The Chefs Who Don't Feel Like Eating

4 min read

SOME PEOPLE LIVE to eat, others eat to live. For the first group, taking a GLP-1 medication can cause a massive shift in how they see food, their bodies, and even their identity. And for chefs, well, the transformation can be life-altering.

That’s because GLP-1 agonist medications work to slow down digestion, which helps people on them feel fuller for longer. But these meds also work on the pleasure center of the brain, decreasing the reward feedback from food. People on a GLP-1 often go from constantly thinking about food (often described as “food noise”) and a normal or increased appetite to losing interest in food—sometimes to the point of not even thinking about eating. Add to all this the side effect of changes in taste perception, and you might have some serious concerns if you’re a chef and you’re considering a GLP-1.

Men’s Health reached out to two chefs to ask what prompted their decision to start GLP-1 medications, and how—if at all—these drugs have affected their ability to cook, taste, and create food professionally. Their responses might not be what you’d expect.

JOSE TERRAZAS, A regional executive chef for East Morrison Healthcare, used to go to bed anxious. He’d cope with stress by eating and he had constant chatter about food in his head. His quality of work ended up taking the hit.

“I had chips and snacks in my office, and I’d eat instead of checking on my staff,” he told me. “The food noise was so distracting that I missed the little details in my work that would take me to the next level as a chef.”

Terrazas always struggled with his weight, but in 2022 he went through chemotherapy for cancer, gained even more weight, and developed type-2 diabetes from the steroids that were part of his treatment.

Terrazas says he worried that starting a GLP-1 medication would somehow affect his passion for food or his performance at work. Instead, he says that it was one of the best decisions he has ever made. He sleeps better, and has improved control of his blood glucose levels. The food noise, cravings, and stress eating that were so distracting to him back then are virtually non-existent now.

“I brought my A1C from 12.2 down to 5.7, lost 50 pounds in a year, and gained better control of my health,” he says. “It wasn’t a quick fix; it was a combination of GLP-1, better eating habits, and exercise. I didn’t go on a diet; I changed my lifestyle.”

None of this happened without a few bumps, though. In 2024, Terrazas decided that he wanted to try GLP-1 medication and went on Ozempic (Semaglutide). Not only did he lose no weight at all, but he also felt that the med changed his taste buds to the point where his food tasted less salty. To compensate, he started adding more salt to his cooking. So then he switched to Mounjaro (Tirzepatide), and has been on it ever since.

CHEF VINCENT GERARD says that for some men, the decision to start a weight-loss med comes down to pride.

“In conversations I’ve had with other men, some are hesitant about GLP-1 medications because they worry people will think they’re taking the ‘easy way out,’” he says. “The reality is that these medications are simply another tool to help address a complex metabolic issue. That old-school pride can run pretty deep, I guess there’s still this feeling that if the process isn’t hard, it somehow doesn’t count.”

Gerard had been overweight for his entire life. To try to manage his weight, he had gastric sleeve surgery in 2011. He lost 75 pounds, but only temporarily. “I figured out how to cheat, stopped eating protein and vegetables, and gained the weight back,” he told me. “I couldn’t lose the weight on my own.”

He started taking a GLP-1 in 2023, and since then has gone from over 400 pounds to 218 pounds. He’s still losing weight, and his sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and pre-diabetes have disappeared. He credits the medication and resulting weight loss for improved energy levels and ability to move around the kitchen easier. He also finds that not having food noise has forced him to be more creative with his menus.

“When I was tasting things before, my creativity was geared towards my own taste buds, so I was making food I wanted to eat and tasting that food a lot,” Gerard says. “Now that I don’t have that food noise, I’ve been able to get out of my comfort zone, using different ingredients that I’d never tried, and making meals that are more for others, not geared only towards my own preferences.”

His bottom line has benefitted, too. At CookUnity, Gerard has parlayed his new love for fresh, healthier foods into a popular line of high-protein, high-fiber GLP-1 meals that are mostly vegetarian and vegan.