This Thanksgiving, Americans using powerful GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are facing a unique holiday dilemma. Many are choosing between taking their regular medication doses or delaying them to fully enjoy traditional festive meals with family and friends.
The Thanksgiving Conundrum: To Dose or Not to Dose?
Taryn Langer from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, has made her decision. She is skipping her weekly dose of Mounjaro, a medication that has helped her lose 65 pounds. Her reasoning is simple: she wants to savor her sister-in-law's holiday specialties without restrictions. "My sister-in-law usually puts out pepperoni bread, deviled eggs and cheese plate. I don't want to have to miss that," Langer explains.
This pattern is repeating across the United States as patients on medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Zepbound navigate the holiday season. These GLP-1 drugs work by suppressing appetite and making people feel full faster, but they're creating new challenges during traditional feasting occasions.
Strategic Adjustments for Holiday Eating
Patients are developing creative strategies to manage their medication schedules around Thanksgiving. Some are deliberately delaying their weekly injections to maximize their appetites for the big meal. Others are planning their food consumption carefully, focusing on hydration and the order in which they eat different foods.
Jamie Steinberg, a 51-year-old former restaurant manager from San Diego who has lost 40 pounds using GLP-1 drugs, finds freedom in the medications' effects. "Where it's freeing for me to be on these meds for Thanksgiving is that I know I can't go too far. I can eat what I want, but my brain and my stomach kind of tell me that it's enough," she says.
The drugs' effects typically wane as days pass since the last injection, leading many patients to coordinate their dosing schedules with holiday plans. Online communities and social media platforms have become hubs for sharing these strategies.
Transforming Traditional Menus
The impact of these medications extends beyond individual patients to affect entire family celebrations. Holiday menus are undergoing significant changes as GLP-1 users find themselves less interested in traditional rich and sweet dishes.
Michael Donnelly-Boylen, a 52-year-old associate law-school dean from Boston who has lost approximately 125 pounds on Mounjaro, exemplifies this shift. He previously brought extravagant sweet dishes to family gatherings but now prepares healthier alternatives. "I was the one bringing the crazy dish to family Thanksgivings," he admits. This year, he's eliminating maple syrup and brown sugar from his sweet potatoes and making a healthy pumpkin cheesecake using high-protein muffin mix and low-fat cottage cheese.
Many users naturally avoid greasy, creamy, and excessively sweet foods because these can worsen common side effects like nausea. This has led to healthier overall holiday spreads in many households.
Medical Perspectives on Dose Skipping
Doctors acknowledge that temporarily adjusting medication schedules is reasonable for special occasions. Dr. Ania Jastreboff, director of the Yale Obesity Research Center in New Haven, Connecticut, advises patients who want to delay their shots to adjust their injection schedule accordingly afterward.
However, medical professionals also caution about potential pitfalls. Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, warns that skipping doses can lead to increased hunger and overeating. "I just tell patients to be careful if you do this and remember the hunger and food noise will come back," she says.
Caley Svensson, a 41-year-old interior designer from Park Ridge, New Jersey, experienced this firsthand when supply constraints forced her to skip her Mounjaro shots during previous holiday seasons. "I was literally, actively sitting at the table, like, 'OK, when are we putting pies out? What's coming next?'" she recalls. Her weight increased during those weeks as she couldn't stop thinking about food. This year, she's taking her Zepbound as scheduled to avoid such "food noise."
New Holiday Priorities Emerge
For some patients, the medications have helped refocus holiday celebrations away from food and toward family connections. Akili Martin, a clinical pharmacist from Wilmington, Delaware who has lost 90 pounds on GLP-1 drugs, now approaches Thanksgiving differently.
Martin has stopped sampling dishes while cooking to save her appetite for the actual meal. At the table, she prioritizes protein and vegetables like turkey and collard greens while avoiding heavy, creamy dishes. She also drinks less wine and more water than in previous years.
Perhaps most significantly, Martin finds she can better enjoy post-dinner activities with family. "After dinner, she says she will be able to focus more on playing Taboo with her family than on thinking about grabbing another piece of pie," she notes.
This shift in focus aligns with what Dr. Jastreboff emphasizes to her patients: "It's about family, friends and spending time with those you love. The turkey is just gravy." As GLP-1 drugs continue to gain popularity, they're not just changing individual waistlines but potentially transforming how Americans celebrate their most food-centric holidays.
