Episode 59
Diets are Dead. Long Live Diets.
The Future of Diets: From Weight Loss to Nutrition, Thanks to GLP-1 Drugs
For as long as we can remember, dieting has been humanity’s awkward tango with food—three steps forward, two cheat days back. From eating grapefruit by the dozen to proclaiming kale chips as a snack revolution, our obsession with shrinking waistlines has been both fascinating and exhausting. But what if we could take weight loss off the table (pun intended) entirely? Thanks to the rise of GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide, we’re on the cusp of doing just that.
These drugs are shifting the focus from counting calories to counting nutrients. In other words, dieting is getting a much-needed rebrand. So grab your kale smoothie and settle in as we dive into why the diets of the future will be all about health, not weight. And don’t worry—we’ll keep this fun. After all, food is supposed to be enjoyable.
The GLP-1 Revolution: Shedding Pounds Without Shedding Tears
GLP-1 drugs mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that tells your brain, "Hey, you're full; stop eating." It’s like having a friend at dinner who gently slaps your hand every time you reach for another breadstick. Clinical trials have shown that these medications can lead to an average weight loss of 15% or more, a feat most fad diets can only dream of achieving.
Why This Changes Everything
- Goodbye, Diet Culture: With GLP-1 drugs doing the heavy lifting for weight management, the days of suffering through celery juice cleanses might finally be behind us.
- Hello, Health Goals: People can start focusing on nutrition instead of staring longingly at someone else’s fries.
- Medical Validation: It’s not you; it’s your biology. GLP-1 drugs reduce hunger and help people feel fuller faster—no willpower shaming required.
If this feels like the dieting equivalent of inventing the wheel, it is. But this wheel rolls straight into a new frontier: nutrition.
Citation: Clinical trials on GLP-1 drugs have shown sustained weight loss for a majority of participants (Wilding et al., 2021).
From Weight Loss to Wellness: The New Role of Diets
Imagine a world where diets aren’t about punishing your body but fueling it. This shift doesn’t mean we’ll all suddenly start eating quinoa salads with reckless abandon—it means recognizing that food is more than just a number on a scale.
1. Nutrition Over Numbers
The new wave of diets prioritizes nutrient density. Instead of obsessing over how many carbs are in a bagel, we’ll care about how those carbs fuel our energy, brain function, and immune system.
- Gut Health Heroes: Say hello to fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt.
- Brain Boosters: Omega-3-rich salmon and walnuts are here to make you smarter (or at least more functional before your coffee).
- Immune Support Squad: Citrus fruits, garlic, and spinach are basically your body’s bodyguards.
Fun Fact: Your brain is about 60% fat, so eating healthy fats can actually make you a better thinker. Finally, an excuse for avocado toast!
2. Functional Foods
Instead of dieting to fit into jeans from a decade ago, people will start eating with specific goals in mind:
- Performance Diets: Foods that fuel workouts and keep you going on marathon Netflix sessions.
- Longevity Diets: Think Mediterranean diet vibes—olive oil, nuts, and a glass of red wine (for antioxidants, of course).
- Condition-Targeted Eating: Anti-inflammatory diets for arthritis or low-glycemic diets for diabetes management.
It’s food as medicine but without the terrifying side effects that come at the end of pharmaceutical commercials.
Tech + Food = The Diet of Tomorrow
Let’s face it: we’re already living in the age of smart everything—phones, watches, even refrigerators. The next logical step? Using technology to make eating smarter, too.
- Biometric Tracking: Imagine a smartwatch that tells you when you’re low on magnesium and suggests snacking on almonds.
- AI Nutrition Coaches: Apps that analyze your meal choices and politely suggest adding a vegetable or two.
- Meal Kits for the Modern Era: Personalized, pre-portioned meals based on your DNA or gut microbiome.
If the idea of AI judging your pizza consumption feels invasive, remember that it’s only trying to help. Plus, it’ll never side-eye your second slice.
What Happens to Diet Culture?
For years, diet culture has been as relentless as a telemarketer, selling us impossible ideals and plenty of guilt. But with GLP-1 drugs making weight loss a medical issue instead of a personal failing, we might finally be able to exorcise the ghosts of diets past.
- No More Food Shame: GLP-1 drugs take the blame off you and put it squarely on biology. Didn’t lose weight on your juice cleanse? That’s because juice cleanses are terrible, not because you’re weak.
- Shifting Goals: The focus moves to health outcomes like better energy, clearer skin, and reduced risk of chronic disease.
- Diverse Definitions of Health: Turns out your value isn’t tied to your ability to fit into skinny jeans. Who knew?
But let’s not get too smug—diet culture is like a cockroach. Just because you think you’ve squashed it doesn’t mean it won’t find a new way to thrive. Be wary of buzzwords like "clean eating" or "biohacking;" they’re often just rebranded food guilt.
Challenges to Consider
Before we declare victory over bad diets, there are a few hurdles to clear:
- Access to GLP-1 Drugs: These medications are expensive and often not covered by insurance. If they’re going to revolutionize health, they need to be affordable for everyone.
- Nutritional Education: We’ll need to teach people how to nourish their bodies without falling into new fads.
- Avoiding Over-Medicalization: Weight loss drugs are a tool, not a replacement for a balanced lifestyle. Don’t toss your running shoes just yet.
Citation: "Cost and insurance coverage are significant barriers to GLP-1 access for many patients" (Drucker, 2022).
How to Embrace the New Era of Diets Today
Ready to ditch the old diet mentality and embrace the future? Here’s how you can get started:
- Add More Colors to Your Plate: No, not M&Ms—fruits and veggies. The more variety, the better.
- Think About Food as Fuel: Skip the crash diets and focus on eating foods that energize you.
- Experiment with Recipes: The future of eating should be fun, not a chore. Try new cuisines, flavors, and textures.
- Celebrate Small Wins: Did you swap your afternoon candy bar for an apple today? That’s a win worth celebrating.
Conclusion: Diets Are Dead (Long Live Diets!)
Thanks to GLP-1 drugs, we’re witnessing the dawn of a new era. The diets of tomorrow aren’t about deprivation—they’re about abundance. They’ll prioritize what food can do for us, from boosting our mood to supporting long-term health.
This isn’t just a trend; it’s a revolution. And with the right tools, education, and maybe a little humor, we can finally stop fighting food and start embracing it. So let’s raise a glass (of antioxidant-rich red wine) to the end of diets as we know them. Cheers to a healthier, happier future!
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: M Today we're talking about a revolution, a medical
Speaker:revolution, a dietary revolution,
Speaker:and maybe even a pan sized revolution.
Speaker:We're diving deep into the world of GLP1
Speaker:medications. Those little wonder drugs like
Speaker:Ozempic and Zepp found that are flipping the
Speaker:script about how Americans think about food
Speaker:diets and most importantly, what
Speaker:it means to be healthy. Spoiler alert,
Speaker:we're finally talking about nutrition
Speaker:instead of weight loss. And, um, honestly, it's about time.
Speaker:So grab a fork, maybe a protein
Speaker:shake, and let's get started.
Speaker:I am your chief medical explanationist. Making sense of the
Speaker:madness, Dr. Terry Simpson. And this
Speaker:is for Q Pork University, where
Speaker:we make sense of the madness, bust a few myths.
Speaker:We dish out food facts, serve up science, and garnish
Speaker:it with just a generous sprinkle of
Speaker:humor.
Speaker:Let's start with the basics. GLP1
Speaker:medications stand for glucagon,
Speaker:like peptide 1. I know
Speaker:it sounds like something out of your high school biology teacher would mumble before
Speaker:handing the pop quiz that you never read before, but here's the
Speaker:fun part. GLP1 is a hormone your body
Speaker:naturally produces, and it plays a big role in
Speaker:regulating blood sugar and appetite.
Speaker:Pharmaceutical companies, being the little clever alchemists
Speaker:they are, figured out how to make synthetic versions
Speaker:of this hormone. In Biola, GLP Mudden
Speaker:medications were born. Originally, these drugs were designed to help
Speaker:people with type 2 diabetes because it helps them
Speaker:manage their blood sugar. But then the research
Speaker:noticed that the people taking GLP1s were
Speaker:losing weight. And not a little weight, but a lot of
Speaker:weight, like I need a new wardrobe kind of
Speaker:weight. That then began
Speaker:the look at these medications just
Speaker:for weight loss without diabetes. Fast
Speaker:forward to today. And GLP1 drugs like
Speaker:Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are being prescribed for weight loss
Speaker:in people with obesity. And let me tell you, these
Speaker:medications are changing the game faster than your grandma
Speaker:can bake cookies. You know the
Speaker:story. For decades,
Speaker:diets in America were all about
Speaker:one thing. The number on the scale.
Speaker:Losing weight. Fit into your old jeans or your old
Speaker:wedding dress. Be bikini ready by June. You
Speaker:know the kind of slogan that make you roll your eyes so hard you can see
Speaker:your brain cells quitting their jobs.
Speaker:But GLP1 medications have sparked a
Speaker:shift, and a big one. Instead of
Speaker:focusing solely on weight loss, people
Speaker:are starting to look at food differently. It's not
Speaker:just about shrinking your waistline anymore.
Speaker:It's about nourishing your body and feeling good. Here's
Speaker:why. First, there's appetite
Speaker:regulations. As you know from previously On the
Speaker:podcast GLP1 meds help control hunger and
Speaker:reduce cravings. Suddenly, that pint
Speaker:of ice cream in your freezer isn't talking to you
Speaker:anymore. They do offer better blood sugar
Speaker:control. And when your blood sugar is steady, you're less likely to have
Speaker:those hangry episodes.
Speaker:And with the GLP1s doing that heavy
Speaker:lifting, getting rid of that food
Speaker:noise and making you feel full quicker and
Speaker:longer, people are starting to focus on what
Speaker:they need to eat, not just how much they need to eat.
Speaker:And nutrition is finally stepping into
Speaker:the spotlight. It's like someone just handed
Speaker:America a pair of glasses and we're finally seeing food for what it
Speaker:should be. Fuel for your body, not just a
Speaker:tool for weight management.
Speaker:Let's talk about the diet industry for a minute. You know the
Speaker:trillion dollar machine that gave us juice cleanses,
Speaker:cabbage soup diets? Enough low carb
Speaker:snack bars to build a very tasteless
Speaker:sawdusty fort? Or the Carnivore diet,
Speaker:its latest iteration of the most extreme
Speaker:and potentially deadly diet out
Speaker:there. For years, the diet industry
Speaker:thrived on quick fixes and unsustainable
Speaker:plans. Lose 10 pounds in 10 days.
Speaker:What they didn't tell you was that you'd gain it all back as soon as
Speaker:you smelled your first bit of homemade,
Speaker:delicious bread. But more importantly,
Speaker:GLP1 medications started to throw a, uh, wrench in
Speaker:that model. Why? Because they work.
Speaker:And not in a gimmicky short term way. You don't have
Speaker:to count points. These drugs are helping people
Speaker:lose weight and keep it off. And that's a nightmare for the
Speaker:diet industry, which relies upon
Speaker:repeat customer. More
Speaker:importantly, GLP1s are
Speaker:forcing people and companies to think beyond
Speaker:weight loss. What if instead of cutting out
Speaker:entire food groups, we focused on eating
Speaker:more nutrient dense food? What if we start asking, is this
Speaker:meal nourishing my body instead of how, um, many calories are
Speaker:this? Or my God, I can't have that Reese's peanut butter
Speaker:cup. It's like we finally realized that food
Speaker:isn't the enemy, it's our ally. Unless we're talking about
Speaker:deep fried butter on a stick, that's just
Speaker:a betrayal. Now here's where it
Speaker:gets really cool. At least for a nerd like
Speaker:me. The shift from weight loss to nutrition
Speaker:isn't just a feel good story. It's
Speaker:backed by science. Nutrient
Speaker:dense foods can boost your energy levels,
Speaker:meaning you're not going to have that 3pm slump. Support
Speaker:long term health. Lowering the risk of heart disease, diabetes,
Speaker:reducing the risk of cancers, and improving mental
Speaker:clarity, because nothing feels foggy like eating crappy
Speaker:food. And here's the kicker. When you eat better, your body naturally
Speaker:finds a, uh, happier weight. Not only your high school
Speaker:weight, not only your Instagram influencer weight,
Speaker:but your real happy weight, where you feel strong and
Speaker:energized and ready to tackle life.
Speaker:GLP1s are making it easier for people to focus on those
Speaker:benefits by curbing overeating
Speaker:cravings and stopping that
Speaker:constant mental battle about food.
Speaker:Suddenly eating a salad isn't a punishment. It isn't, oh, my God,
Speaker:I have to eat kale again. It becomes a delicious
Speaker:option. So what does this hold for the future
Speaker:of diets in America? And are we finally done with fads and
Speaker:gimmicks? Probably not. There's going to be a
Speaker:huckster that's going to be out there selling you some weird
Speaker:version of their diet no matter what.
Speaker:But GLP1s are paving the
Speaker:way for smarter, healthier eating. So here's
Speaker:what I think we're going to see more of. We're going to
Speaker:see more of, uh, Mediterranean diet coming into your life
Speaker:because it's delicious and healthy. We're going to see
Speaker:more of things like the Dash diet coming into your life because it actually
Speaker:promotes reduction of high blood pressure
Speaker:by as much as a single pill. We're going to
Speaker:see less shame and more empowerment because
Speaker:GLP1s are taking the stigma out of weight
Speaker:loss. Now, there's still plenty of fat
Speaker:shaming out there. There are still plenty of people out
Speaker:there who are going to say this is the easy way.
Speaker:But honestly, it's what we've been
Speaker:waiting for.
Speaker:Before we wrap it up, let me tackle a few
Speaker:frequently asked questions about GLP1s. Number one,
Speaker:GLP1s are cheating. Cheating?
Speaker:Please. Using a tool to improve your
Speaker:health isn't cheating. It's smart. If
Speaker:these medications help you live a, uh, healthier, happier
Speaker:life, why would you suffer?
Speaker:It's a win. You
Speaker:don't have to change your diet on GLP1s. Well,
Speaker:technically, you could eat junk food and still lose some weight.
Speaker:But why would you? GLP1s
Speaker:work best in all of the studies when paired with a balanced, nutritious
Speaker:diet like a Mediterranean or dash style diet?
Speaker:Myth 3 GLP1s are for lazy
Speaker:people. Oh, yeah, the old laziness argument. Listen, folks,
Speaker:managing weight and health is hard. If these medications make
Speaker:it a little easier, stop judging and start
Speaker:supporting. And here's the final
Speaker:thing. There's some people who get on the
Speaker:GLP1 medications and many of
Speaker:them don't have a lot of support or health around them
Speaker:and they actually go on GLP1 medications and do a version of low
Speaker:carb or do some other diet or try and
Speaker:count points on Weight Watchers or get the Mayo Clinic
Speaker:Diet. You don't need to do that. What we want
Speaker:you to do is learn about healthy, nutritious
Speaker:food. And as much as there are people out there saying you have to
Speaker:focus on protein because otherwise you'll lose muscle
Speaker:mass, well, you're going to lose some muscle
Speaker:mass because you don't need as much muscle to carry around
Speaker:100 less pounds or 40 less pounds or even 20 less
Speaker:pounds. And number two, you're going to lose muscle mass
Speaker:because some of the glycogen that you've been excess storing in your
Speaker:muscles you're not going to need anymore. You do need
Speaker:to maintain your protein, but you also need to
Speaker:maintain fiber. All the micronutrients,
Speaker:all the vitamins, all the minerals.
Speaker:If you're like me, every day in your email
Speaker:box you will get letters from
Speaker:Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers,
Speaker:Mayo Clinic Diet. And I probably get those because I always want to
Speaker:see what these diets are that my patients have been on. So I'm
Speaker:seeing a lot of them this time of year. What I'm really happy
Speaker:about is that now we have something that can
Speaker:actually work. Something that allows
Speaker:you to get rid of the feeling of
Speaker:constantly needing food and
Speaker:instead begin to
Speaker:enjoy food and learn about
Speaker:food not for dieting, but food for
Speaker:eating and maintaining your nutrition.
Speaker:So the next time someone asks you what diet you're on, tell
Speaker:them I'm on the take care of my body and enjoy
Speaker:life plan. And if they look confused, send
Speaker:them a copy of this podcast.
Speaker:This is Forku with Dr. Terry Simpson. Thanks for listening.
Speaker:Don't forget to subscribe, Leave a review, share the episode with
Speaker:your favorite foodie friends and until next time, eat well. Be
Speaker:well. Remember, the best diet
Speaker:is the one that keeps you happy, healthy
Speaker:and full of flavor. This podcast
Speaker:was researched and written by me, Dr. Terry Simpson, and while
Speaker:I am a physician, I am not your
Speaker:physician. This is for entertainment and educational
Speaker:purposes only. And if you're thinking about changing your
Speaker:diet, please check with your physician and a
Speaker:registered dietitian who know your health the best so
Speaker:that they can help you garner what would be best for
Speaker:you. Mediterranean and Dash are my two
Speaker:favorites. Number two, please see a
Speaker:board certified physician in Western medicine, not one of
Speaker:these crazy chiropractors or health coaches or
Speaker:bro science buddies. They've never helped you to begin
Speaker:with. If you spend five hours a day in the gym looking at your
Speaker:abs. Well, never mind.
Speaker:Thanks to the people of Simpler Media for distributing the
Speaker:podcast and my really good friend, Evo Terra, the
Speaker:pod God. We look forward to seeing you
Speaker:all. Have a good day, everybody. We'll see you
Speaker:next time on, um. Fork you.
Speaker:Hey, Evil, do you ever think the Dash Diet stood
Speaker:for dashing to the bathroom because of all that fiber?
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker:I guess you can take the boy out of Ketchikan,
Speaker:but.