What your clinicians cover
Starting, pausing, skipping or changing a prescribed GLP-1 stays with the professional who prescribed it. Medicine questions, side-effect reviews and other conditions belong there — not in a coaching chat.
← Back to Learn
The pen
Lumina
Expectations
Food
Movement
Messy days
Check-in
Food library
Training
Progress
Next chapter
Medicine
Weeks 0–12
Just started a pen? Here is this week’s path
A clear coaching map for the first twelve weeks after a GLP-1 pen is prescribed — or while you are waiting to start. It answers “what do I do this week?” for food, strength and habits. It does not tell you how to take your medicine.
Coaching beside your clinicians — never instead of them.
The pen and Lumina do different jobs
Your prescriber covers the medicine: whether to start, how you use it, and any change to dose or brand. Lumina sits beside that plan. We help with food when appetite drops, keeping some strength, everyday habits, and knowing when to seek care.
If you have not yet read Safety & how Lumina works, start there. The first-visit note on Today is the same scope — you do not need to agree it twice.
Week 0
Orientation — find your bearings
This week is about knowing who does what. You do not need a perfect routine yet.
What coaching covers
Food structure when hunger is low or irregular. Gentle strength and everyday movement. Habits, check-ins and a kind next step when life is messy. Clear pointers to seek care when something is outside coaching.
Results vary. No miracles.
Lumina will not promise a face, hair or weight outcome. Changes differ between people. If appearance worries you, that is allowed — take it to your GP or prescriber rather than chasing a coaching guarantee.
Weeks 1–4
Settling in — keep nourishment and kindness in the picture
Appetite may swing. Some days food is easy; some days it is not. That is common, and it is not a character test.
Protein-first when eating is hard
When a full plate feels impossible, start with a protein you can manage and come back to the rest later. Low appetite is support, not a Whoopsie.
Open eating support →Gentle strength, no punishment
Follow your saved training from where you are. A missed session does not need a compensatory walk or a harder workout. Rest is part of the plan.
Open Training →Whoopsie is for life, not blame
A takeaway, a skipped meal or a day that got away from you still belongs here. Use Whoopsie on Today for the next kind step — never extra exercise as punishment.
Use Whoopsie from Today →Hydration, nausea and when to escalate
Sip through the day if you do not have a fluid limit. Mild nausea may ease with smaller, slower meals — see Feeling unwell for everyday ideas. Persistent vomiting, not keeping fluids down, dark urine or feeling lightheaded is not a coaching problem. Use Safety and contact your prescriber, GP or NHS 111. Do not wait for a coach reply.
Hydration · Feeling unwell · Warning signs and where to get help
Weeks 5–8
Building rhythm — show up, without shame
The aim is a week you can repeat, not a perfect streak. Plan fidelity means “did this still fit my life?” — not a score.
Notice the week, not just the scales
A weekly review can hold eating, training, energy and one non-scale win. Missing a log is not non-adherence.
Open my weekly review →Swaps that still fit you
If a planned meal no longer appeals, use measured swaps and the Food Library. Keep genuine exclusions in place rather than forcing a plate.
Browse the Food Library →Confidence over more volume
Know the start and finish of each movement. If something feels painful, exhausting or unrealistic, change the session or ask a coach — do not add work as compensation.
Open the Exercise Library →Life happened remains visible
Whoopsie stays on Today for off-plan days. Low appetite still has its own door.
Weeks 9–12
Steady and review — look at habits, then the next chapter
This stretch is for noticing what you want to keep. A number on the scales is optional evidence, not the whole story.
Review the wider picture
Strength, energy, meals you managed, and how the week felt all count. Pause tracking if it makes you anxious, and ask for support.
Open Progress →Maintenance is a later conversation
When a goal feels close, or treatment may change, Next chapter helps you describe where you are. It does not graduate you out of support or change medicine.
Preview Next chapter →Questions stay with your prescriber
Whether to continue, change or stop a GLP-1 is still a clinical decision. Lumina will not suggest how much medicine to take, name a brand to use, or treat a coaching review as permission.
Remind me of the scope →General education, not individual medical advice. Sources checked September 2026: NICE: medicines and ongoing support; Guy’s and St Thomas’: food with weight-loss medicines; MHRA: GLP-1 side-effects reminder. Lumina does not prescribe, supply or endorse a medicine.