GLP-1 and GIP Medications (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro): How to Support Your Body Naturally in Midlife   

GLP-1 and GIP Medications: What You Need to Know Before, During, and After

The Promise and the Price of the New Weight Loss Revolution 
 
There is a quiet revolution happening in midlife medicine. Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, known as GLP-1 or dual GLP1/GIP receptor agonists, have become the new miracle in weight loss headlines. 
 
For many women in perimenopause, they seem like the answer to a long struggle. After years of diets, stress, hormones, and exhaustion, the pounds finally melt away, no willpower required. 
 
But every shortcut has a cost. These medications do not just suppress appetite; they alter deep hormonal and metabolic pathways that are intricately linked to digestion, mood, thyroid function, and reproductive hormones. 
 
And as a functional medicine practitioner, what I see is this: the drugs may quiet hunger, but they often mute the body’s voice, and that voice carries important messages.

How GLP1 and GIP Medications Work

GLP-1 (glucagon like peptide 1) and GIP (glucose dependent insulinotropic peptide) are hormones naturally produced in the gut. They are part of the body’s finely tuned metabolic symphony. 
 
GLP-1 slows stomach emptying, enhances satiety, and signals the brain to stop eating. GIP helps regulate insulin secretion and fat metabolism. 
 
When mimicked by medications such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, which combines GLP1 and GIP effects), they produce dramatic appetite suppression and rapid weight loss. 

Functional Medicine View: What Happens Beneath the Surface of GLP-1 Use

The functional medicine lens looks deeper, beyond the numbers on the scale, to understand what is really happening inside the body. Common patterns I see in women taking GLP-1 or GIP medications include muscle loss and metabolic slowdown, gut microbiome imbalance, nutrient depletion, hormonal and thyroid disruption, and emotional disconnection. 
 
These are not reasons for panic. They are signals to listen and support the body, not silence it. These are not reasons for panic. They are signals to listen and support the body, not silence it. If you are using GLP-1 and GIP medications during perimenopause, functional medicine support can help stabilise metabolism and hormone balance. 
 
If you are currently using GLP-1 medication and want to understand how to protect your hormones and metabolism, book a discovery session.

If You Are Thinking About Starting GLP-1 or GIP Medication

You are not alone in your frustration. Midlife metabolism can feel like a puzzle no one prepared you for. Before starting, it is worth asking: what is this medication truly solving for me? 
 
If the answer is only the number on the scale, take a pause. Weight gain in perimenopause is often a messenger of deeper imbalances such as insulin resistance, cortisol overload, thyroid adaptation, or mitochondrial fatigue. 

If You Are Currently Taking GLP-1 or GIP Medication

Now the real work begins: supporting the body while it adapts. Feed your muscles, even when not hungry. Protein is medicine for metabolism. Small, nutrient dense meals such as eggs, salmon, beans, lentils, and seeds keep lean tissue strong.

Care for your gut. Constipation is common. Warm fluids, soluble fibre such as chia or flax, and fermented foods keep digestion moving.  

Learn more in our article: The Hidden Link Between Hormones & Blood Sugar: Why You’re Craving, Crashing & Gaining 

Protect your micronutrients. Supplement with magnesium, zinc, B12, and vitamin D after testing. Move gently but consistently. Strength training and daily walking maintain insulin sensitivity and thyroid balance. 

Explore more: Thyroid vs Perimenopause: How to Spot the Difference and Why Tests Miss the Full Picture    

Stay emotionally connected. Notice what food used to provide such as comfort, ritual, or grounding, and create non-food versions of those supports. Medication may make eating optional. Your task is to make nourishment meaningful again

If You Are Weaning Off GLP-1 or GIP Medication

This is where many women stumble, and where compassionate reeducation is crucial.
Once the medication stops, the body reawakens. Appetite returns, sometimes intensely. Metabolism, slowed during treatment, takes time to catch up.

Without guidance, weight regain is common, not because you failed, but because your biology is trying to restore equilibrium.

Functional medicine focuses on metabolic reeducation: rebuilding muscle with protein and resistance exercise, stabilising blood sugar through balanced meals, replenishing depleted micronutrients, supporting thyroid and adrenal recovery, and resetting gut motility and microbiome diversity. 

Read more about rebuilding muscle here: Strong, Supple, and Stable: Rebuilding Muscle & Bone in Menopause

This phase is not a setback. It is a powerful opportunity to rebuild metabolism and trust your body again.

How to Support GLP-1 Naturally Without Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro

Even if you never take these drugs, you can stimulate your body’s own GLP-1 response naturally: eat slowly and mindfully, include fibre-rich foods, add protein and healthy fats to every meal, move after eating, and get quality sleep. 
 
Weight loss without vitality is not healing. The real victory is feeling light, grounded, and alive in your own body.