For those who’ve been looking for new methods to advance your weight reduction efforts, you’ve in all probability heard about incretin mimetic medication like Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy, and Zepbound. Many individuals have reported dramatic weight reduction by taking all these medicines.
However what occurs once you cease taking incretin mimetics for weight reduction? Do you acquire weight again after quitting, or do it’s a must to take them ceaselessly to take care of your outcomes?
Quick reply: If you cease taking incretin mimetics, you’ll possible regain a lot of the weight you misplaced.
That may be discouraging when you think about the downsides of long-term use. For starters, there’s the price — each Mounjaro and Ozempic have an inventory value of about $1,000 for a month’s provide. Out-of-pocket prices will differ primarily based in your insurance coverage plan, however they will add up shortly, particularly if it’s a must to issue them into your month-to-month finances ceaselessly.
These medicines are additionally comparatively new to the scene, which implies their long-term results might not be absolutely understood. It’s necessary to weigh all of the potential dangers and rewards earlier than deciding whether or not incretin mimetics are best for you. And, after all, you need to at all times discuss to your physician earlier than beginning (or stopping!) any treatment.
For those who’re contemplating incretin mimetics or their kin for weight reduction, right here’s what that you must know.
How Do Mounjaro and Ozempic Work?
Mounjaro, Zepbound, Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy work by mimicking metabolic hormones known as incretins. Therefore, these medication are known as incretin mimetics.
This hormonal mimicry enhances the physique’s skill to take care of wholesome blood sugar ranges. It additionally helps cut back urge for food and meals consumption by making you’re feeling full quicker and for longer after consuming. Because of this, many individuals expertise weight reduction as a secondary impact.
Whereas these medication all work in comparatively comparable methods, there are a couple of key variations in terms of their mechanisms of motion and supposed use.
Semaglutide mechanism of motion
These three medicines are manufactured by Novo Nordisk and comprise the identical energetic ingredient, semaglutide. Semaglutide mimics the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone, which helps to advertise insulin manufacturing, sluggish digestion, and suppress urge for food.
Ozempic (injectable) and Rybelsus (capsule kind) are each FDA-approved as first-line remedies for sort 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, medical doctors will generally prescribe these medicines off-label — i.e., not as directed — for weight reduction.
Wegovy, then again, is an FDA-approved, injectable model of semaglutide formulated particularly for weight administration. It’s supposed for adults with weight problems or obese adults with a minimum of one weight-related well being situation.
Tirzepatide mechanism of motion
The energetic ingredient in each Mounjaro and Zepbound is tirzepatide. Like semaglutide, tirzepatide mimics the GLP-1 hormone and will increase insulin sensitivity. However tirzepatide’s mechanism of motion additionally mimics the gastric inhibitory peptide hormone (GIP), which helps to advertise insulin secretion and regulate urge for food and satiety.
“There have been research that present that tirzepatide ends in extra weight reduction than semaglutide,” says Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Middle at Orange Coast Medical Middle in Fountain Valley, CA. “This has been attributed to affecting two receptors reasonably than one.”
Mounjaro and Zepbound, that are each administered through once-weekly injections, are manufactured by Eli Lilly. Mounjaro is FDA-approved as a diabetes treatment, whereas Zepbound is authorized for weight administration in adults with weight problems, or obese adults with a minimum of one weight-related well being situation. (Sound acquainted?)
Like Ozempic and Rybelsus, Mounjaro could also be prescribed off-label for weight reduction.
What Occurs When You Cease Taking GLP-1 Medicine for Weight Loss?
Incretin mimetics will help with weight administration whilst you’re taking them. However once you cease taking these medication, your metabolic perform will revert again to its pre-medication state, and the quantity on the size will possible comply with swimsuit.
Listed here are a couple of frequent unwanted side effects of stopping Mounjaro, Ozempic, and the like:
1. Your urge for food will make a comeback
“[Incretin mimetics’] main impact for weight reduction is to suppress the urge for food and sluggish the emptying of the abdomen,” Ali says. “As soon as the treatment is stopped, the urge for food returns to its earlier state and the abdomen resumes emptying on the regular price. These processes can result in an individual eager to eat extra.”
2. You’ll possible regain a lot of the burden you misplaced
As soon as your urge for food is again in full swing, you’ll must hold a detailed eye in your calorie consumption. “If the affected person shouldn’t be cautious, they will begin regaining weight,” Ali says.
One medical trial discovered that, a yr after stopping incretin mimetics, contributors had regained a median of two-thirds of the burden they’d initially misplaced. Their cardiometabolic enhancements went again to baseline, too.
3. Your blood sugar might rise
If you cease taking incretin mimetics, Ali says, insulin secretion returns to its earlier state and you might discover a rise in your blood glucose ranges. In a current peer-reviewed examine, researchers divided contributors into 4 teams. Three teams took tirzepatide in various doses, whereas the fourth group was given the sort 2 diabetes drug dulaglutide.
One yr later, all three tirzepatide teams had better enhancements in blood glucose ranges than the dulaglutide group. Nevertheless, two months after stopping remedy, all 4 teams had re-elevated blood glucose ranges — and the tirzepatide teams had been already experiencing rebound weight acquire.
The examine authors concluded that their findings “counsel a necessity for steady prescription or cautious follow-up when stopping.”
Can You Simply Cease Taking Mounjaro and Ozempic?
Given the extent to which long-term medication like semaglutide and tirzepatide have an effect on the physique, quitting chilly turkey shouldn’t be suggested with out the steering of a doctor. That mentioned, there is no such thing as a compelling proof that discontinuing their use will trigger critical withdrawal signs.
There is a rising physique of analysis, nonetheless, suggesting that many individuals expertise a “fast rebound” in blood glucose ranges and weight acquire after stopping incretin mimetics. These results “are usually not thought-about withdrawal signs, however the return of the affected person’s prior physiology,” Ali says.
Preserving weight reduction after quitting incretin mimetics
When you’ve hit your weight reduction targets, it might be attainable to cease taking semaglutide and tirzepatide with out regaining a lot weight. However you’ll have to be ready to make use of the next way of life methods:
“If a affected person is ready to make vital, long-term dietary and way of life modifications, then they’ve a greater probability of conserving the burden off when the medicines are stopped,” Ali says.
As at all times, you will need to keep in mind you need to at all times seek the advice of a healthcare supplier earlier than stopping and restarting Mounjaro, Ozempic, or some other such treatment.
Ought to You Contemplate Taking Weight Loss Medicine?
Incretin mimetics could also be getting lots of hype, but it surely’s necessary to notice that they’re supposed to be long-term remedies for persistent well being points — not only a fast method to lose a couple of cussed kilos.
“These medicines are designed for sufferers categorized as overweight with a physique mass index over 30, or over 27 with different co-morbid circumstances,” Ali says.
Even for many who meet the medical standards, a weight reduction drug is not any substitute for a balanced weight loss program and common train. Consuming nutrient-dense meals remains to be the easiest way to get the nutritional vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants you want. And a weight reduction treatment can’t stand in for train in terms of enhancing power, cardio capability, coronary heart well being, bone well being, and extra.
How Lengthy Do GLP-1 Medicine Keep in Your System?
In accordance with the Meals and Drug Administration, the half-life of tirzepatide is about 5 days. Meaning once you cease taking these medication, it might take round a month for the drug to be utterly gone out of your physique.
The half-life of semaglutide is round seven days, so once you cease taking these medication, it might keep in your system for about 5 weeks after the final dose.
Nevertheless, to take care of their effectiveness, semaglutides and tirzepatides are prescribed for weekly use, and so they’re supposed for use indefinitely. “Weight problems is being considered a persistent illness, resembling diabetes or hypertension, so sufferers might have to be on these medicines long-term,” Ali says.