I am eight weeks into deliberately reducing rather than stopping, and the appetite change came back faster than the weight did.
What I am after is whether there is a lowest maintenance dose with actual maintenance data behind it, or whether everything published sits at the top of the ladder.
Numbers rather than impressions, if you have them.
This one has a reasonably settled answer, so here it is. One third of STEP 4 participants held most of their loss without the drug, and nobody has convincingly characterised who they are. That subgroup is the most interesting unanswered question in the field and it is routinely flattened into the two-thirds headline.
JennaRN said:One third of STEP 4 participants held most of their loss without the drug, and nobody has convincingly characterised who they are.
Pregnancy after maintenance dosing weight loss: stopped GLP-1 medication 4 months before TTC as recommended. Was terrified of regaining weight during pregnancy.
Worked closely with my OB and MFM. Gained 29 lbs during pregnancy (within recommended range). Baby is healthy. The metabolic improvements from pre-pregnancy weight loss gave both of us a healthier pregnancy.
If you're planning pregnancy, discuss the medication discontinuation timeline with your OB. GLP-1 agonists are NOT safe during pregnancy.
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View ResultsKristenIndy said:I am eight weeks into deliberately reducing rather than stopping, and the appetite change came back faster than the weight did.
This matches mine closely enough to be worth saying so. Extending the interval and reducing the dose are pharmacologically different. Reducing the dose lowers the whole exposure curve evenly; extending the interval keeps the peak and drops the trough. Since the appetite effect tracks the trough, interval extension tends to give you good days and bad days rather than a uniformly smaller effect, which most people find harder to live with.
From the other side of the consultation, briefly.
Maintenance phase reality on maintenance dosing: reached my goal 6 months ago and now I'm in maintenance. It's a different mental game.
During weight loss, the scale going down is constant positive reinforcement. In maintenance, the scale staying the same is... just... nothing. It's anticlimactic. The dopamine hit is gone.
What keeps me going: lab improvements, physical capabilities, how I feel, fitting in clothes I love, and the knowledge that regain happens when people stop being intentional. I'm staying intentional.