Managing GLP‑1 Side Effects for Weight Loss Without Losing Muscle (Justin Silver) | Ep 358
Get 10% off SymptoGuard to manage GLP‑1 side effects and stay consistent with your eating and training.
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Are GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic secretly stalling your progress? Why are so many users quitting despite major weight loss?
I talk with Justin Silver, founder of SymptoGuard, who watched his father battle severe Ozempic side effects that nearly took his life. Justin shares the real reasons users struggle on GLP-1s and how these can derail your fitness and muscle goals even while losing weight. If you're taking or considering GLP-1s, this episode will help you manage side effects, protect your protein intake, and make the drugs actually work for you.
Today, you’ll learn all about:
0:00 – Intro
2:13 – Age, side effects, and body stress
4:49 – Justin’s father's Ozempic story
6:16 – What’s really causing the distress
8:23 – Lifestyle habits reduce symptoms
11:43 – Top 2 side effects that derail progress
14:15 – The problem with food noise
19:02 – What’s in SymptoGuard and why
21:57 – Clinical results: 50% less nausea
25:24 – GLP-1 trends: fewer injections, more side effects
28:44 – What doctors need to understand
33:32 – Where to learn more and get support
Episode resources:
Visit witsandweights.com/symptoguard to learn more, view the ingredient label, etc.
Instagram: @symptoguard and @thejustinsilver
Facebook: @Symptoguard
Youtube: @SymptoGuard
Protect Muscle While Managing GLP-1 Side Effects
As GLP-1 medications become a standard tool for weight loss, many users face nausea, fatigue and gastrointestinal discomfort that can derail strength training and protein intake. If you rely on drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy to shift the needle on body composition, you also need a plan to preserve muscle mass and maintain performance. Below you’ll find practical, evidence-based strategies to tackle side effects, support your nutrition, and keep your workouts on track.
Before diving into tactics, remember that one in seven Americans now uses a GLP-1 medication and over half of them stop within a year. Side effects rank as the second biggest reason for quitting. By addressing symptoms proactively, you can improve adherence and protect the muscle you worked so hard to build.
Understanding GLP-1 Medications and Their Impact on Muscle
GLP-1 drugs work by suppressing appetite and slowing gastric emptying, which helps reduce calorie intake. However this slowed transit time also means nutrients and water move through your digestive tract more slowly. Common physiological effects include:
Reduced absorption of calories and protein
Dehydration from lower fluid intake
Electrolyte imbalance due to altered digestion
If you do not replace lost nutrients, your body may draw on muscle tissue to meet energy needs. That increases the risk of lean mass loss and slows your metabolic rate, making long-term fat loss harder.
Common Side Effects and How They Affect Your Routine
Before you can protect muscle you need to know which symptoms cause the most interruption:
Nausea and dizziness often flare up after each injection or first thing in the morning
Constipation or diarrhea result from slowed movement through the gastrointestinal tract
Fatigue and low energy stem from lower caloric and fluid intake
These effects can make you skip training sessions, reduce protein servings or cut back on overall food volume. Over weeks and months that adds up to less muscle protein synthesis and a drop in strength.
Evidence-Based Strategies to Tame Side Effects
Rather than juggling half a dozen separate supplements, choosing a combined formula can simplify your routine and target multiple pathways at once. Look for a product that includes:
Probiotics and prebiotics to support healthy gut flora and regularity
Vitamin B12 and Coenzyme Q10 to boost cellular energy production
Ginger root and magnesium to calm nausea and relieve mild cramps
In a double blind clinical trial with more than 120 participants, those using an all-in-one supplement reported a 50 percent reduction in gastrointestinal discomfort and nausea compared to placebo. Improved comfort means better consistency in both nutrition and training.
Nutrition Tactics to Preserve Muscle Mass
Even with side effects under control, defending lean tissue requires focused eating strategies:
Hit 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. Distribute intake over 3 to 5 meals to maximize muscle protein synthesis.
Choose easy-to-digest protein sources such as Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean poultry and fish when appetite is low.
Use protein supplements (whey isolate or collagen peptides) immediately after workouts or during mild nausea to ensure adequate amino acid delivery.
Monitor fiber and fluid balance to support gut function. Aim for soluble fiber-rich foods like oats or bananas in small portions to avoid overloading the system.
Tracking your macronutrients and hydration can highlight gaps early and prevent catabolism of muscle tissue.
Lifestyle Adjustments for Consistency
Small tweaks in movement and routine can reduce side-effect severity:
Incorporate light exercise such as daily walking or gentle cycling to stimulate digestion and circulation.
Hydrate consistently with water or electrolyte blends to prevent lightheadedness and fatigue.
Adjust injection timing under medical guidance. Evening dosing may allow overnight symptom resolution and smoother mornings.
Build accountability through coaching, group support or nutrition-training apps so you stick with meals and workouts even when side effects strike.
A reliable daily routine reduces the chance that discomfort will derail your progress.
Supplement Support
When you need targeted relief, simplified dosing makes all the difference. SymptoGuard combines helpful, evidence-based ingredients like probiotics, B12, CoQ10 and ginger into a single formula that addresses nausea, GI distress, and low energy to reduce supplement costs. For 10% off (the already-discounted price), visit witsandweights.com/symptoguard.
By integrating a solution like SymptoGuard with smart nutrition and lifestyle habits, you create a system that keeps side effects from standing between you and your strength goals.
Bringing It All Together
Managing GLP-1 side effects is not about masking symptoms with the most powerful medications. It is about combining proven supplements, focused nutrition and consistent movement into a cohesive plan. When you tame nausea, optimize protein intake and maintain hydration, you protect muscle mass and ensure that weight loss does not come at the expense of strength.
For many, adding a purpose-built supplement like SymptoGuard is the last piece of the puzzle that turns a difficult journey into a sustainable transformation.
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Transcript
Philip Pape: 0:01
One in seven Americans are now on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wagovi, but here's what doctors aren't telling you Over half of users quit within a year, and a third of those quit because of difficult side effects that disrupt their training, their protein intake and thus their ability to maintain muscle mass when trying to make the necessary lifestyle changes. In parallel, my guest today watched his father get prescribed 19 different pills just to manage his ozempic side effects, and that nightmare sparked him to identify ways to manage them proactively. You'll discover why nausea and fatigue from GLP-1s aren't just uncomfortable but actively work against your health and fitness goals, the clinical data behind supplementation to help with these side effects, and tips to stay consistent with your routine and progress while dealing with these medications. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency.
Philip Pape: 1:04
I'm your host, philip Pape, and today I'm very excited to be discussing a topic that affects millions but gets very little attention in the space, and that's the impact of side effects when taking GLP-1s and what you can do about it. My guest is Justin Silver. He's a serial entrepreneur, founder and CEO of SymptoGuard, which he created after watching his father suffer through months of debilitating side effects hospital trips from Ozempic Now. Justin's background obviously gives him a unique perspective on both the business and personal sides of this huge health trend, and he's here to share what he's learned about the real world impact of these drugs and what we can actually do about it. So today you're going to learn the latest clinical research about managing these effects, specific strategies to protect your consistency, your training, your nutrition and thus, of course, your muscle mass if you're taking or planning to take these. And, justin, I just want to thank you so much for coming on the show.
Justin Silver: 2:02
Yeah, it's an honor to be here. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to discuss this with you. I think we have the opportunity to help millions of Americans and I'm excited to do it.
Philip Pape: 2:13
So let's start right off with talking about side effects and how big of an issue that is. Like if you had to create a pie chart of all the reasons people maybe quit the drugs or have issues with these, where would side effects fit into that?
Justin Silver: 2:25
So side effect? Someone already created the pie chart. Thankfully I don't need to be that guy. Side effects are the number two reason that people stop taking a GLP-1. Number one is actually having to do with injection frequency both the fear, the frustration and just having to deal with needles, even the ones that automatically go in. Injection frequency and fear is the number one reason people stop taking the GLP-1. And side effects are a close number two. They can have deep impact for people, especially the older you get, the more the side effects tend to impact people. So when you're talking about people in their 50s, 60s and 70s for them is a truly pressing issue.
Philip Pape: 3:08
So let's talk about what they are, why it affects people when they're older, because I do like those demographic segments, because it kind of gives us sometimes an insight into other things, because we do that all the time when we talk about health, longevity, training and so on. So tell us more about the side effects. Which ones are the most common, perhaps?
Justin Silver: 3:29
and then why the age difference? When it comes to people who are older, they've often been in the same way of doing things for decades. So if you suddenly are 25 or 30 or 35, your ability and your body's ability to change and deal with eating less, you know dealing with a different speed of your, you know the food moving through digestive tract. You're able to just deal with that a little bit better. Your body is more able to cope with those differences. I liken it to pregnancy. You know if a person in their early 20s gets pregnant, you know they have that kid. They walk out of the hospital the next day, assuming all goes well. But if you're 40 years old and you're having a baby, regardless of how successful or healthy you are and how healthy the baby is, it's still a big impact on your body. It's the same with GLP-1s, and so if you're losing 100 pounds at 65 years old and you've spent the past 35 years living a relatively sedentary life and overeating constantly, the impact is going to be much, much bigger.
Philip Pape: 4:30
Yeah, so that makes sense, and I know you have a personal story we alluded to in the intro here with your father that led to him taking a bunch of different medications to try to deal with the side effects and go to the hospital. I'm wondering if that would be a good story to segue into. What I'm curious about is the side effects, how they cascade and what you learn from with your father's experience?
Justin Silver: 4:53
essentially, yeah, of course. So my dad got notification from his doctor when he was 62 years old and he said unless you can lose 100 pounds, you're not going to see your next birthday. Type 2 diabetic, morbidly obese. And he was having this experience where either he changed his lifestyle significantly or he wasn't going to make it. And so we took a step back as a family, heard about Ozempic. He started taking Ozempic and within nine months he lost 100 pounds For him, truly a life-changing drug, something that's allowed him to survive and, you know, to become a healthier person.
Justin Silver: 5:29
But losing 100 pounds, you know, in your early 60s, is not a very simple or very easy thing on the body. And so, you know, he faced debilitating side effects nausea, dizziness, fatigue. He would go to the restroom you know, use that and then, when getting up, he would face that same nausea, that dizziness. He would end up passing out and my mom would find him on the floor passed out, and have to call an ambulance to come get him because she thought he was dead. He would, of course, go to the hospital and the hospital would recommend different supplements each time that he could take to help combat this nausea, this dizziness, this fatigue. And so he was taking everything from chromium to CoQ10, prebiotics to probiotics and more, and in the end he was taking 19 pills every single morning, and I knew there had to be a better way.
Philip Pape: 6:18
Okay, and physiologically, why is there so much distress? Is it the rapid change that leads to this cascade and the body just can't quite handle it through the liver, the thyroid, all of the systems that are supposed to handle load and stress, or what's going on there?
Justin Silver: 6:33
Yeah, so it's across the board. So some of it is from the actual drugs themselves. Slowing down your GI tract allows your body to absorb more nutrients from that food. That's great, you know. You're not, you know wasting as much, essentially. But when you slow that down, it not only pulls out the nutrients but it can also pull out the water and that could lead to constipation. You also are, you know, getting the actual side effects of your body changing. So suddenly you have gaps in your nutrition because you used to eat a you know 3,800 calorie diet that, while you know overeating and unhealthy, it generally filled your nutritional needs. And now suddenly your hunger is evaporated, your food cravings are minimized and your seeking of nutritional food might not be all there. So your body is changing. You're losing weight, you're not consuming enough food and oftentimes there are gaps in that nutrition. So, across the board, you're getting just a massive change in your body and your mind and the side effects are a result of all of that.
Philip Pape: 7:41
So that makes a lot of sense. Constipation you know the gut issues that are happening. I imagine your microbiome.
Philip Pape: 7:47
We don't even begin to understand that yet and what's happening, even the body changing, I mean even when you're doing it with just lifestyle. We know that you have to be aware of, okay, if you're in a big calorie deficit, not to have malnutrition, to eat enough fiber and nutrients and everything. So I'm curious are there certain patients? Okay, you mentioned age what about the lifestyle differences? And what I mean by that is I'm sure there are a lot of people on Ozempic that are trying to lift weights and eat more protein and there are a lot that aren't. Do we see segmentation in that regard, where the side effects are minimized a bit from natural lifestyle changes before we go to then supplementation?
Justin Silver: 8:26
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Silver: 8:27
I think you know, especially if you're younger and so your body's able to change a little bit easier.
Justin Silver: 8:33
If you're eating a nutrition filled diet that's got protein and it has, you know, a good mix of vegetables, if you're doing all of that, you might still face some side effects, but you lower the likelihood drastically. So when I talk to peers and I say, hey, if you're taking a GLP-1 and you're 25 to 35 years old and you're doing everything right, the likelihood that you're going to have side effects is actually quite low. And you're not really somebody who is a SymptoGuard prime customer or someone who that should be top of mind where we're targeting as someone who is, you know, in their forties, fifties, sixties, seventies. These people have spent a lifetime of a sedentary lifestyle. Generally, you know, nutrition is not where it could or should be, and we are helping to fill those gaps for those people because you start losing a little bit of weight. Taking a GLP-1 does not mean you are a healthier person. It's a whole bundle of stuff that can make you healthy and SymptoGuard plugs in to be part of that equation.
Philip Pape: 9:38
for millions of Americans, hey guys, I want to give a quick shout out to SymptoGuard for sponsoring today's episode and, honestly, it's a perfect fit given everything Justin and I have been digging into. If you're taking a GLP-1 med like Ozempic or Manjaro, you probably know that these side effects can hit really hard Nausea, low energy, digestive issues, nutrient absorption and that can make it tough to stay on track with your training, with your protein, the lifestyle changes that you're trying to make, and just feel like yourself when going through this process. What I love about SymptoGuard is it was built for these with ingredients that you would recognize, that I would vouch for, like B12 and probiotics and ginger. It's a solid evidence backed option for some of the side effects, like nausea. In fact, in a 2025 study, 92% of users reported reduced nausea compared to just 24% on placebo, and that's a big deal when you're just trying to be consistent and when the side effects are the number one reason most people stop taking these meds. So if you are on this journey and you want to feel better while preserving muscle and staying consistent, give SymptoGuard a try. Check it out, just click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash SymptoGuard for 10% off your order. That's witsandweightscom. Slash SymptoGuard or click the link in the show notes.
Philip Pape: 11:00
Now back to our conversation with Justin. Okay, and that makes sense. I appreciate the nuance because I definitely have spoken to people who are. You know, there's conflicts of interest. We people have to have their skepticism up, and that's I wanted to bring you on, because I know that you do your best to support all of this with what the evidence says, and you're trying to help people who have a legitimate concern with a tool that they're trying to use in combination with lifestyle and it's not for everyone, so we want to be honest about that. But also, I appreciate you saying like look, a lot of people face these side effects and it's the number two reason people quit and this is the tool we want to use, so let's try to make it all work together. Having said that, when we talk about the quitting from the side effects, what does the segmentation data show in terms of which side effect, or two, is most prevalent and causes people to quit?
Justin Silver: 11:46
Yeah. So the two that stick out are nausea and what is defined as general GI tract discomfort, gi, gastrointestinal. You know this is anything to do with your stomach, your bowels, it, you know, ranges, constipation and diarrhea. It's all that discomfort all in one. So nausea and GI tract discomfort are the two biggest issues. They impact you when you wake up, when you go to bed. They have that kind of consistent feeling, things like dizziness, that often comes at a certain moment when you might be dehydrated because again, your craving for even water is minimized and so you might be dehydrated. So it hits you when you get up or when you sit down. Certain movements might trigger that, but you're not seeing dizziness, just if you're sitting down on the couch. And you know, I think for all of these side effects they have their moments where they would flare up the most. But generally that kind of consistent nausea, especially nausea post-injection or nausea in the morning, as well as constant GI tract discomfort, those are the hardest hitting side effects.
Philip Pape: 12:50
Yeah, I could imagine that being an unpleasant feeling just from having one day of GI distress from like a bad protein bar. I can't imagine you know months and months when you're trying to use this. So then that raises the question for people who don't quit the drug and just deal with the side effects. What does it then lead to while you're on the drug? Does it reduce the efficacy? Does it change your eating and lifestyle patterns as a result?
Justin Silver: 13:13
Yeah, I mean you think about it like let's imagine you've had nausea all the time, right, I think?
Justin Silver: 13:19
you know, you wouldn't want to eat. Yeah, I mean, that would be just a bad way to live. You know, a big part of the reason people are taking these drugs in the first place is they want to live a healthier life. Right, weight loss is the precursor to living a healthy life. Just seeing a number on a scale is meaningless If you can't walk and function. People are losing weight in order to spend time with their grandchildren, their children, in order to move around the world, to get in and out of their car easier, to feel good, and so that's what this all comes down to. And so these side effects which are, you know, on your pathway to feeling good, if they're making it really hard to do that, you can imagine. You know you stop taking the drugs. It doesn't make it a pleasant experience and it could, just, you know, derail that progress. So it's really about how do we live this healthy life?
Philip Pape: 14:08
And does it impact specific macro or micronutrients? And what I mean by that is do you get less of an appetite for certain things, like less of an appetite for protein, or you know anything, in particular fruit, I don't know.
Justin Silver: 14:19
Yeah. So there's a concept in the GLP-1 world called food noise. It's basically that voice in your head that's saying you need to be eating food and then when you walk past our world, our environment and big food that has kind of trained us to seek food, you see McDonald's as you're driving through your town and then you suddenly are craving physically craving McDonald's. You think about the French fries, the burgers, the soda, all of those things. This minimizes that across the board. What it does not do is make you a healthy eater, and so that's still on you. But I believe in the American people and I think that most people want to eat healthy.
Justin Silver: 15:00
The reason we're not eating healthy, we're not living a healthy life, is because we're being chemically trained to not do that right. There's billion dollar you know a hundred billion dollar corporations whose goal is to make you buy more food and not be satiated by it. So we're all living in that world. We're chemically trained and addicted to this food. But now, suddenly, if you didn't crave it, if you weren't addicted and you could give yourself that choice, I think that many Americans are making the right choice and they're having a good protein filled meal but a diversity of food in there. If you're given the chance to escape that chemically addicted side of this, you have the potential to make those good choices. So there isn't necessarily a oh. Suddenly you're not craving fats, you're not craving carbohydrates and you're going to crave protein. It just limits that completely protein. It just limits that completely. So your cravings go down in totality. But then it becomes an easier choice to eat right, if you're suddenly not chemically forced to eat incorrectly.
Philip Pape: 16:11
Yeah, yeah, and I would agree with that characterization. I think that you hit on one of what I see as three major prongs with this, the first being what you just said, which is the food environment and the food noise, and I think that's coupled with what makes it very difficult for some individually, which is the brain-related genetics that we are well aware of now with appetite we had Dr Stephan Guionet on the show talking about this great guy in the field, right, researching this. And then the other prong would be the yo-yo dieting and the kind of dieting history we know that there's an exacerbated impact of a dysfunctional appetite and hunger signals from a repeated history of dieting. So I'm just kind of agreeing with you that when you combine all those, for some people it's such a huge hill to climb to get over that that they just need a tool to say, okay, let's take away that the noise, focus on the signal, and then we can build our lifestyle.
Philip Pape: 17:01
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Having said that, even when they're doing that and then they have side effects, do the side effects then cause them to make any different choices with their eating, for example? I'm thinking like nutrient malabsorption you mentioned. So does it affect anything special that is worth mentioning what I'm getting at.
Justin Silver: 17:22
Yeah, I mean, think about it like this If you're nauseous, you're probably going to not eat enough, and so it might not necessarily be the choices. But the situation is pretty simple. If your stomach is really hurting and you're having issues going to the bathroom, you're going to eat less. It's just like when you're sick in any way. And when you're sick or when you're eating less, it becomes harder to have that right mix of nutrients and to fill that all out. And that's where you get into this cycle of side effects and then malnutrition, and then side effects and malnutrition. And so you know we're here to help break that.
Justin Silver: 17:57
But you know people are going through these journeys because it's a lot worse to be obese. You know, and that's the fact, you know you have this whole. We're talking about side effects like nausea and, you know, dizziness, gi tract. But having type two diabetes, having neuropathy in your fingers, being unable to move around the world, you know this is worse than all of that, yes, and so we want to solve that and we're part of the system that's helping us solve that.
Philip Pape: 18:27
Part of the system. I love that. That's the trigger word for me in a good way. System, because we talk about building your system, which is a combination of components right, it could be different tools, tools to support those tools, lifestyle. And there's a funny story Somebody in our group coaching program. He is concerned that he's not eating enough, he's on these drugs and he's trying to fix his lifestyle. Let's just say, and his concern not even having side effects is I'm actually eating too little for what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to split the difference. So it's even more important that if the side effects make that worse, that we deal with them. So let's talk about I want to talk about the ingredients in SymptoGuard because I want people to know that I advocate for evidence-based solutions.
Philip Pape: 19:08
We don't fear monger. I don't want to deal with any weird, non-supported herbs from some country that we've never heard of. Maybe there is something like that. Yeah, there's no foreign herbs here.
Justin Silver: 19:21
You know, really, this is as simple as you can imagine. We are the all in one. So my dad went to the hospital and he was. They told him take zinc, take chromium, take CoQ10, take prebiotics, take probiotics. We put that all in one, so you get two things when you take an all in one. Number one it's easier. I don't know if you've ever tried to swallow 19 pills in one morning. I can tell you from my dad's experience it sucks and it's not the way you want to live life. And even though you're taking these injections and you're trying to live a better life, taking 19 pills a day does not help you lead that life.
Justin Silver: 20:01
The second thing is we're saving people some money. You know GNC and some of these big you know pharmaceutical guys. They're going to or not, pharmaceutical big supplement guys. They make money when you buy 12 different bottles. You buy a bottle of CoQ10 for $20, a bottle of vitamin D for $20, a bottle of vitamin B12 for $20. Yeah, they make more money. We're putting that all into one and we're charging less than $50. If you're on the subscription, it's less than a dollar a day. We're really trying to make this affordable for people, because it should be. You're already paying a bunch of money for these drugs. Very few people are covered by insurance for GLP-1. So you're self-paying for these drugs oftentimes between $179 and $500 for a brand name medication. Let's not add on $200 a month worth of supplements. Let's try and do that for $1 a day.
Philip Pape: 20:56
Yeah, exactly, and, listeners, by the way, you're going to see, I'm going to include a link in the show notes, for because we were able to arrange a deal to get you a discount, a nice discount, so we'll throw a link in there. But you can check out the label, you can look at all the ingredients. You'll see B12, you'll see ginger, CoQ10, very normal stuff that we've talked about a million times. It's funny. You mentioned the 19 pills. I actually take a lot of pills, but only because for performance stuff. But years ago I used to make my own pre-workout because it was hard to find a pre-workout with what we now know to be like kind of the bread and butter right Caffeine, L-citrulline, beta alanine and like one other I'm forgetting, and now you can get that in every pre-workout practically on the market. But I actually had like a segmented tub with all the powders with special scoops for each to get the right amounts mixed every day.
Philip Pape: 21:43
So I know what you mean. You got to be like super dedicated if you got to do that, but it's a pain. So having said that, then I know you guys have clinical trial results showing outcomes from these and I'm curious what those showed how significant improvements were in different measures, different side effects compared to placebo.
Justin Silver: 22:04
Yeah. So we did a double-blinded trial 126 participants so the results are statistically significant. On average, people saw a 50% reduction in side effects. That's beyond what they had for the placebo, and so this is, you know, truly significant. You know we are positively impacting people's lives and that was generally across the board for nausea, dizziness, fatigue and GI tract discomfort. So those are the things that we are focused on and where we really made an impact that was all paid for out of our budget.
Justin Silver: 22:42
You know this has been bootstrapped up until now because for me, you know, I know there's a lot in the market. I know a lot of people are spending a lot of money and they're self-paying for GLP-1s. We're going to only sell them something that works, and so you know it's not for everybody, but for those people who are experiencing the side effects and we are filling those nutrition gaps. We are really making an impact and we have 100% satisfaction guarantee because, again, we know it's not going to work for everybody. So if you're taking SymptoGuard, you're not happy on it, all you have to do is reach out to us and we're happy to refund you, because we know we're going to be helping millions of Americans. If you don't fit that because it's just not the right supplement for you. That's completely okay.
Philip Pape: 23:29
Awesome, yeah, no, it's good to hear that. It's good that you've tested these for listeners who want to try these out and do. We're going to hold Justin to his promise, of course. Let me know if it works and let me know if it doesn't, and we'll keep him honest, and I'm sure the proof is in the pudding. So when people are taking these then do you see any sort of? I guess what I'm asking here is have you measured any lifestyle modifications or long-term effects once you've mitigated the side effects from your drug specifically, or is it just assumed that, okay, the symptoms are gone, so ergo it's going to be successful?
Justin Silver: 24:05
Yes, we don't have any kind of longitudinal over multiple years type of clinical trials or customer trials yet, but what we do have is evidence that we have this day on their GLP-1 while taking SymptoGuard. And if you're taking the GLP-1 in order to lead a healthier lifestyle, minimize food noise and be able to eat a healthier diet without being impacted by big food and chemical addiction to food, we are allowing you to do that for a longer period of time. So my hope is I can come back to you in a year or two and say here are all these case studies and all this experience, but right now, the main thing that we can say is we're making it easier for you to stay on a GLP-1. And that's what you want to do in the first place.
Philip Pape: 24:51
Makes total sense, pretty easy to understand the cause and effect there. So, looking ahead in the future of these drugs, right, we'd say GLP-1s, which admittedly is a simplification because there are now dual agonists, there's now triple agonist drugs. There's so many things that operate on different pathways and different hormones. Are we looking at worse side effects profiles for those Like what's going on there?
Justin Silver: 25:12
You know it's all kind of happening in real time, but here's what I'll say. In the beginning of the pod we talked about the number one reason why people stop taking a GLP-1, and that's injection fear, fatigue or frustration. That's the first time I've used those three Fs, but that sounds great. We're going to use that in the future Injection fear, fatigue and frustration.
Justin Silver: 25:41
And so that, if any of your listeners are very familiar with the industry Novo Nordisk is the maker of Ozempic they have set their targets and their research targets on actually minimizing the number of injections. The frequency Right now it's weekly. Their goal is within the next year to have that at monthly and within three years to actually have that at quarterly Kind of. I mean a wildly impactful thing. At that point you could just go to a doctor and they would be able to do it. I mean a wildly impactful thing. At that point you could just go to a doctor and they would be able to do it. I mean it's only quarterly. The impact to your life would be, I mean, so minimal compared to weekly. But that does, as of now, temporarily worsen side effects. And so for us, you know, the goal is to plug right into that system. We want to be able to help people stay on these drugs longer in a healthier way, and to be able to feel those effects without feeling terrible. That's our goal.
Philip Pape: 26:28
Yeah, no, that's good. That's a good point about frequency injection too and how that would affect side effects because of the kind of the curve of that. So you know. Another question related to this then, in the future of the space is like what are your competitors? Are there competitors in this space? Are there more targeted interventions coming? Are you guys looking to continue to improve the formula or change the formula? I should say Maybe it doesn't need to be improved world, like you said.
Justin Silver: 27:01
You know, at some point you had a bottle and you were trying to create your own formulations. You know I love to think of you know Brian Johnson I'm sure many of your listeners know him, the good and the bad, but he does say some things I love. He says every calorie in his diet fights to be there, and that's how I think about supplements to support the GLP-1, where every piece of that supplement needs to fight to be there. It needs to be proven, it needs to have an impact and if not, why are we taking it? And so that's really what we're doing Right now. We're focused on these side effects. There is absolutely a world where we can expand that, offering protein being a big thing that is often lacking in the diets of people who get on GLP-1s. There's something there and, long-term, we think there are lots of different drugs with lots of different side effects GLP-1s and others and to be able to support along the range of side effects in general, there's a big potential impact.
Philip Pape: 27:57
No, that's great. Yeah, you know those listening who are thinking about taking them or currently taking them or can empathize with what you're talking about. Yeah, supplements I always think of a hierarchy right, kind of what you just mentioned fighting for the space. I think of it as a pyramid where you know you've got your training and your protein and adherence and like the big basics at the bottom and then supplements are kind of near the top. But for some people the supplements might rise further up, depending on their needs. So I love that message. And then maybe I'm going to get you in trouble here, but what would you say to doctors and prescribing physicians when it comes to these drugs and the side effects? Because I feel like there's big gaps in prescriber education on these, as well as gaps in the advice and support that comes along with these drugs. Sometimes it's just prescribed and other times there's okay, you need to maybe lift weights or exercise or move and eat your protein and things like that. What is your message for the healthcare industry?
Justin Silver: 28:55
Yeah, I mean I think the message for the healthcare industry is, first and foremost, kind of to double down on your point. You can't just start taking a GLP-1 and continue to live a sedentary life, eat less and think that equals a healthy outcome. Simply losing weight doesn't mean you're getting healthier. It's a step in the right direction, but there's a lifestyle change, there's leading a more active lifestyle, and that's simply walking. For a lot of people, that's simply walking. For a lot of people, that's just walking around, and so it doesn't need to be. You're in the gym, you know, pumping iron for, you know, for five days a week.
Justin Silver: 29:29
It's small changes that can have a big impact. Walking is a huge one of them, and also the natural movement helps to minimize GI tract discomfort because you're actually getting up and walking around. There's a physical element to that as well. So I think just pushing people to say it's not just that you eat less, it's that you need to change your whole lifestyle that's, I think, the number one thing.
Justin Silver: 29:53
The second thing is that a lot of telehealth providers and general healthcare providers, their first thought when they hear nausea is actually to prescribe Zofran, and Zofran is like dropping an atomic bomb when you need a small punch. I mean, the nausea drug given to patients on chemotherapy is a very, very powerful anti-nausea medication, very powerful anti-nausea medication. Most people on a GLP-1 are facing mild nausea, slight nausea that they want to minimize, and so I'd say it's a really good idea to look in the middle before we go straight Zofran to say are there supplements like SymptoGuard or others who are able to fill that gap for us? Those are the two big things a great lifestyle, and let's focus on having the right kind of prescribed drug or supplement that's going to meet them where their needs are.
Philip Pape: 30:53
Yeah, what came to me was minimum effective dose and also the opportunity cost, like when you have an alternative now that helps you avoid taking something overly powerful. That's great because that didn't exist in the market before and that is a net positive from just that perspective alone. And look my wife when she had morning sickness and chewed the ginger gum. I know how powerful simple herbs like ginger you know. Is it an herb? What do you call ginger?
Justin Silver: 31:17
I guess it's a root right, a root exactly.
Philip Pape: 31:22
But how powerful something like that can be, and you've done the research to say, okay, here let's pick the right things, put them together into a supplement, all right, so, listeners, a few things coming out of this. Here is you know, justin's obviously an expert in the area and seems to care about this, is passionate about it. He's going to be in our Physique University doing a private live Q&A for anybody who's in there, and if you're not in there, another reason to join, because he's going to be in there answering your questions pretty soon. But is there anything else that you wish I'd asked Justin about this space that people need to know?
Justin Silver: 31:50
Man, you asked a lot of great questions For me. I'm on a GLP-1 myself. I think this is going to have far-reaching impact. One in seven Americans are taking a GLP-1 right now. That's expected to go to one in four. We've already seen results on weight loss, but we're seeing results in anti-addiction and leading a healthier lifestyle, and this feels like we're in not even the first inning, but we're kind of in batting practice for the baseball game that is the GLP-1 industry, and I'm just really excited to be able to be in that world, to be able to help people in my smallest way and to be making an impact.
Philip Pape: 32:30
Yeah, I agree, and I can tell you do it with a smile and the positivity and the energy is obviously there. So I appreciate it. And last thing, last thing, man, where can people learn about you and your work?
Justin Silver: 32:40
Oh man, check out SymptoGuardcom. It's the best place to learn about SymptoGuard and what we do, how we do it, why we do it. There's so much great stuff on there. A lot of hard people have made that site look amazing. And then, you know, also check out at SymptoGuard across different channels. We have a SymptoGuard Facebook group where we have people who are taking GLP-1s, symptoguard, all of that. They're able to get in there and have discussions about the experience. You can follow me on Instagram at TheJustinSilver if you want to check me out. I think I'm like the second or third most famous Justin Silver, so you can find me at the Justin Silver and, either way, I just hope that you get a chance to learn a little bit more. And a fun fact, I'll let you in on something. If you see any pictures of our bottle and there's a hand model holding that bottle, it is, in fact, my hand, so I am a famous hand model in the world of Simtoe art.
Philip Pape: 33:41
That's pretty cool. All right guys, check that out. I'm a big fan of education, so I definitely want you guys listening to get as educated as possible. Check out their Instagram at SymptoGuard. Check out the Justin Silver on Instagram and then, instead of going straight to SymptoGuardcom, click the link in the show notes and you'll get 10% off SymptoGuard and it is going to teach you about um. It's going to take you to the site anyway and you could actually go to witsandweightscom slash SymptoGuard. So it's easy on you guys witsandweightscom slash SymptoGuard, or hit them up for the education on Instagram. Justin, it's been a pleasure. Hopefully people can learn more about you and the product as they check things out. Everybody be skeptical, as always, but I think this is good stuff. That's why I'm vouching for it and I appreciate you coming on, justin.
Justin Silver: 34:22
Thanks so much for having me, man, this was great.
