How to Recover in a Weight Loss and GLP-1 Obsessed World
Have you ever felt like you’re living in a completely different reality than everyone around you?
Like you’re doing the hard, slow work of healing your relationship with food while the rest of the world seems to be shrinking overnight and talking about it nonstop? Feeling angry, jealous or left out is common, and you aren’t alone if you’re feeling this way too.
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Right now, weight loss medications and GLP conversations are everywhere. They show up at dinner parties, in group chats, on social media, and even in casual neighborhood conversations. And if you’re in eating disorder recovery or trying to practice intuitive eating, those moments can feel deeply uncomfortable, and even unfair.
In this episode, we’re naming the thoughts no one wants to admit out loud. The “why them and not me?” The fear that recovery might be the harder path. The frustration of watching what looks like an easy fix while you’re choosing something slower, messier, and far more vulnerable.
We’re going to break down why these conversations hit so hard, what’s really getting stirred up underneath the jealousy and anger, and how GLP-1 medications fit into this conversation without demonizing or glorifying them.
Most importantly, we’ll talk about how to protect your recovery, stay in your own lane, and remind yourself why the path you’re on matters, even when it feels like everyone else is choosing something different.
In this episode, I’m talking about:
Why being in recovery or the intuitive eating space feels especially hard when everyone around you is losing weight.
How GLP and weight loss conversations can feel triggering, unfair, and emotionally exhausting.The fantasy of a “quick fix” and why it keeps pulling people back toward dieting or disordered behaviors.
How seeing others lose weight can make recovery feel like the wrong or harder choice.
Why weight loss does not automatically equal happiness, safety, or mental wellbeing.
The real risks of GLP use for people with a history of disordered eating or eating disorders.
What it actually means to “stay in your lane” and protect your specific recovery needs.
How shifting the question from “what does this mean about me?” to “what do I need right now?” can change everything.
Practical scripts, boundaries, and mindset shifts to help you navigate conversations, social media, and comparison.
The deeper fears underneath comparison.
Why recovery is slow, uncomfortable, and still worth choosing.
What food freedom, stability, and self-trust are really about, beyond weight loss.
How to recommit to your recovery even when the world seems obsessed with shrinking bodies.
Tweetable Quotes
“It can just feel really unfair, like, ‘why do these people just get to go on this easy shot and have this quick fix and not me?’” - Rachelle Heinemann
“This idea of the eating disorder fixing our body image issues is the oldest in the book.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“I think something that we have to understand is that weight loss doesn't necessarily equal happiness.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“Their body is not a cue for me to abandon mine.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“I'm allowed to want stability more than thinness.” - Rachelle Heinemann
Resources
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Related Episodes
Episode 166. Exercise and Eating Disorder Recovery
Episode 133. GLP with Dr. Kim Dennis
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Hey there! I’m Rachelle, the host of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I work with clients to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.
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