Ozempic - long term weight maintenance

[MynameisJune]

Has anyone been off Ozempic for a while and managed to maintain their weight loss? I’ve seen studies from last year that most people when they stopped the meds regained 2/3 of the weight they’d lost within 2 years.

Using ozempic needs to be as part of a healthy lifestyle approach to weight loss and maintenance. If someone goes back to the way they ate and to their original lifestyle then the weight will return. Ozempic is hoped to help form new habits , it's not a magic cure sadly so once the drug is stopped there's the need to continue to eat healthily, eat correct portions and be active, There are many reasons people gain weight to start with but if those aren't addressed then the time on ozempic will not have been as useful as it could have been.

Thanks for this, I’m well aware. I was asking for peoples real life experience.

I've been asking that too, @MynameisJune, but it doesn't seem as if anyone on MN has been on it long enough to come off it! It's why I'm holding off until there is more anecdotal evidence about the regain – spending £££s just to have the weight pile back on when I stop would be such a waste of money.

@Inkpotlover this is my worry! Tiktok has videos all over of people who came off it and gained more weight than previous. But then you have those like above who blame not changing habits on this, which to some extent I’m sure it is. But also some places claim that Ozempic changes your ‘steady state’ weight and therefore surely if you gain all the weight back then this isn’t true.

I’m well aware that every weight loss solution requires lifestyle changes even bariatric surgery but at this point that seems more sustainable than taking ozempic and gaining all the weight back when you stop.

I have just started Ozempic 0.5mg & I feel like it’s not working! I was previously on Saxenda & I’d been taking that for just over a year & lost 4st! I’ve heard about Ozempic & still want to lose more weight so thought I’d change over to it, I don’t know if it’s my mind tricking me into thinking Ozempic is not working because I’m not injecting every day like I was with the Saxenda or it is working & I just need to give it more time! I know it’s literally my first injection, my 2nd one will be Saturday & then after the 4th I’ll move up to 1mg. I just wanted some advice, reassurance or anything really to let me know I’m not going mad & it will work??

Yes, I've been reading all about Remi Bader and how not only has she regained all the weight after coming off Ozempic but it's amplified her binge eating. I also agree that you absolutely have to change your habits for it to be sustainable, but if your appetite comes back with a vengeance, as people say it does, no amount of positive thinking and healthy eating is going to stave it.

@CarlieH See my reply on one of the other threads you've asked this question on.

I've lost considerable amounts of weight over the years and gained it all back plus more each time.

I'm as educated as you can get when it comes to good habits but the appetite is a sneaky little sabotaging bastard.

I need to lose weight again after I stopped actively dieting around 5 years ago. It was exhausting with the gym, the sourcing of nourishing yet filling food, feeding a family, full time job etc...

I'd love to lose weight again but I'm all dieted out.

This drug would suit me down to the ground. I could just get on with my life eating the same food but less of it without being constantly "hangry".

I hope you get a good answer ... Maybe a way of micro-dosing once a healthy weight's achieved. That's the thing that stops me having a crack at this too. Good luck with replies.

@Panfriedscallops sneaky little sabotaging bastard!!

I love it!! Describes my appetite perfectly x

@Panfriedscallops i am exactly the same, I’ve lost weight then gain it back in a vicious cycle. I’ve tried reverse dieting, calorie counting, lifting heavy weights and loads of exercise, intermittent fasting etc. But as you say, it’s exhausting on top of a demanding job and two small children. The older I get the more difficult it is to lose the weight. Just once in my adult life I’d like to be thin without it being a massive up hill mental battle every day against cravings and compulsions.

I’m contemplating ozempic but also looking at an allurion balloon as well. Long term I’m not sure which one has better maintenance stats.

I think with ozempic the research is all very new and so much not known. With the balloon has it more research about long term results. Personally despite quite a rough ride so far with ozempic I'd recommend it. I am 51, long term disabled and menopausal. Nothing could shifty weight no diet no plan. I'd really try hard for a month and be lucky to shift a pound. I've lost ten pounds so far in four and a half weeks on ozempic and really happy. Juniper gives me a 1:1 health coach who I can msg and she answers all my queries and gives good advice.

Good luck with the decision. I found all the ozempic Mumsnet threads very useful. If you ignore the lecturing posts x

I could imagine in the future there being a version of these current drugs that people take every day like they do blood pressure drugs etc. For life.

Or maybe people will go on and off ozempric etc as they need to?

Sorry not what you asked and this is me just speculating. As pp have said it's such early days and if these drugs are found to be really effective and prevent diseases associated with weight gain.....

Absolutely, I wish you well.

My children are grown, in fact I'm a grandma now but I've been dieting all my life and it's soul destroying. If this helps then go for it. @SarahC50 posts are most encouraging

My GP put me on Ozempic as my BMI was so high plus I have really high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid deficiency and asthma. Also my back has nerve damage so a lot of pain. Not a nice combination. GP told me I'd be on Ozempic 0.25 for a month, then 0.5 for a month followed by 1.0 until I reach a reasonable weight that will make me healthier. I was also warned of weight gain but told I could stay on a 0.25 dose for as long as I need to be to help prevent me from regaining weight. I'm also expecting to re-educate myself in terms of what I can eat when with meal planning with the aid of a dietician.

I think it is expected you take it for life, at least they do I'm America and I intend to

Is the funding at the mo over here though. Aren't the NHS doing it for 18 months? Or 2 years? For those suitable.

That's if you're diabetic. That's a lifelong condition. I read the manufacturer has said it's meant to be taken only for max. two years for weight loss and that's when prescribed by your doctor.

That's rude - there was nothing remotely sanctimonious about @AutisticLegoLover's comment! She is being absolutely realistic about the limitations of Ozempic. If you don't ingrain new healthy habits, you'll like put the weight back on. Which is what you've said too in your post. Not sure why you are allowed to say it but she can't.

Oh yikes, that's awful! Pancreatitis is really serious. What treatment are you receiving? Is your doc definitely sure it's caused by Ozempic?

It's a (thankfully) very rare but acknowledged and documented side effect of all GLP-1 agonists. It's a serious drug with rare but potentially serious side-effects. It's not an over the counter magic bullet for weight loss. This is why many of us here warm about dicking around with dosing, not following eating advice and generally not reading the literature. I'm not for one moment suggesting that @JustATinyOne did any of that or anything other than was a perfect patient. But her experience shows that serious side-effects can and do occur. The health benefits of taking GLP-1 agonists for D2 and or obesity have to be weighed against the potential health "costs". We're do this routinely with paracetamol, insulin, antibiotics, cortosteroids, we should all be doing it for GLP-1 agonists too. www.ozempic.com/how-to-take/side-effects.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294388/

This is interesting to read, thanks for sharing. Judging by some of the comments I'm reading on these threads from posters casually upping their dose against advice 'because it's not working' and they're not losing weight quickly enough, I'm not sure everyone appreciates what a serious drug it is.

Ah ok I wasn't aware of that.