Something I’ve never seen or read about with GLP-1 weight loss is boredom.  Sticking to a diet is boring.  Sure, you can eat what you want—you’re an adult.  But then the medication makes you pay for it with unpleasant side effects.  And chances are if you deviate too far from your diet, you won’t lose any weight for the week.  Which is discouraging. It’s also all the incentive I need to stick to my diet.

For the last 7 months, I’ve eaten a lot of the same foods and stuck to a strict diet.  I did so partly because the medication had changed my appetite and I was no longer interested in certain foods, or I physically couldn’t eat others because they were too rich, heavy or just unappetizing.  

I also stuck to a strict diet because I truly wanted to lose weight.  It was something I had been trying to do for so long, and I felt like I wasn’t making any progress.  I saw the medication as an opportunity.  While I wasn’t 100% sure what it would do, I had heard the stories and wanted it to work for me too.  I was also willing to commit to a diet to help it do its thing.   And it worked. I’ve lost 76 pounds since Oct. 15^th 2025. 

Initially I lost about 2 lbs. a week with an occasional extra pound here or there.  I’ve had a few slow spots, but I’ve worked my way through them and kept true to the goal of weight loss.  It was something I wanted to do.

It still is.    

But here it is the beginning of summer, and I’m recreating a new diet, factoring in fresh foods more tailored to the season.  Gone are soups, and in are salads.  Which sounds great.  And part of me wants to dive in and find out what a new diet can do.  Another part of me just doesn’t feel like it.

What I feel like is a petulant child.  I’m tired of dieting.  It’s not fun. 

What strikes me when I think about this whole process is that I still think about food—but differently.  I have to think about calories.  More than I ever did before.  Now I also have to think about protein.  I have to plan meals and read labels, and figure out how to fit everything into the day. 

And I do this day after day. 

It’s not the same as wondering what sounds good for dinner.  Now, it’s—will this food fit into today’s plan? If I add something high in calories, what do I have to give up?  Am I getting enough protein?  Where can I squeeze in some more? If I do, what food do I have to sacrifice? 

These days I no longer spend my time wondering what I want to eat.  Now I spend it figuring out if a food fits into my plan. 

After seven months, it’s exhausting.

I don’t want to read another nutrition label, count another gram of protein, or decide whether dinner should be 300 calories or 500. I just want to eat and move on with my day.

That’s the kind of boredom nobody warned me about.

So, where does boredom lead you? 

Well, I had Cinnamon Cheerios Protein cereal for dinner.  I had a meal planned—that I didn’t even have to cook because my friend, who is a chef, had made it the night before and sent me home with leftovers.   What isn’t great about that!?  And I didn’t feel like eating it.  I had Cheerios.  They were fine.  Would I have liked the perfectly seasoned chicken and summer salad better?  I know it would have been more nutritious.  And probably more satisfying over the long term, too. 

Did I really want Cheerios? No, not really.  I also didn’t want anything else, and at the same time I wanted to eat whatever I wanted.  I settled for Cheerios.    The funny thing is I have pizza in the freezer.  I’ve had a Reese’s peanut butter cup on the back of my cupboard since October.  I could have eaten either, but I didn’t.   I knew better.  I wouldn’t lose any weight if I ate them.  I also didn’t feel like dealing with the side effects they would cause.

The funny thing about being on a GLP-1 medication is that it gives you guardrails, and it’s your choice if you follow them. 

What guardrails?  

Side effects. 

If you deviate too far from healthy foods into rich, fatty foods or overeat in general you pay for it physically.  I’ve managed to avoid most side effects by limiting portion size and sticking to foods I know I could tolerate.  Once in a while, I’d experiment or deviate from my meal plan, but I was always very conscious of what I was eating, the portion size, and potential calories, etc. 

But that gets boring. It’s a lot of work to make the same decisions over and over again.  At some point, you have to ask, is it worth it? 

For me, the answer is a resounding yes.  So I chose Cheerios instead of pizza or a Reese’s. Not because I wanted Cheerios, but because I knew where the other choices would lead.

It’s been 30 years since I’ve been this size. I have more energy, and I’ve never been healthier. 

So, what if I only have one pair of jeans and two t-shirts that fit because I’ve lost so much weight?  So what if even my shoes are too big?

Am I tired of dieting?  God, yes.

Will I eat Cheerios for dinner again because I don’t feel like eating the healthy meal I planned? Probably.

But tomorrow, I’ll get up, eat breakfast, plan my meals, and get back to it.

Why?

Because boredom is temporary.

Sometimes weight loss isn’t hard because you’re hungry—it’s hard because you’re tired of thinking about it.

Still, losing weight is a commitment I made to myself, and I want to keep it.

As of today, I’ve lost 76 lbs. Who knows where I could be in another six months?