329. GLP-1s with Dr. Salas-Whalen

You Are Not Broken

Kelly Casperson, MD

Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on the You Are Not Broken podcast, I'm joined by the incredible Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen, an expert in obesity medicine who breaks down the real science behind GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. Spoiler: they’ve actually been around since 2005 for diabetes, and only now are we waking up to their potential in treating obesity as the complex disease it is—not a failure of willpower. We talk about how COVID changed the national conversation on obesity, shifting it from “personal choice” to a serious health risk that deserves real medical treatment. We get into how GLP-1s work, why maintaining muscle is critical during weight loss, and the often-ignored psychological shifts that happen when your body changes rapidly. Dr. Salas-Waelin also clears up the noise: Are GLP-1s safe? Are they just for the ultra-rich? Will they be lifelong meds or stepping stones? And what’s next in hormone-based obesity treatment? This is a must-listen if you’re using—or considering—GLP-1s, working in healthcare, or just want to understand what’s really going on behind the headlines. In this episode, we cover: Why GLP-1s aren’t actually new—and why that matters How COVID helped the world reframe obesity as a disease The importance of muscle preservation during weight loss How to make sure your protein intake supports your body What happens to your brain when your body changes fast Myths and misconceptions about the safety and use of GLP-1s The future of GLP-1s: personalized care, better formulations, and smarter dosing Why body composition (not just weight) should be part of the conversation This episode is about science, empowerment, and getting real with the tools we have to help people feel better in their bodies—inside and out. 🎧 Tune in and share with someone who's navigating weight, health, or hormones. https://www.nyendocrinology.com/ https://www.instagram.com/drsalaswhalen Pre Order Dr. Salas-Whalen's book "Weightless" Want more honest, empowering conversations like this one?⁠⁠Preorder my Next Book⁠⁠ share this episode, and leave a review to help others find this important work. Let's stop leaving women out of the conversation—especially when it comes to sex, health, and healing. Listen to my Tedx Talk: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Why we need adult sex ed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Take my Adult Sex Ed Master Class:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Interested in my sexual health and hormone clinic? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waitlist is open⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Midi Women's Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Designed by midlife experts, delivered by experienced clinicians, covered by insurance.Midi is the first virtual care clinic made exclusively for women 40+. Evidence-based treatments. Personalized midlife care.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.joinmidi.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the You Are Not Broken Podcast.
0:06.0	I'm your host, Dr. Kelly Casperson, a board-certified jurologist, thought leader, and conversation starter on midlife living, hormones, and sexuality.
0:16.0	Enjoy the show.
0:18.0	Hey everybody, welcome back to the You're Not Broken podcast.
0:20.0	GLP-1s, what are they? Are they for everybody? Will the price ever go down? And is there a best practice to take them? Thank you so much for my friend joining me today. Dr. Rosio Salas Whalen. Thank you for coming. Hi. Hi, everybody. Thank you for having me. And you were an endocrinologist in Manhattan in New York.
0:39.6	Yes, I'm endocrinologist, an obesity board certified in the city.
0:44.5	And I feel like, you know, when GLP1 started to get big, what, last year, you're like, yeah, we've been doing these forever.
0:51.0	They came out of nowhere, but they've actually been around for a while.
0:53.8	Can you give us a
0:54.3	history of them? Yeah. So the first FDA-approved GLP-1 back in 2005, and it was named Bayera,
1:02.7	and this was for type 2 diabetes. Now, back then, also an injection. They're all subcutaneous
1:08.7	injection. We have a normal one, but the body absorbs it better if it's subcutaneous. And it was first indicated for the treatment of type two diabetes. And then in 2010, that was a twice a day injection every day. Then in 2010 came victosa, Saxena in 2012, and this was one-a-day injection. Also for diabetes, then
1:30.2	2012 for weight loss independent of diabetes. Then 2017, the poster child of them, Ossempe
1:36.4	came out, and then 22, Wigobi, 2023 was Mungaro, and then last year, Sep.
1:47.0	And what made it big? Did Oprah make it big? Did the Kardashians make it big?
1:50.9	Like, was it media that made it big? Why did it explode all of a sudden?
1:55.1	I saw it with my own eyes. COVID. COVID made it big. And I'm going to tell you why. Because for the first time, people with obesity,
2:06.4	and we as a medical society got it, that obesity puts you in a risk mode, right? Before we used to
2:15.0	tell patients, if you don't lose weight in 20 years, you're going to develop
2:18.1	diabetes, you're going to have complications, arthritis, sleep apnea. But came COVID, a virus out of nowhere,
2:25.1	and people with obesity were having the highest mortality, the more critical care visits.
2:32.1	So patients with obesity got like a quick memo that the way that your body is right
	...

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