I Said Goodbye to the Old Grace
(And no — I’m not on a GLP-1. Here’s what I actually did.)
June was busy. And when I say busy, I mean crazy. My son just graduated 8th grade. My daughter is wrapping up 5th. Track season is still in full swing, and this weekend we’re loading up the car for Boston for a regional qualifier. I always catch myself saying I’m grateful, because all of it — every loud, chaotic, over-scheduled piece of it — is good. It’s the good kind of busy.
But here’s what’s been sitting with me this month. In all that running around, I’ve been around a lot of women. And somewhere between the bleachers and the dinner tables (and, let’s be honest, a glass or two of wine), they start spilling their guts to me.
They feel unseen. Lonely. Frustrated with their bodies and the way they feel in them. And almost every single one eventually asks me some version of the same question:
“How do you do it? How do you work out and stay where you are… you must be on a GLP, right?”
No. I’m not.
I just got to a point where I was sick and tired of feeling unseen. So I said goodbye to the old Grace. The old Grace who needed half a bottle of wine to take the edge off. The old Grace who binged at night — not because she had no willpower, but because she wasn’t eating enough during the day. I didn’t find a shortcut. I took the time to build a new version of myself. A new being. A new set of habits that belong to the woman I actually wanted to be.
And that’s really what this whole letter is about.
Let’s Actually Talk About GLP-1s
First, let me be clear: I am not anti-GLP. I’m a PA. I love the science. These medications are a real tool, and for a lot of people they’re a genuinely good one. So if you’ve come here because you typed “what do GLP-1s actually do” into Google — let me actually answer that for you.
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone your own gut releases when you eat. It does a few key jobs: it tells your brain you’re full, it slows down how fast food leaves your stomach, and it helps steady your blood sugar. Medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro work by mimicking that hormone and keeping those signals switched on longer. That’s why appetite drops and the food noise quiets down.
Here’s the part nobody says out loud, though: the medication suppresses your appetite. It does not build your habits. It doesn’t protect your muscle. It doesn’t teach you how to eat. And if you lose weight while skipping protein and barely eating, a big chunk of what you lose can be the very muscle that keeps your metabolism humming — something that matters even more for us over 40.
The drug can quiet the noise. It can’t build the new you. That part is still on you — and that’s good news, because it means you’re not powerless.
So whether or not you’re starting a GLP-1, take a real moment and ask yourself: what habits can I change? That’s my whole job as a coach — to help you build them. Here’s where I’d start, depending on where you are:
If you’re starting a GLP-1:
- Make sure you’re eating enough protein — the appetite drop makes it easy to fall short, and that’s how you lose muscle.
- Eat your meals in this order: protein first, then fiber, then starch. It steadies blood sugar and builds the habit on autopilot.
- Start letting go of processed foods — they blunt the very signals you’re working to support.
If you’re not on a GLP-1:
- Build your meals the exact same way — protein, fiber, then starch.
- Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks to quiet the noise so you’re never running on empty (that’s where the nighttime binge comes from).
- Have a plan. The plan is what carries you on the loud, busy, track-meet kind of days.
Foods That Do What a GLP-1 Does — Naturally
Now the question I actually love: can food do some of this on its own? Yes. You can’t dose yourself the way an injection can, but the same three things that naturally trigger your own GLP-1 are protein, fiber, and healthy fat. They slow digestion, keep you full, and steady your blood sugar. This is exactly why I stress protein and fiber to every single woman I work with.
So here’s my one rule, the one I want you to steal:
Anchor a protein at every meal. Then ask: “What can I add for fiber?”
That’s it. That’s the whole game, repeated three or four times a day. Anchor the protein. Add the fiber. Here are easy places to pull each one from:
| 🥩 Anchor Your Protein | 🌾 Then Add Fiber |
|---|---|
| Chicken breast, turkey, lean beef | Beans, lentils & chickpeas |
| Salmon, shrimp & white fish | Oats & barley |
| Eggs & egg whites | Berries, apples & pears |
| Greek yogurt & cottage cheese | Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots |
| Edamame & tofu | Chia & ground flax (14–20g) |
Pair them and the fullness signal gets stronger than any one of them alone. A grilled chicken thigh on its own is good. That same chicken over a pile of veggies and beans? That’s a meal that holds you for hours — no prescription required.
What I’ve Been Watching This Summer
With everything going on this month, I have to say I’m blessed. I’ve been working with so many women — women over 40, not on GLP-1s — losing 10 to 15 pounds in 12 weeks. But the weight isn’t even the part that gets me.
They didn’t know how bad they felt… until they felt good.
That’s the line that stays with me. They built the habits, anchored the protein, added the fiber, found a rhythm that fit their real, busy lives — and one day they woke up and realized the old way of doing things simply doesn’t work for them anymore.
Which is the question I’ll leave you with: that old way of living — the under-eating, the wine to cope, the nighttime binge, the feeling unseen in your own body — does it actually work for you? Be honest. If the answer is no, then it’s not about a shortcut. It’s about becoming the version of you who is, simply, that healthy person.
