GLP-1 Medications and Faith: Deciding Without Guilt or Shame w/ Liesel Maddox, RDN, LD, CEDS
"God didn't design your body wrong."
If you've spent five minutes on social media, watched T.V., sat in a doctor's office, or just had a normal conversation with family this year, you've heard about GLP-1 medications. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro; the names are everywhere, and so is the pressure. If you've done the long, hard work of healing your relationship with food and your body, that pressure hits different. And if you're currently taking a GLP-1 yourself, I (host, Chrissy Kirkman) want you to hear this first: you have a seat at this table, too. This conversation is not here to shame you.
I also want to share that I'm not asking these questions from a distance. In 2024, I received a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and I found myself in the middle of my own GLP-1 dilemma, wrestling with a decision I never thought I'd face after years of recovery work. So today's conversation comes from a place of experience and compassion.
Liesel Maddox is back on the show today, and this conversation exists because of her. After listening to her two-part series, "Should Christians Use Ozempic for Weight Loss," I knew I had to bring her back to walk through it with you. Those episodes go deep, you can find them linked below.
Here's what we cover:
What GLP-1 medications are, and how the hormone they mimic already exists in a body God designed to regulate hunger and fullness on its own
The difference between a GLP-1 prescribed for type 2 diabetes and the same medication pushed higher for weight loss
How weight loss on a GLP-1 happens in the body, and why the "it's not cheating" ads leave out the part where appetite suppression can tip into starvation
Why food noise isn't the enemy, and what it's really signaling
The risks GLP-1 medications carry for someone in eating disorder recovery or currently struggling
The 1940s Minnesota Starvation Experiment, and what it still teaches us about restriction and food preoccupation
Scripts for setting boundaries with a doctor who keeps bringing up weight, or family and friends who won't drop the subject
What scripture says about body size (spoiler: nothing) and what it says instead
If you've ever stared down a decision about your body and felt like no version of it came without guilt, this one's for you. Liesel is clear that there's no simple verdict here, only informed choices made with real information and a team you trust. Genesis 1 tells us God called His creation good, our bodies included, and that hasn't changed just because the culture around us keeps insisting otherwise.
"Your food noise is not a problem. It's just pointing us to something deeper." - Liesel Maddox
Whatever you're sitting with about GLP-1s right now, you don't have to figure it out alone, and you don't have to figure it out today. Bring it to Jesus before you make a decision. If this episode meets you where you are, send it to a friend who's quietly carrying this same question.
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please drop us an email at admin@findingbalance.com, send us a voice message via SpeakPipe, or you can also subscribe for more practical episodes coming your way.
More About Liesel Maddox
Liesel is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist passionate about providing compassionate, evidence-based care for eating disorder recovery and non-diet nutrition. She founded Maddox Nutrition, a group practice dedicated to making high-quality nutrition care more accessible while integrating a Christian faith-based perspective when clients request it. Liesel also hosts the podcast Truth Based Nutrition and enjoys speaking, mentoring, and supporting other professionals committed to recovery-focused and values-driven care.
Hello Freedom Community
Our Hello Freedom community is open! This is a Christ-centered space to find connection, encouragement, and gentle steps toward freedom from food and body-image struggles. No pretending, no fixing yourself first, come just as you are. If you want in, your next step is to join us at findingbalance.com/community.
You were not meant to walk this alone. We're saving a seat for you!
Mentioned Scripture
Genesis 1:27, Matthew 24, 1 Samuel, Galatians 5:1
Mentioned Resources
Healthcare visit printables designed to help those recovering from an eating disorder facilitate an open discussion between you and your medical provider.
Related Episodes
Truth Based Nutrition Podcast Episode 09 - Should Christians Use Ozempic for Weight Loss? (Part 1)
Truth Based Nutrition Podcast Episode 10 - Should Christians Use Ozempic for Weight Loss? (Part 2)
Old School Food Freedom - Ep 39: Uprooting Diet Culture in The Church with Liesel Maddox
Connect with Liesel Maddox
Facebook
Instagram
SpeakPipe – Send us a voice message!
CHRIST-CENTERED RESOURCES TO HELP YOU FIND FREEDOM
The Daily Vitamin eDevo: A free devotional with bite-sized truth emailed 5 days a week
Community Groups: Find connection with prayer groups and our Hello, Freedom! community.
Christian Treatment Finder: Connecting you with Christian providers experienced in treating eating issues.
Lasting Freedom Online Course: A Christ-centered, non-diet course to work through false beliefs about food and weight so you can live free from disordered eating and body image issues.
CREDITS
Interlude music by “Hotham” – Morning Thoughts
Intro music by “MokkaMusic” – Old Jeans (Funk)
Wrap-up music by Jesse Quinn – Christian Instrumental
Production & Editing by Leah Bryant Co
The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe a particular course of action. If you have, or suspect you may have, an eating disorder, please consult your healthcare provider. If you desire to receive faith-based care, visit ChristianTreatmentFinder.com to browse professionals with a Kingdom campaign against eating disorders.
More about the Old School Food Freedom Podcast
In today’s diet-culture society, food issues and body hatred have become the norm. But you were created to be FREE. Welcome to Old School Food Freedom, where we go back to the basics, God’s basics, for how we view food, our bodies, and our worth.
Hosted by FINDINGbalance Executive Director Chrissy Kirkman, this podcast features Biblically sound experts, thought leaders, artists, and everyday people who will inspire you to interrupt negative cultural soundtracks and rediscover God’s original design for your relationship with food and your body.
This show will deliver practical, faith-filled insights on how to break free from diet culture and body shame through the lens of Scripture. If you’re looking for guidance on how to heal your relationship with food while deepening your faith, you're in the right place.
We’ll answer questions like
What does the Bible say about food freedom?
How can I overcome an eating disorder or disordered eating with Jesus?
What is the biblical perspective on diet culture?
How can I find peace with food as a Christian?
What does it mean to treat your body as a temple in relation to eating?
How can I break free from diet culture with Jesus?
How can I align my eating habits with biblical teachings?
What are the first steps to finding food freedom in Christ?
This podcast is for anyone ready to walk away from diet culture and into the freedom that Christ offers. Whether you’re recovering from an eating disorder, disordered eating, wrestling with body image, or simply craving a more peaceful relationship with food, this space was made for you.
If you want to experience true food freedom with Jesus, this podcast will give you the encouragement, truth, and tools to do just that.
The unedited transcript for this episode of Old School Food Freedom
Addressing the Emotional Impact
Chrissy Kirkman [00:01:04 - 00:01:33]: And maybe it stirred up something in you. Maybe you felt curious or conflicted, or just plain tired of another cultural movement that is centered around shrinking your body. And maybe you're someone who is currently taking a GLP-1. And if that's you, I want you to know You are just as welcome here. This conversation, please know it's not coming after you. You are loved. You are not judged. There is a seat for you at this table too.
Creating a Judgment-Free Space
Chrissy Kirkman [00:01:33 - 00:02:09]: So we're just going to talk honestly because you deserve honest information just as much as anyone else does. And so I want you to know, I get it. I really, really get it because I've sat with this personally. This has not been some distant academic question for me. I have faced this decision in my own life, and I know And understand fully, personally, how complex and emotional it can be. So before we go anywhere today, I just want to say this clearly: there is no shame here. Zero. This episode is not about telling you what to do with your body or your health decisions.
Emphasizing Personal Agency and a Faith-Based Approach
Chrissy Kirkman [00:02:09 - 00:02:52]: You are an individual made in the image of God, and you have agency to make your own informed choices with Him. What we want to do today is make sure that if you are considering this or If you're just trying to navigate the conversations around you, you have real information, a faith-grounded, Christ-centered perspective, and the freedom to think through it without guilt or pressure. So my guest today is Liesel Maddox, a registered dietitian and host of the Truth-Based Nutrition podcast, who has done incredible work bringing both clinical expertise and a Christ-centered lens To this topic. Liesel, welcome back to the show. I'm so glad you're here again.Liesel Maddox [00:02:52 - 00:02:54]: Thank you. I'm so happy to be back.
About Liesel Maddox
Chrissy Kirkman [00:02:55 - 00:03:55]: Yeah, this is a topic I'm really glad that you're here for. Friends, let me tell you a little bit about Liesel. If you haven't heard her on a previous episode, we will link that episode in the show notes. By the way, Liesel Maddox is a registered dietitian and certified eating disorder specialist, passionate about providing compassionate, evidence-based care for eating disorder recovery and non-diet nutrition. She is the founder of Maddox Nutrition, a group practice dedicated to making high-quality nutrition care more accessible while integrating a Christian faith-based perspective when clients desire it. Liesel also hosts the Truth-Based Nutrition podcast and enjoys speaking, mentoring, and supporting other professionals committed to recovery-focused and values-driven care. Maddox Nutrition is taking insurance. They offer telehealth in multiple states and work with most major insurance carriers, with most of their clients paying $0 for nutritional sessions.
Maddox Nutrition Resources
Chrissy Kirkman [00:03:55 - 00:04:39]: So visit maddoxnutrition.co to learn more, and we'll have a link in the show notes as well. All right. Well, Liesel, I want to first let my friends in on how today's episode came about, because I think the backstory really matters. So. Like many of you listening, I just found myself in the middle of my own GLP-1 dilemma after I received a type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2024. And so I want to be honest and real. I'm going to try so hard to hold back tears throughout this whole episode, but the pressure I felt was so intense. And when you're someone who has done years of recovery work, also someone who leads a ministry and a podcast around healing your relationship with food and your body.
Real Life Struggles and Introducing Liesel’s Related Podcast Episodes
Chrissy Kirkman [00:04:40 - 00:05:41]: And then you find yourself genuinely wrestling with this question. It's a lot to sit with and it's a lot to process. I'll share more as we go, but I want you to know this conversation is coming from a real place for me, not just talking points. And Liesel, so you, after listening to your Truth Based Nutrition podcast, specifically you had 2 back-to-back episodes that you did asking the question, should Christians use Ozempic for weight loss? I felt so seen, like someone was finally saying what needed to be said and saying it both with the clinical knowledge and the Christ-centered foundation that this conversation deserves. And so friends, I have linked Liesel's episodes in the show notes. So if the conversation we have today resonates with you and you'd like to dive even deeper into this topic, because Liesel goes so deep. I mean, I was like, how could we fit all this? Well, you've already done the work. I can just point them to you, right? So I strongly suggest you listen and bring your questions to Jesus.
Encouraging Listeners to Seek Guidance From Jesus
Chrissy Kirkman [00:05:41 - 00:06:21]: Like, sit with Him before taking any next steps. That's what I had to do. And not just in a one-session sit-down with Jesus. Like, it was multiple times coming back and like trying to filter through these questions that are so hard. And, and wherever this episode finds you, whatever you're sitting with right now, please consider bringing it to Jesus before you take any next steps, before you Make any decisions, sit with him. Honestly, he's not distant from this conversation. He cares so much about your body, about your healing and every question you're carrying. He cares about this GLP-1 dilemma you're facing.
You’re Not Alone in Your Decision
Chrissy Kirkman [00:06:22 - 00:06:37]: Don't have to figure this out alone. So Liesel, okay, let's start here. I know you go so much deeper in those episodes so people can go deeper with you, but for this episode, what exactly are GLP-1s? Who were they designed to help and how do they work?
GLP-1s: Definition, Origin, and Function
Liesel Maddox [00:06:37 - 00:07:30]: Mm-hmm. Well, GLP-1 medications have actually been around for quite a while. It's only been in the last maybe 5, 6 years that we've seen the rise of their prescription for weight loss specifically. But really what they do in the body is that GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1. Which is a hormone that our bodies naturally produce. God designed our bodies to make our own GLP-1 long before the 21st century, where we can take this through an injection or a medication. And what this hormone naturally does in the body is it is, it helps to regulate blood sugar, hunger, fullness levels, satiety, which means that feeling that your stomach and brain, you know, tell each other of, Okay, I'm satisfied, I'm satiated. I think I'm ready to be done eating now.
GLP-1s in the Body and Their Medical Use
Liesel Maddox [00:07:31 - 00:08:30]: But the difference in taking a GLP-1 medication is that we're increasing, we're maxing out that GLP-1-like peptide, and now it's kind of sending our body past a normal point of hunger-fullness regulation, and, and it leads to that appetite suppression. And when these medications are prescribed for type 2 diabetes and really what they were used for, for a few decades before we've seen their increased prevalence for weight loss specifically, is that at lower doses, they're prescribed for diabetes management to help control blood sugar, reduce the risk of long-term complications with that. But the key difference here happened when researchers and some pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk being the most prominent one, found that patients were losing a lot of weight when they were on higher doses of these medications. And as I'm sure your audience is familiar with, there's a lot of money to be made in the weight loss industry.
The Shift to Weight Loss Drugs
Chrissy Kirkman [00:08:30 - 00:09:25]: Mm-hmm. Researchers knew this, the pharmaceutical companies knew this, and that's where we've seen this shift happen in recent years where the medications are prescribed at higher doses. And now we have different versions of them like Wegovy, which is Technically supposed to be the one prescribed for weight loss versus Ozempic prescribed for diabetes management at lower doses. And it maxes out those side effects of the appetite suppression to lead to weight loss.
Medical Purpose vs. Corporate Profit
Chrissy Kirkman [00:09:00 - 00:09:25]: So what I'm hearing is it was created for a purpose that was a medical purpose for type 2 diabetes patients. Until this corporation, big money pharma, catches on and sees an opportunity to make money for people who want to lose weight that don't have type 2 diabetes.Liesel Maddox [00:09:26 - 00:09:27]: Yes.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:09:27 - 00:09:27]: Okay.
Liesel Maddox [00:09:28 - 00:09:29]: Absolutely true.
Weight Loss and GLP-1s: How Does It Happen?
Chrissy Kirkman [00:09:30 - 00:09:41]: Okay. So what is really the difference between using a GLP-1 for diabetes versus using it for weight loss? Like, how is weight loss occurring when someone takes a GLP-1?Liesel Maddox [00:09:42 - 00:11:21]: This is a fantastic question and something that I hope anyone considering these medications or even just living in our culture right now, like seeing and hearing so much about these medications, maybe they have loved ones that are on these medications. It's just important to know the biological and physiological mechanisms by which the body loses weight on a GLP-1, because I think the way they're being presented to us is that it's this magic fix. You know, we see ads about how like using a GLP-1 for weight loss isn't cheating for weight loss. And it kind of makes it sound like weight is just going to fall off someone's body and there's no harm done. But my heart in, you know, communicating with listeners today and anytime I'm having conversations with clients or even potential clients about this is that I just want you to be informed on the science, including the nutrition science behind these medications so that they can make a decision that feels most aligned for their health. Because the reality is when we're watching TV and those commercials for GLP-1s that you can get online without a doctor's consultation come up, or even in that 15, 20-minute visit someone might have with their PCP, the vast majority of the time, the true risks are not being talked about. And you can go back and listen to the episodes that I did back in November of 2025 about the long list of potential consequences. But I really just wanna stay kind of high level here around, well, how is weight loss occurring in the body? And the way that that happens is with any medication, we can't isolate a side effect.
Liesel Maddox [00:11:22 - 00:12:36]: And so when researchers started to notice that people taking the medications for diabetes blood sugar management could lose some weight on them, they increased the dose to maximize the side effects. And when you do that, again, since we can't isolate a side effect, it means that increasing the appetite suppression can increase the risk of all the like kind of nasty side effects that can come with GLP-1s as well, ranging from significant digestive distress, like nausea, vomiting, constipation, gastroparesis, to risks of certain cancers like thyroid cancer for people who have a family history of that, or women with Hashimoto's hypothyroiditis. And those can be pretty significant things, but I think it's important for people to also just know what happens in the body. And so when the GLP-1 medication is suppressing appetite, hey, the truth of it is that weight loss is happening because people eat less. Their bodies don't feel as hungry. They're not thinking as much about food, so they eat less food. And truth be told, I mean, that's not rocket science. There's nothing magical about the GLP-1 medication.
Liesel Maddox [00:12:36 - 00:13:46]: It just means that they're kind of starting to force their body into starvation. And certainly as an eating disorder specialized dietitian, I have a lot of concerns around this. But this is something that a lot of dietitians, no matter what their specialty, have concerns around, because when people are just not eating enough food, it's not just that they aren't getting the calories their body needs for organ function and feeling good and our brains thinking, we're also missing out on the other macronutrients. So carbs, fats, and proteins, and micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, the antioxidants, the fiber that can come along with those foods. That can lead to malnutrition. And malnutrition can happen to anyone of any body size, no matter their starting weight, no matter their finishing weight. That is an internal phenomenon, not something that only happens to people at significantly smaller body sizes, which means someone could be losing some weight with a GLP-1. But if it's because they're just not eating enough food, we know that their internal organs can be suffering.
Liesel Maddox [00:13:46 - 00:14:20]: Because of that. Go back and listen to the podcast I did on this previously for a longer list of those side effects. But what I really want people to hear, you know, especially in this audience of people who maybe have walked through an eating disorder or they're walking with a loved one through an eating disorder, is that, hey, when weight loss happens on a GLP-1, nothing magical is happening. It's just forcing your body into starvation. It's making it really, really easy To restrict. And that does come with a lot of consequences too. Yeah.
Silencing "Food Noise" and God's Design
Chrissy Kirkman [00:14:21 - 00:15:24]: I keep hearing it silences the food noise, but really food noise is the God-designed signal from your brain to the rest of your body. Hey, we need nutrients. We need fuel and calories, and it is time to eat. And so you start thinking about these, like, I've even noticed that The more I've nourished my body in a more balanced way, more frequently, not skipping meals, having snacks, learning how to pair foods together in a way that fuels me better. Right. I used to think about carbs all the time. I used to say, oh, well, I'm on the all-carb diet because that's all I want is potatoes and starchy and like all the carbs because I was restricting so much of my body's like, we need carbohydrates. But the diet culture, the industry, the world around us claims that it's food noise because they keep telling us decade after decade, those pesky cravings, silence those cravings.You shouldn't have cravings. God gave us cravings and they're, they're signals to us. And so I think that was a big red flag for me is like, I have fought in eating disorder recovery. I have fought for years now. So hard to even get signals back. Food for years didn't even sound good. I didn't want food. Like sometimes I would crave things, but then it got to a point where nothing sounded good.
Don't ask me where we're going. I don't want to pick out dinner. You tell me, right? Like just tell me and I'll make it and I'll maybe have to eat it because I have to eat. Like it was just a very kind of bad attitude. But to think of taking an injection that then is going to completely undo all those years. day after day showing up for myself with Jesus. I couldn't even imagine. So there's a little bit of my story, but where would you go with it?
The Reality of Food Noise
Liesel Maddox [00:16:15 - 00:17:29]: I mean, everything that you're describing, one, is so common in anyone who's walked through disordered eating, chronic dieting. I mean, I, I will talk about my eating disorder recovery journey openly too. I had never experienced as much food noise as I did During my eating disorder and during, you know, those couple of years after the eating disorder where I was recovering, but some of it was still like quasi-recovery. Of course I had food noise and this was like 1.5 decades ago. We hadn't coined that term food noise to sound as pathological yet. And so I didn't have that kind of language to put to it. But what I can tell you is just like your experience, as the disordered eating reduced, As my recovery got stronger and more stable, and I was eating with more freedom, I was not as preoccupied with my body image as much. The food noise went down too, and that's the main message I'd want a listener to hear: is that if you are in the middle of food noise that feels all-consuming, and then we have culture and even healthcare making it sound pathological—that like your food noise is a problem that needs to be solved—and here's this medication that will tune it down.Liesel Maddox [00:17:29 - 00:18:48]: Down for you. What I want you to hear is that your food noise is a psychological and a biological built-in system by God, our creator, who made our bodies very intentionally. And it's a signal that's telling us, hey, you either are actually not giving me enough nourishment to work with here, and/or you're thinking too much about not giving me enough Food, right? Sometimes we have like the physical restriction of dieting, not eating enough food, under-portioning, but there's also the mental restriction where on paper you might be eating enough food, but your brain doesn't fully believe that yet. And so I do want to validate people's experiences here, especially if you're someone who is multiple years, maybe multiple decades into wrestling with an eating disorder. And maybe you sometimes wonder if recovery is real for you because that food noise feels so loud. I understand how enticing the relief from a GLP-1 medication must sound. But what I also want to encourage you in is that God didn't design your body wrong. And these signals are things that we are supposed to pay attention to.
Understanding Food Noise and Diet Culture
Liesel Maddox [00:18:49 - 00:20:33]: And one resource I would leave listeners with, if you're, especially if you're kind of a science-y person, that taught us so much about how we understand this mental preoccupation or obsession with food and eating and bodies when we're not eating enough, is the 1940s Ancel Keys Minnesota Starvation Experiment. It's a fascinating study that was designed in a way that we can't replicate it nowadays because it'd be like super unethical to try to do. But if you go and read some of these articles, especially some that are written by eating disorder treatment centers or advocacy groups, it really puts it into light— the parallels between what we saw in this 1940s study and diet culture or eating disorders nowadays. And it teaches us why psychologically starvation induces this food noise. The last thing I want to say on this topic is One awesome analogy I've heard about this food noise concept is sometimes the food noise is like the fire alarm. And if there's a fire happening in your house, we wanna put out the fire, right? We wanna take care of that fire. It might involve calling for support, like getting the fire department over, but taking the GLP-1 just to silence the food noise is kind of like taking the batteries out of your smoke detector. So it's not, you know, beeping or going off anymore, but the fire's still roaring.is going to cause a lot of damage. Or when you put the batteries back into the smoke detector, the fire's still there and now you've still got the smoke alarm going off. And so what we really want to get down to here and what I care about as a dietitian who cares about people's relationships with food is that your food noise is not a problem. It's just pointing us to something deeper.
Are GLP-1s Safe for Those With an Eating Disorder History?
Chrissy Kirkman [00:20:33 - 00:20:51]: Yeah. Just an indicator to do something next. Do Do you feel that GLP-1s are safe for someone with an eating disorder history or with a current active eating disorder? Like what risks— we've already talked about high level of some of the risks, but what risks are involved?Liesel Maddox [00:20:52 - 00:23:11]: This is where things can get really complex. And I am all about nuance when it comes to our health and recovery, but I'm going to give a disclaimer here that This is one topic where I think it is more black and white, and it's, it's not quite as gray area nuanced as some people might think it is. Because my short answer would be no, I don't think it's safe for someone who's walked through an eating disorder or actively has one to use a GLP-1 medication for the purpose of weight loss or silencing the food noise. Now, again, let's A little bit of the nuance here is that, hey, if it's being prescribed for type 2 diabetes at a lower dose, and they've also got support from other medical providers, and they maybe have already tried some other options for their diabetes management, like metformin, and, you know, talk to your doctor about that, I think it poses a lot more risk than it does benefits to the recovery process because we know that eating disorders are not just food. Eating disorders involve thoughts and behaviors and the mental health and the cognitive side of things as well. And when so many people's eating disorders are focused on suppressing hunger, suppressing appetite, and then we have this medication come along that does just that, I think it's a lot more likely to exacerbate someone's Eating disorder symptoms, both practically, like, hey, they're now not eating enough food, but also mentally where they really might start feeling more scared again of, can I trust my body without this medication? Can I trust that experiencing hunger to a normal extent is not bad and experiencing fullness to a normal extent is not bad? And so I think the risk we really run here is that Incorporating a GLP-1 for someone who actively has an eating disorder or they've gone through recovery could make it a lot more likely to relapse in the eating disorder or make it longer and harder to go through the recovery process.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:23:12 - 00:23:17]: It feels like kind of dangerous territory to me. That's how it felt to me.
Liesel Maddox [00:23:18 - 00:23:49]: It is absolutely dangerous territory and one that I hope people can, you know, think about, pray about, and talk with their treatment team about in a way that's really thoughtful. Because I would tell any of my clients, I want you to feel comfortable talking about GLP-1s. I know that you're thinking about them. We're all seeing them in the media right now. We can't ignore this, but let's have some thoughtful conversations about your personal journey with food and whether or not this would help or hurt that journey.
Chrissy’s Experience and Reflection on Shame
Chrissy Kirkman [00:23:49 - 00:24:31]: Yeah, I think it's worth going there. It really is. And there are a lot of questions that I feel are worth asking before making that decision. And I mean, I know I was faced with a lot and I'm going to be so transparent right now when I say what these different questions revealed is that I Still was struggling with body image. And there was this part of me, ugh, like even right now, the enemy's like trying to shame me of like, well, look what you do for Finding Balance. Look what you preach, you know, or whatever on the Old School Food Freedom Podcast all the time and all the Instagram posts and all these things that you're doing. You should know better. Well, shame off me.
Wrestling With the Decision and Side Effects
Chrissy Kirkman [00:24:31 - 00:25:35]: How about? Because I still live in this world and— This has been going on. I mean, I've had these messages for my whole life, but there was this part of me that was like, well, they invented this GLP-1 injection for someone like me that checks these boxes of health concerns. So of course, and then if I lost weight, would that be the worst thing? If I didn't, would that be the worst thing? If, and then what happens if I do lose weight? What will people who are— Following Finding Balance and see this noticeable weight loss, what do they think? And does that matter what they think? And is it anyone's business? Like, I kept going deeper and deeper and deeper. And for me, I came to a conclusion where I was taking other medications that were not injection form. So just pills, right? Other prescription medications. Like, I knew that even metformin twice put me in the hospital. That's the basic, like, let's start here. Both times the GI issues were so bad for me.
Coming to a Personal Decision
Chrissy Kirkman [00:25:35 - 00:26:16]: And I thought, well, if we're having that issue at the basic level, this may be a red flag for me. And so then we tried other prescriptions. They are working. These are questions I had to ask myself. Is my goal to get my, you know, levels down and like to a healthier place that makes my body feel better and makes my brain function better? I came to the conclusion with Jesus. That, that's where I needed to be and that it was too dangerous for me to even try the injections. So here's the next question. Is it true that once you begin these injections, in order for them to keep working and functioning, you will have to take them for the rest of your life?
The Reality of Ongoing GLP-1 Use
Liesel Maddox [00:26:17 - 00:28:38]: Well, that's how it's being presented to us. And I think one of the limitations, a huge limitation we have on GLP-1s right now is we don't have the long-term data to see, hey, what happens when someone really has been on this medication for 5 years, for 10 years, for 20 or 30 years? And just some of my top-level concerns that I'd have, you know, as a healthcare provider would be, one, is that accessible for people? Is insurance really gonna keep paying for it forever? The out-of-pocket costs, which have significantly reduced in the last few years because these medications are so rampant, but it's still a cost. But what about the health effects? Because what we know about the kind of nasty side effects of GLP-1s is that they're higher risk when we are on a higher dose of them and the longer that someone is on the medication for. And the third consideration I would have is what about your relationship with food? Because one thing that can happen on these medications is that as it's turning down, as it's kind of turning off your hunger and appetite stimulation in the body is that some people report that it just kind of makes the rest of them feel kind of numb. I've heard that. Maybe even numb, like, emotionally or numb to the enjoyment of food. And there's certainly a biblical component to this too, where we see throughout scripture that food is something that is good. It's a gift.It's meant to taste good. It's meant to be used as a connection point, bringing people together. And if a medication someone is on long-term to try to, you know, reduce the likelihood that they get off the medication and then weight comes back on or ends up in the same place or higher than it was before, are we missing out on a core component of experiencing life as God designed it by making food a non-issue? And I think that's a really important point to sit with as well. So we've got know, financial considerations. We have the health considerations of, is that really realistic on someone's body to be on it long-term? And then the enjoyment and spiritual aspect of, ooh, what else are we missing out on if we're relying long-term on this external medication that turns down and turns off our enjoyment of food and of life at the same time?
What Does God Say About All This?
Chrissy Kirkman [00:28:39 - 00:29:01]: Yeah. So I love what you just said. And this is the part of the conversation I really was excited to have today because I think everything else flows from here. And I know, again, I'm going to keep saying it. Lise will go so much deeper in those 2 episodes. We've linked them in the show notes. Please go listen. Um, because there's just so much, it's like, I want to cover it, but it's already been covered.Chrissy Kirkman [00:29:01 - 00:29:04]: What does God have to say about all of this?
Liesel Maddox [00:29:05 - 00:31:36]: I think God has already Revealed his perspective to us in first the human body's design that as Christians we believe was divinely created by God with so much intention. I mean, because time is not a factor for God, he could have taken eons to design the human body and how our internal, our natural, like, GLP-1 hormone in the body would operate, how our hunger-fullness systems would operate. And so we see that revealed to us in the idea and really just the fact that our body has everything it needs to regulate eating. Now, I know that culture and even just the things that our human bodies are faced with now in 2026 compared to 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago, that brings on different environmental cultural factors as to how we eat. What our health looks like, what our weight looks like these days. But I believe that God's design being good never changed. When we know in Genesis 1:27 that God declared his creation, including our human bodies, as good, that stands true today as well. And so maybe it takes more work and intention to unlearn the unhelpful parts from diet culture.
And relearn what it means to be back in tune, back in touch with how God created our bodies, but I do think that's possible. And the second piece of this is, well, we also have scripture. God's word is his gift to us to hear directly from him and to also see evidenced how God wants us to engage with food and with our bodies. And in case anyone needs a reminder today, There is no part of scripture that ever talks about what size our bodies should or shouldn't be. Scripture talks about how we are to engage with our bodies with gratitude and not worry about them. That's one thing we actually see Jesus reiterate, you know, what is that? Is that Matthew 24? When he talks about, hey, don't worry about what you will eat or drink, what you will wear. Scripture actually tells us more often to take our focus off of our bodies, off of our physical appearance, and not think more about them. So those are my biggest God points, God considerations when it comes to GLP-1 medications, is I really want people to feel empowered that the Lord created their bodies with what it needs.
And yes, for some people that's going to take more time and intention, maybe working with a dietitian, working with a therapist, to work on their relationship with food or aspects of their health that don't have to involve specifically zeroing in on weight loss. And then also lean into your Bibles. See what God's Word has to say about food being something good or about our worth not being based on physical appearance.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:32:04 - 00:32:14]: That's really good. And I also thought of the passage, the scripture where he, um, said, you know, do not consider his size or height.
Liesel Maddox [00:32:14 - 00:32:15]: 1 Samuel. Yeah.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:32:15 - 00:32:19]: Yeah, yeah. Um, his appearance, because God looks at the heart.
Liesel Maddox [00:32:20 - 00:32:23]: Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:32:23 - 00:33:19]: What is in your heart? And I think that's something I really had to sit with, with Jesus, is like, help me get to the heart of this. If this is right for me, then show me. Where is my heart? Like, what is my heart desiring? Where are you leading? And I kept coming back to like Finding Balance's key verse is Galatians 5:1. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not submit yourselves again to a yoke of slavery. For me personally, doing all the hard work of eating disorder recovery, so much hard work, and I'm still recovering in certain areas, but To me, that felt like a yoke of slavery, a trap, a snare from the enemy. I'm not saying it's that way for everyone. That was my personal— it just felt like that wasn't the path I needed to take.
Navigating Pressure and Conversations About GLP-1s
Chrissy Kirkman [00:33:19 - 00:33:37]: So like, how do we even navigate this conversation in real life? Because that could be, we get around friends and family and they're talking about their GLP-1 experience or in a doctor's office, or just even in our own head when that pressure We see a commercial and the pressure starts to creep in. What do we say?Liesel Maddox [00:33:38 - 00:38:44]: This is really important for people to feel equipped with, because if you are walking through an eating disorder recovery journey, I'm sure you are also experiencing this around you, whether it's the commercial you saw, the friends who are talking about it, or if you are experiencing this at your doctor's office. So I'll start with the doctor's office one. If your doctor is recommending a GLP-1 medication, And they're not aware of your eating disorder or chronic dieting history, they're not aware that you are trying to work on a non-diet, more, you know, body image neutral kind of perspective in your health journey, one, it's okay to make them aware of that. And I know sometimes it's not uncommon for people to have experiences where they try to advocate and then the doctor keeps like pushing it a little bit, or they just kind of always subtly bring it back up at every appointment. It's completely okay to shut down the conversation and say, no, thank you. Like, especially if you're working with an outside treatment team, like a dietitian, therapist, I tell my clients, you can blame it on me and sign a release form for your doctor. If they wanna contact me, we can have the conversation, but you are totally allowed to tell your doctor, you know what? I'm actually already working with a dietitian. And in a roundabout way, sometimes that's enough to kind of appease the weight-focused side of the doctor, cuz they think, oh gee, okay, they're working with a dietitian.
And, and who knows, maybe they think you're taking a weight-focused approach when we know That's not what's happening here, but it shuts down the conversation. And ultimately, if you have advocated, if you told your doctor what your wishes are and it still keeps coming back up, you're allowed to switch doctors and find a different provider. There are some networks and resources where you can find more weight-neutral providers. And again, if you have a treatment team for your recovery journey, ask them to advocate for you. Ask your dietitian to call your doctor's office or to try to set up a meeting with your doctor just to kind of reiterate, hey, this is why we're not focusing on it. And have candid conversations with other members of your healthcare team about what are other options. You know, sometimes it's those conversations around why is a doctor bringing up a GLP-1 when there are a lot of, if it's in the context of type 2 diabetes, some like dietary strategies, not restriction, but more of like, hey, how can we get strategic about your nutrition, about movement to support your body before we jump to that? Or has the conversation of metformin even come up? Before we jump to the GLP-1 and kind of walking through it that way. And if it's being brought up because weight is the primary focus, diabetes is not on the table here. If you're someone going through recovery, please keep advocating for yourself and know that it's okay to say no thank you to your doctor or to find a different provider. On the other hand, if you're experiencing these conversations a lot around family and friend, Circles, I would highly recommend have a list of what I call your one-liners in your back pocket that can easily shift weight-related conversations or kindly but directly shut them down. Sometimes, as someone who's not super confrontational myself, and I'm working on that, I really lean into Jesus's examples throughout scripture where like Jesus could be very direct and sometimes even kind of sassy. with people. Like, Jesus did not shy away from telling people how it was, and I think it's okay for us to sometimes practice that too. So maybe it's one-liners, like, you know, someone's talking about the GLP-1 medication or their weight, and you just change the subject. You say, okay, well, what have you been reading lately? Or, what's interesting that's going on in life right now? If you could take a dream vacation, where would it be? Like just so starkly shift it that they get the point that like, oh, we're not talking about that anymore. And if it's someone you're, you maybe you have disclosed your eating disorder recovery journey to, maybe it's saying something like, this conversation is really not helpful for me right now.
Can we please talk about something else? Or, hey, actually I'm working on listening to my body and nourishing it. So talking about GLP-1s isn't super helpful. For me right now. And then the third point I'd bring up is if you're just so saturated with what we're seeing on TV, commercials, social media, I want you to do what you can to like flee from that, to run from that. If it's setting up filters on your social media accounts to not show you certain words or key phrases, which Instagram, and I think I don't spend a lot of time on TikTok, but I think TikTok does this too, where you can tell your algorithm, don't show me anything That uses the words GLP-1 or Ozempic or weight loss. If it's watching TV, mute the commercial, get up and do something else. Or if it means keeping like a book or, not that I'm trying to say, hey, replace one screen with another, but if you've got your phone next to you, like mute it and then look at something else while that commercial is running. Sometimes I will like get up and go do something else when the Ro commercials, you know, come on.
I think this was during the Olympics, for example, those commercials kept popping up. And I got so tired of it that I was like, I just can't even listen to this anymore. So take the steps to protect your mind and be proactive about trying to filter marketing and messaging that just is not helpful if it keeps reminding you that, oh yeah, the world is obsessed with GLP-1s right now, but you do get to have some semblance of control over what you're taking in from The media, and that can be really helpful.
Practical Advocacy Tools
Chrissy Kirkman [00:39:09 - 00:40:17]: Yeah, these are so good. And something else I want to mention is Finding Balance has these free downloads. They're printables that we designed that help anyone who's recovering from an eating disorder or disordered eating facilitate an open discussion between you and your medical provider. So you download this, you can hand it. It's asking not to talk about weight or not to be weighed. Um, in a very nice, kind way, and you can slip it to the nurse as you go in and, and ask her if she could share that with your doctor and pray that they listen and honor and respect it. My doctor did not. She would always mention it.Her number one goal was weight loss for me, always, no matter how many times I told her. I will say, when you were sharing about, you know, like blame it on Liesel, right? Or blame it on your dietitian. When I tell you it was so empowering to say, I'm actually In eating recovery, and I'm working with a dietitian and connect, you know, that dietitian with my doctor. That empowered me. That felt good. That showed that I'm really trying here and it's a different way. And when I saw that there was nothing that was going to change with my doctor, it was time to make the change. And I had been dreading it and not wanting to, but it was the best thing I ever did.
Liesel Maddox [00:40:20 - 00:40:20]: Mm-hmm.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:40:21 - 00:40:35]: Because now I have a team. Everyone talks. We share information. They're all on the same page. Like my doctor, now she'll look and And say, oh, I see that your dietitian said this. And I'm like, oh, yay. Like the one less thing I have to remember to tell you. Like it was just so freeing, but I had to speak up.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:40:39 - 00:41:03]: I had to use my voice in a kind way. Like the inside wanted to scream and honestly cuss at her. Like, why can't you see that I'm trying? I've done everything I can to lose weight and it's never good enough for you. Like, it just felt like it'll never be good enough for you and it won't. It probably won't, but I'm not trying to do this for her. Right. I had to come to that conclusion, like back to my heart. Where's my heart? Jesus, show me what you want me to know.
Liesel Maddox [00:41:05 - 00:41:51]: Can I just say how amazing that you have a full team who is supporting you? I hope anyone listening who hasn't experienced that before can pray and seek that out because gold standard eating disorder care is that multidisciplinary treatment team where everyone's collaborating. The dietitian can talk to your doctor. The dietitian and therapist are talking. Sometimes maybe we're having complete, like, each provider is on a virtual meeting, maybe even with the client sometimes to support their recovery because eating disorder recovery doesn't happen in a vacuum. And if you're only working with just the therapist or just the dietitian, we're missing part of that whole picture. And so what an amazing testimony of the awesome work that your care providers are doing to really advocate.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:41:51 - 00:41:58]: For you in that. Yeah, thank you. So Liesel, what final encouragement would you like my friends to walk away with today?
Encouragement for Listeners
Liesel Maddox [00:41:59 - 00:44:36]: I want to encourage anyone listening who, if you clicked on this podcast episode, and honestly, if you're just existing in the world at this time, I'm going to bet that you might have felt discouraged or confused or even just triggered. Honestly, I think that's a good use of the word here. By what's happening in our culture, by the extreme examples of thinness and weight loss we're seeing in celebrity culture right now, by the doctor bringing it back up again. And if you're walking through a journey where you are being told to eat more food, you're being told weight loss would be dangerous for you, maintaining your weight or gaining weight is the healthiest thing for your body. Can I just say how hard it is to exist right now when we've got all this cultural pressure and noise happening. And it's an act of strength and resilience to choose to nourish your body day in and day out, to not pursue the thing that would be shrinking your body, turning off the food noise, suppressing your appetite in a world that is telling us that that is good right now. And I also just want to encourage you that we see throughout scripture all the way back in, you know, the Old Testament— I'm going through Deuteronomy right now— to the New Testament, Jesus himself speaking and Paul speaking, that odds are when the culture around us is running really hard after something, that should be an even bigger indicator to us as Christ followers that we might just want to think more carefully about participating in that or even run the other direction and flee. You know, I'm seeing time and time again in Deuteronomy where it talks about, do not do what the nations around you are doing.Do not follow their idols. I can't be the judge on the idolatry in any of our own hearts. That's between you and the Holy Spirit. But I think culturally, we absolutely idolize thinness and weight loss. So let it be even more of an indicator to you that when culture is running really hard after this idol of thinness, That should give us even more pause as Christians to evaluate, ooh, wait a second, does this align with God's design? Does this align with God's heart for what's gonna draw me closer to him or bring me right back into a place of preoccupation and obsession with food and my body? So a twofold encouragement there, but know that I am cheering for anyone who's choosing the radical act of not just doing what culture says is The best thing to do with our bodies right now.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:44:37 - 00:45:00]: Yeah, me too. Cheering you on. And if you happen to be taking a GLP-1 to manage other symptoms and weight loss is not your number one goal, I'm cheering you on too, because that's the decision that you had to come to. And if it's helping you and you're not having to suffer with all kinds of horrible side effects and it's not making your life worse.
Liesel Maddox [00:45:00 - 00:45:20]: Then yay. And absolutely, I hope that the person listening today who is taking a GLP-1, whether or not you've had an eating disorder, please know that there is no shame. There is no condemnation. We just want you to make informed decisions about your health, especially if you've got a team who you can collaborate with.
Chrissy Kirkman [00:45:21 - 00:45:46]: Well, I loved this conversation. Thank you, Liesel, for being here and having it with me. Friends, you can find links to connect with Liesel in the show notes. You can find the related episodes that we're talking about if you want to go even deeper. There are links there as well as a link to episode 39, where we talked about uprooting diet culture in the church. That was our previous episode. So, um, please go and listen. Thanks so much for being here, Liesel.
Liesel Maddox [00:45:46 - 00:45:48]: Thank you so much for having me.
Outro and Resources
Chrissy Kirkman [00:45:49 - 00:46:35]: Thank you for listening to the Old School Food Freedom Podcast. For over 20 years, Finding Balance has been helping people walk in freedom by discovering where Jesus fits into their struggles with food and body image. If you want more biblical truth and encouragement, head on over to findingbalance.com and subscribe to our free daily vitamin devotional. While you're there, explore our Christ-centered Lasting Freedom online course and small group tools. You can help keep this ministry going by donating today at findingbalance.com. See you next time. The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe a particular course of action. If you have or suspect you may have an eating disorder, please consult your healthcare provider.Chrissy Kirkman [00:46:36 - 00:46:44]: If you desire to receive faith-based care, visit christiantreatmentfinder.com to browse professionals with the Kingdom Campaign Against Eating Disorders.
