Dealing with how media makes people see GLP-1s
[Additional CWs: "diet" food discussion, food industry discussion, discussion of how glp-1s are presented in media]
It happened again last night. A friend messaged me with a video about the food industry being awful (it is), and how food companies are mad at glp-1s because they make people eat less.
I get it. She's trying to be supportive. I'm not mad at her, but I am so mad at social media and the news. IT MAKES YOU EAT LESS, IT MAKES YOU EAT LESS, IT MAKES YOU EAT LESS AND THAT'S WHY YOU LOSE WEIGHT. Unless you go specifically searching for podcasts and publications that tell about the other effects of the drug, all anyone ever sees is "YOU EAT TOO MUCH, IT MAKES YOU EAT LESS!" Hell, ask google's AI search thing, and it will insist people are subconsciously eating less on glp-1s, even if they measure everything they put in their mouth.
I tried to be calm and measured in my response, telling her the girl in the video really hit the nail on the head about why "diet" food (low-fat etc) either isn't actually good for you or is a scam. About how the food industry sneaking sugar in to foods it shouldn't be in is absolutely evil, I agree. About how Olestra was the devil, I never touched the stuff when it was a fad, and none of my friends at the time could figure out why and some of them ended up hospitalized with the shits. This girl in the video really nailed it with the food section, I agree, friend.
But of course the video went on to cover how just downright mad glp-1 drugs were making food companies (also true) because what glp-1s do is make people eat less.
Full stop. No mention of any of the rest of the science. Hormonal balance, Visceral fat loss, metabolism increases, inflammation loss, nothing.
I told my friend listen, the girl in the video isn't wrong. Heck it really does stop food noise for people that have it and don't want it. It does help people eat less if they want to eat less. But the fact that she mentions just that and none of the other benefits, is why I was told I was lying for years about how little I was eating and still gaining instead of losing and just getting more and more sick with swelling and skin disorders etc. It's a big misconception people have, that TDEE calculators online are right for everyone. My disorders are what caused me to gain and gain, and even when I tracked calories by weighing my food in grams and mLs, everything that went in to my mouth, doctors still wouldn't believe me and told me I was just counting wrong or lying. It's why my tummy is shrunk now, trying to make up for the fact that I was "counting wrong", and now I struggle to eat *enough* since the med has fixed my metabolism, and that's why I'm dropping weight like a rock.
"Listen girl, I just wish she would have went over more of what the drug does for people than just make certain people eat less. The Holy Worship of Calories in, Calories out really messes things up for some people. Yeh, it's a real thing, but the equation can be thrown WAY far off for some people due to disorders. When media and youtubers cover this sort of thing, they should cover the rest of the medicine's effects, too"
I listed off some of the things my glp-1 did for me within a few days. Inflammation and nerve pain gone, period back and normal for the first time in my life, my HS getting better instead of worse, etc etc.
Of course she thought I was offended. I was not offended. I was able to bring things back around and get her to believe me, thankfully. I don't blame her or anyone else who approaches me and says, "Oh wow that med really helped you reign in those midnight snacks, eh?" because they're trained to think this way by the media and the overwhelming amount of people that want and have food noise reduction on the med.
Anyone else out there like me (with metabolism-fucking disorders, who ate by the books) have any suggestions of how to approach these things super delicately, so as to not imply that you're offended? I'm not going to keep my mouth shut because I want this misconceptions to go away, and I refuse to help be part of a problem I'm upset about. But I would like a much better way to approach it with people. Any advice appreciated.