Weight Loss And ...

Holly Wyatt & James Hill

Your go-to hangout for everything weight loss… and beyond! “Weight Loss and…” is brought to you by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and hosted by seasoned experts in weight management, Dr. James Hill and Dr. Holly Wyatt. We’re your friendly guides through the maze of weight loss, but with a fun twist. We’re not here to preach the latest fad diet or promise a miracle workout. Instead, we’re all about embracing the journey, acknowledging there’s more than one way to hit your health goals, and having a good laugh while we’re at it. We get it: weight loss can be tough, and sometimes pretty serious business. But why can’t it also be enjoyable? With a side of humor, we’ll bring you science-backed insights, real-life stories, and some hard truths. (Spoiler alert: there’s no magic answer - but that doesn’t mean we can’t find what works best for you.) “Weight Loss and…” is your inclusive space to explore, question, and learn — and to feel part of a community along the way. This isn’t just about shedding pounds. It’s about gaining perspective, building better habits, and enjoying the ride. So if you’re up for honest conversations about weight loss - spiced with a little science and a whole lot of fun - pull up a chair, plug in those earbuds, and let’s see where this journey takes us.

  1. 2d ago

    Why Losing Weight Might Not Make You Happier

    You’ve hit your goal weight, or you’re close. So why doesn’t life feel as different as you expected? For many people, the number on the scale was never really the point. It was a stand-in for feeling confident, joining in, and finally enjoying life. Today’s weight loss medications are helping people lose weight that once felt out of reach. A large new BMJ analysis asked whether quality of life is keeping pace, and the answer may make you rethink what success means. Join Holly and Jim as they dig into the findings, why feeling better and weighing less don’t always move together, and share what they’d do about it. You’ll leave with practical, doable steps you can start now, long before you reach your goal weight. Press play to find out what to work on alongside your weight loss. Discussed on the episode: What a huge new review of nearly 100,000 participants revealed about weight loss and quality of lifeThe surprising gap between how much weight people lose and how much better life getsWhy “quality of life” and “happiness” aren’t quite the same thing, and why the difference mattersThe question Holly asks every patient that gets underneath the number they say they wantWhy waiting to be happy until you reach your goal could work against you.A simple fill-in-the-blank exercise to uncover what you really want your weight loss to make possibleThe “life score” you may want to track alongside your weightFeeling better but being disappointed is completely normal, and what to do if the medication itself is part of the problem.A rapid-fire round that puts the hosts on the spot, including a food noise question Holly says isn’t fair.The pattern Holly admits she’s guilty of, and what it means for celebrating your winsResources mentioned: Nong et al., "Comparative Effects of Drugs for Adults with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis," BMJ (2026).*Losing the Weight Loss Meds* book by James Hill and Holly WyattWeight Loss And… Episode 147: The Weight Comes Off Easy. Now What?Weight Loss And… Episode 146: Losing Weight on GLP-1s: Are You Moving More or Less Than Before?Weight Loss And… Episode 145: Are You Eating Healthier While Eating Less on GLP-1 Medications?

  2. Oct 14

    What Does Your Pharmacist Want You to Know About Weight Loss Medications?

    Your friend just started semaglutide. She got it online; it's "compounded," it has B12 in it, and it's only $199 a month. Sounds like a great deal, right? But what exactly is in that vial, who made it, and how much are you supposed to take? More and more people are facing these questions every day, and most of us don't know how to answer them. Join Holly and Jim as they welcome not one, not two, but three guests for the very first time: Misty Gaddis, pharmacy manager of medication compounding safety; Jessica Pescatore, clinical director of the Alabama Poison Information Center; and Richelle Chambliss, a clinical pharmacist who supports UAB's weight management clinics. Together, they pull back the curtain on compounded GLP-1s and share what your pharmacist wants you to know about weight loss medications, from dosing and side effects to insurance, access, and stopping and restarting. You'll come away with practical questions to ask and red flags to watch for before you inject anything. Discussed on the episode: Why "compounded" doesn't mean "generic," and the common misconception that could put you at riskThe real reason B12 shows up in so many online semaglutide products (and whether it's doing anything for your weight loss)What the Poison Center hears when dosing goes wrong, and why compounded products create a whole new level of riskThe surprising truth about why the cheapest option may not be the cheapest for longA tempting shortcut to save money that pharmacists urge you not to takeWhy the "best" dose may not be the highest oneWhat can happen when you stop and restart your medication on your ownThe red flags that should make you pause before taking anything you've ordered onlineThe underrated ways your pharmacist can help you succeed, and when to call themA question Holly and Jim have never asked in decades of weight loss work, and why it's now on the table

    What Does Your Pharmacist Want You to Know About Weight Loss Medications?
  3. Sep 30

    Losing Weight on GLP-1s: Are You Moving More or Less Than Before?

    If losing weight made movement easier, wouldn’t you naturally start moving more? It’s the kind of assumption that feels almost too obvious to question: shed 40 or 50 pounds, and your knees stop aching, the stairs get easier, and you’re out there living more. Holly and Jim certainly believed it. But in the age of GLP-1 medications, where rapid, substantial weight loss is now common, does this assumption still hold up? In this episode, Holly and Jim put that belief to the test with real data. Diving into three separate studies (including brand-new, cutting-edge research), they explore what happens to physical activity levels once people start losing weight on GLP-1s. The results might surprise you, and as Jim warns early on, they might leave you feeling a little deflated too. But stick around, because Holly and Jim don’t just deliver the bad news; they explain why it matters and what you can actually do about it. Discussed on the episode The surprising step-count numbers researchers found when they measured GLP-1 users with wearable devices and why the results left Jim unimpressed.What happened when scientists tracked the same people’s activity levels before and after starting a GLP-1 medication (hint: it wasn’t what anyone expected)Why a control group matters so much in this kind of research, and what’s still missing from the pictureThe difference between “free living” activity and structured exercise, and which one may be quietly decliningA few theories on why physical activity might dip on these medications, and why even Jim isn’t fully convinced by any of themFive practical strategies for making sure your activity level doesn’t get left behind while the pounds come offHolly and Jim’s honest, personal reactions to research that challenges something they’ve believed for years

  4. Sep 16

    Pop Quiz: What Do You Really Know About Keeping Weight Off?

    Think you know what it takes to keep weight off? Most people can tell you how to lose weight, but ask them what actually predicts keeping it off, and the answers get shaky fast. That’s a problem, because losing weight and maintaining weight loss are two completely different biological and behavioral games, and confusing the two is one of the biggest reasons people yo-yo. In this episode, Holly and Jim put their listeners to the test literally. They’ve built a 20-question pop quiz covering everything from the hidden biology of metabolic adaptation to the real findings from the National Weight Control Registry, the groundbreaking study Jim co-founded three decades ago. And because so much has changed recently, they’re also tackling the question everyone’s asking: does any of this still apply in the age of GLP-1 medications? Grab a pen (or play along in your head) and see how many you get right. Some answers might surprise you, and a few might change how you think about your own weight loss journey for good. Discussed on the episode: Why the biology of losing weight and the biology of keeping it off are two entirely different processes, and why not knowing this is setting you up to regainWhat really happens to your metabolism after weight loss, and whether “metabolic adaptation” is something you should actually be worried aboutThe hunger hormone changes that don’t go away and what that means for your day-to-day lifeThe real math behind the “energy gap,” a concept Jim and Holly coined themselvesWhat the National Weight Control Registry’s 30,000+ members actually do differently, including the surprisingly unglamorous form of exercise most of them rely onWhether successful maintainers take weekends and holidays “off” from their habitsThe truth behind the infamous “95% of diets fail” statistic.Whether losing weight slowly really does make you more likely to keep it off.Why willpower isn’t the key predictor of long-term success and what isWhat happens to the body when someone stops taking a GLP-1 medication, and whether that counts as the medication “failing”The most vulnerable window for regain during medication-assisted weight loss and why most people prepare for the wrong phaseA rapid-fire round covering daily weighing, running vs. walking, and the most overrated maintenance strategy out there

  5. Sep 9

    What Should We Eat? Evolution, Diet, and Eating Well with Daniel Lieberman

    What did humans actually evolve to eat? With paleo, keto, vegan, Mediterranean, and a thousand other diets all claiming to be "the one," it's no wonder people feel whiplashed every time they walk into a grocery store. But what if the answer isn't found in the latest diet book, but in millions of years of human evolution? Join Holly and Jim as they welcome back Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman for a second appearance on the show. This time, Dan isn't talking exercise. He's talking food. Drawing on his new book, "Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals About Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well," Dan explains why there's no single "evolutionary diet," why our supermarkets are a completely unprecedented environment for the human brain, and why willpower alone was never going to be enough. And because Dan doesn't just study diets, he lives them. He shares the surprisingly rough personal experiments he and his wife put themselves through in the name of research. By the end of this episode, you'll understand exactly why eating well feels so hard in the modern world, and why that struggle has nothing to do with a lack of discipline. Discussed on the episode: Why an evolutionary biologist says there's no such thing as "the" diet humans evolved to eatThe "naturalistic fallacy" and why what our ancestors did isn't automatically what we should doWhat happened when Dan and his wife tried a raw food diet for several days (and why it ended with a bagel)The one natural food that's high in both sugar and fat, and what it reveals about why we crave certain foodsHow food processing quietly changed what's actually in your food, long before you ever open the packageWhy Dan calls modern ultra-processed foods "hyper-matched" to our brainsThe real reason low-carb and low-fat diets can both work, and why neither is right for everyoneWhat Dan learned trying the Atkins diet as a self-described "carboholic"Why the Mediterranean diet keeps coming out on top, and whether that's fair to other traditional diets around the worldHis take on the vegan vs. carnivore debate, and why he wouldn't attempt one of themA listener's question about why the same diet can work great for one person and fail for their siblingPractical advice for eating well on a tight grocery budgetThe one thing Dan wants every listener to remember about their own struggles with food.Resources mentioned: Dan Lieberman's book: "Fed Up: What Evolution Reveals About Food, Diet, Health, and Eating Well"

    What Should We Eat? Evolution, Diet, and Eating Well with Daniel Lieberman
  6. Sep 2

    Ten Key Decisions That Shape Your Weight Loss Success

    Most people trying to lose weight obsess over the what: what diet, what medication, what workout plan. But according to Holly and Jim, the real key to long-term success isn't found in any of those choices. It's found in a set of decisions most people never even realize they're making. In this episode, Holly and Jim count down the 10 decisions that determine whether a weight loss journey actually sticks. Some are questions you'd expect. Others might catch you completely off guard, including the one they say most listeners will never predict is number one. Whether you're just starting, deep into a GLP-1 medication, working to maintain weight you've already lost, or wondering if you're on the right plan at all, this countdown is built for you. So before you make your next move, find out if you've quietly been making these decisions by default or on purpose. Discussed on the episode: The very first decision Holly says most people skip entirely and why it might surprise you coming from two people who host a weight loss podcast.Why a number on the scale might not mean what you think it means, and what "success" should really be measured byA newer, often-overlooked decision that's only become critical in the age of powerful weight loss medicationsThe mindset shift that separates people who keep weight off from those who regain itWhy hitting a plateau might actually be a sign you're succeeding, not failing.The surprising, deeply personal decision Holly and Jim rank as number one one they say most listeners will guess wrong

5
out of 5
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About

Your go-to hangout for everything weight loss… and beyond! “Weight Loss and…” is brought to you by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and hosted by seasoned experts in weight management, Dr. James Hill and Dr. Holly Wyatt. We’re your friendly guides through the maze of weight loss, but with a fun twist. We’re not here to preach the latest fad diet or promise a miracle workout. Instead, we’re all about embracing the journey, acknowledging there’s more than one way to hit your health goals, and having a good laugh while we’re at it. We get it: weight loss can be tough, and sometimes pretty serious business. But why can’t it also be enjoyable? With a side of humor, we’ll bring you science-backed insights, real-life stories, and some hard truths. (Spoiler alert: there’s no magic answer - but that doesn’t mean we can’t find what works best for you.) “Weight Loss and…” is your inclusive space to explore, question, and learn — and to feel part of a community along the way. This isn’t just about shedding pounds. It’s about gaining perspective, building better habits, and enjoying the ride. So if you’re up for honest conversations about weight loss - spiced with a little science and a whole lot of fun - pull up a chair, plug in those earbuds, and let’s see where this journey takes us.

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