[Mini] GLP-1s, Your Hormones, & Building Sustainable Habits | Ep. 153

I'm Bridget Walton, a Women's Hormone Coach helping ambitious women ages 25-40 naturally restore hormone balance, fix irregular periods, feel confident in their fertility, and resolve gut health issues without restrictive dieting.

If you struggle with missing periods, PCOS symptoms, bloating, or unpredictable cycles, this women's health podcast will teach you how to support your hormones through strategic nutrition and lifestyle changes that actually fit your busy life.

On I'm Hormonal, you'll discover natural solutions for period problems, learn how gut health impacts your hormones, and get practical hormone balance tips from a functional nutrition perspective - no more guessing what your body needs.

Wondering if or how GLP-1s could be influencing your hormone and gut health? Learn the basic impacts of GLP-1s on gut and hormones which could be influencing your fertility. If you thought that you would have to wait until you're off GLP-1s to work 1:1 with a nutritionist/coach, you'll find that that's actually the best time to get started so you set yourself up for success when you transition off. 

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👉 DM us on Instagram @im_hormonal - we want to hear your biggest takeaway

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Mini-Episode Setup
• 0:56 What GLP-1s Are And Why They’re Popular
• 2:30 Protein Intake, Muscle, And Hormone Building
• 4:00 Nutrient Gaps And Meal Variety
• 4:35 Gut Motility, Bloating, And Microbiome Risks
• 5:41 Root Causes Beyond Weight Loss
• 7:18 Transitioning Off GLP-1s With Support
• 8:28 Final Notes, Disclaimers, And How To Connect

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hello and welcome to episode number 153 of the I'm Hormonal Podcast. I'm your host, Bridget Walton. I'm so happy that you're here today. I'm so glad that you came back or that you found me for the first time. Welcome to you. I'm Bridget, a women's hormone coach, and I help women using holistic nutrition, functional lab testing, and personalized protocols to help you understand what's going on with your hormones. What got you to where you are? Where do you need to go, and how can we get there as soon as possible? So that's what we are doing here on the I'm Hormonal Podcast. We have usually one episode a week for you on Tuesdays, a little bit of a longer episode, and then Thursdays are mini episodes like this where we just touch, touch on a topic real quick or recap. So let's get into it on that note. GLP1s, that's a topic that I wanted to touch on today because I mean it's obviously a huge part of conversation here in the United States. I'm like getting just blasted with commercials or ads for them. I'm always hearing about GLP ones. And it's also something that I talked about recently with some other practitioners that I've had conversations with clients or with friends with. So I thought we should talk about it. Now, one thing that I've been asked in the past is, hey, I'm taking a GLP one. Can we work together? Or is that, you know, is that a showstopper? But the answer is a resounding no, not a showstopper at all. And actually, let me take a step back because if you are somehow new to this conversation about GLP1s, then you'll want to know that GLP1s are medications that prevent people from having that same appetite, right? So they're generally eating much less food, they're losing weight. It's also supportive of blood sugar, among other things. This is a medication that, of course, is going to be prescribed by, well, by a physician, by your physician, by wherever you're getting it. Um, but right, commonly folks are taking GLP1s in order to achieve their weight loss goals. Okay, now we're all on the same page. So now that we've got that context, let's take a look at what impact does taking GLP1s have when we're thinking about your hormone health specifically. And the first thing I want to touch on is protein, protein deficiency, potentially, because for some folks who are taking GLP1s, their appetite is suppressed so dramatically that they're not hitting anywhere near their protein goals. And protein, yes, is really important for your hormone production. Amino acids are literally the building blocks for your hormones. Also, cholesterol, which is coming from those healthy fats. So when people say, Well, can we work together while I'm on a GIP one? I say, yes, this is probably the best time for you to work together with somebody one-on-one because we can get really nitty-gritty. We can put together a plan that's going to work for you so you understand how to build a healthy, nutritious meal that's going to help you feel satiated. Once you come off those GLP ones, you can build those good habits that keep you feeling good, keep your energy stable while you're taking the GLP1. So once you get off, you are in good shape. You don't have to figure that out all at the same time when your appetite is suddenly back. But right, muscle mass is really important for your metabolic health. And so that will help you too when you do eventually come off the medication, if you are able to prioritize protein intake in the meantime and make sure that you're building all the muscle that you can. Now, on this same note of eating less, right? Or some people experience nausea or maybe don't want as much of a variety as they did before, then you could be deficient in some other nutrients, right? There could be some nutrient gaps. And so that's another area too where you want to be cognizant of course, what nutrients are you getting? What's the variety that you're eating when you are having those varied meals? So you can support your hormones the best way you can. So you can prepare for pregnancy if that's your journey, so you can support your gut health as well. On the note of gut health, what are GLP1s doing when it comes to your gut? Well, they can slow motility, which means that more or less your food is moving slower throughout your digestive system. So if you are somebody who had some type of bacterial overgrowth or other imbalance in your gut microbiome, then all of these foods are moving more slowly through your system. It could result in a greater imbalance of those microbes of those bacteria or whatever you've got going on in there. Now, is that going to be the case for everybody? No, I'm definitely not saying that. But if you had something, if you had bloating all the time and you're like, gosh, I don't know what's going on here, or maybe you're still feeling bloated, but you're thinking, well, I'm I know exactly how much I'm eating. I and I know I don't have that much of an appetite. I don't know what's happening. You know, keep that in the back of your mind as some part of this potential equation that could be a factor. Now, two more things that I've got for you. I just want to make a note, and this will be quite familiar if you've been with me before, but it's so important to take a look at the root cause of your hormone imbalance. If you're listening to the podcast because you have unpredictable periods or you have totally missing periods, you have a lot of period pain. Well, let's figure out what is the root cause of that and address that thing. Now, could a GLP1 um support your blood sugar levels? Sure. Could it support lowering inflammation, maybe because you have uh a greater lean mass? Sure. But if there's something else underneath there, then that's again an opportunity to uh what's the word I'm looking for? Like bolster your health journey, put these good habits in place while you're on the medication. And then when you come off of it, because not all gals or not all of you will want to take the GLP ones while you're trying to conceive, you've got those good practices in place and you know what, you know what balance looks like, you know where you're headed. And that transition off of the medication, I mean, let's even take a step back. Transition from anything to anything, medication or otherwise, can be difficult, right? Understanding what does your body want on the one hand, and what does it need on the other hand, having somebody to walk through those changes with understand what you do need and want, or what could be related to blood sugar, what could be related to, you know, an overgrowth of your gut microbiome or anything else, that can be invaluable. So that's really all I wanted to share with you on this episode today, because GLP1s uh can be really strategic for those of you who have weight loss goals. That's of course something you should talk about with your provider. This is, you know, this is not medical advice. But remember that weight loss doesn't necessarily equal hormone balance. You can still have missing periods or low progesterone, you can still have estrogen dominance, um, even if you're thin, right? And taking the medication doesn't actually teach you how you want to eat for your long-term hormone health, how you want to optimize your nutrient intake for pregnancy or just for optimal health. So that's where working with somebody like me, a hormone coach, a holistic nutritionist, where I can really help you to examine what's going on and where do you want to go from there? So a little food for you, oh, a little food for thought for you on this Thursday. If you have any questions, if you have any thoughts on this, I would love to hear what's on your mind. You can connect with me on Instagram at I'm underscore hormonal. If there is anybody in your life who you think might find this conversation interesting, I'll say thank you in advance for sending it her way. Friendly reminder that all the information I share with you on the podcast here is for educational purposes only. It's not meant to be a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. So if you have more specific questions about GLP1s, right, make sure that you consult a medical professional. All right, that being said, thank you again for listening, and I'll see you on the next one.