Optimize Health On GLP-1

GLP-1 medications can feel like a breakthrough and a minefield at the same time, and the difference is often the plan behind the prescription. I’m Dr. Lindsay Ogle, board certified in family medicine and obesity medicine, and I’m sharing what I’ve learned from prescribing GLP-1 receptor agonists and hearing real feedback from patients about what helps, what backfires, and what actually makes the process sustainable.

We start with the most important step: getting established with a qualified clinician and following up regularly, especially during the first months of dose titration. I also call out common red flags, like services that provide GLP-1 weight loss meds without meaningful medical oversight. Then we zoom out to the big picture: “start low and go slow,” speak up about side effects early, and never increase a dose just because the calendar says it’s time. Obesity is a chronic condition, and GLP-1 therapy works best when it’s treated as long-term medical care, not a race to a number.

From there, we get practical with the lifestyle foundations that protect your results: hydration (and why dehydration can masquerade as nausea or fatigue), protein targets to preserve lean muscle, fiber goals that support gut health and the microbiome, and how to increase fiber gradually to avoid GI distress. We also talk about resistance training as a key tool for metabolic health, with realistic options that don’t require a gym, plus the mindset shift that helps you stay patient through plateaus and build a support team when you need it.

If this helped, subscribe, share the episode with someone who’s considering GLP-1 medications, and leave a review so more people can find safe, evidence-based guidance.

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Transcript

Welcome And Medical Disclaimer

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 0:01

Welcome to the Modern Metabolic Health Podcast with your host, Dr. Lindsay Ogle, a board certified family medicine and obesity medicine physician. Here we learn how we can treat and prevent modern metabolic conditions such as diabetes, PCOS, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, and more. We focus on optimizing lifestyle while utilizing safe and effective medical treatment. Please remember that while I am a physician, I am not your physician. Everything discussed here is provided as general medical knowledge and not direct medical advice. Please talk to your doctor about what is best for you.

Why GLP-1s Need Real Support

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 0:51

GLP1 medications are one of the medications that I prescribe the most. So I have a lot of experience in prescribing these medications and have had a lot of feedback from my patients about what they've been experiencing, what works and what doesn't. So I'm so excited to share this here with you today.

Find The Right Prescriber

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 1:12

So number one is actually to get established with a obesity medicine trained physician. Now this is unfortunately not always an option for everybody, but more and more every year there are physicians who are being trained in obesity medicine. And so if you are lucky enough to have one in your area, then this is what I definitely recommend. These physicians have gone out of their way to take this additional training in addition to their primary board certification. So they did not have to do this to practice medicine, but they did it because they want to have the most up-to-date knowledge to manage their patients in the most appropriate, effective, responsible, and compassionate way. So if you can find yourself an obesity medicine board-certified physician, that is key. And I will link below on ways to search for these physicians and hopefully find one who works in your state, in your area. Not only do I want you to establish with one of these physicians, I want you to follow up with them regularly. Most of the time when starting a GLP1 agonist, your doctor is gonna want you to follow up at least monthly for the first several months as you're titrating the dose and getting used to the treatment. And eventually they will start spacing out the appointments, but you will want to follow up with them long term. They will be able to troubleshoot with you along the way and tweak whether it's the medication or some component of lifestyle, whether it's diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, they're going to be able to provide you with a holistic treatment plan and help support you in this journey. If you cannot find an obesity-trained physician, many primary care physicians are comfortable prescribing these medications. So that is also a great place to start. A potential red flag to be aware of is if you are going to a telehealth company to obtain your medication or a med spa or some organization like that, and you never speak with a physician, then that's a red flag, and you need to ask why that's the case. And they may have a legitimate reason. Maybe they have a nurse practitioner or physician assistant instead who is trained in obesity medicine and you feel comfortable seeing. But if you are not seeing a qualified health professional, then that is unsafe and you should rethink getting a prescription at

Start Low Go Slow

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 4:01

that location. Number two, I want you to think about the big picture and start low and go slow. When I have patients who are struggling with side effects, or I hear of patients who have been struggling with side effects of these medications, they have been pushing the dose of the medication too quickly. If you are having any side effects, you should be comfortable and I encourage you to be comfortable and speak up and tell your physician or your prescriber about these side effects. And if they are significant, then you should either stay at that dose and give your body more time to get used to the medication, or maybe you should reduce the dose if that's an option, or maybe the medication is not right for you. Sometimes there are some lifestyle dietary changes that can be implemented to help manage those side effects. And I did a whole video about this, which I will link below. But if that is not solving the problem, you should never increase the dose if your side effects are intolerable. So if your provider is pushing for an increased dose just because it's the next month and you're following up, that's another red flag, and I do not recommend that. We are focusing on improving your health and lifespan. So we're looking at the big picture. The goal is not to lose 5, 10, 15% of your body weight in the first month. We are looking at long-term health results. In fact, we say that a medication to help with weight loss is effective if you have lost 5% of your body weight after three months. The point is, by no means is this a medication that you're going to have, you know, reach your goal weight by the end of the month. That does not happen with these medications. They are long-term medications to treat the chronic condition of obesity.

Hydration Protein And Fiber Basics

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 6:07

Another tip for success is to stay hydrated. So many people don't drink enough water as it is, and then when they start a GLP1 agonist, their signals may also be suppressed with their hunger signals. Many people drink even less than they did before. So it's really important to make sure that you are drinking water throughout the day. And I often recommend these patients to drink electrolyte drinks specifically the day before, day of, and day after the injection, but possibly just once a day, make it a part of their daily routine to improve adequate hydration, which will help prevent perceived side effects of the medication. So dehydration can prevent or present as nausea, fatigue, lightheadedness, and oftentimes that's attributed to a direct side effect of the medication, but in reality it's a side effect or a symptom of dehydration. So focusing on hydration will help you be successful on your GLP1 agonist in 2025. Another important tip is to eat enough protein. We are constantly hearing about patients who are on GLP 1 agonist losing a bunch of lean muscle mass. And while it's important to know that that is a possibility if you're not nourishing your body adequately, that is not guaranteed to happen with everybody who is on a GLP 1 agonist. It's not an expected consequence. It's something that we always have to think of with weight loss. So to combat that, you need to make sure that you're having enough protein that your body requires to maintain its muscle and strength train, which I'll talk about later. And for most people, if I'm going to just throw out a number, a generic number, it's gonna be a hundred grams of protein a day. And sometimes men need a little bit more. Really petite women may need less, but on average it's a hundred grams of protein a day. This is something that may be useful to track. I'd rather you track your protein, grams of protein than calories, to be honest. And I want you to make sure every single meal that you are getting a good source of protein, 20 to 30 grams with each meal, and then probably protein snacks in between meals, whether that's a bar or a shake, those count and are great options to make sure that you're getting enough protein that your body needs to function appropriately and maintain your lean muscle mass while on a GLP1 agonist. This is particularly important for women in the perimenopause and menopausal phase of life when muscle mass tends to decrease, anyways. And so if you are losing weight and going through this transition, you are at high risk for muscle loss, and so extremely important to make sure you're getting enough protein in this population. Another really important macronutrient to think about is fiber. This is something that many Americans do not get enough of, as is. If you're not eating as much because your appetite is suppressed on a GLP1 agonist, then you're probably gonna be eating less fiber. Along with the protein, fiber is something that you want to track and make sure that you're getting plenty of. Adequate fiber intake has been linked to improved gut microbiome and less risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers. So it is extremely important for your overall health. Really, for anyone, um, even if you're not on a GLP one, we should be getting enough fiber. And what's enough? And it depends on person to person, again, kind of like the protein, but a good goal for most people would be about 30 grams a day. This is something that you're going to want to increase slowly. So if you're getting no fiber or very minimal fiber and you jump to 30, you're gonna have stomach upset, especially on your GLP1 agonist. So I would add just about five grams each week. Let your body get used to that, and that will limit the possibility of having the negative GI side effects from high amounts of fiber all of a sudden in your

Strength Training Patience And Next Steps

Dr. Lindsay Ogle 10:35

system. Alright, I alluded to this earlier, but resistance training is extremely important for everybody's health, but especially if you're on a GLP1 agonist because you're wanting to maintain your muscle mass. Resistance training can be intimidating for a lot of people, but it doesn't have to be. And there are programs out there that will meet you where you're at. So if you've never done any resistance training and you are thinking I have to join a gym or do CrossFit, that's not the case. You can do resistance training with little or no equipment in your own home. There are lots of programs that will support you in this, and GLP Strong is one that one of my mentors created along with a personal trainer, and I will link that below. It is just 10 to 20 minutes two times a week, and it's about nine or ten dollars a month, so very affordable, very reasonable, very doable for most of us, and I highly recommend it. So I'll link that below. And last, I really said this earlier, but we are looking at long-term health. So if you are not reaching what you have set as either a weight goal or a health goal, make sure that you are patient with yourself. These things take time, and that's okay. We hear so much about overnight successes, and we live in a society where we want instant results, and we can get those for some things, but health is not one of them. If you have concerns that if you've hit a plateau or you're not reaching those goals, and you think maybe something is wrong, talk to that doctor that you trust who's prescribing your medications, and they can give you feedback of whether this is something that is to be expected, or maybe you do need an adjustment of your plan. Just be patient with yourself and you are going to get the results that your body needs eventually with the appropriate support of your medical provider. Maybe you need to add on a dietitian or personal trainer or even a talk therapist to help with stress and mental health. You can create a whole team around you. This is not something that you have to do alone. So always reach out for those resources. Thank you for listening and learning how you can improve your metabolic health in this modern world. If you found this information helpful, please share with a friend, a family member, or a colleague. We need to do all we can to combat the dangerous misinformation that is out there. Please subscribe and write a review. This will help others find the podcast that they may also improve their metabolic health. I look forward to our conversation next week.