Artemis stepped on the scale and saw a number that scared her.
One year earlier, she was hopeful. Her doctor prescribed her Wegovy, and after seeing dozens of commercials and ads, she believed this was the key she needed to drop her stubborn baby weight.
But six months into her treatment, Artemis’ coupons ran out.
“The pharmacy called. They said ‘You’ve been paying the coupon price for six months for $25. Now the price has gone up to $1,300.’”
Artemis couldn’t afford that, so she stopped taking Wegovy. “I gained the 15 pounds back within the next six months. Since then, I probably gained another 15 pounds.”
Artemis’ story isn’t unique. A recent study found that the majority of people who take semaglutide—branded as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro—gain most of the weight back or more within a year of stopping the medication.
The news gets worse. All that weight regain comes in the form of fat, leaving semaglutide users with worse body composition and wrecked metabolisms.
Weight loss after using semaglutide is a steep uphill battle, but it’s not impossible. Be in the group of people who keep the weight off by following these steps.
Two Ways Semaglutide Changes Your Body
Before we discuss strategies, you need to understand how these weight loss drugs change your body and how it functions.
- You’ve Lost Weight, Not Necessarily Fat
Semaglutide imitates a hormone that we naturally produce in our intestines called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This hormone signals to our bodies that we feel full and prompts our stomachs to empty more slowly.
People on weight loss drugs report not feeling hungry often. Some lose their appetite altogether. They eat much less and, as a result, lose weight.
However, since there’s no guidance to help people lose body fat specifically, we’re seeing results similar to when people starve. The most up-to-date data on these drugs shows that people are losing weight, but up to 40% of that weight is from lean muscle mass.
- Your Metabolism Has Slowed Down Significantly
Eating too few calories for too long has many consequences on your overall health. Muscle loss is one, which takes a toll on your metabolism.
Your lean muscle mass is your metabolic powerhouse. If we’re overweight, it’s good for our bodies to lose fat, but it’s very bad for our bodies to lose muscle mass. If our muscle mass drops, so does our metabolism, which means we have to eat less and less each day to maintain our weight.
Once you stop taking Ozempic or Mounjaro, your appetite and old cravings will return in full force. With a slow metabolism, even a small amount of food added back in will cause weight gain. When we regain weight, most of that weight is fat. Now, we’re back at our original weight, but our body composition is much worse off. We have more body fat and less muscle mass.
Lean muscle mass is incredibly hard to build. It takes immense effort to even sustain our muscle mass as we age. With less muscle mass, maintaining our weight and losing more body fat is nearly impossible. The guidance below is critical if you want to maintain your weight loss and heal your metabolism.
Still On Ozempic or Mounjaro? Do This.
If you haven’t gone cold turkey and cut the drugs yet, take this advice!
Commit to Fat Loss, Not Weight Loss
Your commitment to fat loss versus weight loss while on these medications will have a huge impact on your ability to keep the weight off once you reduce your dose or discontinue your use. These three steps will help you lose weight or maintain your weight loss by protecting your lean muscle mass and metabolism.
- Eat Enough: With a zapped appetite and nausea as a side effect of weight loss drugs, it’s easy to eat very few calories a day. Though this might be tempting (eating less means more weight loss, right?), it actually will harm your goal of weight loss in the long run.
Forcing yourself to eat enough calories from whole food sources will help stabilize your metabolism and keep you from losing lean muscle mass. Create a deficit of no more than 200 calories a day for healthy and sustainable weight loss. For most women, I recommend eating at least 1400-1600 macro-balanced calories a day.
- Prioritize Protein: If you’re on a prolonged calorie-restricted diet or excessively complete cardio workouts without eating sufficient protein, your body will begin breaking down muscle tissue for energy. Since muscle tissue is the part of your body that burns big calories, losing it can lead to a lower metabolism and more weight gain later.
Protein is the most important macronutrient for fat loss. If you short change your protein, you’ll pay the price, especially as you age and muscle mass decreases.Shoot for 1.6-1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of your goal weight each day. For example, if your goal weight is 150 pounds (or 68 kg), you should be eating 109-123 grams of protein each day, supplementing if needed.
Your body can only utilize so much protein it receives in one sitting. Spread your protein goal equally between three meals for best results.
- Stick with Strength Training: Strength training is crucial for your metabolism. Protecting and building your lean muscle mass will increase your metabolism, boost your calorie burn during exercise, and increase your calorie burn after your exercise is complete. Building muscle also improves insulin sensitivity, helps your body burn more fat, and balances hormones.Complete at least 3 strength training sessions each week to protect your body composition and keep your metabolism as strong as possible.
Whether you just started using a GLP-1, have been on it for months or are ready to come off this medication and maintain your weight loss, I’ve created a special guide for you that’s releasing soon!
This step-by-step nutrition guide from Registered Dietitian Amanda Nighbert will lay out everything you need to be doing while on a GLP-1 and exactly what you need to do when you come off to sustain your progress! Sign up for the guide’s waitlist here.
