What If You Don’t Want to Take Weight Loss Medication?

Is all hope lost if you decide to not take a GLP-1? Not necessarily. What if you don’t want to take a weight loss medication?

These days, it feels like almost everyone is talking about weight loss medications. Maybe your doctor has mentioned them, or you’ve heard friends talk about how much weight they’ve lost. You might be curious, confused, or even feeling pressured.

You might have even tried one and hated the experience.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not sure this is right for me” this post is for you.

Why I’m Writing This Post

Over the past year, a good portion of my clients have either left to begin losing weight with GLP-1s or they have been encouraged by their doctors to take them and aren’t sure if it’s right for them.

So, to be clear, I am not saying take them or don’t take them. That is up to you and your medical provider.

I’m not going to even go deep into what they are and how they affect your body.

This post is for women, who have already decided that GLP medication isn’t what they want to do and do not have a strong medical need for it.

What GLP-1s Are

Here is a brief explanation of what GLP-1s are and a little about what is known about them.

GLP-1 medications were developed for people with diabetes and are now being used more widely for weight loss. They change how your body handles hunger, fullness, and digestion.

These medications directly affect your pancreas and your digestive system. You produce more insulin and your digestion slows down.

For some people, they’ve made a big difference.

But they also come with side effects, long-term unknowns, and in many cases, a recommendation to stay on them for life. That’s a big decision and it’s okay to have questions.

What Do You Want?

The truth is, not every woman feels at peace with the idea of this medication and that doesn’t make you wrong or missing out.

You’re allowed to want something different. To listen to your body. To take a different path that supports your long-term health and not just short-term weight loss.

Some of you may have even tried GLP-1s and didn’t like how you felt or they made you feel worse.

Here’s my truth. When I see these women with thin bodies and who also say they are so much happier on the medication, I feel a little nudge of jealousy.

I want it to be easy for me too!

To be honest, at my age and in our current food world, it takes a lot of focus to take care of our bodies and eat right.

That’s my truth and sometimes it is frustrating.

Yet, I also have so much appreciation for my body and what it can do. I feel stronger, more flexible, and balanced than I ever have.

I don’t have a medical reason to take it and I just don’t want to mess with two of my body’s major systems for aesthetics.

Instead, I’ve been working on my fitness, health, eating, and mindset. Body-wise, I decided that I wanted to get into the best shape of my life through the food I eat, how I move my body, and how I think.

I’m not chasing skinny; I’m creating a strong body that will power me through the next few decades.

If I live that long, I want to have an amazing life in my eighties and nineties!

What Can You Do Instead?

I work with women who want to care for their bodies without diets, medication, or shame.

My approach isn’t a quick fix, but it is powerful. It’s built around real food, self-trust, emotional clarity, and habits that work with your body instead of against it.

I call it The Eat Like You Love Your Body Method

My writings on this subject go back 10 years to when I lost some weight after I turned 53. Since then, I’ve probably written 50 – 60 articles about food, eating, and weight loss.

Along with my own experience, I’ve been coaching women for over six years and helping them with how they feel about themselves, their food, and their bodies.

Finally, I have read and researched for well over a decade, trying to understand food and how it affects our bodies.

It’s been a couple of decades since I’ve read books on how to lose weight. My goal is to provide information about how to nurture and support your body.

Not an impossible body standard but your body.

I want you to have real goals, goals that make you feel better and in control. Goals that build confidence.

It’s possible to find joy in eating and also possible to learn how to trust yourself around food and in your body.

You don’t have to figure it all out overnight. Learning about your very own body is a lifetime commitment.

And that’s not a bad thing.

How to Eat Like You Love Your Body

If you’re not sure what’s right for you, I encourage you to pause. You don’t have to rush. You don’t have to override your gut feeling.

There is another path and it begins with trusting that your body isn’t broken. You don’t have to be fixed. You just have to be heard, supported, and guided back to what’s true for you.

That’s what I’m here for.

I was recently dealing with some stubborn belly fat and I had to face all my fears about whether what I write about really works.

When I began this recent journey, I decided that I would be true to my method because I believe in it whole-heartedly.

What I discovered was, it does work. But when we have gotten ourselves into fat-storing mode, it can take some time and attention to turn it around.

Once, I did get my body burning fat again, I could see and feel the differences and it seemed like it switched overnight.

However, it took me a few months to get to that “overnight.”

Resources for Eating Like You Love Your Body

Here are a few of my favorite posts about eating. As you read, you may think it can’t be this simple.

But it is.

What isn’t simple is having the mindset and beliefs to stick with it. It’s kind of boring to not have a snazzy diet.

It isn’t simple to have the “never quit” mindset that is essential.

Finally, it isn’t simple to learn after years of being told you shouldn’t, to TRUST YOURSELF totally.

Here’s some good news. I’m teaching women to eat enough, of foods they like, eat meals, and get as much nutrition as possible.

There is NO downside to doing this. There are no bad side-effects. You got to create your own person way of eating that works for you.

I work one-on-one with women to do this in my private coaching business, Sara Garska Coaching.

If this sounds like something you want to do, let’s talk. I offer complimentary consults to provide clarity and to see if that is a good solution for you.

In the meantime, here are three of my favorite posts on how to eat like you love your body.

10 Powerful Tips to Lose Weight After 50

How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind

Affirmations for Self-Care