About this episode
What happens when your GLP-1 suddenly doesn't feel like it used to?
Maybe the food noise is coming back. Hunger feels stronger. You're thinking about food more often. The scale has started creeping upward. And the medication that once felt life-changing suddenly seems less effective.
Does that mean Zepbound, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or another GLP-1 medication has stopped working?
In this episode of Weight & Measure, Mike and Deb sit down with Dr. Lindsay Ogle and Dr. Brianna Bingham to talk about one of the biggest fears people face during long-term obesity treatment: What happens when your GLP-1 feels different?
The answer is more complicated, and potentially more reassuring, than simply assuming the medication has failed.
The conversation explores what clinicians actually look for when someone experiences increased hunger, returning food noise, weight reoccurrence, or a change in how their GLP-1 medication feels.
They discuss:
• Can your body actually adapt to a GLP-1 medication over time?
• Is there evidence that GLP-1 medications simply “stop working”?
• Why can food noise or hunger return during maintenance?
• What amount of weight fluctuation is normal?
• How can sleep, stress, nutrition, hydration, movement, and mental health affect weight maintenance?
• Can a new medication change appetite or interfere with weight management?
• What role can corticosteroids and other medications play?
• Should thyroid function, hormones, or other health changes be investigated?
• What should you document before talking with your healthcare provider?
• When might bloodwork such as A1C or thyroid testing be appropriate?
• What happens when you've reached the maximum tolerated dose of your current medication?
• What could the next generation of obesity medications mean for people already taking semaglutide or tirzepatide?
Dr. Bingham also walks through the kind of checklist she would want a patient to bring to an appointment when they feel their treatment has changed, including medication dose and timing, injection information, hunger patterns, food noise, sleep, other health changes, and when the change began.
The episode also tackles an important reality of GLP-1 maintenance: successful obesity treatment does not necessarily mean reaching one number on the scale and staying there forever.
Weight can fluctuate. Bodies change. Health changes. Obesity is a chronic disease requiring long-term management.
And a change on the scale doesn't erase the health improvements or progress you've already made.
Mike and Deb also ask what may come next for people who have reached the limits of today's treatments, including emerging obesity medications and combination therapies such as CagriSema, retatrutide, and amylin-based treatments.
If you've ever thought “My GLP-1 isn't working anymore,” “Why is my food noise back?” or “Why am I gaining weight on Zepbound or Wegovy?”, this conversation is for you.
Weight & Measure with Mike and Zach translates obesity science for the people living it.
More Science. Less Stigma.
This podcast is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical care. Talk with your healthcare professional before making changes to medications or treatment.