I was watching TV the other night and saw a random commercial featuring a woman riding a horse by the ocean. Turns out, it was a commercial for Eden weight loss.

As a women’s weight loss coach and personal trainer, GLP-1s play a big role in my day to day coaching and education for my clients and prospective clients. I have dozens of clients who are taking GLP-1s alongside their fitness and nutrition regimes, and have many more who are very curious about them and want to learn more about what weight loss looks like using a GLP-1.

One of the biggest questions that inevitably comes up is “where’s the best place to get the weight loss medications?” There are countless ways and places to get weight loss injections these days, and some are definitely better than others. 

I’ve been taking a closer look at some of the more popular weight loss medication providers (specifically the ones geared towards women) to determine if it’s a company I would feel comfortable recommending to my clients. After seeing so much advertising for Eden recently, I decided to check it out. Here are my thoughts and opinions on Eden as a personal trainer and weight loss coach.

Getting Started With Eden

Eden offers a variety of telehealth options, but I came specifically with the desire to understand their weight loss program. As with most telehealth companies, the process starts by filling out a questionnaire. 

With Eden, the first few steps were pretty common - you’ll select your weight loss goal, your reason (s) for wanting to lose weight, your current height and weight, etc. These questions are pretty standard, but with Eden, you’ll know right away if you’ll qualify for their weight loss medications when you enter your current height and weight. Eden has a BMI requirement of at least 23 in order for users to be eligible for weight loss treatment. This BMI threshold is significantly lower than most providers. 

Most providers require patients to have a BMI of 30 or more (obese), or a BMI of 27 or more (overweight) with at least one weight-related condition. If you are below the traditional threshold, Eden takes you to a BMI consent where you’ll need to check the box acknowledging that you would be using the medication “off label” which refers to the practice of prescribing the drug for a purpose, age group, dosage, or form of administration that’s not included in the approved labeling by the FDA.

Assuming you’re comfortable with this, you can move forward with your intake and potentially get access to weight loss medications without being in the overweight or obese BMI category. This is kind of big as there are so many people who are struggling with their weight, they’ve tried everything, and are now ready to seek the help of a GLP-1, but are usually denied for not being overweight enough. The only other provider I know that has less stringent guidelines for prescribing is Willow. Willow has no BMI requirement whatsoever. They are the first and only (as far as I know) provider that will prescribe for “cosmetic weight loss,” aka people who may only want to lose a few pounds and are already at a healthy weight. I’m not sure exactly how Willow is able to do this, but it’s a solid choice for those who want to use GLP-1s and can’t get approved anywhere else.

That being said, Eden’s BMI requirement of 23 serves a massive market of people who are slightly overweight, are unhappy in their bodies, and have the desire to drop some weight to feel better in their skin and clothing. I’ve said this many times before, and I’ll always stand by it: your goals are your goals. As an educated, consenting adult, it’s up to you whether or not you want to seek weight loss treatments. Assuming you’re pursuing weight loss in a healthy and sustainable manner, I see nothing wrong with adding a GLP-1, and Eden is making these medications so much more accessible for people who fall just below the standard BMI requirements.

Compounded Vs. Name Brand Medications

As you start to make your way to the end of Eden’s quiz, you’ll answer more questions regarding your health history. Eden will then start to talk about personalized GLP-1 treatments (assuming you haven’t been disqualified by any of your health history questions). Eden offers both compounded GLP-1s and name-brand medications.

They will ask you some questions regarding your comfort level with using “Dr. developed alternate dosing protocols” or if you’d prefer the name brand medications. There’s a strong emphasis on personalized treatments via compounding. The biggest thing to know here is that compounded medication that’s personalized to your needs is significantly more affordable than name-brand medications, but can also be slightly less effective due to the compounded nature of the formula (compounding means it’s mixed with something else, which will naturally dilute it). 

I don’t think Eden is offering compounded Tirzepatite at the moment per FDA regulations; however, they are offering compounded semaglutide and Liraglutide. Eden also offers GLP-1 gummies as an alternative to injections; however, I am not sure how effective those would be, and it didn’t feel like they were really advertising those, but I was able to search for them on their website. 

My Experience With Eden

To be clear, I didn’t go into this with the goal of actually receiving and using a prescription injection from Eden; I simply wanted to experience the process so I would be able to report back to you (my reader) and my clients. I started the Eden quiz after entering my actual height and weight. My BMI is not over 23, so I had to fudge the numbers a bit to allow the system to advance me to the next step. I really only had to add about 15 lbs, which was the weight I was at about a year ago.

 I’m not sure if they ever actually verify your weight or not, it’s difficult to do via telehealth - I’m pretty sure most companies work on the honor system and the liability is on you if you lie on your intake form (or during any step of the process).

I made my way all the way through the quiz and was really impressed with the flow of it. I liked how they went deeper into any conditions to help them determine the best, most personalized treatment for you. I, for example, have PCOS, which is linked to insulin resistance. This information was recorded and taken into account when suggesting a treatment plan. I indicated that I would like a doctor-developed alternative dosing protocol (compounded) medication, as I wouldn’t be able to afford the monthly cost of the name-brand medication.

At the end of the quiz, the recommendation was given of semaglutide with glycine and B12. Glycine is often used in compounding to improve stability and tolerability of peptides like semaglutide and B12 is used to help battle fatigue and low energy, and can often accompany GLP-1 usage. 

I was given 4 different pricing plan options: 

• Monthly: $296/month 
• Quarterly: $276/month
• 6-month: $246/month
• Annual: $196/month

Eden is also running a discount for $100 off your first month if you go with the monthly plan, making your first month of the medication just $196. They also will knock $100 off your total cost with the other plans as well.

One you select your plan, your next step is to enter your payment information, but Eden doesn’t charge you until one of their doctors reviews your file and determines that treatment is right for you. This is super unique, as every other online provider I have tested charges your card immediately and then will refund you if you’re not approved. I really like the way Eden doesn’t charge your card until the medication is approved for you.

What I Like

Now that I’ve gone through the process of getting signed up with Eden for weight loss medications, there are few things that really caught my attention and that I liked:

• BMI requirement is much lower than almost every other provider (23)
• They offer name-brand or compounded medications
• They do not charge your credit card for medication until it’s approved by a doctor
• Their pricing is consistent - they state they charge the same price for every dose
• They offer other medications and treatments outside of weight loss for common issues
• There’s no “non-refundable” consultation fee that many companies charge
• Their pricing is slightly below average, and they offer a $100 off coupon for the first month

Things to Consider

While I’m a big fan of what I’ve seen from Eden so far, here are a few things to consider:

Wrapping Up

GLP-1 telehealth companies are a dime a dozen these days, and it can be really hard to determine which one you should trust for your medication. Overall, I think Eden is a solid choice for GLP-1s. I especially like that they lowered the BMI requirement threshold and are allowing more people to access the medications - this is really big!

Most every company selling GLP-1s utilizes the same pharmacies, so I’m not overly concerned about “bad formulations” or anything like that. Choosing to go with Eden might very well just come down to access and cost, both of which make Eden a very compelling option. 

My only recommendation? Regardless of which provider you choose, be sure you’re following a healthy, active lifestyle to go alongside it to ensure that you’re making the most of your journey, prioritizing your health, protecting your muscles, and setting yourself up for long-term sustainability. If you need help, join me in my app, Simply Strong!