What happens when I stop weight loss injections (Wegovy / Mounjaro)?

Medications (GLP-1 / GIP medications) such as tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) are more and more commonly used and extremely beneficial for patients in the treatment of obesity. What people don't always hear is that they are not magic, once you stop taking them, they stop working. What does this mean? It means when you stop you will regain weight. Head hunger will likely recur. How can we mitigate this? Having a team for support (a doctor, psychologist, dietician) will make a difference! Overall, these medications are not a short-term solution and it needs to be remembered that obesity is a chronic disease which means you need to have long term solutions.

The STEP 4 Trial (Effect of Continued Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Placebo on Weight Loss Maintenance in Adults With Overweight or Obesity: The STEP 4 Randomized Clinical Trial | Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology | JAMA | JAMA Network) shows this effect. When the patients in the study swapped from the GLP-1 medication to a non-active placebo weight regain started immediately. The graph below is taken from this paper as an illustration.