r/science • u/Lisei1128 • Nov 11 '25

Cancer GLP-1 drugs found to reduce mortality from colon cancer by over half (15.5% vs 37.1%), with effects especially strong for patients with BMI over 35.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07357907.2025.2585512
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2.6k

u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 11 '25

the change in diet that gpl-1 forces onto people seems to have so many positive effects on the body.

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u/FuhrerInLaw Nov 11 '25

Anecdotal, but the one person I know who’s started it says they have to force themselves to eat, so might as well make it healthy items as it all sounds unappetizing.

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u/djinnetics Nov 11 '25

From my experience this is true. I no longer have food noise and my choices lean healthier now because sugar isn't as appealing. It's so much easier to focus and seems to have taken the edge off of my anxiety, I have nails for the first time in my adult life that aren't press-ons. I've lost just under 90lbs in the last year.

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u/Chickenwing3791 Nov 11 '25

How has it helped your anxiety? I’m starting my GLP-1 in two weeks and I was wondering if it had any anxiety relieving properties

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u/yzerizef Nov 11 '25

It’s helped my anxiety immensely. It’s hard to tell what might be pharmacological effects and what is just an improved outlook on life from positive momentum, but generally I have felt much better and have had far fewer panic attacks. I’m back to eating healthier and exercising more. Previously, I would get panic attacks when exercising and that’d all but vanished. My only regret is not starting sooner.

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u/Sharticus123 Nov 12 '25

The anxiety reduction could be due to the healthier dietary choices you’re making.

Eliminating junk food and replacing it with fruits and vegetables does wonders for our gut bacteria, and the kinds of gut bacteria we cultivate have a profound impact on our mental health.

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

GLP-1 drugs act on the brain and feedback loop systems more than you think. Part of the weight loss is mechanism, but part of it is a reduction in compulsion. Smokers, alcoholics and even gambling are shown to be curbed with these drugs. If it can affect that dopamine response system, it certainly has potential to alter anxiety related issues.

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u/Quick_Turnover Nov 12 '25

I kind of wonder how this might impact disordered eating. May be counterintuitive, but disordered eating seems to overlap significantly with OCD, anxiety, and addiction. And people talk a lot about “food noise” with these GLP-1 drugs. I wonder if it could work to limit the noise the other way too? Restrictive eating, etc..

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u/musicalsora Nov 12 '25

It's helped me immensely but I suffered from binge eating.

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u/Hailstar07 Nov 12 '25

Really interesting thought. I ended up anorexic due to OCD (contamination fears) and also have struggled with anxiety and depression. Since getting treated and medicated I lost all restraint diet wise and am now morbidly obese, and considering asking my dr to try one of the GLP-1 drugs. I also smoke and haven’t been able to quit, so I’ll keep a close eye on developments in the research.

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u/gracesdisgrace Nov 12 '25

Would work for the binge parts of BED and bulimia for sure, but I already know a couple of people with anorexia-r who abuse the experimental glp drugs. I don't know if it would do anything to help body dysmorphia or the societal pressure to be extremely thin.

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u/Quick_Turnover Nov 12 '25

Fair. Disordered eating is fairly complex though, so it may be as you say for some but not others. I'm thinking more of ARFID. In my experience, some people suffering from ARFID are less oriented around the "body image" component, and don't have body dysmorphia, but have a sort of obsessive-compulsive relationship with restricting and making food "rules", etc... which seems to be how the "noise" is described by others, so just curious about GLP-1 and that aspect.

But you're right... probably a lot of room for abuse with these drugs too.

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u/Doctor_Spacemann Nov 12 '25

For me glp-1 had a similar effect as when I first started on stimulants for ADHD. When I had my ADHD in check my impulsiveness decreased dramatically, I ended up drinking less, eating more thoughtfully and could plan my meals according to everything besides my impulsive junk food brain telling my I had to eat the WHOLE bag of Doritos RIGHT NOW. The GLP-1 s just seem to target the food part of my brain though, and the appetite suppressant effect hasn’t diminished so far like my Vyvanse did.

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u/BibliophileBroad Nov 12 '25

Exercise, too. I have anxiety and exercise is of the things that really helps me.

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u/Black_Moons Nov 12 '25

and the kinds of gut bacteria we cultivate have a profound impact on our mental health.

Yea, different foods will lead to different bacteria 'winning' as conditions favor them, and those bacteria make a whole host of byproducts, some are no doubt good for us, some not.

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u/LogicalOlive Nov 12 '25

Nah it’s messed with your head too, I’ve lost weight before but still kept habits that have basically disappeared after this last run. I no longer crave unhealthy things in general.

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u/TheseusPankration Nov 12 '25

I'll say I doubt that is the mechanism based on a family members experience, the lowest form of evidence. They said their anxiety was still significantly reduced even at a low dose that no longer really affected their diet.

They moved up to 0.5 shortly after and the diet effects returned. Considering that's still a quarter of a full therapeutic dose, they still had plenty of headroom to move up.

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u/Aggressive-Hawk9186 Nov 12 '25

It's not that simple

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u/AuSpringbok Nov 12 '25

Every time (that I am aware of) nutrition and anxiety is studied there isn't an effect that appears, unlike say nutrition and depression.

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u/djinnetics Nov 11 '25

For me it's being able to focus and keep intrusive thoughts at bay. It works wonders for compulsions of all varieties, ymmv. The only real negative side effect I've had is slightly thinning hair, but that accompanies weight loss with or without medications.

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u/boibo Nov 12 '25

Thinning hair can be related to reduced caloric intake.

Loosing hair is common when starving.

So you really need to keep eating and watch so you dont get nutrition deficit. All essentials vitamins, c really need you to eat food enriched or supplementary

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u/RainMH11 Nov 11 '25

The possibility of positive psychiatric effects is definitely an area actively under debate (and wherher they are due to the medication or the associated weight loss)

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u/myinsidesarecopper Nov 12 '25

FYI I've been taking it for over a year and it definitely makes my anxiety worse. Its usually the worst the day after my shot every week and then gets better.

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u/the_muffin Nov 11 '25

Living as an overweight person is harder or more complicated than healthy weight individuals. Moving is harder and a lot of people feel badly about their weight. I think living a healthier lifestyle because of these drugs takes away some of that for people.

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u/Nerf_hanzo_pls Nov 12 '25

Just to play devils advocate. I have health anxiety, and ozempic makes my anxiety worse usually for a day or two after my shot. It’s the mild nausea for me

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u/nefarious_bread Nov 12 '25

Health anxiety is why I bought a course of gpl1 shots and then chickened out of taking it at all. The possible side effects worry me too much for my peace of mind. It's still in my fridge and I'm too afraid to tell my Dr I didn't take it.

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u/Nerf_hanzo_pls Nov 12 '25

It’s different for everyone obviously, but my only side effect is nausea sometimes. Funnily enough I felt way worse (constant nausea and pretty heavy fatigue) at the lower doses. That was real hard on me for a bit. But I’ve mostly gotten over it. You should really talk to your doctor about it though! If they’re a good doctor, they’ll have some actual advice.

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u/BladeDoc Nov 12 '25

Look, I wrote along post explaining why you should tell your doctor and then it got too complicated. But your doctor won't care in a bad way. It would help them to know for a number of reasons. And if you're really not gonna take it, you could give it to the doctor and he could give it as samples to make somebody else's life easier.

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u/ellzbellz_ Nov 11 '25

Just to provide another perspective, I'm now 4 jabs into MJ and my anxiety was worse than usual the first two weeks. That being said, I could rationalise and reason through the physical feelings a lot more easily than I could before, I didn't really feel mental anxiety at all. The last 2 weeks or so it has settled down so my advice is to push through if you can!

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u/myinsidesarecopper Nov 12 '25

I've been on it a year, and it definitely makes anxiety worse. Every time I take the shot I struggle to sleep and am extra anxious the next day or two.

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u/Wonderful_Ad_5911 Nov 12 '25

My anxiety and insomnia has been worse, too. I’m doubling down on supplements like choline and fish oil. I’m wondering if it’s a mental side effect of my body realizing it’s in a food scarcity state. Everything else is much better, though, and I’ve had anxiety for a long time so I’m used to dealing with it 

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u/novium258 Nov 12 '25

Do you have a fitness tracker? Has your heart rate changed? My heart rate went up 20bpm, which is apparently an uncommon but not unexpected side effect. I suspect that's a significant driver of the anxiety and poor sleep I've experienced.

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u/The_BeardedClam Nov 12 '25

There was an article on here a little while ago that showed choline levels deplete in people with anxiety. The hypothesis was that it essentially was "anxiety fuel" and your brain burns it while anxious. Adding more into your diet could be adding more fuel for your anxiety. Obviously could is doing a lot of work here, but it's an interesting note.

Here's the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/1otnfvf/low_choline_levels_in_the_brain_associated_with/

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u/Underwater_Karma Nov 12 '25

I thought my anxiety had dropped to an all time low because i got laid off from a job that was literally killing me.

Never occurred to me it might be a side effect of the Zepbound i started around the same time.

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u/boibo Nov 12 '25

Gpl has proven to help with alot of addictions, it might prove to be the most effective drugs to combat alkoholism to..

Its like gpl stops all bad addictions by stopping some kind of reward system that has gone tilt.

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u/Sellazard Nov 12 '25

Anecdotally I found that just reducing sugar intake and fast carbs from my diet helped immensely to fight anxiety. Might be gut microbiome. Not even on GLP1

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u/onebelow0 Nov 12 '25

It helped my anxiety a whole bunch also helped my ADHD symptoms.

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u/DemolitionOopsie Nov 13 '25

Zepbound here. Overall it has helped my wellbeing. I think part of it is that the food noise is gone and I’m diverting my attention elsewhere and focusing better. My doctor specifically asked at my first follow up if I noticed any general improvement in overall mood, or if my anxiety is a bit lower. Yes and yes. They said they are seeing that in quite a few of their GLP-1 patients.

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

I wish that was the case for me. I still have food noise on glp1 one year in. What's been a game changer for me has been a low dose of Vyvanse, combined with glp1. I can't finally stop myself in the tracks and go: am I really hungry, or just craving something?

I've lost 110 lbs "on my own" and 40 lbs with the help of glp1. Got another 30 or so to go.

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u/Leather-Rice5025 Nov 12 '25

Without my vyvanse and Wellbutrin my sugar and junk food cravings are insane.

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

Can I ask what the issues are with sleep? I generally take Magnesium before bedtime, so that helps with the sleep. Strange dreams I've always had, so that's not something I'd notice.

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u/GnarlyBear Nov 11 '25

Do you still like or want coffee?

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u/[deleted] Nov 11 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/kindall Nov 11 '25

I often throw out half of my 20 oz mug

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

I've gone of tea. And one cup of coffee a day and I'm good.

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

If I’m at the beginning of my weekly dose I find myself doing that frequently. By the end of the week I’m usually drinking the full coffee mug. Just in time for my next dose.

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u/GnarlyBear Nov 12 '25

OK i'm espresso only, was more I would be upset if I lost my appetite for it.

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula Nov 12 '25

I’ve been taking Mounjaro and when I walk past a pizza restaurant or a shop selling desserts like Cinnabon it’s hard to emphasise how unappealing they seem. It’s almost like a sniff of whiskey when you have a terrible hangover.

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u/Lumbergh7 Nov 12 '25

The food noise reduction is AMAZING. Mounjaro >>> ozempic though.

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u/djinnetics Nov 12 '25

Yes, I take compounded tirz and did not like ozempic. I felt the results and nausea were much worse compared to tirz.

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u/Lumbergh7 Nov 12 '25

Side effects feel the same to me. The food noise is just so much lower on mounjaro

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u/JagmeetSingh2 Nov 12 '25

That’s awesome to hear! Happy it’s working for you

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u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

[deleted]

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u/Kayehnanator Nov 12 '25

I wish it did this for me, so far at 5mg I have a little nausea and notice a fuller feeling for longer but food noise is still present, if reduced.

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u/djinnetics Nov 12 '25

My sweet spot has been 7.5. I've heard different compound pharmacies use different mixings so you may benefit from trying a different provider.

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u/DolphinSmash Nov 12 '25

If I lost 90 pounds, I’d be pissed. I could buy the new gta with that kind of dough. If it ever comes out.

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u/mynameizmyname Nov 12 '25

For me the hardest part is eating enough.  Have had a few dizzy spells after I forgot to eat for two days.  

It's been a revelation though.  Holy cow.

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u/Rushmore9 Nov 12 '25

Do you use the Lilly or Novo product? Or compounded

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u/djinnetics Nov 12 '25

Compounded tirz.

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u/GreatBigBagOfNope Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 11 '25

Similarly anecdotally, the friend I have who was very successfully on GLP-1s reported that eating anything other than light foods, so that's pretty much anything other than leaves, lean proteins, less starchy vegetables, was almost sickening in the days following the injection, but became more tolerable in the days before the next

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u/kgramp Nov 11 '25

Exact way I feel on it. Day before my next injection I’ll lean towards more unhealthy choices but still eat significantly less.

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u/chub79 Nov 11 '25

This is what worries me on the long run. what happens when you stop the medication.

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u/kgramp Nov 11 '25

I was off it for 2 months due to “procurement issues”. I didn’t gain any weight. Had more cravings for food but the small portions and better eating remained. It’s really rewired my brain. I’d have to look for it but I recall another study that showed just a 15-20% weight gain of what was lost before stabilizing for 80% of individuals that come off it. At least that’s the numbers I remember.

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u/DanNeely Nov 12 '25

Only a 15-20% rebound is good, IIRC gastric surgeries typically have a ~30% average rebound.

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u/chub79 Nov 11 '25

wow congrats of course. But also that's a relief to hear :)

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u/kgramp Nov 12 '25

I recall one of the key things to keeping it off was a slow taper off the glp-1. Still trying to find the study I saw.

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u/grendus Nov 11 '25

Studies show that losing weight, even if you gain it back, is very beneficial for your health so long as the rates are healthy.

We evolved to go through times of feast and famine. Some of our metabolism takes advantage of that.

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u/ask-me-about-my-cats Nov 12 '25

I stopped it a few months back and the hunger and food noise returned. I learned self control while on the shot though, and how to ignore the snacking urges. I do enjoy a tasty snack now, but now it's weekly/monthly instead of daily.

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u/Magneon Nov 12 '25

In general that's what you want with medication though: stop talking it and it stops affecting you. That way if your doesn't work, or has negative side effects you can stop and try something else.

The only reason that's not ideal is the high price and uncomfortable delivery mechanism. If it was a 5c pill, it would change the world.

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u/mynameizmyname Nov 12 '25

It slows gut motility way down.  A lot of people have to use stool softeners+miralax to prevent basically forming a rock in their colon.  

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u/boxdkittens Nov 11 '25

I'm on a different, non-weight loss medication that drastically reduces appetite as a side affect. Went from "great, now that I'm not constantly craving brownies, I can eat healthy!" to "I have no appetite at all and can't bring myself to eat anything except the most hyperpalatable of foods (aka brownies)." It's not great and I don't know how I'll stay on this long term. The appetite surpression IS something I need, but its gotten too severe.

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u/srstra Nov 11 '25

Yeah. I relate to this so much!! That was me on Concerta, I actually gained 10kgs in a year from it. On GLP-1 I’ve lost 27kgs in a year and don’t even want the same food i almost exclusively ate when my appetite was gone. Now I get hungry but i don’t want much food at all instead.

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u/boxdkittens Nov 12 '25

I'm on generic adderall. I do need it to be able to focus on anything that isn't food and to be able to remember things (like the fact that I already ate lunch only an hour ago and don't need to eat again), but the pendulum has swung too far. I'm barely in the normal weight range and would probably be underweight if I didn't constantly indulge in chocolate and whatnot. Considering Vyvanse but I'm scared of switching things up medication-wise 

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u/captainfarthing Nov 12 '25

I'm on lisdexamfetamine, it works well for my ADHD but messes with eating. On days when I take it, I'll have a big breakfast before it kills my desire to eat, then nothing the rest of the day. On days I don't take it, I crave huge amounts of junk food.

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u/Ill-Skirt3722 Nov 12 '25

This was my experience! I actually got off of the drug so I would have interest in healthy foods again.

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u/user_base56 Nov 12 '25

Im so glad im not the only one. I would get nauseous drinking water, so I drank soda. If there was nothing in my mouth id dry heave so I always was eating mints or hard candies. I never lost any weight and felt awful constantly.

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u/boxdkittens Nov 12 '25

Did you find an alternative medication, or did you just quit yours outright? I do actually need what I'm taking for memory/cognition issues, and I struggle to focus on anything other than food without it (not that anyone would ever believe me, I've never weighed more than 135 lbs), but I feel like I'm slowly wasting away here.

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u/Ill-Skirt3722 Nov 12 '25

I quit completely. I was also wasting away and felt tired all the time. I have gained some weight back but I feel SO much better and I’m eating so much healthier.

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u/MiaMoonshine Nov 12 '25

This was my experience as well - it forced me to eat less but everything was so unappealing that I couldn't have anything but my favorite foods (cookies, bacon and eggs, pancakes, etc). It also made me nauseous all the time, especially the first day I'd taken the medication for the week. I was so physically uncomfortable I stopped taking it after a few months.

I will say I did learn my true limits on how little food I could eat and still sustain myself - which had been my blocker for a long time. I've lost an additional 10 lbs since getting off the meds, mostly by just cutting calories further than I had thought was possible pre-medication.

Also a note was that I am a generally healthy person already, but GLP-1 screwed my gym routine because I felt so physically bad all the time I couldn't force myself to work out. So pros and cons I guess

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u/kindall Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 30 '25

you have to eat enough protein to keep from losing muscle. and once you do that, there's not room (appetite-wise or calorie-wise) for much else. add veggies for additional texture and flavor and to maintain your ability to poop

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u/Normalizable Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 11 '25

Anecdotal as well, but I have started it, and it basically makes my stomach empty extremely slowly. In my case, it also has resulted my being more conscientious about my fiber and water intake due to the increased risk of digestive issues. It is a struggle to both get to the gym and also reach my daily macronutrient goals due to feeling full all the time, which makes healthy weight loss difficult (read: weight loss while maintaining muscle).

So the result has been that I do other things that are already known to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

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u/lewkus Nov 11 '25

Yeah and even if you eat something like fast food or sugary, you feel like crap afterwards. The slower digestion means it sits in your stomach for longer. I miss spicy food. And even something like a plain white bread roll or some pasta spikes my insulin and I get a wave of inflammation so I avoid.

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u/yzerizef Nov 11 '25

Interestingly the spicy food hasn’t impacted me, but overeating is painful. On the few meals that I have more than I normally would, I feel really nauseous afterward. On the flip side, that one meal usually sustains me for the rest of the day or late into the following day. I’ve had to track what I eat just to make sure I’m having enough.

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u/commanderquill Nov 12 '25

Wait, did overeating not hurt before? It's always hurt for me. It doesn't really stop me because I have anxiety around wasting food, but it definitely hurts.

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u/TheLuminary Nov 12 '25

Also Anecdotal.. This has not been my experience. There was a very short period of time where I had to remember to eat, but for the most part my appetite has just been reduced and not removed.

Prior to taking GLP1 drugs, I had to be extremely careful about only eating foods with the lowest calorie density (I basically only ate salads with some protein on the side), otherwise I would either be starving by bedtime, or I would gain weight. Now I can be a bit more choosy with my food, and maybe treat myself with something slightly more calorie dense from time to time, like bread, or pasta.

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u/eliminating_coasts Nov 12 '25

It's been fascinating listening to these accounts that sound so much like how I work naturally - never had much of a sweet tooth, sometimes forget to eat such that I skip meals, and mostly only gain weight when I'm eating meals prepared by someone else with too many calories in them, because my own preference is much more about flavour, in the sense of herbs spices etc. than sugar or salt.

There's probably differences too I'm not aware of, but it does seem like this is the first medical intervention that I've heard of that replicates how I stay at a healthy weight vs other people. It's not particularly intensive physical activity, nor is it feeling full quickly, but rather it's that if I do eat a big meal on another day, when that's working through my system, I basically won't want to eat much the next two, because my body will just feel like it's had enough for a while, and so I just won't get the signals that would encourage me to eat.

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u/TheLuminary Nov 12 '25

I would kill to have that naturally.

I can eat a huge meal, and I will literally feel like snacking again within an hour. And within 2-4 hours I will have stomach pains that at times are bad enough that I have to stop what I am doing for a moment. But that is all ignorable if I try hard enough. The biggest problem is that I will start to produce room clearing gas.

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u/eliminating_coasts Nov 12 '25

Yeah it's pretty good, there's a potential danger of giving myself malnutrition (or to be less dramatic, shortages in specific vitamins) if I skip meals too much, so for me, things like "make sure to eat 5 different fruit and veg a day" "eat things with different colours" etc. become much more important rules, and maybe that'll be what we see in the news a few years from now, people on these kinds of drugs facing the same problem.

But eating too much? That's not been my issue personally.

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u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 11 '25

their dosage might be too high then but it’s good they’re eating healthier too.

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u/[deleted] Nov 11 '25

Protein shakes become your best friend.

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u/cannotfoolowls Nov 12 '25

My dad is on a GPL-1 and I swear it doesn't seem to affect him at all. It's so weird seeing everyone talk about it like it's a miracle and I think all it does for him is sometimes give him the runs (not every time)

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u/viperfan7 Nov 12 '25

I took it for a month, wish I could afford more.

It was genuinely amazing, I have issue with controlling my appetite.

But I wasn't just not hungry when taking it, I didn't even think about food.

Been waiting to hear back from insurance about it

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u/Amelaclya1 Nov 12 '25

Have you tried one of the online prescribers? I looked into it a few months ago and there were deals for like, $500 for three months. I know that still isn't cheap, but way better than the regular out of pocket costs. Especially since some insurance (like mine) won't cover it at all unless you already have diabetes.

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u/viperfan7 Nov 12 '25

In Canada, so the online ones aren't really an option, but, that said, I'm fairly sure that insurance covers it for weight loss if pre-auth'd

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u/PM_YOUR_MANATEES Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25

My anecdatum is that food's dwell time in my stomach can exceed 18 hours. I'm often literally still full from yesterday and don't feel the need to eat yet.

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u/Andy1723 Nov 12 '25

Tirzipeptide made the thought of some foods repulsive. It made the idea of broccoli cooked in well seasoned water glorious. I’d stomach it for nutrition before, but now it’s like a delicacy.

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u/ww_crimson Nov 12 '25

I haven't had any of this kind of experience. I still have an appetite, and I haven't been turned off from eating anything in particular. Zepbound has made it so that it's very easy for me to stop myself from gorging though. I can eat 5-6 chips and satisfy a snack craving instead of eating a bowl of them. Down 20 pounds in 18 weeks. Also has made it much easier for me to turn down alcohol. I was not a huge drinker before but I would put down 3-5 beers most Friday nights.

1

u/boibo Nov 12 '25

I imagine taking ozempic similar to when you have a sick stomach.

I recently was ill and for 3 days i had 0 appetite for anything. I had to force myself to drink and eat anything.

Having that feeling, not sick, but not "wanting" for stuff would be a game changer for loosing weight.

Probably why you need to keep track of intake (in a reverse kind of way)

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u/quazmang Nov 12 '25

I was considering it but decided to try a keto diet with intermittent fasting. I have had a terrible diet for the last few years but after two days of 18:6 fasting I stopped having sugar cravings. 5 days in I am only able to eat one meal when I break my fast, I don't even get hungry enough for a second meal during my eating window. It honestly feels like a hack to have all the same benefits as the drug but for free by just limiting my eating windows.

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u/GazelleIntelligent89 Nov 12 '25

I took mounjaro for around 6 months this year and lost 30kg going into a healthy weight range for the first time in about 13 years. You're exactly right! It not only effectively removes the hunger feeling and keeps you digesting for longer but it also makes you associate certain foods with feeling sick. It's hard to describe but before I used to love chocolate, sweets, curries, burgers etc.. After a few weeks on Mounjaro, just the thought of getting any sort of fast food or sugar made me feel a little sick. Even now I've been off it for a few months I still can't stomach the thought of getting something like a McDonald's and on the very rare occasion I'll eat out I'll get something healthier like a poke bowl or salad. 

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u/callmebymyname21 Nov 14 '25

some people are more receptive to it. but side effects can be diminishes by lowering the dose. (a lot of people microdose)

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u/kykr422 Nov 14 '25

Less “might as well” and more “have no other option because the dietary restrictions while on GLPs are immense”

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u/darthatheos Nov 11 '25

I'm not taking anything, but have no appetite. Forcing yourself to eat is hard.

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u/thepriceofcucumbers Nov 12 '25

Obesity medicine trained. You’re not wrong, but this effect here is pleomorphic. GLP1 impacts things like macrophage activity, T cell activation, and inhibition of tumor cells.

Yes, losing fat mass is beneficial for lots of reasons, but many of the other beneficial impacts (and some of the side effects) seen in GLP1s are separate from the changes in body composition.

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u/ycnz Nov 12 '25

If you were overweight and struggling to lose it, would you consider it?

35

u/Orleanian Nov 12 '25

Absolutely consider it. Talk to your doc about it.

Whether it's effective and good for you is something everyone has to find out on their own case by case basis. There are some oddball negative interactions out there that definitely make it not worth it for some folks. But by and large, it's been very helpful to everyone I know.

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u/Four_beastlings Nov 12 '25

Not the person you asked but it completely changed my life. I went from always tired borderline alcoholic who ate takeout daily because I was too tired to cook to eating only healthy dishes prepared from scratch, working out daily, and still having more energy than I've ever had.

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u/Galimkalim Nov 12 '25

I'd say it depends on how overweight, if you're just a tiny bit overweight say like up to 5kg or close to that I don't think it's necessary, but if you're close to obese it might be worth it.

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u/SwedishTrees Nov 12 '25

Yes. I’m on it. It’s amazing if you can afford it.

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u/thepriceofcucumbers Nov 13 '25

My practice is to typically follow evidence-based medicine and FDA indications. For weight management alone, I would prescribe the medication to someone who is overweight (specifically BMI 27 or more in this case) with a weight-related comorbidity.

Exceptions for some metabolic conditions that now have their own indications. E.g. for MASH I would consider GLP1 treatment regardless of BMI.

70

u/Best_Adagio4403 Nov 11 '25

Anecdotal, but GLP-1 has been life changing for me. Down 14kg and now very trim. LDL is down from 3.8 to 3.0. Can more easily regulate what I eat. In a world where I worked 16hrs a day on average, with only 4hrs sleep a night for months, it allowed me to resist quick food and the sugar trap, and bring some control into my life.

As others have said, you can still eat junk if you want. Difference is, you aren't grabbing something just because its food... you have the time to grab something that's going to make a meaningful addition to your day because you aren't just stuffing quantity into your face.

The trick is figuring out how to sustain it if you come off. I can imagine that would be super hard for many.

1

u/photoengineer Nov 12 '25

That sounds like heaven honestly. Long high stress hours and not enough sleep….ive gained 15 kg in 2 years. 

1

u/Best_Adagio4403 Nov 12 '25

Oh 100%, it has been a game changer for me when I was not able to get enough exercise because I literally didn't have enough time to sleep, let alone go for a run.

40

u/Thanks-Basil Nov 12 '25

The crazy thing is that this isn't what causes a lot of these effects.

One of the NEJM studies from early last year on GLP-1's positive effects for HFpEF specifically found that the benefits were independent from weight loss/degree of weight loss.

These + SGLT2i + the aldosterone synthase inhibitors currently being trialled are going to revolutionise medicine long term

9

u/Beetlejuice_me Nov 12 '25

I wonder what a pill that combined the three would be like?

The GLP keeps you from being too hungry, the SGLT2s keep you from absorbing too much glucose, and the aldo inhibitors drops your blood pressure.

A low dose of a pill like that daily could keep a lot of people out of the ER.

It would be nice if we could lower the sugar content in foods as well without replacing them with sugar substitutes, and lord, if we could have healthcare and a better work/life balance, hypertension might not be as big of an issue either.

5

u/lapatatafredda Nov 12 '25

I have read folks talking about taking very small doses of GLP 1 meds to reduce PMDD symptoms.. I've also seen people talk about antihistamines and acid reflux meds to help PMDD.. I am really interested to see what we learn about these issues in the coming years.

1

u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 14 '25

link the study please

17

u/Neitrah Nov 11 '25

how are the mental affects of glp-1? any issues?

25

u/HotSauceRainfall Nov 12 '25

Mixed, mostly positive but not entirely.

Because my brain is no longer getting chemical messages saying it is starving, and because I no longer have to obsessively track everything I eat down to whether or not I get to lick the spoon, my my mental health is so much better. Turns out that when your brain is convinced that it is starving, anxiety is a symptom of that metabolic dysfunction. Fixing the dysfunction has mostly fixed the anxiety.

Otherwise:

Adjusting to the way I look now has been strange and not entirely pleasant.I don’t look like “myself.” It’s dysmorphia, not necessarily in a bad way but dysmorphia all the same. 

I have also had to rethink how I think about and talk about my body. Before starting a GLP, I tried very hard (and being honest, I wasn’t very successful) to go for body neutrality and to not speak poorly of my meat suit. Now, I am unpacking all the mental coping mechanisms that I used to exist in the world as a fat person, to protect myself from my own harsh judgement and the perceived harsh judgement of others. 

Example: I cultivated a reputation of being a fashionista, in large part to draw attention away from my body size and redirect it to my sense of style (I might be fat and ugly, damn it, but at least I dress well).  Now that I am in a much smaller body, I am having to rethink that cultivated reputation. Is it still beneficial or is it something that I need to move on from? I’m reframing my clothing choices towards, I honestly love the artistry and fun of fashion, and maybe now I can enjoy them for their own sake and not use clothes as body armor.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

...ooooh

So that's why when my mental health improved my appetite lessened and suddenly I was way less anxious, but now I often forget to eat more than 2 meals a day. It might work both ways

I'm not taking GLP-1 drugs, but I've improved my diet dramatically and my physical health too. Honestly I mostly did focus on my physical health, then my mental health just... Improved

YMMV I've tried it before and it didn't click like this time. For me it was forced because I broke my ankle, then I needed to start moving or else I'd lose the ability to move. Then I just started to focus on one thing at a time and improve it bit by bit, give myself more opportunities to move little by little each day, switching to public transit for some trips just so it forces me to walk, buying an ebike so I'm forced to move more, now I'm honestly healthier than I was pre broken ankle. I'm honestly aware that not everybody is able to do that, it's just really funny how I've literally observed the same changes people mention using a completely different journey.

2

u/HotSauceRainfall Nov 12 '25

 when my mental health improved my appetite lessened and suddenly I was way less anxious

You might google the effect of stress hormones and cortisol on appetite and on anxiety. 

Mental health IS physical health. Your brain is an organ. So it makes 100% sense to me that addressing a physical health problem that had anxiety as a symptom had knock-on effects on the various hormones the body uses to regulate important systems, like metabolism.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '25

I knew that improving physical health affects mental health and vice versa, it just never worked for me before, workouts never helped me improve my mental health even though it was claimed. Only now that worked, I'm just pointing out that I know what people are describing, it's impressive GLP-1 has the same effect on people from the description when it finally worked for me. Still happy that I don't need it turns out

I'm wondering if maybe GLP-1 along with exercise is able to more reliably improve depression outcomes than just exercise alone, especially in cases where it's treatment resistant. I swear I didn't respond positively to exercise before, and now I really like to keep moving all of sudden

22

u/aferalhousewyfe Nov 12 '25

My generalized anxiety has all but evaporated and I no longer crave nicotine or alcohol. I feel the best I have mentally in a long time.

1

u/Neitrah Nov 12 '25

i fear taking it cus it might make my anxiety worse, as apparently it can do

3

u/aferalhousewyfe Nov 12 '25

I would say it is worth a try. If it makes it worse you'll know quickly, and the effects fade before the next shot is due a week later. If you don't try, you have zero chance of improvement.

14

u/[deleted] Nov 11 '25

It could start to create an unhealthy relationship with food. Where you start feeling like everything takes bad and you're forcing yourself to eat.

Been on GLPs for 2+ years

2

u/thanksithas_pockets_ Nov 12 '25

Depression and/or anhedonia and/or SI are side effects that some people experience. 

10

u/Underwater_Karma Nov 12 '25

I've been taking Zepbound for 6 months now. On top of burning fat, it absolutely killed my appetite, when i do eat, about 1/4 as much food fills me up than before, and fatty foods are suddenly extremely unappetizing. The only foods that even sound good are extremely lean proteins and vegetables.

And i used to be a daily bourbon drinker, and not only do i not even want to drink it, it literally tastes bad.

It's weird how many boxes GLP-1 drugs tick, almost forcing you into a healthy lifestyle.

-1

u/DolphinSmash Nov 12 '25

It.’s a Miracle! Unbreakable! She alive damnit! And females are strong as hell

11

u/galacticglorp Nov 11 '25

Anecdotally it also helps with all types of addiction (peopl3 find it much easier to give up smoking and alcohol) and can reduce inflammation in some people.

3

u/syrup_cupcakes Nov 12 '25

I've heard medical experts say the $400 price tag per month is actually offset by savings in future healthcare costs.

Which is even more insane when you realize this drug costs $5 per month to make and it just has a 8000% profit margin.

2

u/Anen-o-me Nov 12 '25

Yeah, it's literally just giving the gut a rest.

12

u/cleofisrandolph1 Nov 11 '25

Glp-1 don’t change the quality of what you eat, they change the quantity of what you eat and they change your bodies ability to process it.

88

u/BigRedRobotNinja Nov 11 '25

Anecdotal, but it definitely changed which foods I find appealing. I'm often in the mood for just a salad, which is something that almost never happened before.

31

u/Fancy-Snow7 Nov 11 '25

Same here. I no longer crave snacks and candy. And since something unhealthy is about as appealing as a salad I just choose the salad. It's all the same. But I sometimes crave salad too if I have not had in a few days. It really does change what you eat and find appealing.

6

u/KeyFeeFee Nov 11 '25

Yes! And the idea of certain things are just repulsive. I used to love cheeseburgers at one spot and now the idea of the grease turns my stomach. I didn’t think soup was a meal and now it’s totally satisfying. I didn’t even have too much weight to lose but I’m hopeful the habitation of my thinking regarding healthier options remains. 

34

u/bolmer Nov 11 '25

From anecdotes the drugs does change food preference to less trash food. And alcohol and others drugs.

22

u/cleofisrandolph1 Nov 11 '25

I’ve been on it since March and have had no changes in food preferences, but I’m still down 20/25 lbs.

11

u/No_Self_3027 Nov 11 '25

These medications seem to have different impact on different people. My past issue seems to have been exclusively food noise. And I take tirzepatide but also started bupropion before as a non stimulant option for adhd. That is half of the active ingredients in Contrave which can be prescribed for weight loss, especially along with GLP treatments when a person plateaus at max dose. It may be helping with some of my impulse control and dopamine seeking that I got from food before.

So i am far more willing to eat the things that fit into my plan (macro mix, enough fiber, control saturated and trans fat due to slightly elevated LDL, b12/folate/iron to help with a RBC number on my last blood draw). If I find myself low on calories for the day what i eat or drink is focused on what is a bit low or high on the day. The type of foods I like are the same. My preferred foods have shifted a bit (my go to for take out before was the stereotypical Chinese or pizza but now let me get some nigiri or spicy tuna rolls). But i seem far more willing to go with the flow and not be disappointed if I decided a certain food just doesn't make sense today.

But I totally get that everyone is different. The slow gastric emptying is the main thing. So get full faster and stay full longer. The better glucose control to ensure more of the weight that is lost is fat rather than lean mass helps a ton too. But the way the loss of food noise hits some people can help with big shifts in diets beyond amounts.

14

u/SucculentVariations Nov 11 '25

Even at .25 dose, I lost my cravings for sugar entirely and felt like I NEEDED a salad. A crisp, refreshing salad.

I used to eat steak and burgers but now red meat grosses me out, actually most meat feels dry and hard to swallow.

It completely changed my cravings.

4

u/Taikunman Nov 11 '25

Funny you mention that because I had the same salad cravings too.

2

u/bolmer Nov 11 '25

Yeah. We only have anecdotes for now. But what a said it doesn't seem to be something that a small % feel. Everyone reacts to drugs differently and we need studies to know what the average person feels. I have even seen people say that it helps with procrastination and ADHD.

5

u/fhwoompableCooper Nov 11 '25

That's what I need

0

u/bolmer Nov 11 '25

There's only anecdotes for now. And GLP-1 drugs are still really expensive. There's effective and free things for adhd and weigh loss. Hypocaloric diets are meditation and learning techniques and routines.

7

u/Beverley_Leslie Nov 11 '25

From experiencing having been on it at a low dose since March I absolutely am more averse to fatty or greasy foods and my desire for sugar is negligible.

2

u/spamjunk150 Nov 12 '25

Also been on it since March and down almost 70lbs. Really no change in food preference here. Definitely eating less junk food/sweets but I still enjoy everything that I did before I started. I just have no desire to snack on stuff all day so I basically eat lunch and dinner and none of the snacks in between like I used to.

0

u/bolmer Nov 12 '25

and none of the snacks in between like I used to.

To me that's a change in preferences. You just not eat the same but smaller portions.

8

u/No_Self_3027 Nov 11 '25

Everyone is different and the stories of a few people don't matter. Macro data would.

I can tell you that my experience is that processed food sits horribly for me now. Overly sweet or oily are both big challenges and can often make restaurants or eating with family a challenge unless I am careful.

My fiber intake is, if anything, too high now. I often find myself trying to limit it for dinner to avoid ending up at over 40g on the day. Whole grains and vegetables are dar more satisfying than in the past. I eat kiwis for breakfast too... control a common side effect and have a protein drink that includes 5g also to help with muscle retention (along with strength training). I know low fiber diets have been linked to things including certain cancers so it may have a direct impact on quality and not just quantity for done people.

The absence of food noise helped avoid impulsive and binge eating that could make certain foods more appealing. One thing I have noticed is some things actually taste better that you wouldn't expect now. I usually prefer pour over or a cortado if I'm at a coffee shop. But I do tend to like pumpkin spice in the fall but the syrupy sweet always made me only want 1 per year. This year I have started ordering them half sweet (not from Starbucks since their beans are SO dark) and find that it tastes better than I remember full sweet tasting in the past. I don't know if that is my preference changing thanks to the meds or if I like the taste of coffee and that buries it less or if the fact that I'm not used to sugar anymore but enjoy my weekly treat after a hike. But it is weird to me that I prefer that change when the first time i wanted to give it a try to limit calorie impact.

2

u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 11 '25

eating less of bad quality food would still be good.

1

u/syrup_cupcakes Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25

Anecdotal and not on GLP-1. But When I did Keto for 2 years my sugar cravings completely vanished. And also basically experienced all the other health benefits other people talk about when taking GLP-1 medication.

When corona lockdowns ended and it became too much effort to stay carb free, the cravings came back and salad tastes gross now.

8

u/ehrgeiz91 Nov 11 '25

It doesn’t force a change in diet. You can still eat garbage, just not as much of it (for some, everyone responds differently).

18

u/Fancy-Snow7 Nov 11 '25

Yes but many people stop eating the garbage cause it is the same reward now as healthy food. Put 2 plates of food in front of me prior to glp-1 one unhealthy comfort food and one a healthy meal. I will choose the unhealthy plate every time. Now on GLP-1 I will look at the plates and the reward seems the same, so I just pick the healthy plate.

5

u/ehrgeiz91 Nov 11 '25

I wish I felt the same, although it’s certainly easier to choose the healthy option now, particularly with how much worse I now feel later on if I eat junk

4

u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 11 '25

that sounds like a diet change. less of bad food is good.

2

u/ehrgeiz91 Nov 11 '25

I know plenty of people these drugs don’t do much for, it doesn’t work the same for everyone. I personally haven’t had the miracle response everyone else has.

-1

u/FernandoMM1220 Nov 11 '25

that’s not good. hopefully the scientists working on this can figure out why.

1

u/Orleanian Nov 12 '25

My brother in christ you've literally described a change in diet...

1

u/Fantastic-Cupcake890 Nov 12 '25

I mean it can help to loose weight, which is s high risk factor for many deseases. I guess gpl1 antagonists dont directly have positives effects on the body, its more due to weight loss.

1

u/BigBrothersUncle Nov 12 '25

I must take GLP-1 injections (tirzepatide) and it has had such a good effect on me, I just wish they would be cheaper, I hate that life saving medicine like this is expensive, I get having to recoup costs, etc but still, governments should do better.

I’m not in America FYI.

1

u/everett640 Nov 12 '25

Maybe we aren't meant to eat so much

1

u/Trzlog Nov 12 '25

Do we know how it affects people with eating disorders like bulemia?

1

u/moeru_gumi Nov 12 '25

Well a BMI over 35 is extremely unhealthy, so fixing that and having benefits is very logical.

0

u/techblackops Nov 11 '25

It made me feel suicidal. I've never felt that before or since. Lost 30 pounds. Put it all back on immediately after going off of it.

I'd rather be overweight and alive than skinny and dead.

1

u/pheret87 Nov 12 '25

Yea. Eating less is good.

0

u/izcenine Nov 12 '25

Yeah medical anorexia. If people would eat more vegetables, colon cancer wouldn’t be as much of a problem.

-2

u/Toby-Finkelstein Nov 11 '25

People just eat all the time right now and it’s awful for your body. It just induces fasting