The Shot Is the Cheapest Part. Here’s the Rest of the Bill.

Full transparency: I don’t even pay for my medication, and I’ll tell you exactly why.

Oct 08, 2026

I don’t pay for my GLP-1.

I’m saying that first because if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ve probably wondered. And if you’re new here, you deserve to know it before you read one more word from me about cost, or medication, or what any of this is actually like.

So here’s the whole thing. Ungatekept.

How my medication became free

I started in 2023. For the first three months or so, I paid out of pocket for semaglutide, and I spent a lot of that time researching where I wanted to get my medication long term.

That’s when I noticed something. Some people were getting their medication for free by becoming an affiliate for the company they used.

So I shot my shot.

I was already sharing everything online and I was close to 1,000 subscribers. I reached out to my telehealth company and basically said: I use you every single month. I know you’re legit. I’m already talking about you. Can I sign a contract and get my meds covered?

They said yes. I think I was their third affiliate. This was before telehealth affiliate deals were a big thing.

I didn’t have a secret. I just asked.

Here’s the part people don’t expect. I didn’t stay. Other telehealth companies started showing up with much better prices, and I kept asking mine when they’d match. They didn’t budge. So I moved on, and then moved again, and then landed at Elara.

That’s where I am now, and I’m obsessed with them. They’re woman-centered, they will literally call you if you need help, and they are hands down the best telehealth company I’ve worked with.

This is not an affiliate post though, so if you want a link you know where to go. Let’s keep going.

Could this change? Absolutely. I could leave the program someday, or the program could leave me. I’m not pretending it’s forever.

What I still pay for: some of my supplements, like B12. My clear protein and collagen are free right now because I just started working with 1UP. And clothes. Clothes are the real money. You will want new ones, over and over.

But here’s the most honest thing I can say:

Starting a GLP-1 hasn’t cost me money. It’s made me money.

Brand deals. My community. The Picky Girl’s Guide. Before this, I didn’t have a story anyone wanted to hear. Now I do.

What I’d tell you: I’m not sharing this so you feel behind because you pay. I’m sharing it so the next time someone online makes this look effortless, you know to ask what they’re leaving out. And when you pick a provider, price matters, but ask the other question too: will they actually pick up the phone?

The real cost is your headspace

I don’t track much. I don’t meal prep. I make my drinks in the morning and I cook a little more than I used to. That’s it.

But headspace? I go to work, I come home, I take care of my kids, and almost everything left over goes to this. Writing, posting, building, talking to you.

What I don’t spend it on is worrying. I don’t lie awake wondering if I ate wrong or if I’m doing enough.

You’re allowed to just live your life on a GLP-1.

What I’d tell you: Don’t let this medication move into your head and take over every room. Make it part of your life, not the whole thing.

The internet will have opinions about your plate

The people in my real life didn’t change. If anything, my relationships got better.

The internet is a different story.

Strangers love to tell me I’m doing it wrong. I shouldn’t eat fast food. I should be changing a million things at once. If I’m not overhauling my whole life by Tuesday, apparently I’m wasting the medication.

The hardest part of this has been social media.

but it’s also been the best part.

It’s a rose with thorns. The same place that sends me the meanest comments is the place I found my people.

What I’d tell you: People who don’t know you don’t get a vote. Find the few you trust and let the rest scroll by.

The mirror hasn’t caught up

I’m 75 pounds down, and when I look in the mirror, I mostly see the same person.

Sometimes I see the difference in pictures. Sometimes not even then. I still reach for clothes that are too big because I don’t want anything tight. I still have a hard time knowing what size I actually am.

Nobody warned me that my body would change faster than the way I see it.

What I’d tell you: If you look in the mirror and feel like nothing happened, you’re not crazy. Take the pictures anyway. They’ll tell you the truth on the days your eyes won’t.

The thing I miss

I’m going to say this plainly, and I’ll keep saying it.

I miss being able to eat everything in sight.

That was how I comforted myself. It helped me emotionally, and now I can’t do it. That’s a real loss, and I don’t think we talk about it enough.

It was my comfort. Now I have to find comfort somewhere else.

What I’d tell you: If you’re grieving food a little, you’re not doing this wrong. You’re just being honest.

What it gave me that I’d pay for

I feel less alone now than I have in my entire life.

I have friends I literally met online who I can text any time, and they get it. They know what a hard week on this medication feels like. They know what the mean comments feel like. They text back.

That is really freaking cool.

What I’d tell you: Find people who are on this medication too. Keep them in your back pocket. Reach out before you need to.

Would I do it again?

100 percent. Every single piece of it.

The mirror, the comments, the food I miss. All of it was worth it, and I wouldn’t take any of it back.

What’s the cost nobody warned you about? Tell me in the comments. I read every single one.

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