With roughly 1.5 million Brits now on GLP 1 treatments, this year's Christmas feast is set to be a completely different affair for countless families. Drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, which work by slowing digestion while curbing hunger pangs, can turn the traditional festive meal into a minefield of discomfort, triggering nasty side effects including queasiness, bloating, and acid reflux.

This is precisely why Dr Debra Marcos, chief medic at Weight Medics, is calling on patients to completely overhaul their approach to Christmas dinner.

"As GLP-1 medications slow down digestion and help you feel full sooner, they also make it harder to handle heavy meals," says Dr Marcos. "Christmas doesn't have to be off-limits, but you do need a strategy to avoid feeling bloated, sick, or uncomfortable for the rest of the day."

Countless Christmas classics are precisely the type of food that wreaks havoc on a sluggish digestive system. Loaded with fats, sugars, and hefty carbs, these dishes stay in the stomach far longer and can completely overwhelm a system that is already grappling with diminished appetite and sluggish gastric processing.

"Though we think of Christmas dinner as comforting, medically speaking, it's often a perfect storm for patients on GLP1s - fatty meats, creamy sauces and rich desserts are the foods that most commonly trigger symptoms" explains Dr Marcos. "These drugs delay stomach emptying, so Christmas favourites like fatty roast potatoes, rich gravies and cream-laden desserts can sit in your system much longer. What would normally be an indulgent but manageable meal can leave you feeling severely bloated, nauseous, or struggling with reflux for hours afterward."

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So how do you tackle Christmas dinner when you're on GLP1s? Dr Marcos suggests a handful of straightforward tweaks that could transform your festive feast.

Her advice zeroes in on manageable, practical adjustments that aid digestion whilst ensuring you don't miss out on the festivities.

Before the meal

• Don’t arrive starving : Eat a small, balanced snack earlier in the day to avoid overloading your stomach all at once.


• Stay hydrated: Aim for 8–10 glasses of water throughout the day to support digestion.


• Stick to your routine: Take your medication at the usual time. Skipping doses will not prevent symptoms and may make them worse.

During the meal

• Start small and eat slowly: Give your body time to register fullness.


• The order of the food is important: start with veggies, continue with protein and end with carbs/sugar.


• Sweet foods should be consumed as dessert, never on an empty stomach.


• If you can, choose leaner options: Go for turkey breast, skip the skin, and steer clear of heavy cuts like pork belly or lamb.


• Pile on the veg: Roasted carrots, sprouts, and greens are easier to digest than buttery potatoes or stuffing.


• Go light on sauces: Rich gravies and cream-based sides can trigger nausea and reflux.


• Alternate bites with sips of water: This helps food move through the system more comfortably.


• Limit the amount of alcohol: Limiting alcohol while taking GLP-1 medications is important because alcohol can intensify common side effects like nausea, dizziness, and low blood sugar, making the treatment harder to tolerate. Both alcohol and GLP-1s slow digestion, so combining them may worsen stomach discomfort or lead to unpredictable drops in appetite or blood glucose. Alcohol also adds empty calories that can hinder weight-loss progress and impair judgment around food choices.

After the meal:

• Stay upright for at least 30-60 minutes after your big meal: Lying down increases the risk of reflux.


• Take a short walk : A gentle 10–15-minute stroll can aid digestion.


• Listen to your body: If you feel full, stop. Don’t eat out of pressure or politeness.

Foods to approach with caution

Dr Marcos advises that while no food is strictly off-limits, certain festive dishes are more likely to trigger discomfort due to the way GLP-1 medications affect digestion:

• Fatty meats and rich gravies: High-fat foods take longer to move through the digestive system when gastric emptying is delayed, increasing the risk of nausea, bloating, and reflux.


• Roast potatoes cooked in goose fat: Oily sides are particularly hard to process on a slowed digestive system and can leave you feeling overly full or sluggish.


• Cream-based dishes and desserts: Brandy butter, bread sauce, and trifle combine fat and sugar in a way that can intensify common GLP-1 side effects.


• Sugary cocktails and mixers: These can spike blood sugar levels rapidly and may worsen nausea or dizziness, especially when appetite is already reduced.


• Christmas pudding and mince pies: Dense, high-fat, and high-sugar desserts can overwhelm digestion and contribute to prolonged discomfort.


• Alcohol: Limit alcohol on GLP-1s because it can blunt your progress and boost your side-effects.

“You can still enjoy Christmas food as long as you make a few mindful choices that won’t have you paying for it later,” adds Dr Marcos. “A little planning goes a long way.”