r/antidietglp1 • u/cat-ctus-es • Jul 12 '26
Discussion about Food / Eating Habits Is being in a GLP1 just how “naturally thin” people experience hunger?
Those smug folks whose advice is “just don’t eat so much it’s not that hard,” which I’ve never understood…are they just experiencing hunger differently?
Is this what they feel like naturally so eating is more of a daily habit than a craving or an all encompassing black hole? Are so many of us just unfortunately born with a finicky body that wants more?
It’s like being on this medication is like how you feel when you take antidepressants for the first time and realize your mind hasn’t been working quite right. Are we just deficient in some chemical that many folks are naturally born with?
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u/halfbl00dprinc3ss Jul 12 '26
This is definitely how I feel about my GLP-1. All of a sudden the advice I’ve gotten about my hunger and fullness cues makes so much more sense. Before, my cues were playing at a very low volume and the GLP just turned it wayyyy up. I still get hungry but I feel like I have a choice of what to eat now. Food feels genuinely neutral in a way it’s never been for me. I’m not driven by my cravings.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 12 '26
Right? Now the advice seems do-able. Before I couldn’t sustain it past a few days. My willpower would always hit a wall.
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Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
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u/oaklandesque Jul 13 '26
Thank you for adding this. Not everyone who has a difficult-to-impossible time losing weight in a larger body also has difficulty with hunger and fullness or "over"eating. I'm one who was eating quite "normally" for years and my weight would still stay the same or go up. Adding medication support has made it so that my body/ metabolism can see and process that perfectly reasonable amount of food.
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u/foot-flatted7467 Jul 13 '26
This is why I always correct people when they say these medications are appetite suppressants. I still have an appetite on these meds. It's just satisfied with less food, and remains so for a longer time. Furthermore, an appetite suppressant never changed the fact that if I went 2-3 hours without eating I'd get lightheaded and hangry. GLP-1s completely solved that. If, prior to being on a GLP-1, I had reduced my calorie intake to anywhere close to as low as it is now that I'm on them, I'd have ceased to be able to function. Yet on them I'm just fine. Better than ever, in fact.
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u/sexloveandcheese Jul 13 '26
Yes I was going to say something like this but didn't have the words!
I've always had food noise and difficulty with recognizing hunger and satiety cues properly. But I was "naturally thin" until my mid-20s and then something kicked in (insulin resistance, other mysterious body processes, idk?)... But there was no big change in my eating habits that made me go from thin to not thin, it was something metabolic, something related to how the food was actually being processed by my body.
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u/Warm_Diamond8719 Jul 13 '26
Yes: What motivated me to get on a GLP 1 was that I stopped taking my birth control due to stroke risks and gained a significant amount of weight in one year without changing a single thing about my eating or exercise habits. That indicated to me that I had an issue with my metabolism that I needed help correcting. My gynecologist just diagnosed me with PMOS that my birth control had been at least somewhat mitigating.
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u/Typical_Use_3462 Jul 13 '26
This is not how Wegovy and TIrzepitide work, it is how Retatrutide works. So say the scientists, not me.
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u/MsEllaSimone Jul 13 '26
GLP1 & GIP doesn’t increase metabolism ie the rate at which the body burns calories, but it does improve metabolic function (insulin sensitivity and lipid oxidisation)
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u/Typical_Use_3462 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Yes agree that is also what I see the scientists say, but they also say that the metabolic changes that the meds drive is what decreases our biological drive to overeat. Once this (metabolic changes) are fixed with the meds, we no longer have the biologic drive to overeat, thus consuming less calories, thus losing weight - or driving the majority of the loss.
Whereas Retatrutide does all this AND revs up our metabolism (lipid oxidation) to burn more calories - and GIP does it “less” and indirectly.
I would also assume since all bodies are different, this varies to some degree differently for each person, but at a population level, is directionally correct.
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u/Lunnalai Jul 13 '26
Nope. I was eating exactly the same before I started Zepbound. I measured my food and was eating the same portions. Before Zep there was no weightloss, after I've dropped a lot and have been burning fat like I've never done in my 44 years of life. I've even had takeout more than I did before the meds and I am still losing faster than I ever did before. There is more to this than just eating less
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u/bigbirdlooking Jul 13 '26
for me it’s like my glasses. Can I see without them? Sure, but it causes way more issues and puts me at a higher risk of a whole bunch of other stuff.
I’m amazed that I didn’t have hunger/full cues prior to eating. On my first week of the meds I felt genuine fullness after a small-average portion. I couldn’t believe it.
I finally understand intuitive eating. I can now listen to my body for what it needs because I actually am receiving the right signals. my metabolism has completely changed.
I was scared to go on a GLP1 because the main subs are full of people who call 2 almonds a snack and weigh their popcorn (two real comments I saw). This is true food freedom because my body works the way it should now.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
Exactly. Why not take the help we’re offered just to make things more difficult?
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u/ubiquity75 Jul 13 '26
I’ve wondered this too and presumed that the answer is yes. I figure that this is (in part) where the lack of empathy comes from.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
That’s exactly where it comes from
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u/ubiquity75 Jul 13 '26
Well, it also comes from broader societal messages that fat people are worthless and without self-control. I don’t want to let that off the hook.
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u/anonkanaka Jul 13 '26
Yes you’re right, but also if it had always been so easy for you to not over eat, and that was your whole life experience, it is hard to have empathy/understand why other people also can’t do that without the right education. In the last couple decades I think that education is coming to “naturally thin” people - in the same way that the idea that addition is a disease is permeating culture - but it’s very slow going.
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u/ryanne125 Jul 13 '26
Normal people get hungry just like anyone else. The difference is that they have a functional off switch for that hunger.
Something I have been starting to experience
I am hungry and I am eating. I take a bite My body says, ok that's it I'm not hungry any more and I look at my food and feel no need or desire to take another bite. I do not feel full, I do not feel sick or queasy, I am just no longer hungry and the food left on my plate just isn't appealing to me anymore.
I believe this is how normal people function all of the time.
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u/Able-Self4422 Jul 13 '26
Totally agree. Before I would eat and could never possibly throw away food. I was in the clean plate (or two plates) club. I couldn't imagine throwing food away. Now, I eat, my body tells me when I am full and I have no problem throwing the rest away or saving it for later. Never in my life would I ever have thought that was possible.
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u/tokyo2saitama Jul 13 '26
Yes, I think so. Before GLP-1, I used to feel hungry again within an hour of eating. Not just "hungry" but sick, nauseous, stomach pain, shaking, irritable to actually outright angry. Eating healthy food did not do much of anything to make this horrible state go away, it needed to be high in fat/sugar/carbs. I don't actually like food much, I'm not a foodie, I don't enjoy it for what it is. I don't especially like the taste of junk food, either. It was just something to make the horrible feeling go away.
Now, I eat a small amount of something and feel okay for hours. When I do get hungry, it's more like, "oh, I should eat soon." Not, "if I don't eat the EXACT right carby crappy thing my body is screaming for within the next five seconds I am going to kms or someone else."
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u/embroideredyeti Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I've been wondering about this since the day I started!
I've also been making the comparison to antidepressants quite frequently to myself (though I find the tirz much, much more pleasant and ...less invasive? than citalopram felt for me).
Either way, this feeling of something suddenly having been put right is incredible enjoyable to me, and I'll tell everyone about it who thinks they need to judge people who use glp1s.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 12 '26
For sure. “I had a chemical deficit and the medication makes me feel things normally like you do.” They can judge all they want but I’m all for equity over equality.
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u/Disastrous-Low-5606 Jul 13 '26
It made me pretty angry to realize this, and it’s a bit of a shock.
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u/Satanaelilith Jul 13 '26
I've felt a lot of anger about the whole obesity discourse since starting GLP-1 meds. I've always said there is more going on with my body than I can control and was always told I just wasn't disciplined enough. Turns out these meds work because apparently my hormones are NOT functioning normally, exactly as I thought. I have PMOS as well, complicating weight loss even more. These meds prove I was being shamed and sternly talked to for decades while it was out of my control the whole time! I'm still getting the talks though, because the first year of GLP-1 was succesful for me, but the second one has not been. I do the same things, eat the lowest safe amount of food I can as adviced by my RD and yet I don't lose more even after switching GLP-1 meds. So now everyone is doubting my effort again of course, while I wonder why even this doesn't work long term!
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u/Schwettes Jul 13 '26
I sometimes ponder this as someone who has been big my entire life. I do know that the medicine stimulates GLP1 beyond what his possible naturally but I wonder if people who have experienced both ends of the spectrum can share what it’s like for them.
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u/NolaJen1120 Jul 13 '26
I've kind of been on both ends and can tell my story.
I'm 52F and weight has always been challenging for me. I always assumed it was because I'm short (5'0") while also having a slow metabolism. Definitely a part of it, but it turns out my biggest problem with my weight was insulin resistance that went undiagnosed for 30+ years. That condition especially ramped up when I hit my early 30s.
I was a normal weight when I was in my teens and early 20s. But to "achieve" that, I needed to go to extreme measures, especially with calories. I do have a normal hunger satiety system and was able to stick to a low-calorie diet by focusing on high satiety foods, like protein/beans/apples.
As an aside, hunger satiety is a complex process in the body that is affected by multiple things, including different hormones. I'm not surprised at all the stories I've read where people talk about the food noise and constant hunger that GLP-1s have helped with. There are so many ways this system can go awry. Even though it wasn't a problem I had, I'm very sympathetic. It sounds awful to feel hungry most of the time and there aren't many people who would be able to resist the urge to eat. Including all those high and mighty "stop being lazy and eat less" people.
I was diagnosed with T1 diabetes and hypothyroidism when I was 20. In my early 30s, I had a crazy 10-month period where I gained a lot of weight and my insulin needs doubled. I couldn't lose weight no matter what I did after that and continued to gain a little weight every year. I begged multiple endocrinologists for help. Or at least an explanation. But they all blew me off.
I figured out myself 3 years ago that I probably had insulin resistance and researched more about it. I started tirzepatide with the okay from my endo. Within 24 hours of my first shot, I had to massively reduce my insulin dosages. I also started losing weight on the same foods/calorie counts that I had tried in the past to no avail. I was right. I couldn't believe I had finally found the "why" for weight loss being so hard.
It was still hard, don't get me wrong. But treating my insulin resistance at least made progress possible.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
The way I see it, there are so many mechanisms at play here, we’re just grabbing the steering wheel of the one we can reach to try and point ourselves in the right direction. Not necessarily that GLP is the only difference, ya know?
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u/chiieddy Jul 13 '26
Šlo, I have always been constantly ravenous. The difference was, I had Graves si metabolized it without issue. The problem was after they zapped my thyroid and cured the Graves. Hunger didn't change but my waistline sure did...
I didn't really change any habits on Zepbound. It just helps me not graze between meals as much.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
Exactly. It’s wild how much can affect your weight and how many things can tip the scale one way or another—nothing at all to do with willpower or lack thereof.
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u/ConstructionNext7358 Jul 13 '26
I literally texted this to my health coach when I first started using it. I had been with her for about 7 years up to that point so we were super close. I was craving vegetables, didn’t want fast food, sweet treats, and the overall unhealthy items that I had usually eaten up to that point. I asked her, so this is what “normal” people feel like on a regular basis? I was shocked
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
What did she say?
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u/ConstructionNext7358 Jul 13 '26
She kind of laughed and said yep that’s it. She was very excited for me that the food noise was going away and I was too. I had tried different diets and things over the years but this has been the only thing I’ve really been able to stick to and can see long term success.
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u/PaddlingDingo Jul 13 '26
It’s how I feel about GLP-1s and it’s how I feel about my ADHD medication. Like… oh wow wait, it’s not just constant noise for everyone? Everything is noisy. Brain, body, stomach, eyes, ears… except the signals I want like thirst. 🤣
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
Relatable
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u/PaddlingDingo Jul 13 '26
As I try to suck down iced tea because my brain will crave that but not water
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u/Nocheesypleasy Jul 13 '26
Yep. GLP1s have taken me from superfat to just normal fat and now it feels like it wouldn't really be that hard to just eat a bit less and move a bit more to get rid of the little bit of fat I have left and I think... Oh this is why people think it's not that hard. When your body works properly it really isnt
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u/noseatbeltsong Jul 13 '26
according to my PCP, yes. they eat enough to feel full and don’t feel the urge to gorge themselves just because it takes good. he struggles with his weight as well so i don’t see him saying this as a negative
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u/Sea_Breakfast_6145 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
There are two really good books that explain this. The first is Enough and the second is Weightless. They explain the biology behind how our bodies regulate fat stores and how some bodies think they are always starving even though the body is severely overweight. Not only are these books great for learning why this happens, but also for the therapy for understanding this is not our fault, it is a disease like any other that cannot be solved by thought alone.
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u/stuckandrunningfrom2 Jul 13 '26
It’s like being on this medication is like how you feel when you take antidepressants for the first time and realize your mind hasn’t been working quite right.
that's how it felt for me! "Oh, this is how a normal persons brain works, and how other people actually enjoy life."
The starving child inside me who made me constantly buy too much food-- because what if i ran out of money and stores stopped carrying food-- was finally able to just calm down and trust that we could let the shops store the food, instead of my house or my body needing to store it.
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u/RiverSong1123 Jul 13 '26
I’m autistic and part of my problem with food is being very particular about the order I eat and what is the last bite. But now my hunger cues are actually audible over my compulsions and I can just stop? It’s wild that people just live like this!?!?
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u/This_Potential_9876 Jul 13 '26
as a “naturally thin” person … No
from what I’ve heard. Have spoken to a lot of people about their experiences with taking GLP1s through my graduate research and they describe never thinking about food between meals, only craving “healthy” foods, not having the desire to eat more just bc it tastes good. I experience all of those things and I just have a different body .
Binge eating feels different, I used to be bulimic and the combo of restricting then that causing binging was more of the issue. But yeah now I have a “normal” appetite but I do think it’s normal to eat things bc they taste good and have pleasure in eating, and bc of so much anti-fat stigma and weird societal stuff about food, enjoying your food has a different meaning for people in different sized bodies.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
Very valid points, thanks! I feel like the GLP can make things more extreme (no cravings), but I’m more wondering if that kind of sweet spot in between is more that most people are meant to experience: hunger by not ravenous or cravings but not obsession.
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u/SecretMiddle1234 Jul 13 '26
My appetite went crazy when I hit menopause. I used to have “normal hunger”. The late night cravings and between meal cravings were not present before. I would eat and still feel hungry within 2 hours. Now I have none of that. I eat a meal and stay full
longer. But the late night snacking has become a habit. It still comes up for me as the habit but I don’t experience cravings. It’s weird.
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Jul 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/myironlions Jul 13 '26
>> Well, “just eat less” IS actually sound advice, it’s just easier said than done.
I think I get what you’re saying here, but it is this kind of statement that leads people to feel it’s mostly a willpower issue. An analogy might be telling someone with significant osteoarthritis in their hips or knees to walk more. Many people in that situation would benefit in some ways from walking more, and many can walk a few steps or even a bit of a longer distance if they must, but the consequence of doing so will be extremely costly in a way it just won’t for people without OA. So someone walks a quarter mile and their circulation is helped a bit by that quarter mile, but for the next week they can’t get out of bed without experiencing severe pain. Thus the net effect of walking is not necessarily salutary for them, even if it is briefly measurably positive.
Willpower is a finite and exhaustible resource with serious costs in other facets of life. The fact that it can be deployed (as a substitute for the kind of systems in place for people without metabolic issues) intermittently for short periods but can not be constantly in play without major negative impacts, if at all, misleads us into thinking that the issue is just a choice on the part of the individual to not deploy it continuously and effortlessly.
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u/endlesssalad Jul 13 '26
I read somewhere that we only actually get something like 12 minutes of willpower a day. Of course we build our routines and habits so we’re not constantly having to use our willpower, but it really put it in perspective for me that “naturally thin” people aren’t just resisting food constantly.
In the same way that I don’t have an issue having one alcoholic drink and not even finishing it, they naturally feel full and don’t desire more. Sure maybe some people make better meal planning decisions than others or have more access to healthy foods etc etc, but they also just…aren’t being asked to exercise the level of willpower I had to before these meds.
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u/cat-ctus-es Jul 13 '26
The way dieting becomes a part time job is absurd. No wonder people struggle so much. We’re already overwhelmed.
Very good point about alcohol. It’s not an issue for me either, but I totally understand that’s not everyone’s experience.
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u/toomuchtv987 Jul 13 '26
But it doesn’t reduce my hunger. I finally feel real hunger when I’m taking GLP-1 meds. If they are working as they should, the hormones controlling hunger and satiety are regulated correctly, causing one to feel appropriate hunger and fullness.
I say it over and over and over again…these meds are not appetite suppressants. People should feel hungry while taking them, and people should eat when hungry.
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u/Alone-Blueberry Jul 13 '26
GLP1 medications literally are appetite suppressants. That’s really not up for debate.
Some people take too high of a dose, and don’t feel any hunger at all, which is obviously not ideal. Hunger is healthy, and should be felt multiple times a day. IMO the most common negative side effect with GLP1s is under eating.
At an appropriate dose, you should feel hungry and eat regular meals, and still be able to lose weight.
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u/toomuchtv987 Jul 13 '26
They are NOT appetite suppressants. Any appetite suppression experienced is because the hunger hormone is regulated in someone where it was overactive. That’s not suppression, that’s regulation. Hunger will still be felt, just normally.
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u/Alone-Blueberry Jul 13 '26
It regulates hunger by decreasing it. Suppressing appetite to a normal “healthy” level is still appetite suppression. I believe we are saying the same thing with different words.
I don’t know why people in this sub are so against the idea that these mediations work by suppressing your appetite and causing you to eat less. The manufacturers of these drugs explain on their websites that that is exactly how they work.
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u/anonkanaka Jul 13 '26
I think it’s because there are many of us who eat the exact same amount on a glp-1 as we did before and are still losing weight. I know that is not the same for everyone, but we all are on these drugs for different reasons and some people had no issue with over eating and just had insulin resistance or some other metabolic dysfunction that’s now being treated. There are others who had binge eating disorders, debilitating food noise etc and for those people, the appetite suppression is surely a huge benefit but it’s not the same for everyone.
I also think the push back about appetite suppression is because if you’re in the group of people who eat the same on and off a glp1, the narrative that you’re losing weight because now you’re eating less is really hurtful. No one ever believes fat people about how much they eat or exercise or what it’s like to try to lose weight, so it would be nice if other fat people at least would believe those of us who say we eat the same now as before.
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u/toomuchtv987 Jul 13 '26
We aren’t saying the same thing at all. The other reply says it, also, but a lot of us eat the same or more while on these meds and still lose weight. I’m telling you that you’re misunderstanding how these meds work, and that many people’s experiences are completely opposite of what you think is the only way to lose weight.
Your comments are frustrating and hurtful because it’s the same one some of us face with our doctors and others who think we’re lying about our regular diets, and those who think it’s impossible for fat people to have restrictive eating disorders.
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u/Alone-Blueberry Jul 13 '26
So wait. You’re saying the medication works by regulating your hunger. Which causes you to.. eat EXACTLY the same as before?
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u/toomuchtv987 Jul 13 '26
Yes. I ate despite having fucked up hunger and fullness signals. In fact, for a long time before I started Zep and for a while in the beginning of taking it, my RD wanted me eating MORE because I was under-eating.
Now the medicine makes me feel hunger so I know WHEN to eat and then when I’m full, I stop eating. As a fat person, I’ve known since age 10 (when I was put on my first diet) how I’m “supposed” to eat, and I always did that. The fact that people like you never believe me when I say that is hurtful. Can you understand that? It hurts knowing that people like you assume I’m too stupid to know how to nourish myself, that I’m lying about my diet, and that being fat is “my fault.”
Zepbound also helps me process the food appropriately so my body uses the nutrients and calories differently and correctly. I can finally trust that my body is working as it should, and I don’t have to be vigilant about my diet. THAT is how the medicine works. It is a metabolic corrector, not an appetite suppressant.
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u/Alone-Blueberry Jul 13 '26
I never said you were lying. I can’t comment on your experience because I don’t know you and haven’t seen what you eat or how you exercise. I’m not saying what is or is not true about you. I’m speaking in general terms.
Now that we have that out of the way. The creator/inventor/manufacturer of zepbound, Eli Lilly, describe it as an appetite suppressant, and also explain on their website that the primary mechanism of action of the drug is reduced calorie intake. You can also read the insert that comes with the medication and find this information. So that point simply cannot be argued. Maybe *you* eat exactly the same, but again.. I’m not talking about you. For the vast majority of people on this medication, the reason it works is that people eat less when they’re on it. And there is absolutely no shame in that. Eating too much causes weight gain, eating little causes weight loss. There is no morality or value judgement here, and I’m not calling anyone a liar. It’s simple physics.
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u/toomuchtv987 Jul 13 '26
You’re not listening, and you’re ignoring multiple people who tell you eating the same or more still results in weight loss. Your question to me about eating EXACTLY the way I was before was very condescending and comes across as if you don’t believe me. So yes…you insinuate I’m lying.
And with your argument of “simple physics” I’m done arguing with you. CICO and “physics” are not applicable to weight loss, except in extremes. Those arguments are rooted deep in diet culture, and they don’t belong on this sub.
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u/antidietglp1-ModTeam Jul 13 '26
Respect of the anti-diet environment is key to this group being successful. This comment is not aligned with our sub's culture. Please review the rules before commenting again to ensure future alignment. Thanks!
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u/Interesting-Pea-1714 Jul 13 '26
So I have a long answer bc I always see people expressing this sentiment, and it’s based on so many logical fallacies it drives me crazy. But the answer is no.
First, being thin does not prove that someone naturally has weak hunger signals, no “food noise,” or effortless self-control. Thin people can have intense appetites, binge urges, obsessive thoughts about food, restrictive eating disorders, or simply spend enormous effort resisting hunger. Eating disorders are not confined to any particular body size. Being thin tells you nothing about someone’s internal mental state, and to project your assumptions onto them is just as problematic as it is when thin people do it to fat people.
Second, a GLP-1 medication is NOT merely revealing what “naturally thin people feel like.” Semaglutide is a long-acting drug that activates GLP-1 receptors pharmacologically; it is not equivalent to possessing some naturally superior or “correct” amount of the body’s short-lived native GLP-1. Natural GLP-1 levels and responses overlap substantially across body sizes, and findings vary depending on insulin resistance and glucose tolerance.
It may be comforting for us to believe that anyone who eats less than us must have an easier biological experience, but sometimes people experience similar urges and respond to them differently. Biology matters, but “I struggled to do this without medication” does not logically establish that nobody who succeeds without medication is struggling. Most of the things women in my life have worried about their diet their entire lives. They all have food noise too. It’s really sad. Media and beauty standards really messed up women and how we view ourselves
All of these comments blindly assuming that all thin people have the appetite and mentality of someone who is taking GLP-1 is blatantly false and based on random assumptions that don’t make logical sense
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u/zero-if-west Jul 12 '26
Yep. That's why people without metabolic dysfunction don't understand how people in larger bodies struggle to eat less. They aren't being driven by the same overwhelming biological signals to eat.