how I looked or what I weighed. And so I went into it recognizing some of the things that had set me up for failure in the past, like having certain expectations or getting discouraged when you hit a plateau in weight loss and just being determined that those things were not going to derail me this time, that I was going to give myself a little bit of grace when things like that happen. Nobody can do 100% of the time. And we do what we can control in the moment. And don't beat yourself up when it doesn't go the way you want it to go. Continue moving forward and keep the end goal in sight. And I think also just I came into it with the realistic expectation of it took me 10 years to gain all this weight. It's probably going to take me at least half of that to lose it. I mean, realistically, I thought I cannot expect to lose this amount of weight in any less than four years.

Holly Wyatt:

Wow.

Maggie:

I've lost on average 30 to 35 pounds per year since I started. And I feel like I've got 30 more to go and I fully expect it to take another year and that'll be at, you know, about four or four and a half years.

Jim Hill:

Wow.

Maggie:

The other people I have seen have had quicker results, but I'm happy with my slow results because I feel like that means maybe they'll be more permanent. You know, I feel like I've done it at a consistent.

Holly Wyatt:

Well, what I hear from you is you got your mind right first which is music to my ears, because I think that's the missing piece. People think I will get my mind right later, if ever. But you said, no, I've got to go into this with a different mindset or mind state. I'm going to take the medication, but I'm going to get the biggest bang for my buck with it, because I'm going to do it with this right mindset from the beginning.

Maggie:

Right. But also with that is not biting off more than you can chew, no pun intended. But in the past, I've like, okay, I'm going to exercise for an hour every day and I'm going to count all my calories. I'm going to weigh all these things. I'm not going to eat any carbs, no sugar, and you do ABC, one through 10, however you want to call it. And you just set yourself up for failure because you're trying to focus on too many things at one time. So I also took my approach a little bit more low and slow. Like, okay, my goal is to get the recommended daily activity per week. And if for me, that means starting off with doing what I can in one or two days a week, then that's what I'll do. And then once I conquer that, I can look at doing an extended period of time or more days a week or step up the intensity. But to focus on one little thing at a time rather than to try trying to do it all at once, if that makes sense.

Jim Hill:

So, Maggie, is your plan to continue on the medications sort of indefinitely now?

Maggie:

That is something that I said a minute ago, I hadn't really given consideration to the medication, but that is something I'm starting to consider now as I'm starting to approach what could be a goal weight or a maintainable weight. And I've been having these conversations with my doctor for the last few months, really, because I'm at a little bit of a plateau right now in my weight loss. But I still, ideally, I think she and I both agree that I should try to lose another 15 to 20 pounds, 30 pounds would get me into that healthy BMI. But I've been asking the questions of like, when I get to maintenance, what does that look like? And what does it look like from what I'm able to be prescribed? I know in the past, I've taken other medications where in order to stay on the medication, you have to lose X percentage or whatever the guidelines are. And so on this medication, she has said that as long as you don't gain weight, you're able to stay on it. And I don't know that I want to take it long term because, you know, I don't know what we know about long term health effects. But a part of me also does want to take it forever because of, like I said, just that.

That quietness in my brain that I feel is there with the medication that is beyond the appetite suppressant and beyond some of the other physical things. So I really have not come to the conclusion of what I need for myself yet. I'm kind of waiting until I get there, but I'm starting to discuss it and weigh all of the options. I know that regardless, this medication has been a tool that has helped me develop better habits. And if I don't lose another pound, I will continue to do the exercise routine I've developed for myself. I will continue with the eating habits I've developed and hopefully to continue to view food and my healthy lifestyle the way that I currently do and not the way that I did. Continue to prioritize myself and my health.

Jim Hill:

Wow. A couple of things, Holly. One, you and I talk a lot of times about preparing for weight loss and looking at the timeline. People want to go out, they gained weight over 10 years, they want to go out and lose it in 10 months and so forth. And so Maggie really had a reasonable approach. Four years, wow, that's great. And even though, Maggie, you didn't have a specific plan long-term. I loved what you said of you were committed to a long-term health journey. And then over time, I think you figured out there's a difference between losing weight and keeping it off. And now you're at the point of beginning to consider your options for keeping it off.

Maggie:

For sure. Yes. Yeah.

Jim Hill:

All right. Holly.

Holly Wyatt:

Well, one more thing, Jim, because I love how she articulated better than I think we have, you know, this kind of dilemma between staying on the medication, wanting to stay on the medication and there being some fear. Well, what, you know, being on it long term or do I really want that? And I think that is where a lot of people are and where a lot of people who maybe are thinking about going on the medication, they're already, they're maybe even thinking about that. So I think that part was really, she did such a good job of that.

Jim Hill:

Yes. And because she also made these lifestyle changes of eating and exercise, it gives her more options over the long term. And unfortunately, Maggie, not everybody that goes on the medication has the benefit of getting help with lifestyle changes. And the medications are so powerful that you don't have to exercise or eat healthy to lose weight. But I think you're ahead of the game because as you're going to face weight loss maintenance, you have choices. Choice can be stay on medication, go to lifestyle, some combination of medication and lifestyle. Your health journey is wonderful, and I think you've learned so much.

Maggie:

Yeah, and I do think that's actually really important because I know a lot of people who are on some form of this medication. A lot of people in my life, a lot of friends, and I have seen it go not as well for a lot of people. And it's because I think they don't understand that this is a tool to help you develop good habits. I mean, in the past for me, I could do everything right, do everything by the book and still not only not lose weight, but even gain weight. And I think a lot of women struggle with that. So this is a tool that helps you be able to eat right and exercise or whatever and still see those results that motivate you to continue. But for some people who take the medication and just allow them to have their appetite suppressed, nausea can really get in the way for some people. But if they don't change their habits, I've seen them lose a bunch of weight and then get off the medication because it's making them sick and they don't need to be on anymore and gain all the weight back. But that nausea, I think, comes a lot when you make bad food choices as well.

Jim Hill:

Interesting.

Maggie:

And so those are, in my experience, the people that have had that experience are the people who didn't change their habits.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

Jim Hill:

Holly, I know you want to delve more into mind state because we talk about that being important. So talk a little bit more about the changes that you made for yourself that weren't diet and exercise related.

Maggie:

Well, I think, again, going back to the cognitive behavioral therapy component of this, just having those check-ins forced me to do some introspection with myself and learn to give myself some grace. This being, again, realistic just kind of gave me more of a positive outlook and perspective. And so it's been a whole journey emotionally as well with treating myself better, not just with input and output in my body, you know, food and exercise, but also input, output in my mind.

Holly Wyatt:

Has it affected your life? So you started this kind of change in mind state around losing weight. But have you seen kind of this, the way you're thinking about things impact bigger than that at all?

Maggie:

Yes, absolutely. And it's one of those things that I think about it constantly that I feel overall a lot less fatigued, a lot more motivated. I'm more able to stay on top of like just normal housework and daily tasks and all of the little responsibilities in my life. And I have so much more energy. and obviously that can be a byproduct of all the things that I'm doing as far as exercise and food and whatnot. I don't know what comes from the medication itself and what is just a byproduct of my lifestyle habits that I've changed, but it has gone beyond just the weight on the scale or how I look. It's how I feel. It's what I'm able to conquer in a day. My overall attitude towards life in general. I feel like a much just overall happier, more content person. I find so much more joy, all of the little things. And I think it's, you know, again, partly maybe because I'm exercising more, but I just overall have a better outlook on everything.

Jim Hill:

Wow. That's incredible.

Maggie:

And that's one of the things that also makes me in some ways terrified to go off the medication because I do feel so differently beyond my physical health and I'm afraid to lose that. But I know... Whatever I decide to do will be what my doctor and I think is right for me, not just physically, but emotionally and all the things.

Holly Wyatt:

I love that you brought your doctor into it and that you have a doctor that you can have these conversations with. And it sounds like you have developed this kind of, you know, have this good relationship and can use that. And one thing to remember is, let's say you do try to go off the medications for some point in time. You can go back on them. You're not making a decision that you can't change potentially in the future. So I love that you're taking it really seriously, but also realize, you can try different things and that's success. I think so many times people think I've got to choose it and what I got to do, and then I've got to be successful. And then, oh, there's some wiggle room here, definitely. Yeah, huge.

Jim Hill:

Maggie, Holly and I have worked with a number of people that have lost a lot of weight. And oftentimes people will talk about almost being a different person rather than seeing themselves as an overweight person needing to do that. They've almost changed their identity. They've changed how they think of themselves and that's changed how they've interacted with their friends and family and the world. Is that something you can relate to?

Maggie:

Absolutely. I mean, and it goes both ways because I had a shift gaining weight as well. I lost myself a little bit. So a lot of the people who have only been in my life in the last decade or so are like, "Oh, look at the new you" and the people who've known me forever are like, "Wow, you're back to the old you."

Holly Wyatt:

The real you.

Maggie:

You're right. I feel more myself again, really. And part of that is because on the course of my life where I was gaining weight, I just kind of shut down and lost interest in some of the things that I had interest in before, but kind of because I felt like I was too overweight to do them or whatever. I let some of those physical limitations get in the way of me being who I was. But then I started to lose the weight again, some of that has come back and definitely changes the way I interact with people because of my level of self-confidence. And to be honest, there is something that happens socially where people treat you differently as well.

Holly Wyatt:

Ah, well, that brings actually a question I was thinking about asking. How did your friends, family react to your weight loss? And then maybe how do people thatmaybe strangers, how have they reacted? We hear all different kinds of stories out there.

Maggie:

Yeah. And it's funny because I've been on this journey now for, like I said, going on three and a half years, but some people are just now starting to notice and these are people who are maybe not consistently in my life. You notice your weight a lot more or a lot sooner than other people notice your weight. And I think really, it's just started to come out of my face some. And so people have seen that and they're like, oh, have you lost a little bit of weight recently? And I'm like, well, over the last three years, I've lost a hundred pounds, but people are just now starting to notice. And yeah, I'm seeing that I get talked to by strangers more often. I get more smiles from people, I feel. And again, I don't know sometimes what is an internalization of the way I feel versus what really is, but I felt a little more invisible before, also tried to be invisible before just because I was embarrassed about the way I looked. And as far as my family and friends, though, I've got family all over the country, so I don't see them very often. But when I do, they've not only remarked on what I look like and how much better I look and whatever, but they've also said, wow, you seem like you are really happy and you just seem like you're in a really good place and it's so good to see you this way again.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

Jim Hill:

Wow.

Holly Wyatt:

So any bumps in the road? I know you had some. We all have curveballs. Was there anything that you may be unexpected challenges, and they could be physical, emotional, social, any kind of what were some of the challenges you faced during this journey?

Maggie:

Physically, I'll say something that I really didn't expect was as I have lost weight, my posture has changed and gotten better. And I think part of that is because I don't have this weight in the front of my body kind of pulling me forward. And so I've had some kind of back and neck issues along the way. And I don't know if that's just as I'm losing the weight, my spine is starting to kind of readjust. And I'm doing a lot of functional strength training. So those muscles are getting stronger too.

I've had to go to physical therapy a couple of times to work on some issues there. I never would have expected that. But every three months, I do a body composition analysis that does a body scan. And it shows the outline of your body and it compares it from your starting to your most recent. And you can see the alignment of my body and my posture change over the months. So physically, that was something that was unexpected, having to deal with some neck and shoulder issues related to that. Socially, I've already covered that. Emotionally working on the the self-love part of it and that has been more difficult than I would have imagined. I can have great success but sometimes there are still things that we have a tendency to beat ourselves up about. Despite success they're always going to be difficult days. But just really working on not letting that dictate, the rest of my day or my week or whatever it be.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

Jim Hill:

All right. I want to ask a question here that you're free to not answer if you don't want to.

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, Jim.

Jim Hill:

Oh, come on, Holly. She's so good. I wouldn't do this, except she is so tremendously good. One of the things that we talk about, Maggie, is understanding your why. Why for weight loss. And when we ask people weight loss, the first answers we get are my health and this and that. And what we do is encourage people to dig deeply. And usually that why is more an emotional why. Are you comfortable sharing your real why that you were able to do this incredible journey?

Maggie:

Yeah. I feel like I just finally recognized that my lifestyle habits were contributing to me not feeling happy and content in life when I had no reason not to be. I'm very blessed. I've got a lot of great things going for me. And I let some of these factors get in the way of that. And my sisters started having kids and life is starting to change. There's a new generation in the picture. And I wanted to be happy and energetic and fulfilled to be able to help instill them with those things and just live my life to the fullest. My dad passed away at an early age when I was in college. So I also wanted to be mindful of the health aspects too to be able to live long and be around for all this with my family yeah I mean I think it was just.

Holly Wyatt:

I love it. You wanted more. She wanted more in her life, right? More.

Jim Hill:

Holly, happiness. I've been telling you. Health is part of happiness but it's only a small part of it. The reason is to be happy and you nailed it, Maggie.

Holly Wyatt:

And to have bigger life, right? A juicy life.

Maggie:

100%. Like I said, I felt a little bit physically limited, not doing some of the things I wanted to do. I love to kayak. I like to get out and play pickleball. I love to do all of these things, hike, swim but I felt physically limited in what I was able to do too. And I'm like, I'm not going to let this stand in my way anymore. Life is short. And honestly, part of it was COVID lockdown, of having some time to be at home and get outside and go kayaking or for a walk or whatever, and just really noticed how much I had been missing out on in life and really deciding that I wasn't going to be physically limited by what I wanted to do anymore.

Holly Wyatt:

What I love about what you just said is she paused. COVID gave her a break to pause long enough to kind of say, I want my life to be different. And that's what people have to do. Sometimes life's happening so fast, they never pause long enough. COVID may have been part of the reason why she got that pause, but even without COVID, you can pause long enough to think about your life. Is it what you want it to be? And what you want it to be is internal and up to you. It's not up to anybody else, but this is yes. This is exactly what I think people need to hear.

Maggie:

Yeah, I mean, I definitely think that was the catalyst for me like really making my mind up about it because I had been working consistently for, a decade or more, 50, 60, 70, 80 hours a week, and really just focusing on work. And that period forced me to not work and forced me to do something else with my time and really start to figure out what were the things that I loved. That was definitely a part of what shifted my decision to prioritize myself and my health, because no one else can do it for you. And if you don't do it, you know, no one's coming to save you.

Jim Hill:

Wow, that's great. This new class of medications has helped people achieve weight loss that was pretty much not feasible for most people before.

Jim Hill:

And one of the things that I think it's done, Maggie, is to change how we think about success. So you've lost 100 pounds, but when you're telling us what you're excited about, that doesn't come out on top. That stuff that comes out on top is how your life has changed. How you're happier. Oh yeah I lost 100 pounds but that isn't what I'm touting. I'm touting that I'm my old self. People tell me you have figured it out. You're wonderful and it's more than just the scale, and the scale is important part of it don't get me wrong, but it's way more than the scale, I think, that the success you've achieved.

Maggie:

Right. Yes, I agree. And just feeling better mentally is a huge, huge part of it. But also just feeling stronger. I think that's another metric I use for myself besides the scale. And that is that I can do certain physical things. I just feel stronger in general. And that gives me confidence and that gives me joy. And I think it's all tied together for sure.

Holly Wyatt:

That's it. It's all tied together. And you can pull on one thread, but it's so much bigger. And I think you've done a great job of sharing how that is for you and really allowing other people to kind of think about what that would mean for them too. So it brings us, I think, to maybe the last question. And then you can ask us a couple of questions if you want to. But what advice would you give to someone considering a weight loss medication?

Maggie:

I think my biggest piece of advice, and I have a couple of friends that would attest that I'd give this to them unsolicited all the time, but is to give yourself grace. No one can do anything perfectly all of the time. And expecting that you can is just going to set you up for failure. And if you have a busy day and you aren't able to get to the gym, you don't beat yourself up about it. You just say, oh, well, this day got away from me. I'll do better tomorrow, or I'll make sure I get it in the next day. But you don't focus on your little obstacles along the way. And I think that can be difficult for people. It has been difficult for me in the past and just learning to give myself a little bit of grace and know that holidays happen and we eat and we drink and we make poor choices sometimes, but that doesn't have to dictate the long-term results that you're seeking. You know, that can be a blip in the road. You can do better next week. You can make up for it. Nothing is ever it has to be all good all the time. And I think from diet culture and counting calories and whatnot, we kind of train ourselves that if we don't hit these certain metrics, like on the scale or in calorie count or macros or whatever it is that, oh, all is ruined and I've got to start all over. That's not the case. And, you know, giving yourself that little bit of grace and not beating yourself up for things, I think, goes a long way in the long-term motivation and success.

Jim Hill:

Holly, I love it. She's saying everything we talk about for success and it's worked for her. So she has real credibility here. So people that are listening to this, I mean, there's real hope here in this story of how you did it. And we urge you to get started. Take that first step.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So we ask you a lot of questions, especially Jim. He went in and he asked you some vulnerable questions. So if there's any questions for us, I would say give the hard one to Jim because he deserves it.

Holly Wyatt:

But we're willing to answer any questions. It's only fair. If you have any questions for us, we'll be in the hot seat.

Maggie:

I feel like since I have the opportunity to be in front of a couple of health professionals who are well-versed in this class of medication, the professional conversation I have often is with my doctor, and we have great conversations, but I would love to hear more about what y'all's point of view is of long-term use of this medication and what you would suggest for someone who is potentially going off the medication, how to handle the return of some of the food noise and things like that, because that is an added layer onto, you can have all of the great habits in the world, but inevitably this fog is going to return. And so what is your professional opinion on long-term use and how to handle that?

Jim Hill:

Holly, you want to go first?

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, no, no, no, Jim, you're in the hot seat this time. Don't even, don't even try.

Jim Hill:

Okay, Maggie. So I love what you said that these are tools. These are fantastic tools. There is no question these medications can help many, many people achieve an amount of weight loss that was previously unachievable. To me, the issue is long-term. We've always talked about losing weight is a different process than keeping the weight off. And so for me, if you lose weight on the medications, now you have some choices in how you keep it off. Quite frankly, long-term use of the medication seems to be perfectly fine if you aren't unduly affected by the side effects. We don't know what we don't know, but the data suggests that these things are safe over time and that if you continue to take it, it's going to continue to help you keep the weight off. So that's one option. The opposite option would be because you've actually made the lifestyle changes to say, you know what, I want to see if I can keep the weight off without the medications because I've learned the behaviors that will help do that. And so you can look at healthy eating. you can look at increase in physical activity. The tough one, as you said, is the food noise. I don't think we have a way to do that. And then I think there's an in-between. I think you can do some medication, some lifestyle. I think people are experimenting with intermittent use of the medication. They're looking at some of the other medications that weren't so powerful for weight loss that may be available for weight loss maintenance. The good news is you have many options of how to do it. And as Holly said, in the worst case, if you want to try going off the meds, you can always come back to them. And it's nice to know that they're there. So I would encourage people to think about getting the weight off and then think about options for long-term weight loss maintenance. It can include the meds. If for some reason the side effects aren't tolerable or other aspects, there are some other strategies.

Holly Wyatt:

So I agree with Jim, except for one thing. One thing I disagree, which you'll be shocked, Jim, on this food noise, I don't want you to go into this thinking the food noise is going to return. And it feels like to me, that's one of the big things you're scared of because this has been such a big change for you, this feeling differently. But I don't think we know for sure. I think with some of your new habits, your exercise, you know, and we can talk about the amount, maybe the timing, even the timing of food, what you're eating, I think that could impact food noise. So does it mean maybe it'll come back a little bit? Maybe it won't come back at all. I wouldn't want you to go into thinking it's going to come back. It's going to come back. What if it doesn't? What if it doesn't?

Jim Hill:

Holly, I'll have to admit that's a good point because we don't know. We don't know if you're basically the new you. You're very different in so many ways. We don't know for sure that you're going to experience that.

Maggie:

Yeah, that's a fair point. I really hadn't thought about it that way. Just because the few times that I have had to go off the medication along this journey, it has returned. But I have been on it now fairly consistently without even a supply chain interruption for, I would say, at least a year. So honestly, it really hadn't occurred to me that that could be a possibility. But I do see how... Like you said, consistency with diet and exercise could potentially make it at least lessened, if not go away.

Jim Hill:

Yeah, it might be more manageable than it was before.

Maggie:

Right. And one of the big things I've talked about with my doctor of what will likely happen at first before I try going off of the medication would be to just decrease my dosage.

Jim Hill:

Yes.

Maggie:

And so it may be that we find something that is like a sweet spot of like a low dose of the medication and that works to reduce the food noise enough that I don't have to be on the full strength or eventually wean all the way off.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. My suggestion would, when you decide it's time to do that with your doctor, make sure your activity is high. Make sure you're getting in and you're doing the things that you like to do. And during that transition, make sure you are, the lifestyles you've already developed, especially the physical activity, is on board and see what that does to you. And we're all individual. I think different people may react a little bit differently. But I think that's something that's, that will be a great experiment for you to try and see what happens.

Jim Hill:

Well, we're going to have you back maybe in another year and see what you decided to do.

Holly Wyatt:

I think six months. Let's have her back in six months and see.

Jim Hill:

I'd have her on every week. She's so good.

Holly Wyatt:

I would too.

Maggie:

Well, y'all have been great. And I've really enjoyed having this conversation with you as well.

Jim Hill:

Well, I think your story is very valuable to our listeners. And you've gone through it, and you figured out everything in the right way. I love it. It couldn't be more appropriate for what we're trying to get across on this podcast.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. We want to help people find what works for them and really find what works for them to create a healthier but happier. And that's really what I think kind of the message that came home, happier life. So thank you so much for sharing so openly.

Jim Hill:

Maggie, you were incredible. Your story is so inspiring, and I hope it'll help other people take that first step to start losing weight and changing their life. But let us hear from you. If you have a success story like Maggie, let us know. You might get on the podcast and become famous and get your own sitcom or who knows. But we want to hear from you. Send us questions. We're always looking for questions. But Maggie, this has been incredible, and we thank you so much for sharing your story.

Maggie:

Thank you for allowing me to share it. I feel like I had a lot to say and I'm glad to have the opportunity to say it.

Holly Wyatt:

Bye, everybody.

Jim Hill:

And that's a wrap for today's episode of Weight Loss And. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of weight loss with us.

Holly Wyatt:

If you want to stay connected and continue exploring the “Ands” of weight loss, be sure to follow our podcast on your favorite platform.

Jim Hill:

We'd also love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or topic suggestions by reaching out at [weightlossand.com](http://weightlossand.com/). Your feedback helps us tailor future episodes to your needs.

Holly Wyatt:

And remember, the journey doesn't end here. Keep applying the knowledge and strategies you've learned and embrace the power of the “And” in your own weight loss journey.