BEHIND THE BODY

Diet • Fitness • Lifestyle for Women 40+

When I was around 40, I paid $1,600 for a peptide because I was hoping it could help me lose weight quicker.

And I'm a double-certified Nutrition and Fitness Coach. I knew exactly how fat loss works. I was eating well. I was exercising. And I still bought a shortcut.

Here's what was going on. I wanted to be thinner, no matter what. Even though I ate well and trained regularly, I was still looking for room for improvement and curious whether something could make the process easier. This was before GLP-1s were on the market for weight loss. My wellness coordinator recommended it, a friend was going to do it with me, and I thought, it's a peptide, it's FDA-approved, why not? Try something different. Experience something different.

I was maybe in a vulnerable state, maybe an experimental state. It's hard for me to remember which. What I do remember is that I was a little tired of doing the same thing I always do, and something new and shiny enticed me.

It didn't work. It gave me terrible side effects that made me have to stop using it after 6 weeks, and the $1,600 was gone.

So if you're thinking about trying a peptide, a GLP-1, or a supplement, I get it. Even as a nutrition and fitness coach, I was still drawn to the “shortcut.” I knew better, and I bought it anyway because I couldn't see my body as it really was. I wanted something to change, and I wanted to spice things up a bit. Knowing more wouldn't have stopped me. What would have stopped me is a way to catch myself before I paid for something I didn't need.

Here's what I know now. Supplements can work. Peptides can work. GLP-1s work. But the basics come first: protein, lifting, sleep, hydration, stress management, and regular movement. If you don't have those down, there's a good chance it won't work as well as you hoped, won't get you to your goal at all, and you'll still get the side effects, ultimately wasting money. That's what happened to me.

My Suggestion For You

Here's what I'd do before you buy anything. Ask yourself the 3 questions I ask now before I put anything into my body. They catch the 2 things that got me: buying it for a reason that had nothing to do with fat loss, and never reading the side effects. Here's how I would have answered them back then.

Question 1: What am I hoping this does that I'm not already doing?

At 40: I wanted to lose fat faster than my food and my training were losing it.

Question 2: Why am I not doing it?

At 40: I was doing it. I had been doing it for years. I was bored, and I wanted something to feel different.

Question 3: What are the known side effects?

At 40: I didn't ask. I found out 6 weeks in, when my joints hurt.

If your answers say you're not doing the basics yet, that's where I'd start. A peptide or supplement can't do the basics for you. If your answers say you are doing the basics, and you want it to go faster, the side effects are what I'd read next, and then it's your call whether faster is worth it. That takes about a minute, and it would have saved me $1,600.

What I'm Loving This Week

Have you ever played Mahjong? I played once on a holiday with my aunt, and it was so fun. I've wanted to buy a set ever since, but they're expensive, so I kept putting it off. Then my husband and I stumbled upon a Mahjong club near us, a playroom with tables set up where you can join in and play. I feel like I need to practice before I walk in, because in my head, everyone in there looks like the women from Crazy Rich Asians. A little intimidating, but I think it’ll be a fun hobby, a way to meet new people, and I'm competitive, so the whole thing excites me.

Because You Didn't Ask...

I'm a summer girl through and through. But this time of year, football is on TV, and even though the seasons barely change in San Diego, my brain shifts to fall. It's still 80 degrees here, and I'm already excited to bundle up under a blanket, eat pumpkin spice everything, and snuggle on the couch watching football on Sundays.

How about you? Is it fall yet where you live? Hit reply and let me know!

Great chat! Let's do it again next Tuesday.

Xx,

Andrea