When Healthy Habits Aren’t Enough: My GLP-1 Decision as an Insulin Resistant Woman

I’ve Always Been “Fit-ish”… But the Charts Never Agreed

I have always been someone who is “fit-ish” - I was a competitive swimmer until I was 14, did travel volleyball, and ran and hit the gym as an adult. All this, and my size has ranged from a 10-14 over the years. Never truly ‘fat,’ but always somehow overweight according to the charts.

The Lab Result That Changed Everything

Just before turning 40, my fasting glucose was 99. This is still technically “normal” but for me, it was a huge jump. When I messaged my doctor about it, she waved me off and said my other numbers all look good. Since I don’t present as someone who could have insulin problems, no one had ever measured my A1C, which is your glucose over a two to three month period, not a snapshot like the glucose metric. For context, insulin resistance can often show up years before anything is technically ‘abnormal.’

So 3 months later, I was in another doctor’s office - this guy focused on weight management, and he looked at me and said, “I already know what your labs are going to say, so let’s get you started on metformin. You’re insulin resistant.” 

Insulin Resistance Doesn’t Always Look Like People Think

I had a bit of shame in it if we’re being honest. But then the beautiful side of social media - I started getting hit with a lot of insulin resistance content in my feed and learned that even skinny people can have it. If you’ve ever gone out to dinner, lived your life, and then watched the scale jump six pounds overnight and then not drop back down for 5 days, you may have it too. That was my biggest cue. If I wasn’t ‘perfect’ in what I ate and drank, the scale punished me hard. 

Metformin Helped… Until It Didn’t

I lost about 20 pounds by being on metformin, and my A1C dropped to 5.1 - without changing my (already good) workout and eating habits. I go to OrangeTheory 5 days a week, and I prioritize protein. This felt like I was finally being rewarded for all my effort, and after a year of maintaining, I donated all of my size 14 clothes. I even had some size 8 pants mixed in my closet now. 

Then last fall I hit a wall and have slowly started creeping up, just 5-10 pounds. The metformin stopped working as far as the scale went. Even when I’m tracking, lifting, loading up on protein, and doing everything “right,” I wasn’t losing any of my “holiday weight” in January, like I’d done every other year.

It started to feel like my body was fighting me, and with my algorithm feeding me information about perimenopause, it felt like an uphill battle. Until the GLP fad hit the watercooler feeds. 

The Allure of GLP-1s: The Food Noise Problem

The biggest struggle for me hasn’t even been weight all these years. Yes, it’s the easiest metric to tell me how I'm doing, but I’m more proud of what I show my kids on a daily basis: I know my heart is strong because I exercise. I know I could recover from major surgery because my muscles and mobility are strong. My kids never hear conversations about weight, being fat, etc in our house, because that’s not helpful. Fueling your body, feeling strong, being fast… these are the metrics I care about.

But there’s also this REALLY ANNOYING thing called food noise, which I never had a name for until the GLP conversations. 

If you’ve never experienced it, think of it as constant mental chatter about food:

• What am I going to eat next?

• Am I going to go over my calories?

• I want something sweet.

• Do I need to track today?

  
  

Food takes up so much space in my brain. And I really don’t want it to. I’ve spent the last decade doing real work to heal my relationship with food.

I don’t want to diet obsessively. I don’t want to live in deprivation.

I want food to feel normal.

Why I’m Considering a GLP-1 (Not for a “Quick Fix”)

After a lot of research, conversations, and personal reflection, I started wondering if I could benefit from a GLP medication — not because I want a dramatic transformation (but let’s be real, the allure of looking better and feeling better is 100% there too). I want the freedom it could give me. 

I’ve heard it called the longevity drug. My friend, also not at all overweight, microdoses it for inflammation and says she’s never felt better. It could replace my daily metformin, and may also help my joints (my knees have been a mess since my early 30s!).

What’s Next

I’m so over women being shamed for everything they do, so that’s why I decided to be open about this process. In the next post, I’ll share which medication I chose, what compound means, and what I’m paying out of pocket.

Disclaimer: This is just my personal experience — not medical advice — and I think anyone considering this should talk with a qualified provider and do plenty of research, especially when it comes to compounded medications and safety.