Episode
Charles Duhigg Lost 45 Lbs on a GLP-1 | Why Food Noise Vanishes
- Podcast
- The James Altucher Show
- Published
- Jul 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3015
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Summary
A Note from James: I’m doing a big experiment in my life. I recently started taking a GLP-1—tirzepatide, one of the so-called weight-loss drugs. But I didn’t start taking it specifically for weight loss. I had some blood work done for the first time in a long time, and there was a small indication that I might be pre-diabetic. My doctor suggested trying tirzepatide, and I wanted to understand what I was getting into. The first person I wanted to talk to was Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Supercommunicators . Charles has been taking a GLP-1 for about two years, and he says it has changed his life. He has lost around 45 pounds, but what interested me most was not just the weight loss. It was the habit change. Charles explains that GLP-1s can quiet what people now call “food noise”—the constant background pull toward eating even when you are not actually hungry. When that noise quiets down, something interesting happens: you get a window where your old habits become more malleable. That is the key idea of this conversation. The drug may help you eat less, but the bigger opportunity is that it gives you a chance to build new routines around food, exercise, alcohol, sleep, and identity. And if you build those habits while the window is open, those habits may continue even after you stop taking the medication. We talk about food noise, cravings, the habit loop, keystone habits, stated versus revealed preferences, placebo effects, alcohol, sleep, exercise, blood sugar, identity, and whether GLP-1s are a lifelong drug or a tool for changing who you become. Episode Description: James is at the beginning of a GLP-1 experiment. Charles Duhigg is two years in. In this conversation, Charles explains what he has learned from taking tirzepatide and from studying GLP…