I'm Not Special: I'm Now Paying Attention

I saw an ad from the American Diabetes Association asking people to contact their legislators. The concern? That government workers might lose access to GLP-1 medications through their insurance. A few years ago, this would have only applied to people with Type 2 Diabetes. Now, thanks to shifting guidelines and the explosion of weight-loss prescriptions, these drugs are everywhere.

According to a National Center for Health Statistics 2024 report, “During August 2021–August 2023, the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States was 40.3%.” And according to the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2021–2022, 48.6% of U.S. adults aged 40–59 were classified as obese. That’s my age group. We have the highest obesity rate among all adult age categories in the U.S. That was me my entire adult life until 2024.

But what about the people who don’t want to take a drug forever? What about those of us who reverse Type 2 Diabetes with food, fasting, and community — not injections? Why does it feel like that story is being ignored?

I sincerely believe that not everyone knows there’s another way, and it’s not some fringe, “out there” approach that I’m doing. It’s back to basics. Before fast food and ultra-processed foods. When people didn’t “spoil their dinner” with snacking.

It’s easy to use phrases like “doing the work”. But that’s not helpful if I’m not showing what it actually looks like when it comes to healing metabolic health naturally through lifestyle.

So here’s what I do. On meal days, I typically eat two meals: early morning and then a second meal before 7 p.m. They’re spaced 5+ hours apart. Sometimes I’ll eat three small meals, planned and spaced out. I avoid eating past 7:00 p.m., and earlier than that is even better.

Back in 2023 when I was still on Type 2 Diabetes medications during the early days of this journey, I did not do any fasting longer than 13 hours. I leaned into no snacking, no late night eating, and real whole food. I added intermittent fasting and then therapeutic fasting only after I was off of insulin injections.

My meals are simple. Repeatable. Not curated for Instagram. In fact, most of them aren’t photogenic at all. When I share food photos with friends and family, I often call them “Tastier Than It Looks, Volume 12.” But this isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about outcomes.

I shop at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Aldi. I’m on a tight budget right now, so the days of buying everything at Whole Foods and organic farms are paused. We work within whatever constraints we have. But even with those constraints, it can be done. (Imagine that sentence in neon flashing lights.)

Costco has been recommended to me as a great source for organic, pasture-raised and wild-caught food. It’s something I’m looking into (with the help of the boyfriend taxi). I buy organic produce as much as possible. It’s not necessary for things like avocados.

Proteins:

• Canned sardines in water

• Ground lamb (from what I understand, lamb is always grass-fed)

• Chicken breasts and thighs

• Eggs

• Multi-collagen protein powder

Vegetables & Fruit:

• Romaine lettuce

• Cucumbers

• Pickles and sauerkraut (always refrigerated and fermented)

• Broccoli florets (frozen)

• Canned hearts of palm (in water)

• Canned artichoke hearts (in water)

• Avocados

• Kalamata olives

• Blueberries and raspberries (rarely)

Other Staples:

• Plain coconut yogurt

• Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

• Raw organic apple cider vinegar

• Celtic sea salt (I use it for its trace minerals and nutritional value.)

• Herbal teas

• Green tea and medium roast coffee (1–2 cups max)

• Seasonings and spices (mostly from Penzey’s)

• Whole psyllium husk

• Chia seeds

• Hemp hearts

One of my most frequent meals is also one of the simplest:

• 2 cans Trader Joe’s sardines in water (drained)

• 1 scoop Ancient Nutrition collagen powder

• 2 tbsp raw organic apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

• 1/2 can hearts of palm (drained and chopped)

• 1 avocado

• Seasonings to taste

If you haven’t tried sardines and think you don’t like them, give them a try anyway. Or use another wild-caught fish like salmon.

Sometimes I’ll swap in steamed broccoli or cucumbers instead of the hearts of palm. Scrambled eggs show up at meals several times during the week alongside sardines and broccoli or an avocado. A couple times a month I eat ground lamb with lots of chopped romaine plus cucumber, hemp hearts, extra virgin olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, and seasonings.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not trendy. But it works. It heals. And it’s delicious.

But what about long-term health?

A GLP-1 helped me in the short term. It absolutely reduced my hunger. But so did intermittent fasting and changing what I ate.

A GLP-1 couldn’t teach me why I was hungry. It didn’t change my relationship with food, or my patterns, or my habits.

If I hadn’t started making actual lifestyle changes while I was on Mounjaro, if I hadn’t restructured how and when and why I eat, I’d be stuck on it forever.

In fact, my endocrinologist straight up told me I would need to be on it for life. That’s just the way it goes, they said, if we want to keep the weight off and keep our A1C out of the pre-diabetic and Type 2 Diabetes ranges.

But I learned that doesn’t have to be the only story.

Changing what I eat, when I eat, and tuning into mindset has been the solution. Not a temporary fix: a long-term, real-life shift.

And here’s the part no one talks about in the ads or the headlines: Intermittent fasting is free. Eating less food costs less money. Even small changes like cutting out ultra-processed snacks or cooking at home can make a big difference, no matter your budget.

I’m not special. I’m not rich. I’m not someone with extraordinary discipline. I just didn’t want to stay medicated for the rest of my life for something I could manage and reverse through food, fasting, and daily decisions.

Medication might be part of the story. But it doesn’t have to be the whole story.

I’m not judging anyone who chooses to use a GLP-1. I know first hand how helpful they can be. But I am pushing back on the idea that medication is the only viable path, or that healing without it is unrealistic, unsustainable, or somehow elitist.

It takes attention. And yes, it requires letting go of a lot of things the world keeps trying to sell us: food, beliefs, stories about our worth.

But it’s possible. It’s powerful. And it’s available. Even if you're broke, even if you’re tired, even if you’ve tried everything else.

I’m not special. I’m just one of many people who got curious, got serious, and started making different choices.

You don’t have to do exactly what I did. But you do deserve to know what’s possible.

Which of these feels most important when thinking about your long-term health? I’d love to see your response in the comments for this article. Or send me a private message.

1. Affordability

2. Simplicity

3. Support and community

4. Access to medical tools

5. Flexibility and freedom

6. Other (share in comments or a private message)

Leave a comment

• GLP-1s, body image, and the truth I had to face

• How understanding the hormone Leptin got me off a GLP-1

• Why I stopped fearing salt and made it part of my healing