14/10/2026
FOOD FIRST. ALWAYS. SO WHY HAVE I ADDED GLP-1 NUTRITION SUPPORT TO MY WORK?
If you'd asked me 18 months or two years ago what I thought about GLP-1 weight-loss medications, you'd have got a very different answer from me.
I was strongly against them.
And to be fair, I had my reasons. I've spent years studying nutrition, metabolic health, insulin resistance and the hormonal regulation of body fat. And also gut health and autoimmunity.
My approach has always been to address what's happening metabolically and hormonally and to heal the gut, rather than simply focusing on getting someone's weight down.
I believe food is one of the most powerful tools we have to influence our health, and that hasn't changed.
But something else hasn't changed either. I'm curious. I question everything. And I'm perfectly willing to change my thinking when I've spent enough time investigating something properly.
Over the last couple of years, I've watched the GLP-1 space develop. I've read the research, listened to scientists, explored the physiology and spent a considerable amount of time thinking about where nutritional therapy fits into all of this.
Because whether I personally advocate for these medications or not, the reality is that a huge number of people are now using them.
And that had got me thinking.
Are people actually changing what they eat? Are they learning how insulin, blood glucose and their metabolism work? Are they getting enough protein to protect their muscle? Are they improving their metabolic health, or are they simply eating less because they're no longer as hungry?
Something else was, and still is an issue for me as a Practitioner: Do People realise that slower gastric emptying long term is really not a good thing? So how can this be a good thing long term?
And what happens if they stop taking the medication?
These are the questions that have interested me.
My work is grounded in therapeutic carbohydrate restriction, including ketogenic nutrition, because I'm interested in what happens when we reduce the demand for insulin and change how the body manages and uses energy.
And one of the things I've become particularly interested in is whether GLP-1 medications could actually provide an opportunity for people who have struggled for years with carbohydrate cravings and deeply ingrained eating habits.
If a medication is helping someone quieten those cravings, could we use that opportunity to help them change their food, reduce their carbohydrate intake and establish a way of eating that supports their metabolic health in the longer term?
That's where my thinking has changed.
I recently listened to Dr Ben Bikman discussing exactly this. His own perspective on GLP-1 medications has evolved too, and he talked about people using them to help overcome carbohydrate cravings and establish carbohydrate restriction, rather than simply treating them as weight-loss drugs.
And I found myself thinking, yes, this is exactly the area I've been exploring.
I've spent a lot of time this past year researching this, and also speaking to people who take GLP-1 medication about just how much it has changed their lives for the better. Not just their weight, but how they feel about themselves, their confidence and their relationship with food.
And this is really important.
So no, I haven't suddenly become an advocate for GLP-1 medications.
But I have decided that I want to support people who are using them, because I believe the nutritional side of this matters enormously. AND I believe even more in a Ketogenic lifestyle for metabolic health. So if I can help someone have an entry and exit plan for this, then it is worth supporting.
That means looking at protein sufficiency, preserving muscle, carbohydrate restriction, food quality, metabolic health and helping people understand what they're trying to change.
And NOT just using medication to get skinny.
Because yes, there are side effects too, and those absolutely matter. But what I've been investigating most is whether there could be a place for using GLP-1 medication as a tool to help reduce carbohydrate cravings and make the transition into ketogenic nutrition easier.
Could it help people get through that initial adaptation phase without feeling like they're going through hell with cravings?
Ketogenic and carnivore nutrition influence some of the same metabolic and appetite-regulating pathways as GLP-1 medications, although they work differently.
And that's where my thinking has been heading.
Could GLP-1 medication be used therapeutically to help someone overcome carbohydrate cravings, establish a ketogenic way of eating and eventually reach a point where they can manage those cravings through food alone?
For me, the health goal has never been just about weight loss.
It's to help people become metabolically healthier, understand their own physiology and develop a way of eating they can sustain.
And if someone is already taking a GLP-1 medication, or they're thinking about it, I would much rather help them use that period to make meaningful changes to their nutrition.
I'm also interested in whether this approach could help some people avoid continually escalating doses and potentially reduce their reliance on medication over time.
Because that is another part of this conversation that interests me. What happens in the longer term? What happens when the medication is reduced or stopped? And what nutritional foundations have been established in the meantime?
I'm not interested in replacing one form of dependency with another.
I'm interested in whether we can use the opportunity these medications may provide to help people change their food, improve their metabolic health and build something that lasts beyond the medication itself.
I have not changed my belief in the power of food.
Quite the opposite. I just also could not ignore what was happening either.
