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BEST FRIENDS & MORE

Mountain View News SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2026

UNLOCK YOUR LIFE


Michele Silence, M.A. is a 37-year certified fitness 

professional who offers semi-private/virtual fitness 
classes. Contact Michele at michele@kid-fit.
com. Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness 
Visit her Facebook page at: michelesfitness.

THE OTHER SIDE OF GLP-1s

INVITATION TO SANTA MONICA 
TO CLAIM MORE LIFE

THE OTHER SIDE OF GLP-1S

Everywhere you go, it seems like someone you know is 
suddenly losing weight. And not just five or ten pounds. 
People are turning to GLP-1s and losing a lot of weight.

You know the names: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro 
and Zepbound. These drugs have changed the way we 
treat obesity, and for some people the results have been 
remarkable. But before you join the crowd, there is 
another side of the story you should know. What exactly 
are you signing up for?

GLP-1 drugs reduce appetite and help people feel full 
sooner and longer, so they generally eat less and lose 
weight. But not all overeating is caused by hunger. For 
someone who eats to cope with stress, loneliness or an 
emotional void, the drug may curb the eating without 
addressing what is driving it.

Still, for someone with obesity facing serious health problems because of weight, the 
benefits can be very important. Some of these drugs can improve blood sugar and reduce 
serious health risks. But these are powerful medications, not simply an easier way to drop 
a few unwanted pounds.

The most common side effects involve the digestive system. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, 
constipation and stomach pain are all common. There are also less common but potentially 
serious problems.

Because these drugs slow digestion, severe stomach and intestinal problems can occur. 
Gallbladder problems, including gallstones and inflammation, have also been reported. 
Pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, is another warning doctors watch for. 
Vomiting and diarrhea can sometimes cause enough dehydration to affect the kidneys.

There is even a concern when you have surgery. Because food may remain in the stomach 
longer, it can still be there even after fasting. In rare cases, stomach contents can enter the 
lungs while a person is under anesthesia. This is why your medical team needs to know you 
are taking one of these medications before a procedure.

Then there is something especially important to me as a fitness professional. When you lose 
weight, you don't necessarily lose only fat. Some of that weight can be lean tissue, including 
muscle. Researchers are still studying what the loss of muscle and even bone mass during 
GLP-1 treatment may mean over time.

We need muscle to remain strong, active and independent. A smaller number on the 
bathroom scale does not automatically mean a healthier or fitter body. Strength training, 
regular physical activity and good nutrition become especially important when someone is 
losing a large amount of weight.

There is another fact that doesn't get nearly as much attention as the dramatic before-and-
after pictures. What happens when you stop taking the drug? Weight gain.

A large 2026 review of GLP-1 studies found that people regained about 60 percent of the 
weight they had lost within one year after stopping treatment. For many people, this isn't a 
medication you take for a few months, lose the weight and then simply walk away from. It 
may become long-term treatment for years or even indefinitely.

Anyone considering these drugs needs to ask some serious questions. Do I have a medical 
reason for taking this drug? How much weight do I really need to lose? What are the benefits 
and risks? What happens if I stop? Am I prepared to take this long term?

There’s also a lot we don't know. Some GLP-1 medications have been used for diabetes 
for many years. But today's widespread use of newer drugs at higher weight-loss doses is 
much more recent. We do not have decades of information about people using these newer 

Every person needs talismans that ground them through hard 
moments, and mine come from my people, the ancestors and 
mentors who believed in me before I believed in myself. My father 
gave me a pendant over 60 years ago, and I still keep it close. My 
mustard seed pendant carries my mother's declaration of faith, the 
belief that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. 
This week, a mental challenge tested me, and I called on every tool 
my nervous system knows. I held both pendants close, sang Rodgers and Hammerstein's 
"Impossible" to myself, and called in the voices of those who came before me and saw my 
potential clearly.

That same calling shows up in my work. I am a 30-year trial lawyer and an award-winning 
coach, recognized for the results my clients achieve. A litigator faces the impossible daily 
and steps into the arena again and again, regardless of the outcome of the last round. That 
same willingness built my own path: I am the woman who left her cute, affordable West 
Los Angeles apartment behind and moved to San Diego to go to law school with no money 
and no plan. I am also the woman who graduated in three years with no student loan debt, 
carrying Walt Disney's words with me the whole way: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

Our lives call us to be brave. Bravery opens the door to everything we want and everything 
we deserve. Fear often shows up right alongside growth, and moving forward while still 
feeling afraid marks the real work of transformation. Do you carry your own version of an 
"impossible" dream? You can start exactly where you are, with one small brave step taken 
today.

That's why you're invited to The Visionary Leaders' Salon, where elevated conversation 
meets real talk. This gathering is designed to bring 100 visionary leaders together around 
one powerful question: What would make your life a dime piece, 10/10? The salon centers 
personal growth, bigger questions, and better lives, with lunch and snacks provided for 
every attendee.

Join me October 10, 2026, from 10 AM to 4 PM at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa 
Monica. Registration opens through the QR code on the website below. Bring your own 
seemingly impossible dream, call in your own ancestors and mentors, and leave with a 
community ready to support your first brave step forward.

Make your life a 10/10. Let this gathering become your tiny first step toward more life.

Lori A. Harris is coach and podcast host. You learn more about her at loriaharris.com


PASADENA HUMANE REDUCES ADOPTION 
FEES AMID ADOPTION SLOWDOWN

Pasadena Humane will continue offering $25 dog adoptions today through Sunday as the 
shelter seeks to make room for animals arriving amid a seasonal adoption slowdown.

 The adoption special applies to all dogs ages 6 months and older. Pasadena Humane 
said it currently has more than 450 animals in its care, including more than 150 dogs.

 ``Last Saturday was one of our busiest intake days in recent memory. In a single day, 
48 animals -- 33 cats and 15 dogs -- came into the shelter,'' Pasadena Humane President 
and CEO Chris Ramon said. ``With animals continuing to arrive every day, we need the 
community's help. Adopting a dog right now not only changes that dog's life, it creates 
critical space for the next animal who needs us.''

 Large dogs are among those most in need of adopters, according to the shelter.

 Pasadena Humane officials said September typically brings a slowdown in adoptions as 
summer vacations end, schools return to session and families settle back into work and 
school routines, while animals continue arriving at the shelter.

 People interested in adopting can visit Pasadena Humane during adoption hours from 
9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Available animals can also be viewed online at pasadenahumane. 
org. 

Dogs adopted during the special will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated

and microchipped before going home, officials said.


HEART TELLS TALES

September 19 and 20, 2026

Encore performance! After sold-out Los Angeles and New York runs, Omen Kaine's The 
Heart Tells Tales returns to Sierra Madre Playhouse.

Following sold-out runs in Los Angeles and New York, Omen Kaine’s acclaimed 
psychological thriller The Heart Tells Tales returns for a special encore performance at the 
Sierra Madre Playhouse. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, this haunting 
production blends gripping drama with an electrifying live score to explore guilt, trauma, 
and the fragile boundaries of the human mind. Audiences who missed the original sold-
out engagement now have one more opportunity to experience the bold theatrical event 
that captivated theatergoers and established The Heart Tells Tales as one of 2025’s most 
talked-about new plays.