Why Weight Loss Injections Alone Are Not Enough and What Really Works

What the Headlines Say and What They Leave Out

Taking GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss has featured a lot in the news recently, including the potential side effects and what happens when you stop taking them.

News articles tend to focus on the negative aspects of these medications and the exceptional cases where things have gone wrong rather than giving a realistic overview of the good and the bad. An effective headline is one that stands out, after all.

Let's explore some of recent headlines about what happens when you stop taking GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro and find out the truth behind them.

Stopping GLP-1 Medications Leads to Weight Regain

Several recent news articles have focused on people gaining weight after stopping taking weight loss injections like Wegovy and Mounjaro.

They emphasise that GLP-1 medications aren't a "quick fix" for weight loss.

They discuss how this could pose a problem for people taking these weight loss injections on the NHS. Current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) state that GLP-1 medications can only be given on the NHS for up to 2 years. This could cause problems with weight regain when people come to the end of this 2 year period.

Unfortunately, it's common in the media to view weight loss medication as a one-off treatment. However, many clinical experts and ongoing research findings suggest weight loss medication should be seen as more of a long-term treatment plan that also involves lifestyle counselling .

Obesity Can Be Viewed As a Long-Term Health Condition

Health problems like high blood pressure and high cholesterol are common in the UK and treated with a combination of lifestyle changes and medication. Many people start medication for these conditions and continue it for years, or even for the rest of their lives. It may be time to start looking at obesity in the same way.

If you have high blood pressure and stop taking your medication, you would expect your blood pressure to return to being high if you haven't made other lifestyle changes. Recent research suggests that this may be similar when taking GLP-1 medication for weight loss and stopping - people can quickly return to their initial body weight.

Regaining weight after stopping weight loss medication shouldn't be seen as a failure. It means that better support plans are needed for people stopping weight loss medications to avoid weight regain, or that these medications need to be continued long term - possibly even for life.

Here at Quick Meds, we see weight loss as a journey and view weight loss medications as one of several weight loss tools rather than a quick fix. Weight loss success comes from combining medication with structured support around diet and exercise.

As we are a private weight loss service, we are able to offer prescription weight loss treatment for as long as it's clinically needed and safe to continue. We are not under the same funding criteria as the NHS, which means we're not limited to only prescribe weight loss injections for 2 years.

Weight loss medications are fairly new and research is still ongoing. This means clinical guidelines (both NHS and private) continue to evolve as more information becomes available. But let's break down the information we have so far on weight regain after stopping weight loss medication and why it's important to get the right weight loss support alongside taking medications.

What the Studies on Weight Regain Actually Found

Key Points From the Research

A poster summary of research done by the University of Oxford that was presented at the European Congress on Obesity analysed 11 different studies on weight loss. All the weight loss medications belonged to the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist family, but contained different active ingredients: Exenatide, Liraglutide, Semaglutide, and Tirzepatide.

They found that stopping GLP-1 medication caused people to regain weight and return to their baseline within 2 years. Weight gain happened at a faster rate after stopping GLP-1 weight loss medication than it did in other studies where people stopped attending weight management programmes. This suggests that a more comprehensive approach to weight loss may lead to better results.

Individual studies have investigated weight regain after stopping each specific medication. One study found that after taking Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) for 36 weeks, participants regained 14% of the weight they lost in just 16 weeks.

Another study investigating Semaglutide (the ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic) found that, after taking Semaglutide for 20 weeks, stopping the medication caused participants to regain 6.9% of the weight they lost in 48 weeks. A different study found that after taking Semaglutide for 68 weeks, participants regained 11.6% of their weight in a year after stopping.

Weight loss support varied a lot in these studies. For participants taking Tirzepatide, they received sporadic counselling with a healthcare professional including advice to exercise for 150 minutes a week and to reduce their daily calories by 500.

In the first Semaglutide study, participants received similar advice and counselling with a healthcare professional monthly. In the second Semaglutide study, all lifestyle advice was stopped when the medication was stopped.

Why These Results Should Not Discourage You

The evidence suggests that stopping medication without a plan increases your risk of regaining weight. However, many of the studies we are basing weight regain estimations on did not include adequate lifestyle support, detailed nutritional guidance, or planning and advice on stopping the medication. In one study, participants did not receive any support at all after stopping weight loss medication.

In the clinical trials, medication was stopped immediately rather than tapered down or gradually reduced. This means that all the helpful things the drug was doing suddenly stop, causing hunger cues to immediately ramp up and your stomach to process food more quickly again.

This sudden change is likely to make people overeat or turn to comfort foods, especially people who have not tried to make sustainable changes to their diet or to deal with any problems like emotional eating or binge eating.

There's ongoing research into whether slowly reducing the dose of weight loss medication before stopping can help reduce weight regain. One study found that patients who tapered down their semaglutide dose before stopping were able to keep the weight they lost off for the first 26 weeks (this was the full length of time they were followed for in the study).

Some healthcare professionals are using this approach when weight loss injections need to be stopped. By gradually reducing the dose before stopping completely, the aim is to allow hunger cues to increase gradually, giving patients time to get used to the changes.

Before stopping Wegovy, Mounjaro, or other weight loss injections, it's always essential to speak to a healthcare professional. Our Quick Meds team are always available to discuss your weight loss medication, including offering advice on how to stop taking it and avoid weight regain if that's your aim.

It's also important to remember that some medical treatments are used to manage symptoms rather than to permanently cure them. If you're still getting good results when taking your weight loss medication and are not struggling with side effects, you can continue taking your medication - there's no official limit for how long it's possible to take GLP-1 medication for.

Research is ongoing into this area, and with time we hope to have more answers on long-term weight management with GLP-1 medications.

Lasting Weight Loss Requires More Than Medication

Although weight loss medications can be effective, with 83.5% of Wegovy users and 89.4% of Mounjaro users losing at least 5% of their bodyweight, the key to healthy weight loss is combining weight loss medicine with a balanced diet and exercise.

How Weight Loss Injections Help

GLP-1 medications work by mimicking the natural hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 that your body produces after eating. After taking the medication, your body thinks GLP-1 levels are high which leads to a reduction in hunger levels and improved blood sugar regulation.

By feeling fuller for longer, the medication helps you to eat fewer calories, resulting in a calorie deficit. This means you're burning more calories than you're taking in, especially if you're exercising more, causing you to lose weight.

There's even some evidence that GLP-1 medications can reduce "food noise": intrusive thoughts about food and eating that make it easier to overeat or eat unhealthy foods. By quietening these thoughts, it can be less challenging to opt for healthy foods, to eat smaller portions, and to snack less often.

When your body's hunger cues are suppressed, you may find it easier to to make healthy choices and get into a routine you can maintain long-term.

The Role of Lifestyle Changes

Diet, exercise, and mindset all play a key role in losing weight and maintaining weight loss. Medications are useful for supporting behaviour changes, but they can't replace it. For weight loss to be successful, you'll have to eat a healthy, balanced, and reduced calorie diet along with exercising regularly.

You can always ask for help with how to improve your diet if you're not sure, but a few general things to change if you're trying to lose weight include:

• eating 5 portions of fruits or vegetables every day

• swapping out sugary drinks for water

• cutting down on foods that are high fat or high sugar

• not skipping meals, as this can make you snack or overeat at the next meal

• avoiding keeping unhealthy foods at home - if you don't have them there, you can't eat them

Although what you eat is most important for weight loss, exercise can help you burn extra calories while you're working out and to build more muscle, increasing your metabolic rate and burning more calories at rest.

It's good to aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week that is a combination of exercise that gets your heart rate up (aerobic exercise) and strength/resistance training that is great for gaining muscle.

A plan that combines diet changes and regular exercise is likely to be most effective for weight loss.

How Quick Meds Supports You With Weight Loss

A Safe and Simple Start

Before starting a new weight loss injection, we will first assess whether the treatment is suitable for you via an online consultation. This will involve talking to one of our team about your weight loss goals, medical history, and even providing photographs to confirm your eligibility for treatment.

If our team believe the medication is suitable for you they will prescribe it for you digitally. Medication is delivered safely and discreetly directly to your door with all the information required for you to take it safely.

Our team will also provide you with detailed information on your dosing schedule and how to get the best weight loss effects from your medication by making changes to your lifestyle.

What Ongoing Support Looks Like

Our team will follow up with you when it's time for each new prescription, making it clear when it's time to increase your dose. This is your chance to discuss any side effects or problems you're having with the medication.

Your dose will be tailored to your weight loss goals, how much weight you've lost so far, and whether you're experiencing any problems taking the medication.

Some people choose to stop taking GLP-1 medications due to side effects, but it's important to discuss any side effects with a healthcare professional before stopping the medication. Our team can advise you how best to take the medication to avoid any side effects, how to manage any side effects you do experience, and when to seek medical help if you experience any of the more serious side effects.

Although our team are always available to offer advise, in an emergency situation you should call 999 or 111 if you're not sure what type of medical help you need.

Planning for Long-Term Maintenance

You will not be left on your own if you're thinking of stopping Wegovy or Mounjaro. Although there is not a set timeline for how long someone can stay on these medications, if you choose to stop taking your weight loss medication we can help to make it a smooth process.

We can offer advice on how to limit weight regain, signpost you to specialist nutritional resources, and discuss other weight loss treatments that are available (including those offered on the NHS if cost is a factor for stopping the medication).