Stopping Wegovy (semaglutide) doesn't have to mean regaining weight and losing all your progress. With expert guidance, you can safely stop taking it and maintain weight loss.
Clinical data shows that maintaining results requires more than medication alone
Patients with health coaching and lifestyle support maintain significantly more weight loss¹
Personalised nutrition plans, health coaching, and clinical guidance support long-term results
Wegovy isn’t a short-term fix to get rid of some unwanted fat around your waistline. It’s part of a long-term solution to the chronic disease of obesity.2 And just like medication for other chronic diseases - such as high blood pressure or diabetes - your body could struggle to adapt if you stop taking it abruptly. But stopping Wegovy doesn't have to mean starting over. Expert guidance helps you get more from treatment than medication alone, supporting lasting lifestyle change and preventing weight regain.
Before looking at what might happen when you stop taking Wegovy, let’s first explore why someone might want to stop.
People stop taking Wegovy for several reasons:
Reaching their weight loss goal: If you’ve lost weight through Wegovy, it’s important to talk with your clinician before stopping the medication. That way you can make sure your healthier habits stick, which will reduce the chances of post-Wegovy weight gain. A structured weight loss programme can help you transition off medication while maintaining results.
Cost concerns: Although Wegovy has been proven to be an effective treatment for weight loss, it doesn’t come cheap, and you simply might not be able to afford it any more. That’s normal and understandable. You can speak to our team about alternative treatment options.
Side effects: In one clinical trial around 7% of users quit Wegovy because of the side effects of its active ingredient semaglutide, which can include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, headache, tiredness, dizziness, a bloated or upset stomach, and heartburn. For most people, these side effects subside after a few weeks.3
Personal choice. Wegovy isn’t for everyone, and if it’s not working out then there are other evidence-based approaches to sustainable weight loss. A lot of people simply decide they want to try a different approach - and that’s absolutely fine.
Wegovy works by controlling your appetite and promoting feelings of fullness through its active ingredient, semaglutide. When you stop taking it, your appetite may return to previous levels, which can lead to weight regain. But how likely is this?
A clinical study found that on average, Wegovy users regained two-thirds of the weight they lost after they stopped taking it.4 Another study found that when participants stopped taking semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy), their mean weight gain was +6.9%. Those who kept taking the medication lost -7.9% extra weight on average.5
But weight regain isn't inevitable.
Here's the important part: post-Wegovy weight regain is possible, but not guaranteed.
The key to avoiding weight regain is to maintain healthy habits after you stop the medication. This includes:
A balanced, sustainable diet
Regular physical activity
Stress management
Adequate sleep
Ongoing accountability and support
Without these lifestyle changes, weight regain is likely. With them, you can maintain your results long-term.
Our weight loss programme helps you build these habits with personalised health coaching, nutritional guidance, and clinical oversight, so your results last beyond medication.
Side effects typically reduce and resolve after stopping the medication, though timelines can vary from person to person. The effects of the jab tend to wear off after around a week (hence the need to inject it weekly), so you can expect the side effects to wear off after around the same timeframe too.
Wegovy works by mimicking hormones that control feelings of fullness.6 When you stop, your body no longer receives these signals, and you may experience more food noise, which is persistent, intrusive thoughts about eating.
This is why a structured programme is so important. It helps you understand food noise and learn behavioural strategies to manage it effectively over the long term.
Following expert guidance when stopping Wegovy is essential for safety and to minimise the risk of weight regain. When you should stop depends entirely on your personal situation and how your body has responded to the medication. A healthcare professional can guide you through the process and help you maintain your results, with advice based on:
Your weight loss progress and goals
Your confidence in maintaining healthier habits independently
Whether you've reframed your relationship with food
Your long-term health objectives
Our clinicians can help you come off the medication gradually to ease the transition and reduce the chance of weight regain.
Health coaching and a personalised weight loss programme can significantly help you maintain weight loss after stopping medication.3-5 Rather than relying on a weekly injection alone, a comprehensive programme:
Ties medication into your long-term health goals
Builds sustainable eating and exercise habits
Provides accountability and ongoing support
Addresses the root causes of weight gain, not just symptoms
Guides you through behavioural change strategies
Helps you maintain results when you transition off medication
All of your hard work can be undone without incremental lifestyle improvements. Structured weight loss programmes are led by experts and designed to deliver long-term results. These include:
Clinical oversight from doctors and specialists
One-to-one health coaching
If you're planning to stop taking Wegovy, here are some tips to help you maintain your results:
Work with your clinician to create a tapering plan. Gradually reducing your dose, rather than stopping suddenly, may help your body adjust and reduce the risk of rapid weight regain.
Start incorporating healthier eating patterns, regular exercise, and stress management while still on medication. This makes the transition easier.
Health coaching provides accountability, guidance, and personalised strategies to help you navigate the transition and maintain your weight loss.
Continue monitoring your weight, food intake, and physical activity. Early awareness of any regain allows you to adjust before it becomes significant.
Work on your relationship with food, emotional eating triggers, and lifestyle factors that contributed to weight gain initially. Medication can help you lose weight, but understanding why you gained it prevents future regain. If you want to explore any biological drivers of your weight gain, it's worth considering a finger-prick blood test, which you can complete at home.
In some cases, if appropriate to your circumstances, a clinician may discuss ongoing treatment options.
Weight regain after stopping medication is possible, but not inevitable. At Numan, we firmly believe that weight loss should last. Our programme goes beyond medication, tackling lifestyle, behaviour, and mindset to give you the tools for long-term success.
Sforzo GA, Gordon NF, Peeke PM, Moore M. Health and well-being coaching adjuvant to GLP-1 induced weight loss. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2025;19(4):652–60.
Burki T. European Commission classifies obesity as a chronic disease. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021;9(7):418
Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Calanna S, Davies M, Van Gaal LF, Lingvay I, et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(11):989–1002.
Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Davies M, Van Gaal LF, Kandler K, Konakli K, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022;24(8):1553–64.
Rubino D, Abrahamsson N, Davies M, Hesse D, Greenway FL, Jensen C, et al. Effect of continued weekly subcutaneous semaglutide vs placebo on weight loss maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity: The STEP 4 randomized clinical trial: The STEP 4 randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2021;325(14):1414–25.
Chao AM, Tronieri JS, Amaro A, Wadden TA. Semaglutide for the treatment of obesity. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2023;33(3):159–66.
Medically reviewed by Hassan Thwaini
Clinical Pharmacist and Copywriter, Master of Pharmacy (MPharm)
Medically reviewed:
