Navigating the Emotional Side of GLP-1 Weight Loss

For Rebecca Anderson, the decision to take a GLP-1 was never about cosmetic weight loss. In early 2025, on multiple blood pressure medications and in pain from her small frame carrying too much weight, her doctor confirmed she’d crossed the threshold into type 2 diabetes. Unsure the medication would even help, she figured she’d give it a try.

The results—both physical and emotional—were nothing short of life changing, she says. Over the course of the past year, her doctor has taken her off nearly all other medications and she’s weighing in at numbers she hasn’t touched since high school.

But while she’s grateful for her newfound lease on life, adjusting to the changes to her body has been disorienting. “It’s a lot to take in such a drastic difference,” she says.

Getting Used to the Reflection

Rebecca’s reaction is by no means unique. In online groups and doctors’ offices alike, those taking GLP-1s report a range of complicated feelings as their bodies—inextricably linked to identity, sense of self, and the way they move through the world—undergo a sudden change. Many say it was months before they believed the decreasing numbers on the scale or what they saw in the mirror.

It took Anderson the better part of a year to feel comfortable shopping for clothes that actually fit, struggling to process what the weight loss meant to her. “It’s exciting to look at myself now and be like, look at you!” she says. “But it’s also disheartening that I looked at myself at 200 pounds and didn’t feel beautiful, even though I’m the same me.”

Even when people feel confident in their decision to take a GLP-1, the reactions of others—no matter how well-meaning—can be an additional stressor. Anderson’s friend Daphne Backman says that she intentionally only told a few people in her life when she first started the medication. “If it didn’t work, I didn’t want to feel like I was letting myself down and letting other people down,” she says. “I needed to do this for myself.” It wasn’t until she’d lost 100 pounds that she felt comfortable to share her journey on social media.

It’s exciting to look at myself now… but it’s also disheartening that I looked at myself at 200 pounds and didn’t feel beautiful.

But that approach also had its challenges. Her inner circle saw her so regularly that they didn’t always notice the steady but incremental changes occurring in real time. “It was hard, because I wanted, and needed, the reassurance,” she says.

Unlike Anderson, Backman’s health markers, such as cholesterol and blood sugar, were in the “normal” range when she started taking a GLP-1, even though the amount of weight she hoped to lose was substantial. Her goal was mobility: playing with her niece and nephew with ease, traveling without a seatbelt extender, living a fuller, pain-free life. Backman says the results so far have been a revelation. She’s now at a point where she can exercise.

Finding a New Fit

Like Anderson and Backman, Colorado-based lawyer Nora Nye was stunned by the ways her body changed after starting a GLP-1 to treat type 2 diabetes. The changes became especially apparent when she went shopping for clothes. “It’s been so long since I’ve been in straight sizes that the first time I went to [a department store], I got so overwhelmed I had to leave,” she says. “I’ve never, as a grown woman, had the opportunity to look at clothing that way.” Nye had always gravitated towards jewelry, which she now realizes was an outlet for self-expression. “My clothing style before was always the same thing: whatever fit.”

The other two women described similar feelings of confusion. “Ordering clothes, I would get something in the mail and before I even tried it on I’d think, there’s no way that’s going to fit me, and then I’d try it on and it does,” Backman says. “I cried the first time that happened because I realized not only how much weight I’d lost, but also how much work I’d put in.”

Experts and patients say the process of losing weight on a GLP-1 should be approached with care. Backman is working closely with a weight loss clinic, spending time with behavioral psychiatrists and medical professionals, examining the habits she built around food, exercise, and her body. “I had to retrain my brain to understand that if I have ice cream today, I don’t need to feel bad about it. It’s part of life,” she says.

Making Space for Grace

Anderson echoes the need for that intentional self-kindness, adding that while many want quick results, working through things slowly is the better way—allowing mind and body to make the shift in sync. “I’m still working on looking at myself and feeling good with who I am, and not letting outside voices and my own inner voice try to tear me down, because that’s all I did for so long,” she says.

She encourages anyone considering taking a GLP-1 to not put mental health on the side while focusing on physical health. That may mean seeking out professional help or creating boundaries when necessary.

I’m still working on looking at myself and feeling good with who I am.

“This journey has taught me a lot more about my mental health than I realized,” Anderson says, adding that getting in touch with the feelings she had about her body has been one of the most meaningful parts of the experience. While some of the people closest to her initially expressed concern about her weight loss, they eventually came to see that despite the physical changes, she was still the same person.

“I hate it when people say, ‘It’s a new me,’” Anderson says. “No, it’s not. It’s the same beautiful you. You’re just a healthier version.”

Talia BarringtonAuthor

Talia Barrington is a freelance writer who covers a wide range of topics including family, gender, culture, science, and sports. Her work can be seen in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, New York Times, Slate, and many more.