The GLP-1 Conversation No One Is Having: Especially in Eating Disorder Recovery

I can’t go anywhere recently without seeing someone becoming smaller than they used to be.

Friends. Colleagues. Influencers. Celebrities. People who once espoused radical body acceptance are quietly shedding pounds. And—like it or not—a good number of those changes are the result of GLP-1 medications.

This can be really difficult on an emotional level when you have an eating disorder—or when you’ve worked really, really hard to heal your relationship with food and your body.

You may find yourself thinking:

• Am I recovering the wrong way?
• Should I want this too?
• Why has it become more difficult to accept my body recently?
• Why am I still trying to accept my body when everybody else seems to be trying to lose weight?

If any of that applies to you, you are not alone.

Healing in a Weight-Obsessed Culture Is Already Hard

Recovery is not just about getting used to eating normally again.

For many people, recovery involves:

• Letting go of chronic dieting
• Grieving the “ideal” body they thought would make them happy
• Reducing body checking
• Challenging food rules
• Tolerating body changes
• Learning how to feel comfortable in the bodies they actually have

That process may take years for some people.

And just as many people were beginning to find relief, we entered a new phase of rapid, socially celebrated weight loss.

And it’s incredibly disorienting.

Two Things Can Be True at Once

These medications are not inherently good or bad.

For some individuals, they may:

• Help regulate blood sugar levels
• Reduce binge-eating symptoms
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve mobility and reduce joint pain

At the same time, there are valid concerns and complicated feelings surrounding their growing prominence, particularly within eating disorder recovery spaces.

Many people in recovery are now navigating:

• Body comparison
• Anxiety about regaining weight
• The desire to restrict food again
• Confusion around appetite suppression
• Grief about having—or feeling like they have—a larger body
• A sense of being “left behind” while others lose weight more quickly

These emotions should not be met with shame, but with compassion.

The Part Social Media Often Leaves Out

Weight loss online is usually presented as success.

What we do not always see:

• The amount of mental energy still consumed by food and body thoughts
• Side effects, pain, and physical discomfort
• Loss of muscle mass
• Fear of regaining lost weight
• Financial stress caused by medication costs
• Fear of losing access to the medication
• Persistent body image struggles, even after weight changes

Smaller bodies are often automatically viewed as “healthier” or “happier,” but body size alone cannot tell us:

• How someone feels emotionally
• Whether their behaviors are sustainable
• Whether they are adequately nourished
• Whether they enjoy and feel satisfied by food
• Whether they are truly functioning well

But What If My Body Is Simply Meant to Be Larger?

This is one of the hardest parts of recovery work.

After years of fighting against their body, many people eventually realize that their healthiest, most sustainable body is larger than diet culture taught them it “should” be.

That realization can bring grief.

And now, with the resurgence of rapid weight loss culture, that grief may feel even more intense.

But your body needing adequate food, rest, flexibility, and stability is not failure.

Your body settling at a weight where:

• You eat regularly
• Your mind feels more peaceful around food
• You are able to participate fully in life
• You do not constantly monitor what you eat
• Your lab work, energy, and mental health are stable

…may actually be a sign that your body is healing.

Even if it does not look the way culture praises.

We Need More Nuanced Conversations

The current conversation around GLP-1 medications is often extremely polarized:

• They are portrayed as miracle cures
• People who use them are either idolized or criticized

In reality, it is more complicated than either extreme.

What many people truly need right now is space for honest, compassionate conversation.

Especially people recovering from eating disorders.

Especially those trying not to fall back into old dieting behaviors.

Especially young people who are still learning what it means to live in a body they may never view as “good enough.”

If You’re Struggling Right Now — It Makes Sense

We live in a culture that still equates thinness with being good, disciplined, desirable, and healthy, despite growing awareness of how much more complex health truly is.

You do not need to pretend this cultural moment is easy.

And you do not have to abandon your recovery, your values, or your peace with food simply because you cannot—or do not want to—keep pace with everyone else.

Your healing still matters.

Your relationship with food still matters.

Your well-being matters too.

And a body that feels safe, nourished, and sustained is still a body worthy of care and compassion.