How to Support Your Body While Taking GLP-1 Medications
A functional nutritional and mineral-focused perspective from a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Mindset Coach.
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are becoming more and more accessible every day.
And whether someone is taking them for blood sugar regulation, weight loss, or other medical reasons, the conversation is often polarized, because the perspectives are extreme:
“They’re a miracle.”
“They’re dangerous.”
“They’re cheating.”
“They’re the only way.”
Here’s my take as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner in Baton Rouge:
GLP-1s are a tool. And the right tools provide amazing support for a journey. But tools don’t replace foundations.
If you’re using (or considering) a GLP-1 medication for weight loss or blood sugar regulation, your job isn’t just to take the medication as prescribed. Your job is also to protect your muscle mass, your mineral status, your digestion, and your long-term metabolic health.
Let’s talk about how both can be true.
What the Research Is Emphasizing in 2026
A 2025 joint advisory in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity management highlighted three primary clinical priorities:
Minimize gastrointestinal side effects.
Prevent nutritional deficiencies.
Preserve muscle mass and bone density.
None of this speaks to weight or lowering food intake. In fact, the clinical emphasis is clear: protecting body composition and preventing nutrient depletion should be prioritized alongside any weight loss goals.
And this is exactly where foundational nutrition matters.
Supporting Digestion & Reducing GI Side Effects
GLP-1 medications slow gastric emptying. This is an important mechanism of action. By slowing gastric emptying, they not only reduce appetite, but also slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. That’s how blood sugar becomes more regulated, directly supporting insulin resistance as a result.
But slower digestion can also mean:
Nausea
Bloating
Constipation
Stomach pain
Reduced tolerance for larger meals
Difficulty eating enough necessary foods, leading to…
Decreased nutrient intake
Over time, reduced appetite and slowed digestion can significantly lower overall nutrient intake, increasing the risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Foundational Strategies for GI Support
There are ways to help combat some of the digestive discomfort that comes along with slow gastric emptying. Here are a few strategies you can employ:
Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
Large meals are harder to tolerate. Try separating your normal serving over a few meals instead. You don’t have to overcomplicate meal prep here — this doesn’t mean cooking more meals. It just means taking one meal and splitting out more. Instead of eating your entire lunch at one sitting, eat half and then eat the other half 2-3 hours later.
Practice mindful eating.
Mechanical digestion matters more than ever. And supporting your body’s ability to do the work is really important in this case. We are often eating while multitasking or scarfing down food between meetings. Chronic dress disrupts digestion. Eating in a high stress state means digestion is already inhibited from functioning as well as it can. To support better digestion, sit down to eat, put away distractions, and most importantly: eat slowly and chew thoroughly. This helps your body ramp up digestion and keep everything moving smoothly.
Avoid lying down right after eating.
Gravity is reality. Allow your food time to move through the GI tract. This is the main reason you want to give yourself a few hours before going to bed after your last meal of the day. If you lie down before your food has a chance to digest, you might notice it coming back the way it came. This can contribute to increased acid reflux, nausea, and bloating.
Support hydration and electrolytes.
Early weight loss is often water loss — and minerals go right along with it. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium are key minerals your body needs for most of its processes. Not only do you want to make sure you are getting enough water each day, and replenishing lost fluids, it’s also important to ensure you are replacing lost electrolytes. Adding 1/4tsp of mineral rich sea salt (like Redmond Real Salt, Baja Gold, or Vera Salt) will help fight off common symptoms. This is especially important in the early phases of GLP-1 use, when rapid water loss can leave people feeling depleted, lightheaded, or constipated.
Targeted Supplemental Nutritional Support
Ginger (500 mg twice daily or 1–2 g daily) may help reduce nausea.
Probiotics (especially strains like L. acidophilus NCFM and B. lactis) can support gut balance.
Fermented foods provide naturally occurring biotics.
Whey protein can be easier to tolerate than whole food protein in early phases. For those who prefer plant-based supplement options, Thorne MediClear-SGS also includes a daily dose of essential vitamins and can be a great food replacement option when needed.
Digestive enzymes may also be helpful for some people, but be mindful of varieties that include stomach acid support (like HCl.) These should be used cautiously and only under supervision.
It’s best to talk to your healthcare provider before starting anything new. This is not the time to guess.
(For practitioner-grade supplements at a discount, you can access my professional dispensary here — creating an account is free.)
Preventing Nutrient Deficiencies on GLP-1s
When calories drop quickly, nutrient intake usually drops with it.
Common concerns I see in practice include low intake of:
Vitamins: A, D, E, K, B1, B12, C
Vitamin B12 deserves special attention, especially for anyone with low stomach acid or prolonged appetite suppression. Low B12 can contribute to fatigue, neuropathy, and cognitive changes.
Minerals: Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Magnesium
And if you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I care deeply about minerals.
Minerals aren’t optional. They regulate so many pieces of us:
Nervous system function
Metabolic capacity and energy production
Muscle contraction
Bone strength
Stress resilience
Rapid weight loss without mineral support can absolutely leave someone feeling depleted and with symptoms like headaches or body aches and pains, chronic fatigue, brain fog and trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, anxiety and nervousness. Just to name a few.
Supplemental Support for Preventing Nutrient Deficiencies on a GLP-1
A high-quality multivitamin covers baseline gaps.
Vitamin D supports muscle, immune, and cardiovascular health.
Adequate total calcium intake (1,000–1,200 mg daily from food + supplements combined; calcium citrate is often better tolerated).
Focus on intentional protein intake at every meal.
Adding electrolytes to plain water enhances hydration and cellular function.
And remember: supplementation never replaces food quality. Your plate still matters. Work on getting whole foods in as often as possible, with a balance of protein, complex carbs and quality fat sources.
Preserving Muscle & Bone Mass During Weight Loss
This is the part people don’t talk about enough. When weight drops quickly, muscle can drop with it. Especially if you are not proactively strength training, which can help to preserve muscle during weight loss.
Muscle is important. In this case, let’s put aside aesthetics. Muscle helps with:
Metabolic health
Blood sugar regulation
Healthy aging
Injury prevention
Bone density
If you’re taking a GLP-1 and not strength training, you may find that maintaining your results — and overall health — becomes much harder over time, especially if you reduce or discontinue medication.
Foundational Muscle Support
Strength training at least 3x per week for 20-30 minutes per session.
Gradual medication titration – start low and slow.
Slow, steady weight loss is the key to preserving as much muscle as possible.
Adequate protein intake helps with muscle building and repair. (For many adults, this may mean intentionally aiming for 20–30 grams of protein per meal, depending on body size and activity level.)
Creatine helps preserve lean body mass and increases cellular hydration.
Creatine is one of the most studied supplements for maintaining lean tissue. It also pulls water into muscle cells, which can help counteract some dehydration effects from rapid weight loss.
Supporting bone density is also crucial while taking a GLP-1.
Supporting bone density is also important while taking a GLP-1 medication, especially during rapid weight loss.
When body weight drops quickly, bone turnover increases. Without adequate nutrients and appropriate strength training, this can cause bone mineral density to decline over time.
Bone density relies on:
Mechanical load (strength-based exercise)
Magnesium
Calcium
Zinc
Vitamin D
Adequate protein intake
Strength training sends a signal to your body to preserve bone mass. Without that signal, your body may adapt to a lighter frame by reducing bone density.
Preserving bone density is essential for healthy aging, mobility, balance, coordination, and fracture prevention. Weight loss should never come at the expense of skeletal integrity or long-term strength.
Skin Changes on GLP-1 Medications
Another side effect that’s becoming more common when taking GLP-1s: noticeable skin changes.
This is because quick weight loss can affect:
Skin elasticity
Skin firmness
Skin hydration
Collagen integrity
Supporting skin health isn’t just about anti-aging. Your skin is your largest organ. It plays a critical role in immune defense, barrier protection, hydration balance, and collagen integrity. Rapid weight loss can stress this system — which is why supporting skin health is part of supporting whole-body health.
Nutritional Support for Skin
Collagen (Types I & III)
Omega-3 fatty acids
Electrolytes
Antioxidant-rich foods (flavonoids, carotenoids)
Ceramides for barrier health and hydration — Ceramides support the skin’s natural moisture barrier. Think of them as the “glue” that holds skin cells together and keeps hydration in. Some supplements use plant-based ceramides (often sourced from wheat or rice) to help improve skin hydration and elasticity from the inside out.
Daily Lifestyle Support For Skin
SPF protection — ideally zinc oxide–based mineral sunscreens, which provide broad spectrum protection without endocrine-disrupting ingredients.
Topical hydration (using products that contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, or ceramide-rich moisturizers to help maintain elasticity and support the skin barrier.)
Facial acupuncture (which can stimulate collagen production and circulation.)
And of course, slow and steady weight loss protects skin better than a large, rapid drop on the scale. The skin, like muscle and bone, adapts best when change happens gradually.
The Part No One Talks About: Lifestyle Still Matters
GLP-1 medications can provide many positive benefits for those using them. But I always emphasize that they do not eliminate the need for long-term foundations:
Balanced eating
Strength training
Daily movement
Stress regulation
Sleep hygiene
Social support
In fact, they make these things more important to ensure you don’t lose your general health along with weight.
These medications may suppress appetite, but they don’t suppress nutrient requirements.
Your body still needs nourishment — and always will.
A Functional & Mineral-Focused Approach to GLP-1 Support in Baton Rouge and Beyond
Whether you’re in Baton Rouge, Ascension, or elsewhere in Louisiana — or working with me virtually across the country — my approach to GLP-1 support is guided by foundational nutrition and mineral balance:
Assess digestion and tolerance
Evaluate mineral status
Prioritize muscle preservation
Stabilize energy and hydration
Support sustainable habits
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking
Because weight loss without nourishment often creates a new set of problems: fatigue, hormonal disruption, muscle loss and metabolic slowdown.
And my work has never been about chasing smaller bodies. It’s about building supported, nourished, and resilient ones.
Final Thoughts
GLP-1 medications are not inherently “good” or “bad.”
But they are physiologically powerful. And powerful tools require thoughtful support and guidance.
If you’re navigating GLP-1 use and want a personalized plan to:
Protect muscle and bone
Prevent nutrient depletion
Support digestion
Maintain long-term metabolic health
That’s exactly the kind of work I do.
The goal isn’t just weight loss. The goal is to build a body that feels strong, stable, and supported — for the long haul.
If you’re currently taking a GLP-1 medication and want to ensure you’re preserving muscle mass, protecting bone density, and preventing nutrient deficiencies, we can assess your current foundations and build a personalized plan that supports both your goals and your physiology.
Book a Discovery Call and let’s make sure your body is supported — not just smaller.
