A GLP-1 Messed Up My Gut
Let’s rewind back to a couple of years ago. I was working with a functional medicine practitioner in Austin to heal some stubborn gut issues—a fun little souvenir from mold toxicity, Lyme co-infections, and, for good measure, a month-long round of antibiotics to treat pneumonia I picked up during the pandemic. I was bloated, inflamed, craving sugar like it was oxygen, and overall just… exhausted.
When GLP-1s started quietly bubbling up in wellness circles, my practitioner suggested I try a low dose of Mounjaro(2.5mg weekly). The goal wasn’t weight loss. It was to help calm the sugar cravings driven by candida and give my gut lining a break from the food reactions that were flaring me up. Healing leaky gut is hard enough without feeling like you're in a battle with your own willpower every time you pass the Simple Mills almond flour cookies in the snack aisle. So in conjunction with a gut-healing protocol, I added in Mounjaro. It wasn’t the main event, just a tool. Something to help quiet the noise so my body could actually do what it needed to do.
So Wait, What Is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro (generic name tirzepatide) is a medication that mimics two hormones your body already makes: GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide). These hormones regulate appetite, blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and digestion. It’s part of a class called dual incretin mimetics, and although it was created to treat type 2 diabetes, it’s now widely used off-label to help people with weight loss and metabolic issues. It works by slowing how quickly food moves through your digestive system. You feel fuller longer, blood sugar stays more stable, and in many cases, cravings start to calm down.
The Honeymoon Phase
The first few weeks? Nausea central. At the time, not many people were talking publicly about peptides the way they shamelessly do now. I had no idea I was about to be hit with a wave of constant nausea. I wasn’t expecting it to feel like my body was rejecting food on a cellular level. I didn’t want to look at food, smell it, talk about it, or even think about eating.
But once that settled, something amazing happened. For the first time in decades, I felt calm around food. I wasn’t constantly thinking about my next snack. I wasn’t driven by cravings. I wasn’t obsessing. I could eat when I was hungry, stop when I was full, and move on with my life. It felt like food got demoted from boss to background character. The mental freedom was wild.
As someone with a long history of disordered eating, binge-restrict cycles, and emotional attachment to food, this was huge. I stayed on the low dose for about six months, followed my gut protocol, lifted weights, ate whole foods, and genuinely felt good in my body again.
The Crash
About a year in, things started shifting. My appetite came back, which wasn’t a bad thing in itself. But the bloating returned. So did the sluggish digestion, the fogginess, and the low energy. It felt like all the symptoms I thought I had healed were creeping back. And the more my symptoms returned, the more I tried to cling to the Mounjaro. I thought, maybe if it could just dull my hunger again, I’d feel better. But nope. That wasn’t the answer. What I actually needed was to support my body differently, because the medication had masked—not resolved—what was still happening underneath.
Before we dive into what I wish I had known, a quick disclaimer. I’m not a doctor. I’m not pretending to be a doctor. I don’t even play one on the internet. I’m just someone sharing her experience in the hope it helps someone else. So please, talk to your practitioner and trust your own intuition. This is just what worked—and didn’t work—for me.
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Mounjaro
1. Motility Is Key (Seriously, Read This Twice)
If you’re not pooping, you’re fermenting. And if you’re fermenting, you’re feeding the very things you’re trying to get rid of like candida, SIBO, and bad bacteria. GLP-1s dramatically slow down gastric emptying. That’s why you feel full longer. But that also means food is just sitting in your gut longer than it should. And that creates the perfect conditions for things to go sideways.
When food lingers too long, it ferments. That fermentation leads to gas, bloating, inflammation, and a reactivation of underlying issues you might have thought were gone. For me, this was the biggest hidden trap. Just because my symptoms had quieted didn’t mean they had healed.
Getting your motility on track is everything. Daily, complete bowel movements are not optional. They are the foundation. I now rely on magnesium, fermented plums, ginger and artichoke tabs, castor oil packs, and coffee enemas. I also stay consistent with movement (more on that below). If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this: get things moving, every day, no excuses.
2. Movement Is Your Friend
When your appetite is low and your weight starts dropping, it’s easy to think you don’t need to work out as much. But that’s the exact time to lean in. Strength training is essential not just to maintain muscle, but to support your metabolism, blood sugar balance, and overall vitality. Muscle is metabolic currency. It helps you burn more efficiently, keeps your hormones steady, and supports energy long term. It’s also one of the best ways to naturally stimulate digestion and keep motility on track.
Even gentle movement helps—walking, Pilates, lifting weights, stretching. Whatever makes your body feel strong and connected. The key is consistency. Movement isn’t just fitness here, it’s gut therapy.
3. Be Mindful of High-Histamine and Slow-Digesting Foods
Your gut is trying to heal, and it needs food that’s easy to process—not food that sits there like a brick in your belly. High-histamine foods like bone broth, kimchi, kombucha, and leftovers can cause issues when your gut lining is still inflamed or compromised. These foods build histamine quickly, and when your system is sensitive, it can make you feel itchy, bloated, anxious, or foggy.
Also important to avoid are slow-digesting foods that clog up the works. Tough meats, raw cruciferous vegetables, too many nuts, and heavy starches can be really hard to break down, especially when your gut is already sluggish. Stick to simple, fresh meals. Think: cooked veggies, soft proteins like fish and poultry, white rice, squashes, soups made fresh. Easy to chew, easy to digest, easy to eliminate. Less is more when it comes to ingredients and effort.
4. Support Your Gut with the Right Supplements
If you’re on a GLP-1 to help heal your gut, don’t forget the healing part. The medication suppresses symptoms, but it doesn’t actually rebuild anything. That’s your job, and supplements can make a huge difference.
My non-negotiables:
L-glutamine to help seal and soothe the gut lining
Butyrate to feed the cells in your colon and reduce inflammation
Digestive enzymes to help break down food properly
A good, clean probiotic that is low in histamine and designed for sensitive gut issues
Iberogast, ginger tea, or bitters for gentle motility support
Trace minerals and electrolytes to support energy, hydration, and detox
Find what works for your body. And stay consistent. Healing is a long game.
5. Use This Time to Retrain Your Brain (and Your Relationship with Food)
GLP-1s do more than suppress appetite. They give you space. Space from cravings, emotional eating, and mindless snacking. And in that quiet, you get to meet yourself in a new way. Use this window to ask important questions. What was driving your cravings? What was food giving you emotionally? What would it look like to eat for nourishment, not escape?
You don’t have to go deep into therapy if that’s not your thing but take some time to reflect. Journal. Explore intuitive eating. Notice your triggers. Build new habits that feel aligned with the version of yourself you’re becoming. This is the moment to rewire. You’re not just changing your plate, you’re changing your patterns.
The Bottom Line
GLP-1s like Mounjaro can be extraordinarily helpful. For some, they are a breakthrough tool to support gut healing, balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and even reset emotional patterns around food. I still believe they can be powerful allies. But they are not magic pills. They come with real trade-offs. And without intention, you can end up masking the very issues you’re trying to heal.
Use them wisely. Pay attention to your gut. Keep your motility moving. Support your body with the right supplements, strength, and structure. And above all, take breaks. Let your body recalibrate. You are not meant to stay on this forever. These medications may be the closest thing we’ve got to magic but it’s up to you to make the magic last.
