Serena Started the Conversation. Here’s the Missing Half.
When Serena Williams speaks, the world listens.
This past week, she revealed something deeply personal. After years of discipline, world-class training, and postpartum struggle, she turned to a GLP-1 medication for support. Her honesty cracked open a conversation that too often lives in silence.
It reminds us that even the strongest, most accomplished women sometimes need extra help. And that asking for help isn’t weakness — it’s wisdom.
Serena’s courage to share her story normalizes what so many others are living through quietly. Starting a GLP-1 doesn’t make you flawed. It makes you human.
But as I read her story, one question echoed loudly in my mind…
What happens when it’s time to stop?
The Missing Half of the GLP-1 Story
We’re finally seeing headlines about starting GLP-1s. About the weight lost, the hope found, the lives changed.
But very few are addressing the other half of the journey — the exit.
Here’s what research and experience tell us:
Up to 65% of patients regain weight within a year of stopping GLP-1s if they don’t have a plan.
GLP-1s can suppress appetite, but they don’t rewire habits, repair stress patterns, or rebuild resilience.
When the medication leaves, hunger often returns louder than before.
💡 Even the American Diabetes Association and The Obesity Society have noted that patients often face significant weight regain after discontinuing GLP-1 medications if there isn’t a structured follow-up plan. Clinicians are beginning to call for clearer off-ramp strategies, but most patients are still left without guidance.
Without a strategy, the risks are real: rebound weight, muscle loss (even in the heart), and the emotional crash of watching progress slip away.
Serena opened the conversation about starting. We need to continue it by talking about stopping safely.
Why It’s Not Weakness — It’s Biology
If you’ve been on a GLP-1, you know how real the hunger feels when it returns. That isn’t a failure of willpower — it’s biology.
For example, your BDNF gene (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) helps regulate how your brain adapts to changes in appetite and habits. Some of us carry variants that make it harder to adjust when those food signals roar back.
That’s why the crash after GLP-1 isn’t just in your mind. It’s written in your DNA. The good news? Habits like movement, protein-rich nutrition, and stress reduction can upregulate BDNF and help your brain — and body — adapt and thrive again.
Freedom Beyond the Prescription
This is where my work lives.
Because the real goal isn’t only about starting. It’s about finishing strong. Freedom beyond the prescription looks like:
A clear taper plan that respects your biology.
DNA-based nutrition that supports your metabolism instead of fighting it.
Whole-BEING empowerment tools that rewire habits, strengthen mindset, and protect energy.
It’s not anti-medication. It’s pro-freedom.
It’s not about rejecting Serena’s courage in starting. It’s about completing the story by preparing for what comes next.
My Raw + Real Truth
I know this moment matters because I’ve lived it.
A cancer scare forced me to wake up and focus on what really mattered. I shed 70 pounds and have kept it off for more than 15 years — not through perfection, but through a plan. Through freedom that wasn’t dependent on one prescription, one diet, or one season of life.
That’s what I want for you too.
📘 The GLP-1 Exit Plan
Serena has helped normalize starting.
My mission is to illuminate the path to stopping safely.
That’s why I wrote The GLP-1 Exit Plan — a step-by-step guide to tapering, protecting results, and reclaiming freedom beyond the prescription.
If you’re considering GLP-1s, currently taking them, or already planning your exit — this book is your roadmap.
Closing Note
Serena started the conversation. Now it’s on all of us to continue it.
Because true freedom doesn’t come from starting alone — it comes from completing the journey with strength, resilience, and confidence.
Together, we can break the silence.
Warmly,
Holli Bradish-Lane
DNA-Based Health Coach | Author, The GLP-1 Exit Plan
📚 Resources & References
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2025. Diabetes Care. 2025;48(Supplement_1):S167–S183.
The Obesity Society. Clinical considerations for long-term use and discontinuation of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Position statement, 2024.
Wilding JPH, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism. 2022;24(8):1553–1564.