Episode 599: Ilana Muhlstein: The New Wellness Obsession: Are We Taking Healthy Living Too Far?

Episode of Habits and Hustle · October 27, 2026 · 1 h 7 min

Jennifer Cohen and dietitian Ilana Muhlstein discuss GLP-1 drugs, weight-loss mistakes, plateaus, calorie counting, fake health foods, and intermittent fasting for women.

Summary

Host Jennifer Cohen spoke with registered dietitian Ilana Muhlstein, who lost 100 pounds and kept it off, about her new book Beyond the Shot. Muhlstein described her core principles of water first, eating mostly vegetables, daily weigh-ins, and food tracking, and shared low-calorie recipes such as "pizza-fied" vegetables and whole-roasted spaghetti squash.

Much of the conversation concerned GLP-1 medications. Muhlstein recounted moving from skepticism to seeing them as a lasting tool, and said she took one at a low dose while writing the book and maintained her weight after stopping. She argued that users should build habits while on the medication, tolerate some hunger rather than escalating doses, drink more water, eat quality protein, strength train, and take a multivitamin, vitamin D, and omega-3s. Cohen pushed back, questioning use by people with only five or ten pounds to lose and suggesting society may later regret prescribing the drugs so casually.

Muhlstein also called "calories in, calories out" the industry's biggest lie, described exercise as overrated for initial weight loss, rejected the Health at Every Size movement, and listed foods she considers healthy but poor for weight loss, including falafel, smoothies, acai bowls, trail mix, granola, sourdough, and quinoa. Both agreed intermittent fasting tends to work better for men than women, and Muhlstein rejected "everything in moderation," urging people to "know yourself, not test yourself." They closed by lamenting a renewed cultural obsession with thinness linked to Ozempic.

Chapters

  1. 0:07

    Introduction and Magic Mind shot

    Cohen introduces Muhlstein and her book Beyond the Shot and they share a supplement shot.

  2. 2:54

    How Muhlstein lost 100 pounds

    Muhlstein outlines her principles of water, veggies, daily weighing, and food journaling, plus low-bloat vegetables.

  3. 5:25

    Pizza-fying vegetables and easy recipes

    They share recipes for cabbage, portobello and eggplant pizzas and an easy whole-roasted spaghetti squash.

  4. 9:28

    Why she wrote a GLP-1 book

    Muhlstein describes her evolving view of GLP-1s, her own use, and maintaining weight after stopping.

  5. 17:27

    Hunger, food noise and dosing

    Muhlstein argues hunger on the drug is useful practice and cautions against escalating doses, citing biological and environmental drivers of appetite.

  6. 21:56

    Biggest GLP-1 mistakes

    Dehydration, poor protein, delayed strength training, overdosing, rushing, and skipping supplements are discussed.

  7. 33:49

    Plateaus and small-weight-loss users

    Muhlstein presents a wheel of habits including sleep to break plateaus and discusses people with only a few pounds to lose.

  8. 37:44

    Calorie counting, tracking and exercise

    Muhlstein calls calories-in-calories-out a lie, champions food journaling, and says exercise is overrated for initial loss.

  9. 43:11

    Long-term use and health benefits

    They debate staying on GLP-1s indefinitely, cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory benefits, and use by people without obesity.

  10. 47:27

    Health at Every Size and changed views

    Muhlstein rejects Health at Every Size and explains how she changed her mind on calories and supplements.

  11. 51:04

    Fake health foods

    They list foods that seem healthy but hinder weight loss, from falafel and smoothies to sourdough and quinoa.

  12. 57:17

    Intermittent fasting, moderation and thinness culture

    They discuss fasting for women, reject 'everything in moderation,' parenting around food, and the return of a skinny ideal.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 3:04 · Weight loss maintenance

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 9:42 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 12:38 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 18:17 · Food noise

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 19:51 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

  • 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”

    Listen from 22:00 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 26:28 · Exercise and weight loss

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 27:04 · Dietary supplements

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 37:51 · Calorie counting

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 40:13 · Exercise and weight loss

  • Linked moment · 41:00Skip to 41:00 using a listen link in the info box.

    Jennifer Cohen

    Cohen argues that working out too intensely can cause weight gain because it makes her ravenous.

    “The issue is you could exercise yourself into more weight gain because if you're working out too intensely, you'll end up eating more because you're hungrier”

    Listen from 41:00 · Exercise and weight loss

  • Jennifer Cohen

    Cohen suggests society may later conclude it was too casual about prescribing GLP-1 drugs.

    “maybe in 10 years from now, we are going to casually look, we're going to look back and be like, we were too casual about prescribing these medical, these drugs”

    Listen from 44:06 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 47:38 · Health at Every Size

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 56:32 · Health halo foods

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 59:00 · Intermittent fasting

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 59:58 · Weight loss maintenance

  • Ilana Muhlstein

    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”

    Listen from 1:04:16 · Thinness and body image culture

People

In the conversation

  • Jennifer CohenHost of Habits and Hustle, fitness and wellness author and entrepreneur
  • Ilana MuhlsteinRegistered dietitian and author of You Can Drop It! and Beyond the Shot

Discussed

  • Martha StewartAmerican lifestyle personality, cited as an archetype of the always-baking mom

Topics

More from Habits and Hustle

From the publisher

Between Ozempic, intermittent fasting, and calorie counting, we're constantly being told what to do to lose weight and get healthier. But are these trends actually helping us, or have we taken things too far? In this episode of Habits & Hustle, I'm joined by Ilana Muhlstein to discuss the growing obsession with being skinny, why popular weight-loss strategies can backfire, and what it really takes to keep weight off. Ilana is a registered dietitian, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of You Can Drop It! and Beyond the Shot, and creator of the Daily ONTRA community. Having lost 100 pounds herself and kept it off, she's reached millions through her books, programs, and social platforms, helping people make healthy eating simpler and more sustainable. In this episode, she shares her perspective on GLP-1 medications, common weight-loss mistakes, and the habits that support long-term results. What's Discussed: (02:54) How Ilana Muhlstein lost 100 pounds and kept it off. (14:33) How to maintain weight loss after stopping GLP-1 medications. (18:24) Why feeling hungry while taking GLP-1 medications isn't necessarily a bad thing. (24:43) Why losing weight faster doesn't always mean better results. (34:01) Why weight loss plateaus happen and how to overcome them. (37:31) Why calorie counting may be making weight loss harder. (39:50) Why intense exercise can sometimes lead to weight gain. (47:35) Whether it's possible to be healthy at every size. (51:16) Which seemingly healthy foods could be sabotaging your weight-loss efforts. (57:51) Why intermittent fasting may backfire for women. Thank You to Our Sponsors! Magic Mind: Head over to magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout. Momentous: Ready to try supplements that actually do what they claim? Head to livemomentous.com and use code JEN for 35% off your first subscription. Prolon: Prolon is offering listeners 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit prolonlife.com…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Nutrition·Medicine