Stopped weight-loss injections: how to keep the weight off

Weight-loss injections are being talked about everywhere. And with them comes a growing question: what happens to your weight when you stop?

What the studies show

In the STEP 1 trial, published by Wilding and colleagues, people who used semaglutide and then stopped regained, within one year, about two-thirds of the weight they had lost. The medicine reduces hunger while you are taking it. When it stops, hunger comes back, and old habits come back with it if nothing has changed.

Before you stop

The decision to stop, reduce or switch the medicine is always made with your doctor. What is in your hands is getting your routine ready for when hunger returns.

Habits that hold on to your results

1. Know how much fits in your day: at your new weight, your calorie needs are lower too.
2. Log what you eat: it is the simplest way to notice overeating before it turns into pounds.
3. Protein at every meal: it helps keep you full when hunger increases.
4. Strength training: it helps preserve muscle, which matters for maintenance.
5. Weigh in every week: if the curve goes up two kilos, adjust right away, not after ten.

No guilt

Regaining some weight after stopping is common and does not mean failure. What matters is having a plan for the first months, which are the hardest.

This content is for information only and doesn't replace advice from a doctor or dietitian.