I'm a Nurse Practitioner Who Prescribes Mounjaro and This Common Food Mistake Can Sabotage Your Results
Nurse practitioners are highly trained in diagnosing, assessing, and treating disease, including obesity. A nurse practitioner can be very helpful when it comes to diet, exercise, and medications associated with managing this chronic condition. In fact, your eating choices can lead to successful results when you are taking weight-loss drugs. It's important to know what foods can help—or hurt—your results by adding extra calories, or worsening side effects.
There are five food mistakes that can sabotage your results while on a Mounjaro weight-loss plan. We spoke with Katie Sorensen, Nurse Practitioner, Weight Loss NP, LLC, who shares what they are.
The Most Common Food Mistake That Can Sabotage Mounjaro Results
According to Sorensen, the one major food mistake patients make when starting Mounjaro is not realizing how much their eating habits can impact side effects of the medication.
"I advise my clients to keep a clean, balanced diet, especially while starting. It's important to mitigate side effects, especially initially because your results will be sabotaged certainly from not being able to stay on the medication due to side effects," Sorensen tells us. "To mitigate side effects of Mounjaro, it's important to limit greasy or fried foods or too much sugar and carbohydrates in one meal or else side effects like G.I. upset, nausea, or diarrhea are more common."
Mounjaro Works Best When Combined With a Healthy Lifestyle
Performing regular strength training and consuming a nutritious diet are both essential when taking GLP-1 meds like Mounjaro for weight loss.
"The medication works best when paired with a healthy lifestyle," Sorensen explains. "If a person makes no changes to their food choices or portion sizes, the weight loss potential goes down significantly."
Pay Attention to Hunger and Fullness Cues
Another pro tip from Sorensen? Be mindful of hunger and fullness cues to stay on the right track.
"Mounjaro works in a large part by decreasing appetite, which helps a person decrease their caloric intake, which leads to weight loss," Sorensen stresses. "It's important for patients to listen and abide by their full cues, which should be stronger when taking a GLP-1, like Mounjaro, and allow them to shrink their portion sizes. Also by not being as hungry, you can more easily limit snacking and convenience foods and have more mental space to be able to choose healthy food options without feeling deprived."
Which Foods Are More Likely To Trigger Side Effects or Reduce Effectiveness
When you indulge in greasy, fatty, fried foods, or consume a meal that's loaded with sugar or carbs—especially when starting GLP-1 treatment—you're at a greater risk of side effects.
"By not using the assistance Mounjaro provides in a way of reducing appetite and cravings to choose healthier options with appropriate portion sizes, a person would be reducing their results," Sorensen says. It's important to be open to changing your lifestyle and diet habits with the help of Mounjaro and not resisting change in favor of die-hard habits. That said, no foods are off-limits in my practice!"
If you're curious about what else to steer clear of, check out these 5 GLP-1 Medication Mistakes You Need to Avoid, According to an Obesity Expert.
