Chrissy Metz is opening up for the first time about her decision to use a GLP-1 medication.
The “This Is Us” actor, 45, was wary at first, she told TODAY. “I’m just not a girl who just wants to do something because some of my friends are doing it.”
But when a friend told her about the various ways the increasingly popular medications can improve health, Metz, who witnessed her father’s obesity-related complications, thought, “Oh, maybe I can get ahead of it.”
Once her doctors signed off, she decided to take the leap.
Now, she’s partnered with healthcare company Ro, which provides medications, such as GLP-1s, through telehealth. The class of drugs works by mimicking a hormone the body produces after eating, reducing cravings and creating a sense of fullness.
Metz said she knows GLP-1s don’t transform health immediately, but she decided to try something new after countless diets since age 9 and stints in group therapy, neither of which ever led to lasting weight loss.
“If nothing changes, nothing changes,” she said.
The changes, however, have already begun.
Most notably, Metz’s mind is no longer preoccupied with thoughts of food. “It’s, like, unbelievable,” she said.
She acknowledged she didn’t believe it when people said they didn’t deal with food noise, the preoccupation with eating and their next meal, after starting the medications. But she’s finally discovering the creative spaces her mind goes to when her thoughts have the space to roam.
“It’s a whole lifestyle change,” Metz said Monday. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, I’m going to take a medication because it’s not the easy way out.’ I think a lot of people think, ‘Oh, it’s a magic wand,’ and no, in fact you have to be more diligent.”
“It’s good for me because I’m really putting myself first, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but I have to really put into practice now,” she added.
In her latest role as Angélique in Broadway’s “& Juliet,” Metz has noticed a boost in her stamina performing eight shows per week. Her menstrual cycle has regulated; she’s less inflamed; her joints “feel better,” she said; and her measurements have already changed, requiring costume adjustments.
As for the number on the scale, Metz isn’t concerning herself with that. “I try not to focus so much [on] a number because that can be overwhelming. And I think that that becomes the new obsession,” she said.
Instead, she’s finding herself opting for a wider range of things to consume, from food to music and television, her mind now zeroed in on, “What’s going to benefit me in the long run?”
She’s discovering her physical strength, too. In addition to the walking and dancing she does on stage, Metz began strength training under the guidance of a trainer a year ago, a critical choice, she said, as she enters perimenopause. The World Health Organization also recommends it for those taking GLP-1 drugs.
For anyone considering a GLP-1, she encourages doing your research first. “Nothing is for everybody, and I think it’s important to be skeptical about anything we consume, put in our bodies, watch, listen to,” she said.
She suggests speaking to your doctor or another trusted health professional before making your final decision — and bracing yourself for the possibility that people might talk.
Metz is sure of it in her case. She said she knows she’ll be the subject of scrutiny because of her medication choice.
“No matter what I do, people are going to talk, but nobody’s in my body every day. Nobody is in my life every day. Nobody’s gone through the trauma I’ve gone through,” she said.
Do what’s right for you and your own health, she added.
