Ilana Muhlstein

Muhlstein identifies not drinking enough water as the number one mistake people make on GLP-1 medications.

“The biggest mistake people make on GLP-1, number one, is not drinking water”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 22:00

Muhlstein recommends staying on a lower dose as long as possible because higher doses increase dependence on the medication.

“Because the higher dose you're on, the more dependent you are on the medication”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 19:51

Muhlstein says she maintained her weight after stopping her GLP-1, even through holidays and travel.

“I had an incredible experience maintaining my weight without it. Like I didn't gain anything back even after a month of holidays”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 12:38

Muhlstein concluded GLP-1 drugs are not a passing trend, unlike keto or intermittent fasting, and are here to stay.

“But with the GLP, I noticed it's not a trend. Like this is something that is here to stay”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 9:42

Muhlstein rejects 'everything in moderation,' arguing people should know their trigger foods rather than test themselves.

“I think people really need to know themselves, not test themselves. And not buy into the lie that everything has to be eaten in moderation”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 59:58

Muhlstein says her core weight-loss principles are drinking water first, eating mostly vegetables, and weighing herself daily, plus food tracking.

“it's water first. I follow veggies most, eat lots of veggies. I go on a scale every day”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 3:04

Muhlstein says exercise is overrated for initial weight loss, being important for maintenance while food matters most early on.

“In the beginning, food is everything. I always say exercise is extra credit”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 40:13

Muhlstein argues muscle is essential for sustaining metabolism, making regain more likely if users lose muscle and stop the drug.

“Muscle is the only thing that keeps our metabolism going past 20”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 26:28

Muhlstein sees a positive shift away from Health at Every Size but is troubled by celebrities who look ill on red carpets.

“the slew of celebrities that have been on the red carpet lately that look absolutely ill”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 1:04:16

Muhlstein believes intermittent fasting works better for men than for busy women, who often end up overeating at night.

“Otherwise, it tends to backfire and that same woman is usually eating too much at night”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 59:00

Muhlstein says sourdough is wrongly treated as a free food when it is essentially white bread with a slightly lower glycemic index.

“People think sourdough is a zero-calorie, unlimited food”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 56:32

Muhlstein rejects the Health at Every Size movement as factually inaccurate and says she no longer attends conferences promoting it.

“I don't believe in healthy at every size. And that's a huge, huge dietician belief that they hold so true to”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 47:38

Muhlstein calls 'calories in, calories out' the weight-loss industry's biggest lie, citing research that people eat similar or fewer calories than 20 years ago.

“There's new research to show that we're actually having the same, if not slightly less calories than we were about 20 years ago when our obesity rate was lower”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 37:51

Muhlstein says GLP-1 users eat 15 to 30 percent fewer calories and therefore get fewer vitamins and minerals, so they should take a multivitamin.

“people are having 15 to 30% less calories per day on a GLP-1, which equates to 15 to 30% less vitamins and minerals”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 27:04

Muhlstein argues it is better for GLP-1 users to still feel hunger and cravings so they can practice responding to them.

“it's actually better for people to still feel hungry and still have cravings while on the medication so they can practice responding to it”

Habits and Hustle: Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far? (Oct 27, 2026) · Listen from 18:17