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The Modern LeadHer Way
The podcast for ambitious women redefining success, life, and leadership their way, hosted by life & leadership coach & career strategist Emma Clayton.
The Modern LeadHer Way
[110] GLP-1 Real Talk: Survey Insights, 10 Truths, and What’s Missing
Ever wondered what's really happening behind the scenes with GLP-1 medications? After surveying 35 users of Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic, I'm pulling back the curtain on what people are experiencing - and what they're not telling you openly.
The results were eye-opening but perhaps unsurprising. Most users were women in their 40s and 50s grappling with perimenopausal weight gain or health concerns that traditional methods hadn't helped. While weight loss was the primary goal, the deeper story revealed profound concerns about maintaining results long-term. A striking third of respondents reported no significant side effects, challenging the common horror stories we are told in the press. But perhaps most telling was the almost universal lack of comprehensive support users received, leaving them to navigate this complex journey largely alone.
What became abundantly clear to most is that GLP-1 medications aren't magic pills - they're tools that work best when paired with mindset shifts, behavioural changes, and a healthier relationship with food. The advice from current users was refreshingly pragmatic and aligned with my view: start slow, prioritise protein, incorporate movement, and most importantly, manage your expectations. These medications don't work the same for everyone, and sustainable success requires looking beyond the number on the scale.
This survey has inspired me to create resources specifically for conscious GLP-1 users who want to break free from diet culture mentality.
I'm launching a TikTok channel dedicated to GLP-1 Real Talk, follow me here: https://www.tiktok.com/@emmaclayton.xo
Get the free guide covering "10 Truths Behind Your Biggest Concerns," here: https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com/f/glp1-truth
And Introducing my "No BS GLP-1 Method" program starting October 1st, all the details are here: https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com/courses/glp1-method
If you're ready to use these medications as a catalyst for meaningful, lasting change - not just on the scale - I'd love to support your journey. The real magic isn't in the medication; it's in you.
Get Your FREE Success Roadmap: https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com
✨ Join the waitlist to hear about the Next Time Out Retreat
https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com/f/retreat-waitlist
Join us in the Secret LeadHer Files: https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com/courses/secret-files
Book your Game Plan here: https://www.emmaclaytonxo.com/courses/game-plan
Subscribe to the video podcast and watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1Q8bQIq6BaPnRh5mht8E_Cxa8nn5SJ3Q
Connect with me & become part of the listener community on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmaclayton.xo/
This is the Modern Leader Way the podcast for ambitious, driven career women who want to feel good on the way to the top.
Speaker 1:I'm Emma Clayton and I'll be sharing with you tangible advice to help you stop sacrificing your soul in the name of success and experience more balance, confidence and fulfilment both in and out of work. Hello and welcome back to the Modern Leader Way podcast, where it's just me again, but I wanted to bring in a different flavour to this whole conversation around GLP-1 medications, which I am going to talk about again. I know I said I've got some amazing guests lined up and I have, and they will come, but for now, this is just really relevant for me and I want to do it justice, and you may have seen, or you may have even contributed to a survey that I put out on LinkedIn and Facebook and probably other places as well, inviting those of you who are currently or have in the past taken a GLP-1 medication to contribute your thoughts to the survey, and I had 35 people actually responded within the first week. I think I put it up last Tuesday, so, um, it's not even been a week yet and, um, I had some guys in there as well. I was very open to anyone who is experiencing this drug to contribute. So we had um four guys in there that actually answered and what I wanted to do was just give you a flavor for the results. Now I'm leaving this open and I will probably gather more feedback as we go through the weeks and the months as I start talking about this more over on my new TikTok. So I've decided I'm going to conquer TikTok with the GLP-1 Real Talk. So if you are down for this conversation, then head on over there and follow me there.
Speaker 1:I don't want to commandeer the conversation on my current platforms because it's only part of the overall conversation. Obviously, if you're on a pathway to improving how you feel about your body, to feel comfortable in your own skin, finally to improve your health, to overcome some of the I guess knock on impact of stress and chronic stress that you've had on your life had on your life given you know your current work, status and career then that's one of the pathways I can meet you on. But it's not the only one, because obviously I'm also talking to those who are looking at their career as their area of focus or even their business and overall looking to help you just get really clear on who it is that you are, what it is that you came here to do, who it is that you're not, and then show up as fully as you can in your truth, in your authentic truth. So that's what I'm all about. That's what the modern leader way is about. The GLP-1 journey is just a reality for me right now. This is one part of my, a big part of my life right now, and it's one that I want to help others with. So I want to share those results with you today. I will also want to give you an update on the free resources that I've got coming, and also exciting news about how you can work with me. If you are one of those GLP-1 users wanting to do it right in inverted commas, do it well, do it sort of correctly for you in a way that isn't necessarily just hyper-focused on the number, on the scale, but actually on how you can improve all areas of your life, how you can improve how you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror, how you see your relationship with food, how you believe in the mirror, how you see your relationship with food, how you believe in yourself to come off the medication actually maintain any weight loss. So these are all the things that I'm really super passionate about and um we'll come back to. So if you'll stick around to the end, then I'll give you a little insight, a little sneak peek into what's coming.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I had 35 people respond, mainly in that 40 to 59 age bracket, with some in their 30s and some in their 60s. That's probably just reflective of my audience and who's looking at my content than it is, you know, a mass scale. Obviously, this is a small sample size. Most were on manjaro, there were a couple on wigovian azenpic, most were from the uk. I did have some from canada and australia also answer, and most had been on it for like the 3 to 12 month mark, so relatively newer stages, still figuring things out and perhaps seeing those early results that are keeping them motivated. And then there were a few that had also passed that 12 to 18 month mark.
Speaker 1:I asked them why they started and, unsurprisingly, weight loss was the main answer. Some sub themes that came up, though, were that perimenopausal weight gain. So some people that perhaps hadn't struggled with their weight their entire lives had actually started to struggle with their weight. Their entire lives had actually started to struggle with weight in their 40s. There was also a lot of health concerns in there. So whether that was diverticulosis, whether that was joint pain, osteoarthritis, heart problems, diabetes these kind of health problems that show up again in your 40s and 50s, that are weight related, really came to the forefront. And then also why they started was they were just feeling generally stuck with traditional methods that hadn't worked for them. You know they tried many, many ways to lose weight before they'd done all the diets under the sun and here they are looking for another solution. So that's why they started.
Speaker 1:I also asked them what their biggest fears were before starting and unsurprisingly again, side effects kind of dominated this. So they were really concerned about you know what if I have terrible side effects? The unknown longer term impact of the drugs was also a concern. And a small, smaller but real fear was you know, will I have to stay on these drugs forever to be able to maintain any weight loss? So that was a real common theme also that came through.
Speaker 1:I asked what support they were getting, what support they felt was missing, and there was very, very little support that was given. Some were in more expensive programs that said that they got coaching as a part of the package but they said they had not really used it and it didn't really feel like it was coaching. Others felt that their pharmacist had kind of promised a bit more support than they actually got and when asked what they wanted, they wanted like it was very split. Actually. Some people were very happy on their own journey. Other people wanted more structured support, more check-ins, more group groups of like-minded people and more expert guidance, and then there was just that knowledge gap in those earlier weeks and months around how to use it properly, how to eat on it, how to prepare for tapering off.
Speaker 1:I asked about side effects reported and actually about a third said they had no real side effects and like this has been my experience too. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this, especially as it's one of the main concerns that comes up right. So a third of people had no real side effects. And then the ones that really commonly came up with the nausea, especially early on, especially straight after taking the jab, and some noted some constipation, tiredness and indigestion. So very light on the side effects reported amongst the sample when I asked what changes they'd noticed so far. The weight loss is clear, right, but the deeper story really was there was people reporting more energy, a healthier mindset towards food, better choices, without that mental battle, and just that feeling of pride in actually being able to see progress and see the number on the scales going down.
Speaker 1:In terms of longer term plans, this was where I guess the real concern came out. So it's really mixed and quite uncertain. So some were already experimenting with tapering off, some because of the cost increase, some just because they'd reached their goal weight or they were not wanting to continue on the drug anymore, for whatever reason. But most people were really avoiding this thought about the longer term effects and how they'll be able to maintain their results without the drug, and it was just one of those thoughts that they were kind of avoiding because it felt too scary to think about right now and some were too early on in the journey to be able to think about it anyway.
Speaker 1:But just thought it was really interesting that a lot of people have gone in it without the plan of coming off it, and that is also something that I seriously considered myself when I first went on to. It is like I don't want to be on a medication for life and it was kind of like that decision that I was going to use it as a tool, but use it as a tool that would allow me to make the lifestyle changes, the mindset, the habit, the behavioral changes, the identity shifts, so that when I come off it other end, I'm actually a different person. I'm not the same person I was when I took it, that had these doubts and these concerns around longevity and being able to continue with it. So that was super interesting. And then I asked them what their best advice would be to anyone start new to the drug and starting it, and there were some real consistent things, the main one being really start slow and don't rush the journey, don't push it, don't push through the doses, just go slow and steady. Prioritized protein was high up there.
Speaker 1:I was very pleased to see that, as was exercise and move your body, lift weight, strength, train, um, and also like be patient, because it does work if you allow it to, but it doesn't always need to be fast, like we kind of see in the online space for sure. And then there was an overarching advice of like drop your expectations because you might be disappointed, because I think we do have high expectations of this being the magic pill that we hear about, because so many people have lost so much weight in such a short space of time and are brimming with perceived happiness because they are at this lower weight. They've lost three, four, five, six stone and they've not been able to do that before. But what actually we don't know is how they're feeling about coming off it, whether or not they'll ever come off it or whether they'll have to live with it forever, whether they've got plans for it, whether they can actually sustain it when they do come off it. And so the overarching kind of advice was really drop those expectations. So if you underestimate the power of the drug, then potentially it will work more in your favor and you'll be more impressed by it than if you expect it to come off quickly. And and then it doesn't work for you. Because it doesn't work for everyone and that was the other thing that came through in the survey was how individual everyone's experience was. So you really can't look at your friend who's lost, you know, two stone in two months and assume that the same results should happen for you, because you will just be disappointed if it doesn't right and that's not really changing anything. That's that's.
Speaker 1:I remember back in the office when we were a big team of like 50 people and about 30 of us were on the Cambridge diet, which has been rebranded more recently, I think, to the one to one diet, but basically we all called it the dust diet because it's 500 calories of like a shake formula or soup in dust form, and no wonder we all started losing weight and shrinking. This team was probably a third of its size by the time we'd all got through three months on the dust diet. But you know, what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for everyone, and there was no surprises as well when most people put the weight back on um another person. I remember saying like seeing her and thinking, oh my god, what have you done? You look amazing and she'd done like the 5-2 diet. So it's like go off research that, look at that. But actually what works for her isn't necessarily gonna work for me.
Speaker 1:What works for me isn't necessarily gonna work for you, and we have to get our heads around the fact that we are individual beings with a very different makeup, with very different life experiences, with very different exposures to things that are going to impact our health in very different ways and therefore we are going to respond to actions, habits, medication, all the things environments, situations very differently than the next person. So the sooner we get our head around that, the better. So that was kind of where we got to with the survey results. I liked some of the advice that we saw. Um, it was very pragmatic. I was quite pleasantly surprised by how pragmatic it was and how realistic it was and how it was very much like yeah, the meds ain't gonna do it all for you.
Speaker 1:You have to do some of the heavy lifting here, and I think that's a message that I'm keen to get out the masses, because I don't see a lot of this kind of sensible, no bullshit, no gimmicks, no frills approach out there. I see a lot of people sharing their individual experience and journey, which is questionable at best most of the time. Now there are some experts out there and then they are experts in nutrition and weight loss and food freedom and all that kind of thing that are also talking about supporting people on a glp1 journey, which is great. But what I don't see is that expertise married with the actual personal experience, lived experience and being on it right now. So it really has sparked something in me and it's brought back all of the work that I've done around nutrition and lifestyle coaching, around eating psychology that I did back in 2018-2019, where I studied this like an in-depth course and qualified as a mind-body eating psychology coach. I've since gone on and qualified as a trauma-informed coach as well, so all of this kind of like culminates in my expertise, if you like, on the subject of being able to overcome the diet culture that we've been indoctrinated into, especially if you're someone, a woman, who is in her 40s plus.
Speaker 1:We have been bombarded with all the ideas that we should be in a smaller body, that we're not worthy if we are living in a bigger size body, and whilst we're starting to see movement away from that and we're seeing like more of a body positivity, health at every size, kind of acceptance, we're also seeing another wave of obsessiveness over the weight on the scale, the numbers and like how quickly we can lose weight, and it's almost like we are going backwards as a society because everyone is jumping on this bandwagon of glp1s being the magic pill, and if there's one thing that I can get across to you, it is not a magic pill. If anything is magic, you are, and it's when you bring your whole self into this journey, with your eyes wide open, and you are determined to do it differently this time, to break that cycle of yo-yo dieting, to find freedom from food, to improve your relationship with food, to tap back in and reconnect to your body so that you understand your hunger cues, like your real hunger cues, not the suppressed ones because of a medication. You understand what your body needs from you to thrive and you give it that because you're responding to what your body wants and not what your emotions are requiring in the moment. You know, when you do all that work to understand that about yourself and to know how you can move through life in a way that does feel like freedom, to be fair, then this gets to be a tool. Glp-1s Manjaro Wagovi, ozympic, whatever. Then this gets to be a tool. Glp1's manjaro wagovi, ozempic whatever it is gets to be a tool to enable you to do all those things, because it does quiet the food noise and it does reduce your appetite, so you don't need to eat as much before you feel full. So of course, you're consuming less calories. But that is only one part of the equation.
Speaker 1:So a couple of things that I'm doing one is. I am creating a TikTok account, as I mentioned, so I'll link to that new account. Or, if you follow me on Instagram, it's the same handle. So, at emmaclaytonxo, this is where I'm going to be talking about GLP-1 real talk in small, bite-sized chunks to hopefully get the message out to the masses that if they're doing it, they've got such an opportunity to do it well and for this to be the last time they ever would lose weight. But from what I'm seeing out there ain't happening because people are just using old, crazy, old, ancient old diet culture. Um, extreme black and white thinking. You know, one end of the expect the extreme to the other. Um, it's crazy what I'm seeing out there. So come find me on tiktok if you're interested in continuing this conversation.
Speaker 1:And then the other thing that I'm very excited to give you offer you is um a free guide that I've come up with, which is the 10 truths behind your biggest concerns. So this is taking my own lived experience and what I was concerned about moving into this, moving through this as I went in my research journey, but also that survey input, and actually culminating this into the no bullshit responses that every GLP-1 user needs to hear, for a strong start but also long-term success on GLP-1s. So this is just a short PDF. It's going to give you those 10 truths behind those biggest concerns and hopefully activate something in you that shifts your perspective or shifts your mindset about how you're seeing your own journey. If you're not on a GLP-1, or if you are and you know someone else that is and I'm sure you will because, quite frankly, when you open up this conversation, if people are open to it, then it seems like everyone is either on it or knows someone that is on it. Right, please also share this with them as a mass society kind of group effort. Then we have an opportunity here to really improve not just the quality of our life ongoing if we can maintain that weight loss, but also just the happiness, the confidence, all the good things that we want from life. We can start experiencing them now, and not just one day when the weight on the scale says a number that you've been gunning for for your entire life, because I can guarantee you, if you wait until you get to that number, you'll still have to do work. Then it'll be so much harder because you'll also be trying to maintain that weight loss with or without the drug. So get your free guide, um, come follow me on tiktok and then not to overwhelm you but to, quite frankly, bring you along for the ride.
Speaker 1:I am super excited to be announcing that I am offering my first fresh program for GLP-1 users. It's called the no BS GLP-1 Method and it's to help you get sustainable results beyond just weight loss and it's basically going to be eight weeks. It's going to be a co-creation because I'm going to very much create the content that will later become a self-study course that you can go through at any time. But whoever comes through this round is going to co-create it with me because I'm responding to your concerns, I'm responding to your questions and your challenges and creating content based on that. So the fact that it is that co-creative kind of vibe, and also because it's the first time I'm running it in this way, it is a super no-brainer, low cost price where you get me as well right, you get my coaching.
Speaker 1:There's going to be three coaching calls over eight weeks. So we're going to kick it off on the 1st of October with our kickoff call, we're going to meet midway point and then we're going to meet at the end, week eight, to kind of bring it all together. And then we're going to meet at the end week eight to kind of bring it all together and integrate it before we go out in the world on our own, and there's also going to be a weekly group chat. So this is a space where we get to, in between the calls, ask questions, set our intentions for the week, remain accountable to what we've said we're going to do, start to implement those really small step changes in our habits and start to like really embed them and, um yeah, celebrate each other as we do, hit the milestones and the non-scale victories, as well as the weight loss that we're seeing. So you're going to get all that plus.
Speaker 1:You're going to get the bonus of rewrite your future, which is my seven stages to navigating success on this journey. It's perfect for the weight loss journey because we're going to talk about, you know, coming up against resistance and coming up against self-sabotage, especially when you get towards the end of your time using the medication and you're thinking about coming off, and even more so when you do come off the medication. So if you're interested in that, you will get all the details if you sign up to the freebie the 10 truths. But if you can't wait, you can also go to the link in the show notes and have a look at the no bs glp1 method, which is my new program starting the 1st of October, and as soon as you join, you get the group chat access so we can get we can start talking about it now.
Speaker 1:Start talking about where you're at, and it actually doesn't matter where you're at, whether you are preparing to start your GLP-1 journey, whether you are already on it, whether you're in it, on it for six weeks, six months, or you're thinking about coming off it. It doesn't matter where you are. You can join. Everyone is welcome. The only caveat is you've already made the decision yourself to use a glp1 medication as a tool for your weight loss journey and you don't need convincing, because I'm not here to advocate for anyone to go on this. I'm very much talking to those conscious GLP-1 users that are already in that decision for themselves.
Speaker 1:I think that was all I wanted to cover off with you today. If you have any questions as always you know where I am you can give me a shout on any platform. Come and see me on TikTok at emmaclaytonxo. Download the 10 Truths to your Big, to your biggest concerns and check out the details of the program. I would love to see you join and just to see what magic we can create in eight weeks as you use this tool, and we're going to change your life. We're going to change your life for the better. So that is all I have to say for today. Thank you for being here, as always, and I'll be back next week. Take care, thank you, thank you.
