08/14/2026
DON’T BE LIKE MIKE: A GLP PSA
Mike is my husband. I love Mike but Mike is also my favorite example of what NOT to do while taking a GLP.
Mike takes his medication.
Mike loses weight.
Mike also eats like crap.
Mike doesn’t strength train.
Mike makes very few changes to his actual lifestyle.
Then Mike stops his medication for a while…
Mike: “Why am I gaining weight back?”
GLP-1 medications are incredible tools, but they are not a substitute for building habits that can support your results long-term.
And these medications are doing a LOT more than simply making you less hungry.
GLP-1–based medications improve glucose regulation by helping your pancreas release insulin appropriately when blood sugar is elevated and reducing inappropriate glucagon release. As weight and metabolic health improve, insulin sensitivity can improve too.
Why does that matter?
Insulin is essentially one of the signals that tells your cells, “Hey, there’s glucose available—let’s use it.”
When you’re more insulin sensitive, your body can respond to insulin more efficiently, helping glucose move from your bloodstream into cells where it can be used for energy or stored for later. That means better glucose control and less demand on the pancreas to continually produce higher amounts of insulin.
And here’s the part people forget:
Exercise—especially resistance training—also improves insulin sensitivity.
Active muscle can increase glucose uptake during exercise through pathways that don’t depend entirely on insulin, and regular training makes skeletal muscle more responsive to insulin afterward.
So while your medication is creating a metabolic environment that may make weight loss and glucose control easier, THAT is the time to capitalize on it:
Eat enough protein
Build and preserve muscle
Improve the quality of your diet
Move your body regularly
Stay hydrated
Prioritize sleep
Learn portions and hunger/fullness cues
Create habits you can actually maintain
Because if the only thing that changes during treatment is how much you eat because the medication makes you less hungry, what happens if you eventually stop it?
