by: Katie Malone, RD, LDN
GLP-1 medications have been everywhere lately, and honestly, for good reason.
For many women, they’re making weight management feel more achievable than it has in years. These medications have been one of the biggest advances in obesity medicine in years, and they’ve been life-changing for many patients. But here’s something I tell patients all the time:
GLP-1 medications are an incredible tool, but they’re best utilized when they’re not the whole plan.
Understanding what these medications do, what they don’t do, and where nutrition fits into the picture can help you get the most out of treatment. The healthiest, most sustainable results happen when medication is paired with good nutrition, regular movement, and habits that support your health for years to come. The real magic happens when you build a toolbox full of strategies that support your health from every angle. Working with a registered dietitian is simply another valuable tool to add to that toolbox.
This whole-person approach is also at the heart of how we approach weight management at Diana Health.
Understanding How GLP-1 Medications Work
GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic one of the hormones your body naturally makes after you eat. They help your body release insulin when it’s needed, decrease glucagon (a hormone that raises blood sugar), slow how quickly food leaves your stomach, and act on the brain to help you feel fuller sooner and stay full longer.
For a lot of people, this means fewer cravings, better portion control, and less of that constant mental tug-of-war around food. For many women, it finally feels like their body is working with them instead of against them, and that’s exciting! But I’d argue your body was never working against you. Our bodies are incredibly smart, and sometimes they just need a little help. GLP-1 medications can amplify systems your body already has, making it easier for your hunger and fullness signals to do the job they were designed to do.
Healthy Weight Loss is About More Than the Number On the Scale
Just because you’re losing weight doesn’t automatically mean you’re improving your health. The reason being, when your body loses weight it doesn’t magically know to burn only body fat. Without enough protein and resistance exercise, a meaningful portion of that weight loss can come from lean tissue, including muscle. That’s a major problem because muscle does so much more than help us look toned. It helps us move well, plays an important role in blood sugar regulation and metabolism, helps support bone health, and maybe most importantly, allows us to keep doing the things we love as we age. I want patients to sustainably lose body fat while protecting the muscle that’s going to carry them through the next 30, 40, or even 50 years of life. To me, that’s the nuance of successful weight management. It’s not simply about losing weight. It’s about guiding the body toward breaking down the right tissue (excess body fat) while protecting the tissues (muscle, bone, connective tissue, organs, and more) that keep us healthy and strong.
All that to say, weight loss can absolutely be an important goal, but it’s rarely the only measure of progress. Some of the most meaningful improvements in health have nothing to do with the number on the scale. Improved blood sugar control, healthier cholesterol levels, better blood pressure, more regular menstrual cycles, improved ovulation, fewer menopausal symptoms, more energy throughout the day, or simply feeling strong enough to play with your kids after work are all signs that your body is functioning better than it was before. Those are meaningful improvements in health, and they’re often the changes that have the greatest impact on quality of life. Weight loss is a means to improving health, not the goal in and of itself.
Eating Less Isn’t the Goal
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that if a GLP-1 medication drastically turns down your appetite, that’s automatically a good thing. While we absolutely expect your appetite to decrease, a dose that leaves you with little to no desire to eat at all may actually make it much harder to get enough protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, fluids, and overall nutrition to support your health.
Physiologically, our bodies are incredibly smart. They’re really, really good at keeping us alive. If we consistently don’t give them enough fuel, they adapt by conserving energy and becoming more efficient with the energy they have available. Think of this like switching into an energy conservation mode. From your body’s perspective, it doesn’t know you’re intentionally trying to lose weight, it just knows there is less fuel coming in. While that may sound like a good thing, it can also mean losing muscle (muscle is made up of amino acids, which your body can repurpose for energy when overall fuel is limited), feeling more fatigued (less fuel = less energy available to do the amazing things), recovering more slowly from exercise (less fuel and fewer building blocks available to repair and build tissue), and making it much harder to consistently meet your nutrient needs (because you’re simply eating less food overall). That’s not at all the outcome we’re after.
As you can hopefully see now, the goal with a GLP-1 isn’t to competitively see how little you can eat. It’s to use the medication as a tool to help regulate your appetite while continuing to nourish your body well. We want to create a calorie deficit that’s appropriate for healthy fat loss, but we also want to make sure your body still has enough energy and nutrients to support your muscles, bones, hormones, immune system, and all of the other amazing things it’s does every single day.
Nutrition Is a Skill Worth Learning
One of the central themes of my job is helping patients achieve nutritional adequacy. When appetite is lower, nutrition has to become more intentional. This means prioritizing:
- Adequate protein to preserve muscle
- Enough fluids to stay hydrated
- Fiber (introduced gradually) to support digestive health
- Consistent carbohydrates throughout the day for steady energy
- Healthy fat sources to support hormones and overall health
Most people are surprised by this, but I spend far more time helping patients eat enough than convincing them to eat less. My job is so much more nuanced than simply helping someone lose weight. My goal is to help patients nourish their bodies in a way that helps them become metabolically healthier, physically stronger, and better equipped to do the things they want to do for years to come.
One of the most important parts of nutrition counseling is figuring out what healthy eating looks like in your real life. Nutrition doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You’re balancing work, kids, aging parents, travel, shift work, holidays, and everything else life throws your way. That’s why rigid meal plans and one-size-fits-all food rules rarely work for long. The goal is to build a way of eating that fits your life, not someone else’s. As your medication, appetite, and goals change, your nutrition should change too. Your appetite may be smaller, but your body still has the same jobs to do. It simply becomes more important to fit those nutrients into the amount of food you’re comfortably able to eat. The best nutrition plan isn’t the one that looks perfect on paper, it’s the one you can realistically stick with.
GLP-1 Medications Don’t Teach Nutrition
GLP-1 medications can be incredibly effective at helping regulate appetite, but nutrition is still a skill. Learning how to consistently nourish your body, especially when your appetite has changed, takes practice. It requires learning how to make thoughtful nutrition decisions that fit your body, your lifestyle, and your health goals, even when those things change over time.
That’s why nutrition support is an important part of a comprehensive approach to GLP-1 treatment.
Medication also doesn’t rewrite your relationship with food.
Many women have spent years carrying guilt, shame, or anxiety around eating, and while these medications may quiet physical hunger, they don’t automatically change the thoughts, beliefs, or habits we’ve developed around food over time. Those skills are learned, practiced, and personalized. The most sustainable results come from pairing the physiological benefits of the medication with the knowledge and confidence to nourish your body well, both while taking a GLP-1 and long after your treatment plan changes.
The Bottom Line
GLP-1 medications are one of the most exciting advances we’ve seen in the modern obesity medicine space. They work by improving blood sugar regulation, strengthening the body’s natural hunger and fullness signals, and making healthy choices feel easier to sustain.1 But they’re still just one tool. Lasting success comes from pairing that tool with the other incredible tools that support your health.
The Diana Health Whole Health Management Program was built around a simple idea: medication works best when it’s part of an evidence-based, comprehensive approach to improving health.
Nutrition, medical management, movement, sleep, stress management, and sustainable lifestyle habits each play an important role in helping patients achieve long-term success and lifelong wellness.
The goal isn’t to help you eat as little as possible or simply watch the number on the scale go down. As a registered dietitian, I care just as much about how your body functions as I do about what it weighs. Every woman deserves to leave nutrition counseling feeling more knowledgeable, more confident, and better equipped to care for her body than when she walked in. The best outcome isn’t having patients depend on a registered dietitian forever. It’s helping people reach a point where they don’t. If I’ve done my job well, you’ll know how to care for your body with confidence, even as your life, goals, and health evolve. And if life ever calls for another tool in the toolbox, you’ll know where to find me.
If you’re considering GLP-1 medication or are already taking one and want support beyond medication, learn more about Diana Health’s Whole Health Management Program or book a visit with our team.
Meet Diana Health’s Registered Dietitian
Katie Malone is Registered Dietitian and Women’s Nutrition Expert. She serves as a resource and ally for women striving to improve their health through nutrition at Diana Health, in all locations. You can receive nutrition services with her individually, or as part of our Whole Health Management Program.
Citations
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Mozaffarian D, Apovian CM, Kushner RF, et al. Nutritional Priorities to Support GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity: A Joint Advisory From the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Society for Nutrition, the Obesity Medicine Association, and The Obesity Society. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025;33(7):1299-1315. doi:10.1002/oby.24336.
Silva M, Esen O, Tinsley GM, et al. Effect of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists at Doses for Obesity Management on Muscle Health: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Int J Obes (Lond). 2026;50:534-549. doi:10.1038/s41366-026-02118-y.
Baxter BA, Cava E, et al. Muscle Health in the Modern Era of Incretin-Based Therapies. Obes Rev. 2025;26(3):e13884. doi:10.1111/obr.13884.
Hall KD. Predicting Metabolic Adaptation, Body Weight Change, and Energy Intake in Humans. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2010;298(3):E449-E466. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00559.2009.
