If you read our other blog: TIRZEPATIDE OR SEMAGLUTIDE? WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR WEIGHT & FAT LOSS JOURNEY? you will have a good understanding of how these medications work. In this blog we are going to give you some insight on the best foods to eat as well as some exercise tricks to help speed up your weight & fat loss.
I DON’T ALWAYS DIET & EXERCISE, BUT WHEN I DO,
I EXPECT THE RESULTS TO BE INSTANT, DRAMATIC, & SPECULAR
If this sounds like the thoughts in your head, you are at that right place because following will help guide you to the quickest, yet most feasible route when it comes to eating & working out.
Nutrition & Exercise:
Whether you are new to Tirzepatide or Semaglutide or several weeks or months in, you may wonder what to eat or drink, how to reach weight-loss goals more quickly, how to avoid negative side effects, or what lifestyle changes will help aid in taking the weight off & keep you feeling more like you. We know it’s incredibly difficult to sustain the calorie deficit required to lose weight & keep it off in the long run. Hunger pangs & cravings almost inevitably get in the way. Here are some general recommendations for a healthy lifestyle, along with some exercise tips & suggestions to help in your weight-loss journey.
Since these medications slow the digestion of food down, you are going to want to eat things such as fish, seafood, chicken, & tofu. Veggies are a great option as they will breakdown nicely & give you the fiber that is needed. Fruits need to be limited but can be added to your protein shakes (examples: 7-10 blue/black/raspberries, 3 small strawberries) or eaten in very small portions. Be sure you ARE eating or having a protein shake in the morning. This gets your body ready for the day. If you are not hungry throughout the day & you forget to eat, you may start to feel nauseous or get a headache. Small protein shakes are great at bedtime as well. A scoop of protein with some water may help get you thru the night if you have been extremely hungry on prior days when you have woken up in the morning.
NUTRITION:
Protein:
Not only will protein-rich foods keep you fuller longer, but they will also assist in maintaining muscle. When shooting for a good source of protein, choose leaner options such as fish, tofu, chicken, turkey, and beans as much as possible. Eggs are a great source of protein but remember, yolks have a high fat content. Remember to swap out read meats for the leaner options mentioned above. Since these medications slow the digestion process & red meats already takes longer to digest, you will not want them sitting in your body making you feel icky! Red meats tend to be the toughest for your body to digest which may cause an upset stomach or digestive issues & most likely to cause nausea & unnecessary bloating.
These medications help regulate digestions. This regulation is directly tied to how quickly or slowly food moves from the stomach to the intestines. Overall, this will leave you feeling fuller longer & help control the sugar absorption in the intestines. This is one reason why we suggest no red meat at the beginning of your journey as we do not want that sitting in your GI tract for long periods of time. Also, red meat can create inflammation within the body. Over time, you can add red meats back to your diet on a limited basis.
Whole grains:
Eliminating certain carbs, especially white rice & pasta, white potatoes, & some breads are going to get you to your results quicker. Some carbs may be ok, just listen to your body. If you feel like you must add carbs, do so with whole grains. They are rich in fiber & nutrients and allow for greater satiety. Some suggestions include whole wheat bread & pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats, or quinoa but minimize them as much as possible.
Fruits & vegetables:
Adding these will add fiber to your diet, as well as vitamins & minerals to help to maintain blood sugar. You want to stay more focused on things like protein & vegetables, especially when first starting out on either medication. Carrots, celery, edamame, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, berries, apples, & citrus fruits are among the best to eat. Some foods that can cause blood sugar levels to spike are bananas, pineapples, white potatoes, & corn so these should be left out & added later on once your body has adjusted to its new way of utilizing food sources.
High-fat foods:
You will want to avoid fried, greasy, & fatty foods, including butter & red meats. These all tend to be the toughest for your body to digest which may cause an upset stomach or digestive issues & most likely to cause nausea. Eat slowly & eat smaller meals with foods that are light & bland.
Some do not do good by filling their bodies on high-fat items like avocados & nuts so keep your fat intake as low as possible, yes, even the good fats, you will reintroduce them back into your diet later on. Remember, the medication is working on the fat currently on our body so you need to fuel it with high protein sources so it does not go after the fat we are ingesting but rather what we are trying to get rid of, especially if you are not expending it on energy that day. Moderation is key when it comes to high-fat foods.
Added sugar:
While sugar may show up unexpectedly, whether in sauces, dressings or frozen meals, watch out for added sugars so as not to spike blood sugar or worsen symptoms. It may work against the weight-loss medication, doing the exact opposite of the desired purpose of Tirzepatide or Semaglutide. Foods high in sugar such as candy, cookies, cakes, pies, specialty coffees, etc. are not very nutritious & have a very high amount of both sugar & carbohydrate content. You are not going to be hungry so be sure the foods you are eating, count!
While you are going to want to limit your sugar intake, some sugar-free snacks may help curb your sugar craving. Have them sparingly & watch for other added unnecessary ingredients.
Dairy:
Protein shakes are a great way to start your day. Having a high protein, low sugar shake (4-10oz, whatever you can handle) will be great to satisfy your hunger & get you thru to the next meal. Mixing with about 1-2 ounces of water & also using about 1-2 ounces almond, coconut, oat, or soy milk will be a great source of extra hydration & protein.
Cheese, ice cream, coconut oil, palm oil, butter, lard, cream, and things of the like, may not going to sit well after ingesting them. Eliminating these from your diet until later on in your journey might be your best bet.
Not only are dairy products generally nutritionally well-rounded—containing a combination of carbs, protein, & fat—they also include important micronutrients. Most notably, they are a good source of calcium & phosphorus, which are critical for bone health, & potassium, a mineral essential for blood pressure management. Be cognizant of what diary foods you are putting in your body during this period.
Water:
It is stressed that water consumption is imperative in order to maintain hydration as well as limit potential side effects, so swap out those sugary drinks for good, old-fashioned H2O. Aim to drink at least 64oz of zero-calorie and non-caffeinated beverages per day. To help you meet that goal, you can carry a water bottle around with you during the day to track how much you drink. Drink clear or ice-cold drinks (like plain water or water with BCCA’s or electrolytes or unsweetened tea or even water with fresh squeezed citrus fruits in it) & limit alcohol intake.
Alcohol:
Alcohol consumption may worsen possible side effects & is full of empty calories. Since Tirzepatide & Semaglutide both slow the digestion process, limiting alcohol will lessen the possibility of gastrointestinal distress symptoms. In general, it’s not recommended to take Tirzepatide or Semaglutide with alcohol due to the potential risk of increased side effects and other problems—namely how alcohol can affect glucose (blood sugar) levels & potentially lead to complications.
For some people, drinking in moderation while using these medications may not cause serious side effects. However, it’s best to check with a healthcare provider before combining the two. Drinking in moderation means limiting alcohol intake. If you are wanting to have a drink, we suggest rewarding yourself by selecting a day to have a drink, but keeping it to a low sugar drink. Keep in mind that both Tirzepatide & Semaglutide is injected once weekly because the medication stays in your system for around one week so just because you’re not drinking on the day you took the injection doesn’t mean it’s completely safe to drink alcohol.
Another important aspect of mixing alcohol with either medication is the potential risk of hypoglycemia. Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of hypoglycemia. In addition, alcohol can mask the signs & symptoms of hypoglycemia, such as a fast heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, weakness, & confusion. Additionally, if you’re taking these medications for weight loss, drinking lots of empty calories can counteract your weight-loss goals. Alcohol can decrease blood sugar levels, especially when consumed using these medications. Hypoglycemia can be serious and life-threatening if left untreated. Please be responsible & don’t waste all your hard work on a short-term buzz.
WHAT TO INGEST:
WHAT TO HAVE IN MODERATION:
WHAT TO AVOID:
Side notes:
You should feel fuller faster & for a longer duration of time. If at any time you feel that full feeling while you are eating, you have already eaten too much. Next time take 3-4 less bites of your meal than you did last time. If you still feel full, back it down a bit more. If you feel nauseous, you probably have eaten the wrong food.
Tirzepatide, at therapeutic doses, acts on centers in the brain & suppresses appetite. It mimics the actions of two hormones, GLP-1 & GIP, which work together to stimulate insulin secretion & slow stomach emptying after a meal, signals to the brain that you feel full, & regulates fat cells. All this helps regulate blood sugar levels & causes weight loss. Those who dieted, exercised, and took Tirzepatide observed changes in cholesterol, blood pressure, & waist size & waist circumference.
Additionally, Tirzepatide contributes to weight loss by boosting metabolism. By influencing pathways that regulate energy expenditure, it helps the body burn calories more efficiently. This metabolic boost is significant, as it means the body uses more energy even during periods of rest, leading to increased calorie burning without additional physical activity. This enhanced metabolic rate plays a pivotal role in sustained weight loss.
Semaglutide, works by slowing down digestion and increasing feelings of fullness & satiety. It increases insulin production, a hormone that lowers the blood sugar level while inhibiting glucagon secretion, which is a hormone that raises blood sugar, reduces appetite & energy intake while delaying gastric emptying.
Semaglutide plays an important role in our gut as well. It will help decrease gastric emptying & peristalsis, thus increasing nutrient absorption & normalize PPG (postprandial glucose) elevations. As we all know, it is important to have a healthy gut for optimal nutrient absorption & hormone balance. Unlike Tirzepatide, Semaglutide only works at suppressing our appetite, which will in turn help you lose weight, but it will not facilitate body fat loss the way Tirzepatide does.
These once-a-week sub-q injections, help to reduce calorie intake, reduce hunger, and regulate appetite. After all, curbing our appetite will be most effective in not wanting to eat!
Your body’s response is your indicator of what you should/should not eat or drink, listen to it!
YOU SHOULD ALWAYS EAT WITH A PURPOSE: ENERGY FOR THE DAY & BRAIN HEALTH!!
EXERCISE:
Movement:
Yes, you still have to workout! Whether you are fond of exercise or not, it WILL assist in your weight-loss. Resistance & weight training will help to maintain muscle & focus more on shedding fat which will also help tone your body.
Stay active! But avoid drastic changes in your workouts, unless of course you don’t workout, then you need to start. Don’t burn yourself out, keep it simple. Cardio to get your heartrate up & to keep your ticker healthy. Then move to weight training. Adding more weight training will help build those muscles & aid in getting rid of that fat.
Building muscle is key to help this medication work most effectively. The aim when losing weight should be to change your body composition, aka, the ratio of fat to muscle, not just become a smaller ‘skinny fat’ version of yourself. Muscles use calories at rest. They are an active tissue, which means that strengthening muscles will help maintain weight loss. Eating with a purpose, will allow muscles to grow & become stronger which helps to lose fat rather than just losing weight.
Tirzepatide & Semaglutide are almost certainly the two best weight loss medications ever developed. And weight loss, no matter how it’s achieved, always involves some loss of muscle & lean mass, in addition to the loss of fat. We encourage anyone using the drugs to do everything in their power to counteract the potential losses in muscle & bone mass. Weight loss, no matter how it’s achieved, almost invariably involves the loss of both fat & muscle. Muscle mass, physical function, & strength are increasingly important as we age, which is part of the reason that strength training is recommended for all who are on these medications.
Both resistance & strength-building exercise help prevent muscle loss during your weight loss, including in older & overweight people. The effect of cardiovascular exercise on muscle retention, is less clear as some studies show beneficial effects for cardio & low-intensity exercises like walking, but others do not. So, the recommendation here is clear:sStart resistance training. It may be the best way to retain healthy muscle mass while you’re losing weight.
Keeping track of your progress fuels success. Tracking progress is among the simplest and most effective tools for improving your results. Keep it easy & make it your goal to be better than the week before!
- Utilizing machines that measure both weight & body fat will be a great tool for you to use. If you don’t have something at home, most fitness centers offer them free of charge.
- Most scales don’t differentiate between weight & fat loss or even muscle loss, for that reason, tracking only your weight isn’t a reliable way to determine whether you’re losing weight, fat, or muscle & in what amounts.
- Conversely, a body fat scale can provide a more accurate picture of your body composition by measuring the percentage of all components. See some examples below of machines that measure body composition in multiple ways.
- Be sure to measure yourself on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule to understand the changes that are happening. Know that not every time will you fluctuate. Do not get discouraged, the medication is still working.
- We suggest that you take monthly progress photos of you in the same outfit, front, side, side, back. This will be a great physical indicator of your progression.
IN CONCLUSION:
When used in conjunction with diet & exercise, these medications can aid in significant weight loss. By intaking proteins, fruits, vegetables, water, some whole grains, & limiting high-fats, added-sugars, & alcohol, this will be your catalyst to successful weight-loss. In addition, incorporating strength training to target different muscle groups will ensure quickened results. While the perfect medication for weight-loss does not exist, these are as close as they come. They are definitely the best game-changing treatments for weight-loss for a condition that, in the past, has been very difficult to manage & treat and we are seeing a lot of success with these medications. For most, it really changes their life & improves their overall health & certainly their emotional sense of well-being.
Remember, MORE MEDICATION IS NOT BETTER when it comes to taking these medications. Longevity is key in order to retrain your brain & body on what to do with food & the fat cells in your body.
If you have less than expected weight loss, ensure you are eating the right foods in the right portions. Be sure you are incorporating exercise into your daily routine.
Tirzepatide, is a peptide sold under the brand name Mounjaro & was FDA Approved in 2022, and Zepbound which the FDA approved in 2023
Semaglutide, is a peptide sold under the brand names Ozempic, which the FDA Approved in 2017, and Wegovy, which the FDA Approved in 2021
The Information presented here is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between a patient and their own physician/PCP and is for informational purposes only. The information is not intended to be medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you saw or read on our website.