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[159.112.244.52]) by mx.google.com with UTF8SMTPS id d75a77b69052e-50dd53d79a0si87978101cf.77.2026.04.11.11.57.14 for (version=TLS1_2 cipher=ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128); Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:57:15 -0700 (PDT) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of bounce+30b528.39b08c6-tjphuhs=gmail.com@mg-d1.substack.com designates 159.112.244.52 as permitted sender) client-ip=159.112.244.52; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; dkim=pass header.i=@mg-d1.substack.com header.s=k1 header.b="q6KlX/8/"; dkim=pass header.i=@mailgun.org header.s=mg header.b="OE/K9VLI"; spf=pass (google.com: domain of bounce+30b528.39b08c6-tjphuhs=gmail.com@mg-d1.substack.com designates 159.112.244.52 as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom="bounce+30b528.39b08c6-tjphuhs=gmail.com@mg-d1.substack.com"; dmarc=pass (p=REJECT sp=REJECT dis=NONE) header.from=substack.com DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha256; v=1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mg-d1.substack.com; q=dns/txt; s=k1; t=1775933834; x=1775941034; h=List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe: List-Post: List-Id: List-Archive: List-Owner: Reply-To: In-Reply-To: References: Sender: Sender: Date: Message-Id: To: To: From: From: Subject: Subject: Content-Type: Mime-Version: X-Feedback-Id; bh=H2puJfMO7pDv8qhazzA3FRI9Jg48jznXCUn2HT/HIvA=; b=q6KlX/8/kCNx5FMXjRU+jpzleQt607qZs8LDiHT5Q5B+nnOw6BXXAYNLcaNjwLbWim6br0SfwZ0+RpAXanI2s2XxVmC/HzC6+iuuAMzW1WSqgMB3XoZf7C7RYNQiSEO83cJ4oE6/oWVAM+ujAQG6wF0DC/MgWVAESHOafiriDe0= DKIM-Signature: a=rsa-sha256; v=1; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mailgun.org; q=dns/txt; s=mg; t=1775933834; x=1775941034; h=List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe: List-Post: List-Id: List-Archive: List-Owner: Reply-To: In-Reply-To: References: Sender: Sender: Date: Message-Id: To: To: From: From: Subject: Subject: Content-Type: Mime-Version: X-Feedback-Id; bh=H2puJfMO7pDv8qhazzA3FRI9Jg48jznXCUn2HT/HIvA=; b=OE/K9VLIOeCrPAchZkK5XKqRl/kxjyOxM7qw2lbBaC6VTrnejISvPJcnY08lQKa/UqKeuFGwXnjvSh5kbuFuGM4zqdsUYt1hN1w0FB2xCtLJRqnCFtj/psQdAyW9rmZIgyh/RmTXqAYD3Ibn3AgwtyadzO/QgOt3wnSgynmd7xs= X-Mailgun-Sid: WyIxMWU0ZSIsInRqcGh1aHNAZ21haWwuY29tIiwiMzliMDhjNiJd X-Feedback-Id: postmaster@mg-d1.substack.com:post:614a1297c57bbbe25fa40e08:mailgun Received: by 18b7e256bc695f287dac5a42dc4b977e0a27d973f9c4d292db48fc8fc18ec60a with HTTP id 69da998a7c5b0cbf839593df; Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:57:14 GMT X-Mailgun-Sending-Ip: 159.112.244.52 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="a2f7f00190cf2678c95febe465002861412a876d284cce03f7ae66c85799" Subject: =?UTF-8?q?The_Last_Time_It_=E2=80=9CWorked=E2=80=9D_Before_GLP-1?= From: Dave Knapp from On The Pen To: tjphuhs@gmail.com X-Mailgun-Tag: post X-Mailgun-Track-Clicks: false Message-Id: <20260411185658.3.3f9a464cec25dd69@mg-d1.substack.com> Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:56:58 +0000 Feedback-Id: post-193909206:cat-post:pub-4808993:substack Sender: Dave Knapp from On The Pen References: In-Reply-To: Reply-To: Dave Knapp from On The Pen List-Owner: List-Url: List-Archive: List-Id: List-Post: List-Unsubscribe: List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click X-Mailgun-Variables: {"category": "post", "email_generated_at": "1775933834446", "is_freemail": "true", "post_audience": "everyone", "post_id": "193909206", "post_type": "newsletter", "pub_community_enabled": "true", "publication_id": "4808993", "subdomain": "onthepen", "user_id": "273622398"} --a2f7f00190cf2678c95febe465002861412a876d284cce03f7ae66c85799 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable View this post on the web at https://onthepen.substack.com/p/the-last-time-= it-worked-before-glp I=E2=80=99ve battled obesity my entire adult life. Not in a casual way, and= not in a =E2=80=9CI should probably lose a few pounds=E2=80=9D kind of way= , but in a way where it becomes part of how you think, how you plan your da= y, and how the world and people around you start to see you and treat you. I remember the last time my weight was finally getting under control in a m= eaningful way, before GLP-1. I was eating 1200 to 1400 calories a day on a = hospital sanctioned program. This was not me guessing or experimenting. It = was structured, clinical, and designed to work if you followed it exactly. = Even then I wanted to share about it, if that meant it was going to be help= ful for others battling obesity too. In fact here is one of my earliest You= Tube videos: It was working. The scale was finally moving in a way it had not in years, = and that feeling is hard to explain unless you have lived it. It feels like= relief, like maybe you have finally figured something out that has been ou= t of reach for a long time. But there was a cost to it that I did not fully acknowledge at the time. Th= e program food met modest protein requirements, but it was highly processed= and never really felt like I ate a meal. I had headaches almost every day.= I felt sluggish, constantly aware of hunger and saying =E2=80=9Cno=E2=80= =9D, and just off in a way that is difficult to describe but easy to recogn= ize when you are in it. Still, it was working, so I stayed with it. When something finally works to= get weight off, you do not question it, you hold onto it. You know what I = mean? Then finally life stepped in. I was on a work trip, halfway across the coun= try, when I got the call that something was wrong with my wife, who was sev= en months pregnant. It was serious enough that there was no hesitation. I g= ot on a flight in the middle of the night and went home. I say =E2=80=9Cfin= ally=E2=80=9D because it seems like every weigh loss story has a =E2=80=9Cf= inally=E2=80=9D=E2=80=A6 This is the part right before the wheels come off. My wife ended up in the hospital for a full week, passing kidney stones one= after another. I stayed with her the entire time. Inducing early labor was= the big concern, so it was a terrifying time for us. The hospital was abou= t an hour and a half from home, which meant there was no routine anymore, n= o structure, no =E2=80=9Cfuelings=E2=80=9D (which was the feel-good label a= ttached to these protein-laced mutant foods) and no way to maintain what I = had been doing. The hospital cafeteria might as well have been a fast food restaurant or kw= ik-E-mart. There was very little there that fit the program I had been foll= owing, and no realistic way to stay on track in a consistent way. So I ate = what was available, because that is what the situation required and where m= y focus needed to be.=20 I still have pictures in my camera roll from that hospital stay. I still re= member feeling almost incredulous at the options that were available. And just like that, it started to slip. All at once, the train was off the = tracks. Not because I stopped caring, and not because I suddenly lost disci= pline, but because the system I was using had no flexibility when life chan= ged. That is what fighting obesity is like for so many people. You can follow th= e plan exactly and do everything right, and for a while it might even work,= but if it only works under perfect conditions, it is incredibly difficult = to hold onto when real life inevitably steps in. That is why GLP-1 feels different. For the first time, it is not about forc= ing your entire life to fit a fragile system. It creates space. It gives yo= u margin. It allows you to live your life and still maintain some control o= ver your body. If you have ever found yourself doing everything right and still watching i= t slip away the moment life got complicated, then you already understand wh= y that matters. What is the moment where things fell apart for you, even when you were doin= g everything right? Unsubscribe https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9vbnRoZXBlbi5= zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vYWN0aW9uL2Rpc2FibGVfZW1haWw_dG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpveU= 56TTJNakl6T1Rnc0luQnZjM1JmYVdRaU9qRTVNemt3T1RJd05pd2lhV0YwSWpveE56YzFPVE16T= 0RNMExDSmxlSEFpT2pFNE1EYzBOams0TXpRc0ltbHpjeUk2SW5CMVlpMDBPREE0T1Rreklpd2lj= M1ZpSWpvaVpHbHpZV0pzWlY5bGJXRnBiQ0o5LjhkNG9sVk82c2VfU1JYbldtQnFyYnNWNVhLX2V= aeGxaaTdSN1ZWSGdqOEEiLCJwIjoxOTM5MDkyMDYsInMiOjQ4MDg5OTMsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOj= I3MzYyMjM5OCwiaWF0IjoxNzc1OTMzODM0LCJleHAiOjIwOTE1MDk4MzQsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wI= iwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.-00PXp-vLdGbcdrITXUOdcKwy-AhJinm0RGleffz-GI= ? --a2f7f00190cf2678c95febe465002861412a876d284cce03f7ae66c85799 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable = The Last Time It “Worked” Before GLP-1=3D""
Do you remember your last time?
͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ =     ­͏     ­͏     = 3;͏     ­͏     ­͏   = 199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &= nbsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ;͏     ­͏     ­͏   Q= 99; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &n= bsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ͏     ­͏     ­͏   ̳= 9; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nb= sp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&= #847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nbs= p;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&#= 847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  = ;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= 47;     ­͏     ­͏     = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ =     ­͏     ­͏     = 3;͏     ­͏     ­͏   = 199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &= nbsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ;͏     ­͏     ­͏   Q= 99; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &n= bsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ͏     ­͏     ­͏   ̳= 9; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nb= sp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&= #847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &nbs= p;   ­͏     ­͏     ­&#= 847;     ­͏     ­͏    = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  = ;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= 47;     ­͏     ­͏     = ­͏     ­͏     ­͏  =   ­͏     ­͏     ­T= 7;     ­͏     ­͏     &= #173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   =   ­͏     ­͏     ­͏= ;     ­͏     ­͏     &#= 173;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &= #8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏=     ­͏     ­͏     = 73;͏     ­͏     ­͏   &#= 8199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ =     ­͏     ­͏     = 3;͏     ­͏     ­͏   = 199; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &= nbsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ;͏     ­͏     ­͏   Q= 99; ­͏     ­͏     ­͏ &n= bsp;   ­͏     ­͏     ­= ͏     ­͏     ­͏   ̳= 9; ­͏     ­

The Last Time It “Worked” Before GLP-1

Do you = remember your last time?
F= orwarded this email? Subscribe here f= or more
On The Pen GLP-1 News
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3D""<= /a>
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3D""<= /a>
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3D""
READ IN APP3D""
 
<= /div>
=

I’ve battled obesity my entire adult life. Not = in a casual way, and not in a “I should probably lose a few pounds= 221; kind of way, but in a way where it becomes part of how you think, how = you plan your day, and how the world and people around you start to see you= and treat you.

I remember the last time my weight was fina= lly getting under control in a meaningful way, before GLP-1. I was eating 1= 200 to 1400 calories a day on a hospital sanctioned program. This was not m= e guessing or experimenting. It was structured, clinical, and designed to w= ork if you followed it exactly. Even then I wanted to share about it, if th= at meant it was going to be helpful for others battling obesity too. In fac= t here is one of my earliest YouTube videos:

It was working. The scale was finally moving in a way it had not in ye= ars, and that feeling is hard to explain unless you have lived it. It feels= like relief, like maybe you have finally figured something out that has be= en out of reach for a long time.

But there was a cost to it= that I did not fully acknowledge at the time. The program food met modest = protein requirements, but it was highly processed and never really felt lik= e I ate a meal. I had headaches almost every day. I felt sluggish, constant= ly aware of hunger and saying “no”, and just off in a way that = is difficult to describe but easy to recognize when you are in it.

Still, it was working, so I stayed with it. When something finally = works to get weight off, you do not question it, you hold onto it. You know= what I mean?

Leave a comment

=

Then finally life stepped in. I was on a work trip, halfway ac= ross the country, when I got the call that something was wrong with my wife= , who was seven months pregnant. It was serious enough that there was no he= sitation. I got on a flight in the middle of the night and went home. I say= “finally” because it seems like every weigh loss story has a &= #8220;finally”… This is the part right before the wheels come o= ff.

My wife ended up in the hospital for a full week, passi= ng kidney stones one after another. I stayed with her the entire time. Indu= cing early labor was the big concern, so it was a terrifying time for us. T= he hospital was about an hour and a half from home, which meant there was n= o routine anymore, no structure, no “fuelings” (which was the f= eel-good label attached to these protein-laced mutant foods) and no way to = maintain what I had been doing.

The hospital cafeteria migh= t as well have been a fast food restaurant or kwik-E-mart. There was very l= ittle there that fit the program I had been following, and no realistic way= to stay on track in a consistent way. So I ate what was available, because= that is what the situation required and where my focus needed to be.

<= p style=3D"margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-s= ize: 16px;">I still have pictures in my camera roll from that hospital = stay. I still remember feeling almost incredulous at the options that were = available.

3D""

And just like that, it started to slip. All at o= nce, the train was off the tracks. Not because I stopped caring, and not be= cause I suddenly lost discipline, but because the system I was using had no= flexibility when life changed.

That is what fighting obesi= ty is like for so many people. You can follow the plan exactly and do every= thing right, and for a while it might even work, but if it only works under= perfect conditions, it is incredibly difficult to hold onto when real life= inevitably steps in.

That is why GLP-1 feels different. Fo= r the first time, it is not about forcing your entire life to fit a fragile= system. It creates space. It gives you margin. It allows you to live your = life and still maintain some control over your body.

If you= have ever found yourself doing everything right and still watching it slip= away the moment life got complicated, then you already understand why that= matters.

What is the moment where things fell apart for yo= u, even when you were doing everything right?

3D""

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On The Pen, PO Box 541, = Cedar Falls, IA 50613
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