GLP-1 News Hour

GLP-1 News Hour, Episode 3: Starving Brains, Vision Loss Lawsuits, Vogue World and a Diet Coke Fix

Can cutting calories too far on a GLP-1 starve your brain? We start there, then get into Lilly's 29% combination drug and more than 200 lawsuits over sudden vision loss.

Plus athletes on GLP-1s, nail changes, needles in the trash, Novo calling Wegovy users customers, Lilly at Vogue World, protein Cheez-Its, a Diet Coke treatment, and cannabis.

In this episode

(00:33) Can severe calorie cuts starve the brain?

(05:43) Lilly's tirzepatide and eloralintide combination

(08:36) More than 200 lawsuits over sudden vision loss (NAION)

(12:49) Athletes on GLP-1s and anti-doping rules

(18:21) Nail changes on a GLP-1

(21:18) Needles in the trash and sharps safety

(27:26) Novo calls Wegovy users customers, plus the Wegovy pill ad

(33:02) Patients asking for lower doses of Zepbound

(34:53) Lilly at Vogue World 2026

(40:14) Do GLP-1s quiet more than food noise?

(47:34) Weight-loss companies selling mental health

(52:28) Protein Cheez-Its and lead in protein powder

(54:35) Diet Coke and a gastric bezoar

(57:21) GLP-1s and cannabis

Links from the show

Severe calorie cuts and brain health (Fox News)

Tirzepatide and eloralintide combination (On The Pen)

GLP-1 vision loss lawsuits (NJ.com)

Athletes and anti-doping regulators (Macomb Daily)

GLP-1s and nail detachment (Mirage News)

Needles injuring sanitation workers (Gizmodo)

Novo calls Wegovy users customers (Medical Daily)

Wegovy pill ad, 2026 Golden Globes (YouTube)

Lower doses of Zepbound (NJ.com)

Lilly sponsors Vogue World 2026 (AOL)

Do GLP-1s quiet survival drives? (On The Pen)

Weight-loss companies add mental health (The Atlantic)

Body image and the new weight-loss drugs (BetterHelp)

Cheez-It Protein Original (Food & Wine)

Lead in protein powders and shakes (Consumer Reports)

Diet Coke dissolves a stomach mass (NewsNation)

GLP-1s and cannabis (KTVU)

PureWay Compliance mail-back sharps

GLP-1 medication comparison tool (Cozy Butter)

Watch live

We go live for free every Thursday at 1 p.m. Central in the Cozy Butter community. Fair warning: there will be curse words.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Hosts

Amanda Bonello, founder of GLP-1 Studio, and Kristi Turner, licensed mental health counselor.

This show is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical, legal, or financial advice. The hosts are not physicians. Talk with your healthcare provider before starting or changing any medication.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://glp1newshour.substack.com

GLP-1 News Hour, Episode 2: Kids' Nutrition, Medicare's Bridge, Ozempic Divorce, and Martha Stewart

One in six kids on a GLP-1 had a nutritional deficiency within a year, but the study is older than the headline. Amanda Bonello and Kristi Turner dig into that, the 700,000 seniors who started a GLP-1 through Medicare's Bridge Program, why half of people stop within a year, a tirzepatide trial for meth addiction, and the stories calling it Ozempic divorce. Then culture: Martha Stewart's Foundayo ad, McDonald's GLP-1 menu, and Eli Lilly's "A Life Covered."

In this episode

(00:34) One in six kids on a GLP-1 had a nutritional deficiency

(05:54) 700,000 seniors and the Medicare Bridge Program

(07:29) Why half of people stop their GLP-1 within a year

(12:28) A tirzepatide trial for methamphetamine addiction

(16:17) Ozempic divorce, shame, and self-worth

(28:47) Talking to your kids about your GLP-1

(35:57) Amazon One Medical tops the telehealth rankings

(42:22) The best exercise for the GLP-1 journey

(49:53) Culture: Martha Stewart's Foundayo commercial

(58:36) Chrissy Metz on food noise and Broadway

(01:00:51) Americans are swapping lunch for snacks

(01:02:13) A nurse's third baby after an infertility diagnosis

(01:03:17) Lilly vs. the FDA over retatrutide

(01:06:31) McDonald's $8.5 billion makeover

(01:11:54) Grocery stores restock for GLP-1 shoppers

(01:14:54) Eli Lilly's "A Life Covered"

Links from the show

One in six kids on a GLP-1 had a nutritional deficiency (News-Medical)

700,000 seniors start GLP-1s through Medicare (IBTimes UK)

Why people stop weight loss injections, Ulster University (Belfast Live)

Real-world drivers of GLP-1 discontinuation, ISPOR 2025 (Truveta)

Tirzepatide for methamphetamine use disorder (ClinicalTrials.gov)

Could Ozempic make you fall out of love? (Dazed)

Parents on GLP-1s: how to talk to your kids about it (NZ Herald)

Amazon One Medical tops U.S. News GLP-1 telehealth ranking (cleveland.com)

Best strength training exercises on a GLP-1 (NBC Connecticut)

Martha Stewart promotes a GLP-1 she doesn't use (HuffPost)

Foundayo commercial with Martha Stewart (YouTube)

Chrissy Metz on her GLP-1 experience (Us Weekly)

Why Americans are replacing lunch with snacks (Newsweek)

A nurse told she was infertile is on her third baby (New York Post)

DOJ filing in the retatrutide case (On The Pen)

McDonald's $8.5 billion plan for AI and GLP-1 users (IBTimes)

Grocery stores adapt to GLP-1 shoppers (Des Moines Register)

Lilly's "A Life Covered" campaign (LBB)

"A Life Covered" (Eli Lilly, YouTube)

Watch live

We go live for free every Thursday at 1 p.m. Central in the Cozy Butter community. Fair warning: there will be curse words.

Hosts

Amanda Bonello, founder of GLP-1 Studio, and Kristi Turner, licensed mental health counselor.

This show is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical, legal, or financial advice. The hosts are not physicians. Talk with your healthcare provider before starting or changing any medication.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://glp1newshour.substack.com

GLP1 News Hour: Access, Policy, Gray Market Risks, and Emerging Research

Amanda Bonello and Kristi Turner kick off the first live GLP1 News Hour, introducing the show and laying out what it covers: GLP1 news, policy, FDA decisions, lawsuits, access issues, and the real-world impact of all of it. The episode is equal parts news roundup and candid conversation, with both hosts bringing their own GLP1 journeys and professional backgrounds into the mix.They cover a wide range of developments affecting patients, from employer coverage losses and Medicaid rules to TikTok gray-market scams, pediatric GLP1 research, and new lawsuits. The throughline is access: who gets treatment, who loses it, and what it means when cost, policy, and misinformation collide.

Key topics

In this episode, Amanda Bonello introduces herself as founder of the GLP1 Studio, founder of the GLP1 Collective, co-founder of Cozy Butter, and cohost of GLP1 News Hour.

Kristi Turner shares that she is a licensed mental health counselor, private practice owner, mother of two adult sons, and someone who began her GLP1 journey in May 2024, losing a little over 200 pounds so far.

The hosts explain that the show is focused on GLP1 news, policy, FDA decisions, lawsuits, and whatever else is shaping the conversation week to week.

In today's news, they discuss employer coverage erosion, including a report that one in 10 employers plans to drop obesity-related GLP1 coverage next year.

They note that major employers are already dropping coverage and argue that public advocacy has helped push cash-pay prices down, even while insurance access keeps shrinking.

Amanda shares that Novo Nordisk has hired Anthropic to help with AI drug discovery, which opens a broader conversation about AI in medical research and drug development.

The hosts discuss the scale of GLP1 use, noting that about 40 million Americans are on a GLP1, including people using them for type 2 diabetes.

Kristi explains a Kentucky Medicaid-related access issue, where outdated state rules may prevent the state from participating in a federal model that could lower drug costs for some patients.

They break down a TikTok gray-market problem, where more than 200 accounts were identified selling fake GLP1 shots and only about a third were removed.

The hosts warn that gray-market products can be dangerous, especially when people are driven there by branded medication costs that can exceed $1,200 a month.

Kristi covers a Novo study suggesting 40 percent of children ages 6 to 12 were no longer classified as obese after a 68-week semaglutide study, while also noting that approvals for younger children are still unresolved.

Amanda and Kristi talk about how pediatric obesity treatment intersects with family support, peer connection, and the emotional impact of community.

In culture news, they discuss restaurant portion sizes shrinking as GLP1 use rises, while prices stay the same.

They note that 11 percent of American adults now take a GLP1 for weight loss, up from 3 percent in 2024.

The hosts react to a conference panel that framed GLP1s in political terms, including claims that they are being used to "genocide fat people," and push back on the idea that obesity treatment is anti-fat or anti-personhood.

Amanda and Kristi discuss celebrity body commentary, including public speculation about Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande, and why bodies should not become a public obsession.

They cover a hair-loss study that was reported as GLP1-related but did not actually follow people taking the medication, explaining that rapid weight loss and poor nutrition are more likely contributors to shedding.

Kristi shares her own experience with hair thinning, trauma bangs, and regrowth, and Amanda adds that some people are using hair treatments successfully while staying on GLP1s.

The episode closes with policy updates on 17 GLP1-related lawsuits, a House bill aimed at PBM reform, and an Illinois workers' comp proposal that could affect compounded semaglutide coverage.

The conversation ends with both hosts reflecting on the first live run, what worked, what felt clunky, and how they plan to improve the format next time.

Timestamps

The GLP-1 News Hour: Episode 1 Chapters

Welcome

21:08 Welcome to the GLP1 News Hour

22:42 Kristi's background and GLP1 journey

25:44 Amanda's GLP1 origin story and why the show exists

The News

27:00 Employer coverage is still dropping

29:56 Novo Nordisk partners with Anthropic on AI drug discovery

31:59 40 million Americans are on a GLP1

34:35 Kentucky Medicaid access blocked by outdated rules

37:05 Medicaid map shows how limited obesity coverage is

39:55 TikTok gray-market GLP1 sellers and fake shots

45:23 Novo study on GLP1s in children ages 6 to 12

51:31 Restaurants shrink portions but not prices

52:59 GLP1 use for weight loss jumps to 11 percent of adults

55:03 Debate over whether GLP1s are being used "fascistically"

1:02:46 Hair-loss claims and what the evidence actually says

1:08:04 Bariatric surgery trends and side effects support

1:09:56 17 GLP1 lawsuits and what is still unknown

1:12:17 PBM reform bill heads to committee

1:14:49 Illinois workers' comp and compounded semaglutide coverage

Wrap-up

1:18:50 Wrapping the first live show and lessons learned

1:27:10 Final sign-off and next steps

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://glp1newshour.substack.com