GLP-1 altered my mind more than my physique.

BlueOctopus

BlueOctopus

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Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
 
Yeah, for sure — in my own case, once the constant chatter about food was gone, my attention got a lot sharper. I wasn't dealing with obesity or anything like that, but I used to snack pretty regularly, so it kept pulling me away from things.
 
Before everything went sideways and the weight piled on, I can recall that food simply wasn't something that occupied my thoughts. I ate when hunger showed up, and beyond fueling myself I barely gave it a second thought. Then at some point that shifted, and eating became far more significant to me — I was forever wondering when I'd eat again, permanently hungry, always needing something to snack on.

Reta has only brought back the state I was in before things went wrong. It feels the way it used to, and now shedding pounds is effortless, exactly as it would have been back when I never had to think about my next meal.

The Calory in = Calory out crowd never grasped this part: something inside our own bodies has malfunctioned and is working against us as we try to lose weight, and it keeps hammering our brain. It's a battle you fight daily and keep on losing, over and over, because your own brain insists that what you're doing is wrong.
 
BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...

No, this isn't you overanalyzing things. The way these drugs work involves the signaling between your gut and your mind, plus the brain's reward circuitry. Yes, these medications do slow stomach emptying somewhat, but the main routes are through compounds that get into the brain and influence how much you eat.

Prior to starting tirzepatide, I'd frequently be parked in front of the refrigerator, nibbling throughout the entire day. One bite over here, another bite over there…. It was completely normal for me to be thinking about and organizing my next meal. The very first afternoon following my initial shot, every bit of that vanished and my head was strangely silent. I was sure it had to be a placebo effect and that I was imagining it. I believe it was in my head — quite literally.
 
BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...
People usually call this "food noise," and these peps shift the way you relate to food — it isn't only about cutting appetite.

Meal planning, meal prep, hunting for recipes, and buying gadgets no longer eat up so much of my time. Food as a hobby has dropped out of the front of my mind.
 
Chocolate was the only thing that ever triggered anything like "food noise" for me, and only every so often. So on that side, I barely felt a difference.

Victoza, though — I was on it for a year — brought back the thinking power I had back in my 20s. Possibly a touch beyond that. I bombarded my partners with projects and got more done in that 1 year than in the 4 years before it.

On Reta, that effect hasn't gone anywhere.

There's also this headspace sitting somewhere between "not giving a f*ck" and the clarity that used to take me 20-30 minutes of meditation to reach.
 
BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat, and I've seen people call it 'food noise' — that nonstop food chatter in my head. Now things are much quieter up there, and I don't crave calories the way I used to.
 
Yeah, since I began tirz, I keep asking myself whether this is what "eat to live" folks experience — no constant food thoughts pulling at their attention from morning to night. Now that my decisions come from my brain rather than my gut, staying on top of what I eat feels far less of a struggle.
 
BrightCandle said:

Before everything went sideways and the weight piled on, I can recall that food simply wasn't something that occupied my thoughts. I ate when hunger showed up, and beyond fueling myself I barely gave it a second thought. Then at some point that shifted, and eating became far more significant to me — I was forever wondering when I'd eat again, permanently hungry, always needing something to snack on.

Reta has only brought back the state I was in before things went wrong. It feels the way it used to, and now shedding pounds is effortless, exactly as it would have been back when I never had to think about my next meal.

The Calory in = Calory out crowd never grasped this part: something inside our own bodies has malfunctioned and is working against us as we try to lose weight, and it keeps hammering our brain. It's a battle you fight daily and keep on losing, over and over, because your own brain insists that what you're doing is wrong.
Click to expand...
None of this overturns the fundamental rules of thermodynamics. What it does mean is that GLP1s serve as a tool, one that makes reaching and holding a caloric deficit far simpler. By slowing the gut with a GLP1 (Sema), you stay full for longer and therefore consume less. Raising insulin through GIP (Tirz) lets your body process sugar more effectively, so fat storage drops and energy expenditure rises. Increasing metabolism via glucagon (Reta) pushes your body to use stored fat as fuel.
 
BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...
This is addiction, and the substance involved here happens to be food. I don't have that particular addiction — other people do — so I can relate to some degree. Having food as the thing you're addicted to, something you can't avoid taking in — that's beyond what I can picture!
 
I no longer spend any brainpower on food, and for that I'm endlessly grateful. A close friend of mine (we both used to be powerlifters) mentioned a new plan she's following that has her eating SIX full meals each day. My only thought was that I physically couldn't manage that anymore. Not at all. These days my whole task is simply getting protein in... 😉
 
BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...
My entire connection to food has been transformed by Reta.
 
Food was on my mind constantly. There were times it came from actual hunger, though most of the time I wasn't truly hungry. Emotional eating has been a lifelong pattern for me, and on top of that, depression has been something I've battled through most of my grown-up years. Since starting reta, the shift in how I relate to food has left me stunned. Every diet imaginable has been something I've attempted, and what typically blocked any real success was the food noise. These days, thinking about food happens seldom, or when it does, it just drifts through and is gone.
 
markspeptides said:

BlueOctopus said:

Weight loss seems to be the main topic everyone brings up, yet for me the scale’s reading was not the most significant shift.

What struck me as strangest was noticing how much room in my head food had been occupying. Mulling over snacks, mapping out meals, endlessly battling urges… only once that quieted down did I grasp how draining it had been.

Has this happened to anyone else too? Or is it just me reading too much into it?
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat, and I've seen people call it 'food noise' — that nonstop food chatter in my head. Now things are much quieter up there, and I don't crave calories the way I used to.
Click to expand...
Ah, so that's what 'food noise' means. Appreciate the explanation!
 
Cordar said:

Food was on my mind constantly. There were times it came from actual hunger, though most of the time I wasn't truly hungry. Emotional eating has been a lifelong pattern for me, and on top of that, depression has been something I've battled through most of my grown-up years. Since starting reta, the shift in how I relate to food has left me stunned. Every diet imaginable has been something I've attempted, and what typically blocked any real success was the food noise. These days, thinking about food happens seldom, or when it does, it just drifts through and is gone.
Click to expand...
At age 63, just 6 hours after my initial Tirz injection, a realization hit me: this must be how food fits into most people's minds. It suddenly made sense why diet after diet had ended in failure for me, and why those who aren't overweight assume fat people simply have no willpower. My connection with food is now permanently changed.
 
Yesterday I found myself reflecting on why I had always been against bariatric surgery. Watching what others went through with it, my reasoning was consistent: physiology can be altered as much as you like, yet if the brain stays the same—specifically that part in some of us that never stops sending hunger signals—the underlying issue remains unsolved. Now, though, we have a drug that targets exactly that mechanism. Amazing. Truly wonderful.
 
Seasonal1 said:

Cordar said:

Food was on my mind constantly. There were times it came from actual hunger, though most of the time I wasn't truly hungry. Emotional eating has been a lifelong pattern for me, and on top of that, depression has been something I've battled through most of my grown-up years. Since starting reta, the shift in how I relate to food has left me stunned. Every diet imaginable has been something I've attempted, and what typically blocked any real success was the food noise. These days, thinking about food happens seldom, or when it does, it just drifts through and is gone.
Click to expand...
At age 63, just 6 hours after my initial Tirz injection, a realization hit me: this must be how food fits into most people's minds. It suddenly made sense why diet after diet had ended in failure for me, and why those who aren't overweight assume fat people simply have no willpower. My connection with food is now permanently changed.
Click to expand...
I could have said those very words (the only difference is I'm 65)
 
I used to claim that being fat and happy beat constantly counting calories and never enjoying good foods.

What surprises me is that, thanks to GLP1s, now that I'm in maintenance, I eat whatever I like—just in smaller amounts.

Instead of eating compulsively, I now eat "sensibly," and those extra trips for "one more taste" are gone.
 
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