GLP-1s — Miracle Drug or Missing the Bigger Picture?

Ozempic.

Wegovy.

Mounjaro.

Zepbound.

Depending on who you ask, GLP-1 medications are either the greatest medical breakthrough of our generation or the worst thing to happen to healthcare.

But what if both sides are missing the bigger picture?

In this episode of the Being Hohl Podcast, Dr. Dani Hohl, PhD, BCDFM explores GLP-1s through a different lens—one rooted in communication, metabolism, hormones, genetics, and whole-person health.

Because this isn't really a weight loss conversation.

It's a conversation about understanding the story your body is telling.

Why do some people lose 80 pounds while others barely respond?

Why does one person experience freedom from food noise while another struggles with side effects?

And how do genetics, bloodwork, bioresonance scans, hormones, nervous system health, and metabolism influence the outcome?

If you've been curious about GLP-1s, skeptical of GLP-1s, considering GLP-1s, or simply trying to understand the conversation, this episode is for you.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

What GLP-1 Actually Is

• Why GLP-1 is a hormone your body already makes
• Appetite regulation and satiety signaling
• The connection between GLP-1 and blood sugar regulation
• Why these medications are communication molecules, not simply weight-loss drugs

The Food Noise Conversation

• Why some people think about food all day
• The role of dopamine and reward pathways
• Why many patients describe feeling like "their brain finally got quiet"

Why Everyone Responds Differently

• The role of insulin resistance
• Thyroid function
• Cortisol and chronic stress
• Metabolic flexibility
• Inflammation
• Nervous system regulation

Genetics & Metabolism

• FTO variants
• TCF7L2 variants
• MC4R variants
• Why genetics are a blueprint, not a destiny
• How genetics may influence appetite regulation and metabolic health

The Being Hohl Framework

• The scan tells us the story
• The labs tell us the physiology
• The genetics tell us the blueprint
• Why no single test tells the whole story

Why Dr. Dani Often Prefers Microdosing

• Lowest effective dose philosophy
• Supporting communication instead of overriding it
• Creating momentum without sacrificing nourishment

The Muscle & Longevity Conversation

• Why weight loss is not the ultimate goal
• The importance of preserving muscle mass
• Metabolic health versus scale weight
• Longevity and healthspan

The Physical, Energy & Emotional Body

• Weight as a symptom rather than a diagnosis
• Stagnation through a Traditional Chinese Medicine lens
• Emotional patterns that often accompany transformation
• Identity shifts that occur during healing

Key Takeaway

The question isn't:

"Should I take a GLP-1?"

The question is:

"What story is my body telling?"

Because once we understand the story...

the path often becomes much clearer.

Coming Next Week

Peptides.

What are they?

How do they work?

Why are they becoming one of the most talked-about tools in regenerative medicine?

And how do they fit into a root-cause, whole-person approach to health?

We'll explore all of that next week.

Disclaimer

This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your licensed healthcare provider before making changes to medications, supplements, diet, or healthcare decisions.

Symptoms are signals. At Being Hohl, we help you understand what your body is trying to communicate through a root-cause, mind-body-soul lens.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.
Book your Bioenergetic Scan at beinghohl.com.
Tiktok @danihohl - Instagram and Facebook: @beinghohl

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Alright, so let's talk about the elephant in the room, which is GLP1 medications. Ozempic, Wagovi, Mondiorno, Zepbound, Compounded Siglutide, Compounded Trazepatide. Right, depending on who you ask, these medications are either the greatest medical breakthrough of our generation or the worst thing to happen in healthcare. And if you spend enough time online, you will hear both sides. One side says, this medication changed my life. The other side says people are taking the easy way out. One side says, this is the future of medication, and the other says, this is dangerous. And honestly, I think both sides are missing the bigger picture because neither side is asking the question that I'm most interested in. It's not, is it good or is it bad? But what is actually happening in the body? And more importantly, why does it seem to work so well for some people while doing very little for others? Because if you've been following this podcast, you already know something important. Symptoms don't exist in isolation. Hormones don't exist in isolation. Metabolism doesn't exist in isolation. The body is one giant communication network. And GLP1s are part of that communication network. So today I want to step away from the headlines, away from the social media arguments, away from the hype, and have a deeper conversation, a being whole style conversation. Okay, because I don't think this is a weight loss discussion. I think this is a communication discussion. I think it's a metabolism discussion, a hormone discussion, a nervous system discussion, and ultimately a whole person discussion. So let's start at the beginning. Welcome back to the Being Whole podcast. I am your host, Dr. Danny Hole, PhD board certified in functional medicine. And here we look at the body through the physical body, the energy body, and the emotional body. Alright, let's talk about what a GLP1 is to start. Okay, in case you don't know. GLP1 stands for glucagon-like peptide 1. And despite all the attention it's getting right now, it's not new. Okay, your body already makes it every single day, primarily in your intestines after you eat, which is fascinating when you really think about it, because we've spent the last several episodes talking about hormones as messengers, and GLP1 is exactly that a messenger. Its job is to communicate to the brain, to the pancreas, to the stomach, to the liver, to the metabolic system. It helps coordinate what happens after food enters the body. It tells the pancreas to release insulin. It helps regulate blood sugar, it slows stomach emptying, it increases feelings of fullness, and perhaps most importantly, it tells the brain we've had enough, we are nourished, we have resources. Okay, think about that. GLP1 is not fundamentally a weight loss hormone. It is a communication hormone. And that's where I think the conversation starts to get interesting. Because if a person responds dramatically to GLP1 support, maybe we should ask what communication was struggling in the first place. Let's zoom out for a second, okay? Because before we talk about medications, we also need to talk about the environment. Fifty years ago, we weren't seeing obesity rates like we are now. We weren't seeing insulin resistance at these levels, we weren't seeing fatty liver disease at these levels, we weren't seeing metabolic dysfunction in children. Some things changed. And it wasn't that humanity suddenly became lazy. It wasn't that everyone suddenly lost discipline. It wasn't that people stopped caring about their health. The environment changed, food changed, movement changed, stress changed, sleep changed, light exposure changed, technology changed, toxin exposure changed, everything changed. Okay, we now live in a world where many people are overfed, undernourished, overstimulated, under-recovered, chronically stressed, chronically inflamed, chronically disconnected from the rhythms their bodies were designed for. And eventually the body adapts because that is what bodies do. The body adapts, the body protects, the body survives, the body responds to the environment it's living in. And sometimes those adaptations show up as weight gain, insulin resistance, inflammation, fatigue, hormonal dysfunction, metabolic dysfunction, not because the body is broken, because it's adapting. Okay, just like we discussed in the metabolism episode. Now let's talk about like the food noise conversation, because this may be one of the most important parts of this entire episode. Because one of the things that surprised researchers wasn't just the weight loss. It was what patients kept saying again and again and again. They said, my brain got quiet. Okay, think about that. Not I suddenly developed more willpower, not I became more disciplined, not I fully cared enough. They said my brain got quiet. For some people, food occupies an incredible amount of mental space. Thinking about food, planning food, restricting food, craving food, feeling guilty about food, rewarding themselves with food, comforting themselves with food, fighting themselves over food. And when those signals become dysregulated, people often assume it's a character flaw. But biology matters, hormones matter, dopamine matters, satiated signaling matters, the brain matters, and for some people, GLP1s create a dramatic shift in those signals. For the first time, the constant mental noise decreases. And whether you agree with these medications or not, that's a reality that we should acknowledge without judgment, without shame, because understanding someone's biology is far more productive than blaming them for it. Now, I want to talk about why one person can lose 80 pounds, another person can lose 15. Because this is where the being whole lens becomes different. One of the biggest misconceptions is that everyone responds the same way and they don't. And honestly, this is true for almost everything in healthcare, right? Two people can take the exact same medication at the exact same dose for the exact same amount of time and have completely different outcomes. Why? Because we're not treating medications, we're treating biology. Okay, imagine two women, both are 45, both are struggling with weight, both start a GLP one. One loses 80 pounds, inflammation improves, energy improves, blood work improves, she feels incredible. The other loses 15 pounds, she still feels exhausted, still struggles with symptoms, still feels stuck. Why? Because the medication is only one variable. What if the second woman has untreated thyroid dysfunction, severe nervous system dysregulation, chronic cortisol elevation, poor mitochondrial function, severe inflammation, low muscle mass, underlying hormonal dysfunction. The medication may be working exactly as designed, but the terrain is different, and terrain matters, which brings us to genetics. Last week we talked about the blueprint, and this is where genetics becomes fascinating. Not because genetics determine your future, they don't, but because genetics can help explain why some bodies respond differently. Now let's talk about a few examples. One of the most studied genes in metabolic health is called FTO. Sometimes you'll hear it called the obesity obesity gene, and I hate that term, because it creates fear. And genes are not destiny. Despite what you've been told by your physician, okay, people come to me all the time, yeah, thyroid issues run in my family. Okay, which gene? We know all the genes in the human body. Okay, so which gene? Your genetics are not your destiny. They tell you what you are at a predisposition to have if your body is not supported in the right way. Okay. But certain FTO variants are associated with increased hunger, reduced satiety, increased obesity risk, difficulty maintaining weight loss. Imagine spending your entire life believing you simply lacked discipline, and then discovered that your body may actually require stronger like fullness signaling than someone else's body. Okay, that's a very different story. And then there's TCF7L2, and one of the strongest genetic associations with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk. People with certain variants may have more challenges with blood sugar regulation. Again, not destiny, blueprint. Okay, then there's another gene that's involved in appetite regulation. It also plays a role in feeling full. Energy expenditure. And once again, we see something important. People are different. Not because they're better, not because they're worse, because they're different. And when we understand those differences, the conversation changes. The question becomes: what support does this body need? Not why isn't this person trying harder? Okay, now let's talk about something that may surprise people because one of the first questions I get when people hear that we're offering GLP1 support is, Danny, what dose should I be on? And honestly, first of all, I don't answer that question. The MDs do, right? But I also think that is the wrong question. The question that I'm interested in is what is the lowest effective dose? Because my goal is not maximum suppression of the body. My goal is communication. My goal is not to completely override the body's signals. My goal is to improve the body's ability to hear them. And that is where I think the conversation becomes really interesting. Because many clinics operate from the perspective of let's increase the dose, increase it again, increase it again, get to the maximum tolerated dose. And sometimes that's appropriate, but sometimes it isn't. And sometimes it's also not necessary. Okay, because if someone is experiencing significant appetite suppression, nausea, fatigue, constipation, difficulty eating enough protein, difficulty maintaining muscle, difficulty getting adequate nutrition, we need to ask a different question. Are we supporting the body or are we overwhelming the body? At being whole, I believe there is often tremendous value in microdosing, less is more. Using the smallest amount necessary to create a shift in communication, the smallest amount necessary to help you feel full, the smallest amount necessary to improve metabolic signaling, the smallest amount necessary to create momentum. Because if we can create meaningful change while preserving the body's natural feedback mechanisms, that is powerful. Okay, and this is where genetics can become incredibly helpful. So let's go back to the examples we discussed earlier. Someone with significant FTO variants, right? Strong appetite dysregulation, food noise, insulin resistance, and inflammatory burden may require a different level of support than someone whose primary issue is elevated cortisol and poor sleep. The goal isn't to force everyone into the same protocol. The goal is individualization. The goal is listening. And sometimes listening means less, not more. Okay, so this is where everything we've talked about starts coming together. Because if you've listened to the last episode, you already know the framework. The scan tells the story, the labs tell us the physiology, and the genetics tell us the blueprint. Now let's see how this applies in real life. Okay, imagine a client comes in. The scan shows metabolic stress, blood sugar instability, liver burden, inflammation. Their labs show fasting insulin of 18, elevated triglycerides, A1C creeping upward, inflammatory markers increasing. Then their genetics reveal FTO variants, TCF7L2 variants, family history of diabetes. Now we're seeing a story. This isn't just about weight gain. This is metabolic dysfunction. This is insulin resistance. This is altered signaling. This is a body asking for support. For this person, having an MD have a conversation with them about a GLP1 makes sense. Okay, not because we're chasing weight, because we're addressing physiology. Now let's look at another client. Weight gain, fatigue, brain fog. The scan shows nervous system dysregulation, adrenal stress, poor resilience. The labs show elevated cortisol, normal insulin, normal glucose, normal A1C. And their genetics don't suggest significant metabolic vulnerability. So suddenly we're looking at a completely different story. The symptom is the same, which is weight gain, but the root cause is different. This person may not need a GLP1. This person may need nervous system dysregulation, sleep restoration, stress recovery, hormone support, same symptom, different story, different solution. Okay, that's why I believe so strongly in understanding the whole picture before deciding on the path. Now let's talk about what I believe is one of the most important conversations in modern metabolic health, muscle. Because somewhere along the way, we became obsessed with weight and forgot about body composition. Those are not the same thing. The goal isn't to become lighter, the goal is to become healthier. And muscle is one of the most metabolically protective tissues in the human body. Muscle improves insulin sensitivity, blood sugar regulation, metabolic flexibility, longevity, mitochondrial function, and then stability as we age. And yet, many people starting GLP1 therapy have never been told this. They've just been told lose weight. Okay, but I care far more about what kind of weight you are losing because losing muscle is not a victory, especially for women entering perimenopause and menopause, especially for adults over 40, especially for anyone interested in longevity. One of the things we know from the research is that age-related muscle loss is one of the strongest predictors of future disability and loss of independence. Not cholesterol, not body weight, muscle. Which means every metabolic conversation should also be a muscle conversation. Protein matters. Resistance training matters. Recovery matters. Because if we're creating weight loss while sacrificing muscle, we may be creating a different problem later. And that's not the goal. The goal is creating a stronger human, not simply a smaller human. Now, what if weight isn't the problem? Okay, so this may be the most important question of this entire episode. What if weight isn't actually the problem? What if weight is the symptom? Because weight gain can be a symptom of insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, cortisol dysfunction, inflammation, poor sleep, hormonal shifts, mitochondrial dysfunction, trauma, chronic stress. And if we only focus on the weight, we miss the story. This is one of the reasons I became so passionate about bioresonance. Because the scan rarely asks how much weight do you want to lose. Instead, it asks, what is the body trying to tell us? Where is stress showing up? Where is communication breaking down? What systems are asking for support? Because if we address the symptom without understanding the story, we often end up chasing our tails. The scale moves, but the person doesn't necessarily feel better. And at being whole, feeling better matters. Energy matters, sleep matters, hormones matter, mood matters, vitality matters, weight is only one piece of the conversation, not the entire conversation. So here's the question I want to leave you with. The question isn't, should I take a GLP1? The question isn't are GLP1's good. The question isn't are GLP1's bad. The question is what story is my body telling? Because once we understand the story, the path becomes much clearer. The scan tells us the story. The labs tells us the physiology. The genetics tell us the blueprint. And together, they help us understand the person. And once we understand the person, we can make a much more informed decision about what support makes sense. Not from fear, not from shame, not from trends, from understanding. Let's bring this back to the physical body, okay? Because at the end of the day, the physical body is where people feel the symptoms. It's where they feel fatigue, the cravings, the inflammation, the weight gain, the brain fog, the joint pain, the metabolic dysfunction. Okay? And I think one of the reasons GLP1s have created so much excitement is because many people finally experience relief. For the first time in years, they feel traction. For the first time in years, the scale moves. For the first time in years, they feel their body is responding, and that's significant. Because when someone has spent years feeling stuck, momentum matters. Okay, and I want to be very clear about something. The physical body is not just asking us to lose weight. The physical body is asking for health. The physical body is asking for nourishment. The physical body is asking for resilience. The physical body is asking for energy production. The physical body is asking for stable blood sugar. The physical body is asking for healthy hormones, healthy muscle mass. It's asking for longevity. Which means the question is never how quickly can I lose weight. The question is how can we create a healthier body while we're doing it? Okay, because the goal isn't simply becoming smaller. The goal is becoming healthier, and those are not always the same thing. Now let's shift lenses because one of the things I love about Chinese medicine is it asks very different questions. Okay, it doesn't ask how many calories are you eating, it asks what's moving, and perhaps more importantly, what's not moving? Is energy moving? Is blood moving? Is lymph moving? Is digestion moving? Are emotions moving? Is transformation happening? Or is the system stuck? Okay, because when I think about many of the people who come into being whole struggling with their metabolism, I don't see a lack of effort. I see stagnation, physical stagnation, emotional stagnation, energy stagnation, and a body that has become stuck in patterns. And one of the most fascinating things I've observed over the years is how often physical and emotional stagnation mirror one another. The person carrying physical Weight is often carrying emotional weight too. Responsibility, pressure, caretaking, grief, stress, trauma, old stories, old identities, old versions of themselves. The body carries what the mind cannot process. And sometimes healing requires movement on multiple levels, not just the physical level, emotional movement, energetic movement, identity movement, and physical movement. Because transformation is never just about fat loss. Transformation is about becoming unstuck. Now, the emotional body. And this may be the part that very few people talk about. And honestly, I think it is one of the most important parts. Because food is not always about food. Sometimes food is comfort, food is reward, food is protection, food is safety. Sometimes food is how we've survived difficult seasons of our life. And when appetite changes, when food noise decreases, when old coping mechanisms become less available, something interesting happens. The emotions underneath become visible. I've watched people lose weight and suddenly realize they have no idea how to process stress without food. I've watched people lose weight and discover grief they didn't know they were carrying. I've also watched people who realize they don't feel worthy of even losing weight. Okay, none of that is intentional. It's subconscious because changing the body often changes the identity, and identity change can feel scary. Who am I if I no longer see myself as the overweight person? Who am I if I become confident? Who am I if I stop shrinking myself when I walk in a room? Who am I if people treat me differently? Who am I if I finally become visible? Okay, these are real questions and they deserve real support because healing is not just physical, it's emotional, it's relational, it's energetic, it's spiritual. And that's why I believe transformation should never be reduced to just a number on a scale. Now let's zoom out. Way out, okay, because one of the things that I worry about is that we make every health conversation about weight. Okay, and I think that's selling ourselves short. The conversation I'm mostly interested in isn't how do we lose weight? It's how do we create a body that supports us for decades? How do we improve health span, not just lifespan? How do we create more years with energy, more years with vitality, more years with independence, more years where our brains work well, where our muscles remain strong, where we can travel, play with grandkids, hike, move, live fully. Okay, that's the conversation that excites me. And if a tool helps create that outcome, I'm interested in understanding it. That's how I ended up here. Not because it's trendy, because longevity matters. Quality of life matters. The ability to fully participate in your life matters. Now let's come full circle because this episode was not really about GLP ones, not entirely. It's about understanding the body. It's about understanding that two people can have the same symptom and need completely different solutions. It's about understanding that weight gain is often a symptom, not a diagnosis. It's about understanding that biology matters, hormones matter, metabolism matters, genes matter, the nervous system matters, the emotional body matters, the energy body matters, the story matters. And once we understand the story, the path becomes much clearer. At being whole, I don't see GLP1s as a miracle. And I don't see them as a failure or a way to cheat the system. I see them as a tool. A tool that may be appropriate for some and completely unnecessary for others. Because the question isn't, should everyone take a GLP1? The question isn't, are GLP1s good or bad? The question is, what is the body communicating? What is the body struggling with? What is the body asking for? And once we understand that, we can make decisions from knowledge rather than fear. The scan tells us the story. The labs tell us the physiology. The genetics tell us the blueprint. And together, they help us understand the person. And when we understand the person, we stop chasing symptoms, we stop chasing trends, we stop chasing someone else's path, and we begin creating a path that actually makes sense for us. Because at the end of the day, that's what this work has always been about. Not weight loss, not medications, not protocols, understanding the body, supporting the body, and helping people become the healthiest version of themselves possible. Next week, we are going to continue this conversation by exploring one of the most exciting areas of regenerative medicine, which is peptides. What are they? How do they work? Why are there so many? Why are so many practitioners talking about them? And perhaps most importantly, how do we separate the science from the hype? Because just like GLP1s, peptides are not magic, they're communication. And once you understand that, the entire conversation changes. I'll see you next week. Until next time, stay curious, stay grounded, listen to what your body is trying to tell you, and keep becoming the most whole version of yourself. And also, this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your licensed health care provider before making changes to medications, supplements, diet, or healthcare decisions. Love you bye.