Do GLP1s enable eating disorders?
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Anonymous
| Thinking about starting one (have ~40pounds to lose at 5’1”) and doing some research and seeing things like “I was barely able to eat 1000 calories!” That just sounds unhealthy to me… how is this not just a medically assisted eating disorder? |
Anonymous
| If that's what you got from all your research, you should pass. |
Anonymous
|
OP, this is a good question and I'm glad you're asking this. I'm a registered dietitian, consulting with multiple patients who are on GLP1s, for various reasons.
The short, simple answer to your question is yes, GLP1s can cause and exacerbate eating disorders, as well as other medical issues, both physical and mental. Too many people do not want to do the nutrition education, physical exercise and tough mental work that is necessary for healthful sustained weight loss. I have seen them work brilliantly and I have seen disasters. It all depends on the person, the medical/ social/ nutrition support they receive while taking these drugs, and their commitment to reforming the obviously bad habits that got them to the point that they think they need these drugs in the first place. |
Anonymous
+1. If you're thinking of taking these, then it's entirely within your control whether you work with a doctor and follow a nutrition plan to eat sufficient, high quality calories. Worrying about whether other people do that is just concern trolling. |
Anonymous
| It's not for you, OP. |
Anonymous
| Everyone I know on them HAS an eating disorder of overeating or obsessing on food. It has had the effect of freeing them from this. Compulsive eating and binge eating are also eating disorders and they exist in a continuum. There are always ways to misuse or abuse any drug. |
Anonymous
Well said. |
Anonymous
+1. It doesn’t sound you have an eating disorder, OP, so you are probably not the kind of person who should be on them. How about just losing the 40lbs the traditional way of eating less and exercising more? |
Anonymous
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I don’t know who good question. The one I went on would not have allowed me to go on it if I had an eating disorder or suicidal thoughts.
Though they did have a different program for people with eating disorder or suicidal thoughts. I’ve been on Weight Watchers for multiple years and I have been eating 19 points a day which is about1200 cal a day. I agree that eating 1000 a day would be crazy. I’m tracking my eating with my Weight Watchers app to make sure I don’t go that low and that I get enough protein. I’ve noticed that I’ve gone above the 19 points and 1200 cal today and still lose weight. It would be interesting to find out if people are consistently eating less than 1000 cal a day, whether they’re on GLP ones or just skinny |
Anonymous
You sound like you have above-average anxiety, perhaps an anxiety disorder. Treat that first before embarking on a GLP-1 medication. |
Anonymous
Personally the world could use some thinning down. If lazy people will only get to a normal non-obese weight by taking unhealthy drugs, then so be it, at least the beaches will look a little less crowded. 
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Anonymous
| People who are using them normally as directed by their doctors aren’t posting how little they’re eating on message boards. |