I listened to Andrew Sullivan’s podcast today. He began with some personal news: He had become so sick from taking GLP-1s that he ended up in the ER with relentless vomiting. After six bouts of this intense illness, he announced that he was quitting GLP-1s after two years.
My first reaction was relief that he’s okay. My second was a reduction in my GLP-1 FOMO. I hear about so many people taking these medications that I can’t help feeling envious, partly because managing my weight has become a Herculean task. I do intense kettlebell workouts for an hour four days a week and burn 800 calories during an hour on my Schwinn Airdyne twice a week, yet I’m still stuck in the mid-230s.
Today offered me two forms of consolation. First, Andrew Sullivan is struggling in the natural weight-loss camp with me, so I feel less alone. Second, I discovered that I love adding a dash of apple cider vinegar to lemon-flavored sparkling water. The beverage strikes me as both effervescent and luxurious. I can almost trick myself into believing I’m sipping sparkling apple cider. This virtually calorie-free beverage makes a satisfying alternative to snacks, which are my diet-killer.
If my weight refuses to drop to at least 220 by February, I may have to seek out a weight-loss Sherpa who can hypnotize me into believing that 1,800 calories a day will not only keep me full and help me lose weight but also afford me a sense of dignity and maturity I’ve never known before.
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