I had a conversation with a member recently that really stuck with me.
He was frustrated.
He’s training consistently. He’s trying to eat better. He’s making changes to his lifestyle and genuinely putting in the work.
But the weight isn’t coming off as quickly as he would like.
Meanwhile, a friend of his has started taking a GLP-1 medication.
His friend isn’t training. He isn’t particularly active. From what my member can see, he hasn’t made many changes to his lifestyle.
But he’s losing weight.
And you could hear the frustration:
“What’s the point of me doing all of this?”
I get it.
You’re getting up to train. You’re pushing through difficult sessions. You’re trying to make better choices. You’re being consistent.
Then you look next door and someone appears to be getting the result you want while sitting on the couch.
That’s difficult.
But I think this is where, as adults, we need to grow up a little bit about what we’re actually trying to achieve.
Because somewhere along the way we’ve started treating weight loss and health as though they’re the same thing.
They’re not.
Let Me Be Clear: I Am Not Against GLP-1s
In fact, I think these medications have the potential to help a lot of people.
I’ve coached people for years who genuinely struggle with their weight.
You give them good advice.
They train.
They try to change their eating habits.
They make progress.
And yet their battle with appetite, hunger and their weight can be incredibly difficult.
We also need to understand that obesity is far more complicated than simply telling somebody to “eat less and move more.”
GLP-1 medications can help regulate appetite, increase feelings of fullness and reduce food intake.
For somebody living with obesity, losing a significant amount of excess weight can have enormous health benefits.
So if someone has spoken to their doctor and GLP-1 medication is appropriate for them, I’m all for it.
Use the tool.
There is no medal for making something unnecessarily difficult.
But here’s where I think the conversation needs to change.
GLP-1s can help you lose weight. They cannot build your health for you.
This Is Where We Need to Grow Up
This might challenge some people, but I think it needs to be said.
As an adult, you cannot genuinely believe that taking a GLP-1, doing no exercise, making no effort to improve your nutrition and simply watching the number on the scale come down is the best thing you can do for your health.
The medication can help with appetite.
It can help you eat less.
It can help you lose weight.
But it cannot exercise for you.
It cannot make you stronger.
It cannot improve your fitness for you.
It cannot teach you how to make better food choices.
It cannot create healthy routines in your home.
It cannot make your body more capable unless you give your body a reason to adapt.
Those things still require something from you.
And I think we’ve become so obsessed with finding the easiest way to lose weight that we’ve forgotten why we wanted to lose the weight in the first place.
Surely the goal was to become healthier?
To move better.
To have more energy.
To reduce health risks.
To be able to do more.
To live a better life.
So if modern medicine gives you an incredible tool that makes one of the hardest parts of that process easier, fantastic.
Don’t waste the opportunity.
Don’t Just Become Smaller
When somebody loses 10, 20 or 30 kilograms, everybody notices.
“You look amazing!”
And that’s great.
But I think we should be asking some other questions too.
Are you stronger?
Are you fitter?
Are you preserving muscle?
Are you eating nutritious food?
Are you moving regularly?
Can you climb stairs more easily?
Can you get yourself off the floor?
Can you carry something heavy?
Can you run around with your children?
Are you building a body that’s going to serve you when you’re 60, 70 and 80?
Because the bathroom scale can’t answer any of those questions.
It measures your weight.
That’s it.
It doesn’t measure your strength.
It doesn’t measure your fitness.
It doesn’t measure the quality of your nutrition.
It doesn’t measure your physical capability.
And importantly, when people lose significant amounts of weight, some lean mass is typically lost alongside fat. That isn’t unique to GLP-1 medication — it happens with weight loss generally — but resistance training and appropriate nutrition can help preserve lean mass.
So don’t just aim to become a smaller human.
Aim to become a more capable one.
If You’re Taking a GLP-1, Train
Not because you need to “earn” your weight loss.
Not because taking medication is cheating.
And definitely not because exercise should be punishment.
Train because your body needs to be used.
Do some resistance training.
Walk.
Improve your cardiovascular fitness.
Eat nutritious food.
Make sure you’re getting appropriate protein.
Sleep.
Recover.
Become stronger while you’re becoming lighter.
You don’t have to become a CrossFit athlete.
You don’t have to train six days a week.
You don’t have to eat perfectly.
But surely we can expect ourselves, as adults, to take some responsibility for the parts of our health that medication cannot do for us.
The medication and the habits don’t have to compete with each other.
They can work together.
To the Person Watching Someone Else Lose Weight Faster
This is what I wanted my member to understand.
Your friend might currently be losing weight faster than you.
That doesn’t mean what you’re doing isn’t working.
Every time you train, you’re building something.
You’re developing strength.
You’re improving your fitness.
You’re practising movement.
You’re challenging your muscles.
You’re creating a routine.
You’re learning about nutrition.
You’re developing discipline.
You’re becoming more physically capable.
If the only thing we compare is how many kilograms each of you lost this month, we’re ignoring everything else your body is gaining.
Don’t let somebody else’s weight loss convince you that your effort is pointless.
The scale cannot measure everything you’re building.
Parents, Our Kids Are Watching
This is probably the part I feel strongest about.
If you’re a parent, your children are watching you.
They’re listening to the way you talk about your body.
They hear the constant conversations about diets.
They notice when you complain about how you look.
They notice whether you exercise.
They notice what you eat.
They notice whether you value being strong and capable or whether health in your household simply means being thin.
And slowly, they’re developing their own understanding of health from watching us.
We can’t constantly tell our children to eat their vegetables while we refuse to eat vegetables ourselves.
And we can’t tell them that exercise and looking after their bodies are important while showing them that the only health outcome we actually care about is making the number on the scale smaller.
This isn’t specifically a GLP-1 problem either.
We’ve been doing this with diets for decades.
Diet.
Lose weight.
Stop.
Gain weight.
Start another diet.
Punish ourselves with exercise.
Stop exercising.
Repeat.
Maybe we can teach the next generation something better.
What I Want My Kids to Understand
I don’t want my kids growing up believing exercise is punishment for eating.
I don’t want them thinking their value is determined by what a bathroom scale says.
I want them to understand that their body is something worth looking after.
You train because being strong is useful.
You move because your body needs movement.
You eat nutritious food because your body needs fuel.
You sleep because recovery matters.
You play sport because it’s fun.
You challenge yourself because doing difficult things teaches you something.
And sometimes, when you need help, you use medicine.
There’s no contradiction there.
Taking medication doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
And exercising doesn’t become pointless because medication exists.
So What’s the Point of Training?
Let’s go back to the original question.
If somebody can take medication and lose more weight than you while you’re training four times a week, why should you bother?
Because you’re not training simply to weigh less.
You’re training because you want your body to work.
You’re training to become stronger.
You’re training your heart and lungs.
You’re training your muscles.
You’re loading your bones.
You’re training so everyday life becomes easier.
You’re training so that as you get older, you have the best chance of maintaining your physical capability and independence.
You’re training so you can participate in life rather than simply watch it.
There is a massive difference between weighing less and being capable.
Ideally, we want both.
Maybe It’s Time We Grow Up
Maybe it’s time we stopped treating weight loss as the only measure of health.
Maybe it’s time we stopped judging people who use medical help to lose weight.
But maybe it’s also time we stopped pretending that medication removes our responsibility to look after ourselves.
These medications can be an incredible tool.
So is exercise.
So is good nutrition.
So is sleep.
So is strength training.
So is medical support.
Use the tools you need.
But remember what we’re actually trying to build.
We’re not just trying to make people lighter.
We’re trying to help people live longer, stronger, healthier and more capable lives.
So if you’re training consistently while somebody sitting on the couch is losing weight faster than you, don’t become despondent.
Keep going.
Your strength matters.
Your fitness matters.
Your muscle matters.
Your habits matter.
Your consistency matters.
Your ability to move matters.
And if you’re taking a GLP-1 and it’s helping you?
Fantastic.
Use that opportunity.
Move.
Train.
Eat better.
Get stronger.
Build the habits that will serve you for the rest of your life.
Because the goal was never just to weigh less.
The goal is to live better.
Stronger. Fitter. Healthier.
