With all the talk about semaglutide and weight loss programs and what kind of results you can expect, there’s one area some people seem to be glossing over during these conversations.
How long will you have to continue to take semaglutide for weight loss? Is a GLP-1 medication a long or short-term commitment? Will you have to keep taking the medication, or is it possible to maintain weight loss without it? Let’s look at how quickly you can expect to see results and how long you may need to remain on semaglutide.
Though semaglutide can significantly help your body’s appetite control and cause you to feel full even when you eat less, it isn’t likely you’ll wake up the morning after your first dose and be five pounds lighter than you were the night before.
Weight loss takes time. Several weeks to two to three months is the typical time it takes for patients to see a difference in their weight. However, it won’t take that long to feel the other effects of semaglutide, including feeling hungry less often, feeling full with smaller portions, and possibly experiencing a few side effects during the initial stages of semaglutide.
Semaglutide can be a safe and effective long-term weight loss tool. New semaglutide patients start on a low dose of the medication and work their way up to a larger dose. You’ll likely remain at this semaglutide dose until you reach your ideal weight. This may take some time and can mean staying in the “weight loss” stage of your program for a while as you start to reduce your weight in a healthy and sustainable way.
Once you get down to your goal weight, you will switch to a maintenance dose to help you keep your weight in check. These doses require less frequent administration (possibly every two weeks instead of weekly if you choose injectable semaglutide).
Your provider will probably recommend continuing a maintenance dose until you both feel confident that you’ve developed the healthy habits and lifestyle changes necessary to keep your weight down.
You may be worried that once you start taking semaglutide for weight loss, you might not be able to quit taking it–at least not without gaining back some of the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose.
The good news is that you may be able to come off the medication slowly. If your provider feels you’re staying in a healthy weight range without too much fluctuation, they may begin to decrease the amount and frequency of your semaglutide doses. You’ll need to continue monitoring your weight to make sure you can keep your numbers steady as you gradually discontinue semaglutide use.
If you’ve been frustrated by previous weight loss attempts that–despite healthy habits–haven’t been very productive, it may be time to consider a semaglutide plan at Injectco. Semaglutide has a higher success rate of producing weight loss when combined with proper nutrition and exercise than these lifestyle changes can accomplish on their own. Your Injectco provider will monitor your weight management and help you decide when you can decrease your semaglutide dose while still maintaining your weight loss results.
To learn more about Injectco’s weight loss services, call us at (817) 516-4801 or schedule your consultation through our website today!
