What Happens When You Stop Your GLP-1? 5 Things to Do Before and After

"Will my results hold once I wean off?"

It's one of the big worries I hear in clinic, right alongside "my gut's gone weird" and "I'm losing more than fat".

I'm a clinical naturopath for supporting gut, metabolic and nervous system health in kids and adults, and I work alongside GPs, always with them and never instead of them. I use naturopathic support alongside a medical approach (including a GLP-1) for my own health too, so this one is close to my heart.

Here's how I think about it. The medication can open the door. The foundations are what keep it open.

So if you're thinking about stopping, or you already have, here's what I'd put in place. Some of it is best started BEFORE you stop, and all of it is worth carrying on after.

In this post you'll learn:

• why stopping is a plan to make with your prescriber first

• how to look after your muscle and your blood sugar as you come off

• how your gut, your sleep and your stress fit in too

• a five-point checklist you can screenshot

What the medication was doing for you

It slows how fast your stomach empties, turns down appetite and food noise, and helps insulin do its job when blood sugar rises. As the medication leaves your system, that help steps back with it. How quickly and how much varies from person to person, which is one more reason to plan this with your prescriber.

That's why the five steps below matter. They're the things that keep supporting you once the medication isn't doing that job.

Step 1: Plan it with your prescriber and check your bloods

Stopping, or changing your dose, is a conversation to have with your doctor first. I'm not going to give dosing or tapering advice here because that is absolutely theirs to guide.

Eating less makes it easy to fall short on protein, iron, B12, zinc, vitamin D and magnesium, which is often behind the tiredness, brain fog and hair shedding. It's worth asking your GP which bloods make sense before you change anything, and again afterwards, so you have real data to work with instead of guesswork.

If anything new, sudden or worrying comes up along the way, call your doctor.

Step 2: Protect your muscle

Studies show a meaningful share of weight lost on these medications can be lean mass as well as fat. Muscle is what keeps you strong and moving, so it's worth looking after on purpose.

Start with protein first at every meal. Then add some resistance training, which you can do at home with just your bodyweight (sit-to-stands from the couch absolutely count!). How often to do it is something I go through in my masterclass, more on that at the end.

Start before you stop, and keep going after.

Step 3: Keep your blood sugar steady

Veg and protein before carbs is a simple, evidence-backed trick. On your plate that means the veggies and the protein first, and the carbs after.

The medication helps insulin do its job when blood sugar rises, so this is a way to keep supporting that yourself. Even ONE meal a day is a start. Progress over perfection!

Step 4: Feed your gut

Slower digestion can bring constipation, bloating, reflux, nausea and sulphur burps along with it, and a few simple things can help. Smaller meals eaten slowly. Fibre built up gradually with plenty of water. A gentle 10-minute walk after meals. Ginger for nausea.

A well-fed microbiome is also one of the things that helps your results hold. If your gut has gone weird and one probiotic after another hasn't really stuck, a microbiome test can show us what's actually going on, so we're working from testing instead of guessing.

Step 5: Look after your sleep and stress

Sleep and stress both drive cravings, and they're easy to leave to last when life is busy. Stress is a physiological root cause, so it deserves a proper place in your plan.

Water, sleep, movement and nutrition come first, whether a medication is in the picture or not. Think a regular bedtime, some morning sunlight, and a few slow breaths before you switch the light off. Small things, but they add up.

Your before-and-after checklist

1. Plan it with your prescriber, and ask your GP about bloods.

2. Protein first at every meal, plus some resistance training.

3. Veg and protein before carbs.

4. Feed your gut: smaller meals, fibre and water, a short walk.

5. Protect your sleep and give your stress a place in the plan.

Final thoughts

Some of the people I see are on a GLP-1, some are coming off one, some are thinking about it and some want an alternative. I support all of them, and there's no judgement from me about why you started or how it's going.

If you'd like me to go deeper, my GLP-1 Masterclass, Beyond the Scales, is live on Zoom on Wednesday 4 November at 7:30pm Melbourne time ($37, and there's no replay as we will be going through questions from attendees). We go through what the medication is actually doing, your gut on this journey, protecting your muscle and nutrients, and life after and alongside the medication, with a live Q&A at the end. You can save your seat here.

This post is general education to use alongside your prescriber and GP. It isn't a replacement for either of them.