Taking control of your diet has always been a keystone of a proper weight management plan, something which has never been easier thanks to the increasing use of weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy which help to regulate your hunger.
But while one in eight Americans are now using these drugs to help them lose weight, these monthly injections can be expensive if not covered by your insurance plan and it is not yet clear whether you should be using them long term.
The problem for many patients who have benefitted from these drugs, which mimic the hunger-regulating hormone GLP-1, is that when they stop using them, they start gaining the weight back. Lifestyle specialist Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi has warned that your appetite can return like an 'avalanche or a tsunami' and advised how to keep the weight off.
One woman, Tanya Hall, who saw her health transform after losing six stone on Wegovy, told the BBC that when she stopped taking the drug, 'it's like a switch that goes on and you're instantly starving'.
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Hall has tried to come off weight loss drugs multiple times, but always returned after just a few days because her ballooning appetite left her 'completely horrified'. Dr Al-Zubaidi said that ceasing use of the medication can feel like 'jumping off a cliff', with patients left to regulate their diet alone once again.
Many users will eventually go it alone, in part because of side effects like diarrhea and nausea - even hair loss, as Hall experienced when her weight began to plummet.
"I often see patients who will come off it when they're on the highest dose because they've reached their target and then they stop, " Dr Al-Zubaidi shared with the BBC.
With 40 percent of Americans falling into the obese category, it is important to remember that these drugs can be literal life-savers as chronic high weight impacts every organ and limb in your body, heavily contributing to your risk of mortality.
But analysis by scientists at Stamford Health found that most people can expect to gain back the pounds once they stop using the treatment.
Their head of research Suzanne Rose PhD said: “On average, they gained about 60 percent of the weight back within a few months to a year – despite those lifestyle modifications.”
She warned: “That can be a devastating thing for the patient to deal with.”
This is something Dr Al-Zubaidi has noticed, with former users often seeing a large proportion of their body mass returning. He described: "Somewhere in the region of 60 to 80 percent of the weight that you lost will return."
The lifestyle specialist argued that patients needed proper support after coming off the drugs, with a weight-management plan and changes to their environment that will help them maintain their slimmer physique.
"The environment that people live in needs to be one that promotes health, not weight gain," he said, adding: "Obesity is not a GLP-1 deficiency."
Medicines regulator NICE recommends that people who stop using GLP-1 drugs should get a tailored plan of action to help them keep their weight down and appetites under control, with any plan in place for at least a year to ensure that your body gets used to life without drugs like Mounjaro.
A spokesperson for the manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, said: "Patient safety is of the utmost importance to Novo Nordisk. Treatment decisions, including discontinuation of treatment, should be made together with a healthcare provider who can evaluate the appropriateness of using a GLP-1 based on assessment of a patient’s individual medical profile. The side effects listed in the product label should be taken into account as part of this.
"Wegovy (semaglutide injection) is indicated for weight management (including weight loss and weight maintenance) therefore some level of weight regain upon discontinuation of the medicine can be expected.
"We continuously collect safety data on our marketed GLP-1 RA medicines and work closely with the authorities. We recommend that any patient experiencing side effects while taking GLP-1s, including Wegovy (semaglutide injection), report them to their healthcare provider and via the MHRA Yellow Card scheme: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/."
Topics: Health, Mounjaro, Weight loss
William Morgan