Today I want to talk about something that I know might be a little controversial. GLP1 medications weight loss drugs in general. Some people say they’re amazing. Other people may say you’re cheating. also not going to shame you for What are you doing? While you’re losing the need to take care of your body underneath Because here’s something many people fear to realize. They’re not just losing fat. The goal shouldn’t simply be to make the number on the scale smaller. How do I gain strength? What are you doing to make sure you’re becoming stronger, not just smaller. Because medication doesn’t teach you how to strength train? It doesn’t replace building healthy habits, whatever method you’re doing to lose weight, I want you also coming out on the other side stronger, not simply smaller.
Hey there. Welcome back. The end of those. I’m so glad you are here today. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Vanessa Carlton fitness podcast. I’m Doctor Vanessa Carlson, physical therapist and founder of Vanessa Carlton Fitness, where we help busy women become stronger, healthier and more confident every day without spending hours in the gym. We focus on getting 1% stronger, healthier and confident on a daily basis.
I have the opportunity to work with high performing women who have a lot of responsibility and a lot of people relying on them, whether in their home, work, setting, business, community, etc. and even though they are excelling in these areas, they need a little bit of help with their health and fitness because it’s so easy to serve everyone else and put themselves last.
But we don’t want them to forget about themselves. They’re too important, as are you. And when you feel good and when they feel good, everyone around them benefits. So it is a win win. So let’s keep winning, y’all, okay. Today I want to talk about something that I know might be a little controversial. Cue the music. Dum dum dum.
Little controversial. Oh, what is that? Bound or GP1 medications and weight loss drugs in general. Because it seems like everybody has an opinion. Some people say they’re amazing. Others or other people may say you’re cheating. You’re using that. Some people, the health and fitness world will tell you you should never, ever use them. But here’s what I’m seeing in the real world.
I have women who are coming to me who already using these medications under the care of their medical providers. And yes, they’re losing weight. They’re also telling me, Vanessa, I don’t want to be I don’t just want to be smaller, I want to be strong. And that is the conversation I think we need to be having. But before we go any further, the first question I have, I’m really curious about this one.
What do you think about the GOP one medications for weight loss? Do you think they are a helpful medical tool? Do you think people rely on them too much? Have you used one yourself? What were your results like? Or maybe you’re considering one right now? I would genuinely love to hear your perspective. Tell me in the comments below and please, let’s be respectful of each other.
Everyone has a different perspective and is in a different season of life, right? Everyone’s story is different, so let’s be respectful, right? Okay, so with that said, once you put your comment in there again, I would love to hear what you’re thinking, what season of life you’re in. Be respectful and let’s move
First, I want to make something very clear. I am not your prescribing physician, and I am not here to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t take a particular medication. That’s a decision between you, maybe your loved ones, and the qualified medical professional managing your care. But if you and your medical provider have decided that a weight loss medication is appropriate for you.
I’m also not going to shame you for it. I’m going to ask you, what are you doing? Oh, what do you mean, no, no. What are you doing? While you’re losing the weight to take care of your body underneath it? Because here’s something that many people fear to realize. They’re not just losing fat.
We don’t talk about. We don’t talk enough about when people lose a significant amount, a significant amount of weight. We don’t necessarily lose only body fat. We can lose lean tissue to maybe even some bone. And I am so thankful that the women I work with know this and are building muscle and strength. But most importantly, they’re building confidence.
And that is why I care so much about strength training. The goal shouldn’t simply be make the number on the scale smaller. I want you thinking, how do I help my body? And as I start to lose weight, how do I gain strength? Right? I’ve seen this with clients. I have a young client, young professional, that came to me who had already started a GOP one medication, and the weight was starting to come off and she was excited.
But she also realized and started thinking, well, she needed to start thinking about strength, her aerobic capacity, endurance, and enjoying activities with her friends without feeling winded or like she was holding them back. I have another client, different season of life, right? And totally against taking a GOP one. And that’s what she told me when we first met.
She’s older, retired, a wife, a grandmother, but decided to give it a shot. And she had her reasons. After learning how it could also affect your muscle and your bones, she decided to do something about it. And we have been working together ever since. For about three weeks. Four weeks now. We meet one on one via zoom live sessions.
We go over her strength, mobility exercises, things that she can do at home along with exercises in the gym that she can. That she’s learning what machines or what equipment is appropriate for her. And each week, each session, she’s giving me updates, feedback. We’re going over questions. I’m learning how much weight she’s lifting, which is great. Her reps, her sets, she’s marking them in the app and how her body is responding to everything.
She feels good about her choices. She likes having the accountability. And most importantly, she’s looking at her progress beyond the scale and is in this for the long game of health. She has children and grandchildren all over the US and she wants to be able to travel, visit and enjoy life with them for as long as she can.
Guys, that’s what it’s all about and that’s what I want women to understand. Weight loss shouldn’t and isn’t the finish line right? Okay, so let’s say you lose 30 pounds. That’s wonderful. If losing that weight improves your health, great. But I also want you to know. Now you don’t know. I also want to know. Can you carry your groceries?
What does your movement look like? Can you squat? Can you stand on one leg? How is your mobility, your flexibility? Can you climb stairs without any difficulty? Can you get yourself up and off the floor? Can you lift something heavy? Can you travel? Can you play with your children or grandchildren? Right. I, I don’t want I don’t just want to know that you weigh less.
Right. I mean, that’s great, but I don’t. That’s not the only thing I want to know. I don’t just want you to weigh less. I want you to be capable. Right. I want you to be strong. I want you to be confident. So let me ask you something. Question number two. If you could choose between simply being thinner or being leaner, healthier and stronger, which one would you choose?
I had an old client when we had our gyms in Ohio. We had two ladies gyms and she told me, she said, I may look thin, but this is what you call skinny fat. Those are her words, not mine. I don’t like the fat word, but looking back and why I’m sharing this is because what she meant is that she has less.
Yes, she’s thin, but she has little muscle. She feels weak and she wanted to do something about it. I think most of us would choose the second option of feeling or being leaner, healthier and stronger. So why would we make the scale our only measurement of success? This is where resistance training becomes incredibly important. When you’re losing weight, your muscles need a reason to stay strong, and they need some resistance.
They need a load. Strength training provides that challenge and nutrition matters to you need to make sure you’re nourishing your body appropriately, including getting adequate vegetables, fruit, protein of course, based on your individual needs. This becomes especially important if a medication has significantly reduced your appetite. Because eating less shouldn’t mean ignoring nutrients or ignoring nutrition. I’ve had clients even like today, where having this conversation completely changed their mindset from just weight loss to a big picture, right?
And that is transformational. That goes beyond what the scale says to a mindset from just losing weight, but one that focuses on big picture strength, energy, maintaining muscle, enjoying life, feeling good in your skin. The client I actually right before this, I had a one on one session with one of my clients from Florida and I reminded her of this.
I was going through her goals before we logged on and I was like, boom! We hit her goal of feeling stronger. We she has little to no discomfort in her sciatic region piriformis, hips and knees, which is huge, right? Especially she loves to be active outside of work. And one of her goals is weight loss. Now we just this is maybe week five and we started with mobility strength training, building the habits.
And sure enough that was one of her questions was the weight loss. And I reminded her of where she was and where she’s at now. Right. She just started. Her body is still adjusting. She just started also a new career, new job where she’s a little bit more sedentary. And we just had a really great conversation about water and food and habits and sleep and aerobic capacity.
And it went from being almost being too concerned about weight loss to like big picture and to just be patient. The scale just hasn’t caught up yet.
So I hope that encourages you. And I may sound a little different from some people in the fitness industry. I’m not interested so much in standing over someone and saying, you shouldn’t be doing that. If you and your medical provider have decided this is part of your treatment. Okay. My question becomes, how can me and my team help you become healthier and stronger 1% more each day while you’re doing this treatment?
Because medication doesn’t teach you how to strength train? Think about it. Medications are not going to teach you how to strength train. A sustainable exercise routine is something you need, right? It doesn’t just happen automatically. That medication is not going to teach you how to nourish your body, and it doesn’t replace the medications is not going to replace building healthy habits, right?
We’re habit training here. And can I encourage you with something with this conversation that we’re talking about or this topic, please don’t shame maybe someone in your circle that is considering a GOP one medication or taking a GOP one medication. Please don’t. Shame.
I never encourage and I hope that this helps you to just think about maybe word choice. You don’t want to shame someone for how they’re trying to improve their health. You don’t know their medical history. You don’t know what they’ve struggled with. You just don’t know the conversations that they’ve had. Right? You don’t know.
But yes, encourage healthy choices, right? You can encourage without tearing people down. At the same time, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m taking the medication so I don’t have to exercise. No, no, no, this is actually an incredible opportunity to build the habits that support your body. Let me say that again. This is an incredible opportunity to build the habits that will support your body for the long term strength training, walking, adequate nutrition, protein, sleep, hydration.
Because as you say, I can make a song out of it. Those things still matter. Medication doesn’t make the fundamentals fundamentals, excuse me, disappear. As my old basketball coach would say, it’s all about the fundamentals, right? So let’s build those fundamentals now. This is a great opportunity. So here’s my final question. If you’re currently losing weight whether you’re using a medication or not.
What are you doing to make sure you’re becoming stronger not just smaller. Right. What are you doing to come to become stronger, not just smaller? In our home we have a song. Healthy and strong. What? Healthy and strong? Who have the energy and have the young? Strong. That’s our jam, right? That’s what we’re striving for is to be healthy and strong.
Are you strength training? Are you paying attention to your routine, your protein? Are you tracking how much stronger you have become? It’s so good to track to see where you started from. Or have you been watching only the scale?
I mean really just the scale. If you’re comfortable with sharing me, if you’re comfortable, sorry, I’m getting all excited. If you’re comfortable sharing, please tell me in the comments what you are doing to protect your strength. We have to protect our strength. Okay, so call to action. Here’s your challenge this week. If you’re currently on a weight loss journey, stop looking only at the pounds.
Pick one strength related goal. Maybe it’s being able to do a push up. Maybe it’s to start, you know, a resistive training program. Maybe it’s getting stronger at a particular exercise like pull ups. I love pull ups. Maybe it’s talking with your health care team. Maybe. Or excuse me, maybe it’s talking about talking to your health care team about whether you’re getting adequate nutrition.
Maybe it’s finding a qualified fitness professional or someone who’s passionate that can help you with your journey, right? To exercise safely.
Because whatever method you’re doing to lose weight, I want you also coming out on the other side stronger, not simply smaller. We want to be stronger. Not just smaller, stronger not to smaller. I truly believe our bodies are a gift from God, and taking care of them is about so much more than what the scale says. It’s about strength, health, energy, mobility, and being physically capable of doing the things God has called us to do and being good stewards of this awesome body.
So if you’re using a GLP one medication, I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to encourage you. Don’t forget about the rest of your health. All right y’all, if today’s episode made you think or encourage you or inspired you, share it with someone who’s currently using or considering a weight loss medication. And if you’re already on a weight loss journey and you’re thinking, okay, I’m losing weight, but now I want to make sure I’m keeping my body strong.
That’s exactly the kind of thing I help women with. I’d love to walk alongside you. You can visit Vanessa Carlson or reach out to us at (207) 467-5509 to learn more about our one on one coaching, live virtual training and supportive community. And remember, your prescribing clinician should be the person guiding your medication decision. My role is helping you build a stronger body.
Sustainable habits along the way. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. And if these episodes are encouraging you and helping you become healthier, I’d love to have you join us. Consider subscribing so you don’t miss future conversations. We release new episodes every weekday and I love to continue this journey with you. Are y’all. Until next time, keep moving, keep smiling, keep getting stronger.
And remember, weight loss isn’t just about becoming smaller. Let’s make sure that you’re becoming stronger too. God bless you and I’ll see you in the next episode where we talk about why you keep starting over every Monday. God bless Chad for now.
Vanessa Carlson, and I am the owner of Vanessa Carlson Fitness. I am Raider Carlson and I am the general manager. At VC fitness our first goal is our fun first approach with all of our clients. Working out should not feel like a punishment at all, and we strive to make it the highlight of their day. The workouts are tailored.
I love using my background as a doctor, physical therapy to make sure that we’re meeting our clients where they’re at, to help them to get to where they want to be. And I think the third thing is the accountability and communication. So not only do we have one on one sessions with our clients in person and via zoom, but with the app, we are communicating with our clients almost on a daily basis so that they feel confident.
Those companies don’t have a doctor of physical therapy on staff. And so obviously Vanessa is a doctor of physical therapy and highly sought out around the country. And that brings me to my next point that we are the highest rated, the most reviewed personal training company in Portland, Maine, where our headquarters are located. However, we train virtually nationwide through zoom, through live zoom sessions, and so it doesn’t matter where you live.
You can work with Vanessa. And then the third thing is our very first session with Vanessa is only a dollar. We call it the region rise assessments, where basically it’s a meet and greet where she looks at your body using her Doctor of physical therapy skills to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your session and make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
I mean, obviously, we know that we can work with anybody, but obviously it’s got to be a good fit for you. So when I was a child, my grandmother had breast cancer and I was very close with her and was with her for a lot of her appointments with chemo, radiation, all the things and kind of seeing how that affected her.
And I just knew early on I wanted to do something to help people with their health. I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. Fast forward as a child, I remember getting my first Barbie workout video working out with Dance Barbie, and that just was a core memory for me. It closed the door, worked out, felt great, and then fast forward some more.
I knew that I wanted to do something in the health and medical field, and had really great mentors and teachers that helped direct me where I knew I wanted to have a gym one day. I didn’t know how I was going to look, and we had our opportunity. As I was a physical therapist to open our first gym, I just went for it and just really wanted to help people learn how to take care of their bodies.
I just knew that fitness was my passion. And just over the years, it just all worked out together. And here we are. The rest is history. So here’s the thing you don’t have to figure this on your own. And I totally understand how exercise can be overwhelming. We all know that we need to eat healthy and exercise and work out on carve time for it, and don’t feel like you have to know it all.
Do it all by yourself. And even if you’re feeling unmotivated, know that you’re not alone. So my my message to you is surround yourself with someone who is motivated. For someone that is passionate about exercise and eating well and building a positive habits, good healthy habits. I don’t know how to paint, but if I want to make a canvas painting, I’m going to go to a place that the person is a great teacher and passionate about it.
And I’m going to come out with a beautiful painting. Same thing with this. Take the shame. Take the pressure off of your shoulders. You’re not alone in this. Many people I work with all the time don’t know where to start, and I am honored to come alongside and help you figure it out. And just start building that momentum and get in your stride.
And I promise you, you won’t regret it. So anything that we’re saying resonates with you. Don’t wait. Just call the number. Or you can put your information on our website and someone will get. Get back in touch with you very, very quickly. I mean, you got to do it so fast and you don’t know what you’re doing because your mind, which I get in the.
So don’t let them get in the way. Only it’s only $1 to try, Vanessa. And it might be the most impactful hour in 15 minutes of your life. Here at VC fitness for your first consultation, it’s only $1. The assessment is going to just go over some things that are on your heart. Give me a good idea of your body awareness, your mechanics and see if we are a good fit and it only costs $1.
So you can find us at BC fitness. Or you can call the number (207) 467-5509. Again, that is (207) 467-5509. And you can look at us and VC Fitness dot live. And one more time you can call (207) 467-5509. And we are waiting for your call.