Losing weight with medication?
If you’re taking a GLP-1 or another prescribed weight loss medication, you may finally be seeing changes that have felt incredibly difficult to achieve in the past.
Maybe the food noise has quietened. The constant hunger has disappeared. You feel satisfied eating much smaller amounts.
You’re losing weight!
“Ok, so why do I need a coach if the medication is already working?”
Weight loss doesn’t come exclusively from body fat. Muscle, bone and other lean tissue, can be lost along the way too, which is why maintaining your strength and including structured exercise such as resistance training, matters.
When your appetite is much smaller, getting enough protein, energy, vitamins and minerals can become harder than you might expect. You may be eating less, but what you do eat matters more than ever.
For women (especially for those in midlife), this deserves particular attention. Maintaining muscle, strength and bone health is already important as we age, and significant weight loss is another reason to make them a priority.
I help you look beyond what’s happening on the scale and make sure we’re supporting your strength, nutrition and health along the way, while building habits that work in your everyday life.
You might be seeing great progress on the scale but not necessarily feeling great along the way.
Perhaps you’re experiencing:
very little appetite or forgetting to eat.
feeling uncomfortably full after small amounts of food.
nausea or changes in the foods you can tolerate.
constipation, diarrhoea or changes in your digestion.
fatigue or low energy.
dizziness, brain fog or feeling unusually cold
hair shedding.
declining strength or finding exercise harder than it used to be.
poor recovery from your workouts.
uncertainty about what or how much you should actually be eating.
These aren't things you simply have to ignore because the medication is “working”.
This is an opportunity to work on your health as a whole, not just the number on the scale.
So, what does coaching alongside weight loss medication actually look like?
It starts with you.
What medication you’re taking is only one part of the picture. I want to understand how you’re feeling, what you’re eating, how you’re moving, what’s happening with your strength and energy, what feels difficult right now and what you want your health to look like beyond weight loss.
Together, we might work on:
getting enough protein and nutrients when your appetite is low
simple meals and eating strategies that work with your changing appetite
building or maintaining your strength through resistance training
supporting your muscle, bone and overall health as your weight changes
managing everyday challenges such as low appetite, fullness, digestive changes or fatigue
improving movement, sleep, stress and recovery
noticing when you may be eating too little or losing strength
building routines and habits that fit your actual life
finding other ways to measure progress beyond the scale
preparing for the longer term, whatever that looks like for you
There’s no generic “GLP-1 diet” or perfect plan I expect you to follow.
We work out what your body, health and life need now, and adjust as we learn more.
Coaching that works alongside your healthcare team
Your medication and medical care remain in the hands of your prescribing healthcare professional.
I don’t prescribe weight loss medication, recommend which medication you should take, or make decisions about your dosage.
My role is everything around it.
Nutrition. Strength. Movement. Recovery. Behaviour change. Your everyday routines and your long-term health.
I can also help you notice patterns in how you’re feeling and recognise when something needs to be taken back to your doctor or prescribing healthcare professional.
You don’t need your coach trying to be your doctor.
You need the right people supporting the right parts of your health, and working towards the same goal.
When you’re eating less,
what you eat matters more.
One of the biggest changes you may notice on a GLP-1 medication is simply that you can’t eat as much.
You might feel full after a few bites. Forget to eat because you’re not hungry. Find meals overwhelming. Or discover that foods you used to enjoy suddenly don’t appeal.
Eating less may be part of how the medication works, but your body still needs nourishment.
When there’s less room for food, we need to be a little more thoughtful about what makes it onto the plate.
That might mean helping you:
get enough protein to support your muscle and strength
prioritise nutrient-dense foods when portions are smaller
get enough fibre and fluids to support your digestion
find simple meals and snacks you can manage when your appetite is low
make sure “I’m not hungry” doesn’t gradually turn into “I’m barely eating”
This isn't about giving you another restrictive diet to follow.
It’s about finding practical ways to give your body what it needs, within the appetite and capacity you have now.
Less food shouldn’t have to mean less nutrition.
That’s where I can help.
BUT things might also be changing in ways you didn’t expect…
Some may be things we can improve by adjusting your nutrition, hydration, eating patterns, movement or recovery. Others are important to discuss with your prescribing doctor.
Part of good coaching is knowing the difference.
We can celebrate your progress on the scale while still paying attention to what your body is telling us.
Weight loss medication can be an incredibly useful tool. Having the right support alongside it means we can keep your overall health in the picture, not just your weight.
As the medication changes your appetite, food noise and weight, my focus is everything around that: making sure you’re well nourished, protecting your strength, muscle and bone health, navigating the practical challenges that can come with eating less, and building habits that support you for the long term.
Or perhaps things are going really well and you simply want to make sure you’re looking after your body as well as losing weight.
Why coaching alongside the medication matters
The medication can change your appetite. It can’t build your habits for you.
One of the opportunities I see with weight loss medication is the breathing room it can create.
When hunger, cravings or constant thoughts about food become quieter, it can be easier to start working on some of the things that previously felt incredibly difficult.
We can use that time to build the foundations that support your health beyond the medication:
✓ eating in a way that nourishes you
✓ strength training consistently
✓ moving regularly
✓ improving sleep and recovery
✓ managing stress
✓ understanding your own patterns around food
✓ creating routines that actually fit your life
Whether you remain on medication long term, your treatment changes, or you and your medical team eventually decide to stop it, these things still matter.
The goal is not to wait until the medication is gone to figure out what comes next.
We start building that foundation now.
You don’t need a completely different coaching program because you’re taking medication.
You need coaching that takes it into account.
My Clarity to Confidence coaching is personalised around you, which means if you’re taking a GLP-1 or another prescribed weight loss medication, that becomes part of the bigger picture we consider together.
We look beyond the number on the scale to your nutrition, strength, muscle and bone health, movement, sleep, stress, habits and how you actually feel.
Because ultimately, I don't just want to help you lose weight.
I want to help you come through this feeling stronger, better nourished and more confident about how to look after your health.
Taking a GLP-1 or weight loss medication and wondering whether coaching could help?
Book a complimentary Clarity Call and tell me a little about where you’re at.
We’ll talk about what you’re experiencing, what you’d like help with and whether Clarity to Confidence feels like the right support for you.