After hitting your target weight — do you taper off, or settle on a maintenance dose and stay there?

[gimmeshelter]

I'm wondering how people handle things once they've reached the weight they were aiming for. Say you dropped from 200lbs down to 165lbs. When you land at 165lbs, do some of you reduce the dose while keeping to a schedule, or do you come off entirely and then restart when it's needed?

And for anyone who has landed on a maintenance figure — does it sit close to where you began? Lower? Higher? Thanks !

 

[DunningKruger]

Historically, I've taken breaks from it, mainly to avoid relying on outside compounds. Whenever my diet, training, or stress levels slip, I've seen only about 10-15 lbs return, and I handle that with a brief cycle again.

For me, the ideal maintenance figure isn't really a figure at all — it's the point where your body rests comfortably without pushing too hard. If maintaining takes a huge amount of effort, I see that as a signal the goal itself can't last. Leaner bodies are tougher to hold onto without strict eating and training, and that brings the hormonal mess along with it: constantly elevated cortisol, hair shedding, and missed periods (in women).

How about you? Where do you stand on this?

 

[byefatlicia]

I'm in this for the long haul... There are far too many advantages to quit Plus, I really enjoy being in charge of what I eat.

 

[Sasquatch]

I'll give you my answer in 6 months. People I know, my Dr. included, cycled off and only pin when needed. (seldom)

Whoops! Just realized this is in the Reta group. N/M

 

[lemon lady]

it resolved my IBS-C, so I will never quit; the weight loss isn't even my concern—I'm on it for that reason

 

[yrrdead]

Right now I'm working on locating a balance point. I stretch out the gap between shots and simultaneously fine-tune the amount. At present it's 2.2mg every 5days. I'll keep making changes as needed. Quitting entirely isn't something I intend to try.

 

[Ragu1]

gimmeshelter said:

I'm wondering how people handle things once they've reached the weight they were aiming for. Say you dropped from 200lbs down to 165lbs. When you land at 165lbs, do some of you reduce the dose while keeping to a schedule, or do you come off entirely and then restart when it's needed?

And for anyone who has landed on a maintenance figure — does it sit close to where you began? Lower? Higher? Thanks !

I've been in "maintenance" mode for 6 months now. Finding the right combination of dosage and how often to take it has proven elusive. My tirz journey lasted 2 years, during which I dropped from 255 to 190. The 5mg mark was never exceeded .. low doses worked well for me. Right now I take 2.5 every 5 days, though I'm still adjusting things. A few pounds have crept on at most, but I've managed to shed them again. Quitting a glp entirely seems unlikely for me. Results vary from person to person, and your "maintenance" will take time to figure out depending on which glp you use or whether you're stacking, until you settle into a place that feels right.

 

[Habibibi]

Since this medication works by optimizing metabolism, stopping it isn't something I intend to do. My A1c is right where it should be, my fasting insulin remains low, and my egfr has never been higher. I've reached my goal. A few people with better luck have managed to lower their dose and still maintain, but that hasn't been the case for me.

 

[randompersonrandom]

My guess is that whatever dose got me to my goal is also what will hold me at that goal. I've just made what I hope is my final step up, to 9mg, and there are still 6lbs left to lose.

Stopping the survo is something I do intend to do, though. The only reason I began it was to counter tirz fatigue, and my hunch is that after half a year, that fatigue may be gone. Then again, maybe it was never there to begin with — perhaps I simply felt worn out because I wasn't taking in enough food to comfortably fuel a body that was larger at the time. On top of that, since every compulsive urge I had disappeared in what felt like an instant, my brain needed time to catch up, and until it did, I had no strong pull toward doing anything other than parking myself on the couch. But catch up it did, and once I could feel motivation again, I'm fairly confident that coming off the survo won't bring the tiredness back.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Nothing like a good blast and cruise!

 

[lessthanhalf]

Regardless of whether I were attempting to maintain a loss of over half my bodyweight, I would remain on it permanently as a safeguard against heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, and likely cancer too. My risk is probably higher than average, yet that also applies to a substantial share of individuals who have lived with obesity for an extended period.

 

[Calm Logic]

What SURMOUNT-4 teaches us, per this paper:

"The consistency of these data across therapeutic classes... suggests that obesity is a chronic metabolic condition...requiring long-term therapy in most patients. Much of [the] initial improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors had been reversed [after stopping tirzepatide]."

 

[MFGamesta]

I reached my target weight while using reta, and at this point I'm lowering my dose step by step to figure out what maintenance looks like. If nothing works, I might simply quit entirely.

 

[lessthanhalf]

If someone has dealt with severe, long-standing obesity and used GLP medications to shed the weight, expecting to quit once the weight is gone is mostly a fantasy. Of course you can give it a shot, and it makes even more sense if your diet and activity habits have improved, but my view is that if the scale starts creeping up again, getting back on the medication quickly matters a lot. Wait too long and you are right back in the cycle of losing and regaining, something that staying on treatment could spare you from permanently. I fully back what was said earlier: when keeping weight off demands nonstop mental strain and eating below what your body is asking for, that is not a lasting arrangement — virtually everyone exhausts that kind of willpower at some point.

For those outside this group — less extreme obesity, or a shorter history of it — the picture is less clear-cut, though I suspect the same dynamics ultimately apply. Regaining 10 or even 20 kg harms health, yes, but it is nowhere near as damaging as carrying a BMI in the 40s or beyond. What GLP drugs offer above all is the ability to hold onto the weight loss. They do make the initial drop somewhat easier, but nearly anyone with a weight issue has managed to lose some weight at some stage — that part was never the real challenge. The real challenge comes months or years down the line, when you still have to say no to foods you crave if you want to avoid putting the weight back on. And you have to do that while stressed, while upset, at Christmas, on vacation, and so on. GLP drugs basically take care of this, since within this weight range they are effective enough to reach healthy weights or bring BMI out of the overweight zone, and they do not demand that endless mental struggle — you simply keep taking the GLP. Based on what we know so far, though it is not yet confirmed in healthy populations, they probably also extend how long and how healthily you live. As long as side effects are manageable, the choice is obvious, and if you come off them and regain, you will likely wind up on blood pressure pills, statins, and possibly diabetes drugs down the road — so you are not really avoiding medication dependence either way.

 

[RubbaDubba1]

For the majority, keeping the weight off long term likely isn't going to happen — that's exactly why GLP-1s exist, and why most of us probably need at least a small ongoing dose to stay on track. I count myself in that group! For me, 1mg of Reta plus 1-1.5mg of Tirz does the job and keeps the Demons from getting loose. This has been a lifelong battle for me (same as most folks). Between bariatric surgery and a GLP-1, I've dropped roughly 400lbs. The drug needs around 6 weeks to clear out of your body. I've cycled off 3X now, and each time I put weight right back on — like I'm a Rock Star headed straight back to rehab! (I'll pass along a hello to Lyndsey Lohan from all of us) Honestly, it still leaves me feeling like somewhat of a letdown. Sooo

 

[oldrunnerguy]

Habibibi said:

Since this medication works by optimizing metabolism, stopping it isn't something I intend to do. My A1c is right where it should be, my fasting insulin remains low, and my egfr has never been higher. I've reached my goal. A few people with better luck have managed to lower their dose and still maintain, but that hasn't been the case for me.

My own reason for starting was also mainly metabolic. I had labs drawn on 12/28/25 and started Reta the following day. When labs were repeated on 2/23/26, my A1C had fallen 0.2, total cholesterol was down 8%, triglycerides were down 28%, HDL — already good — climbed 5% to 96(!), and LDL dropped 30%. After a few months of trying Tirz, I suspect this is a lifelong commitment for me (both in the figurative sense and the literal one.)

 

[randompersonrandom]

RubbaDubba1 said:

For the majority, keeping the weight off long term likely isn't going to happen — that's exactly why GLP-1s exist, and why most of us probably need at least a small ongoing dose to stay on track. I count myself in that group! For me, 1mg of Reta plus 1-1.5mg of Tirz does the job and keeps the Demons from getting loose. This has been a lifelong battle for me (same as most folks). Between bariatric surgery and a GLP-1, I've dropped roughly 400lbs. The drug needs around 6 weeks to clear out of your body. I've cycled off 3X now, and each time I put weight right back on — like I'm a Rock Star headed straight back to rehab! (I'll pass along a hello to Lyndsey Lohan from all of us) Honestly, it still leaves me feeling like somewhat of a letdown. Sooo





View attachment 11642

View attachment 11643

Far from feeling like a disappointment, I went in fully expecting that if this medication did its job, I would need to stay on it for it to keep doing its job. SURMOUNT wasn't even on my radar, yet the logic felt obvious. Blood pressure pills only hold your numbers down while you swallow them. Statins only keep cholesterol in check while you keep refilling the prescription. ADHD medication only helps you function on the days you take it. So why would I assume a drug that stops me from being overweight would somehow keep working after I stopped taking it?

There's no room in my life for agonizing over whether I should feel guilty about needing this medication to hold the weight off. I'm too busy buying shirts that don't conceal the shape of my waist. That waist cost me a lot of money and took far too long to finally exist — I'm not about to bury it under tops that drape from my chest and make me look like a tank.

 

[Minkster]

My completely unscientific hunch: anyone whose metabolism was genuinely broken will likely stay on this for life. But if your issue was simply eating too much and you only needed a bit of willpower backup, cycling off might work.

In my case, diet and exercise only ever got me the same 5-10lbs off. Since starting Reta, with pretty much the same diet and exercise as before, I've dropped close to 20lbs.

 

[RubbaDubba1]

randompersonrandom said:

RubbaDubba1 said:

For the majority, keeping the weight off long term likely isn't going to happen — that's exactly why GLP-1s exist, and why most of us probably need at least a small ongoing dose to stay on track. I count myself in that group! For me, 1mg of Reta plus 1-1.5mg of Tirz does the job and keeps the Demons from getting loose. This has been a lifelong battle for me (same as most folks). Between bariatric surgery and a GLP-1, I've dropped roughly 400lbs. The drug needs around 6 weeks to clear out of your body. I've cycled off 3X now, and each time I put weight right back on — like I'm a Rock Star headed straight back to rehab! (I'll pass along a hello to Lyndsey Lohan from all of us) Honestly, it still leaves me feeling like somewhat of a letdown. Sooo





View attachment 11642

View attachment 11643

Far from feeling like a disappointment, I went in fully expecting that if this medication did its job, I would need to stay on it for it to keep doing its job. SURMOUNT wasn't even on my radar, yet the logic felt obvious. Blood pressure pills only hold your numbers down while you swallow them. Statins only keep cholesterol in check while you keep refilling the prescription. ADHD medication only helps you function on the days you take it. So why would I assume a drug that stops me from being overweight would somehow keep working after I stopped taking it?

There's no room in my life for agonizing over whether I should feel guilty about needing this medication to hold the weight off. I'm too busy buying shirts that don't conceal the shape of my waist. That waist cost me a lot of money and took far too long to finally exist — I'm not about to bury it under tops that drape from my chest and make me look like a tank.

I hear you completely — 110% — and I'm grateful for it. I'm older, I've dealt with bullying my whole life, parents who didn't want a big kid, body dysmorphia, and so on. It was always about pushing harder, moving more, eating less. I've spent my entire working life in production, always on my feet, and stepping off that path and accepting that I can't manage this alone has been tough. My weight loss surgery was 17 years ago; 14 years afterward I put back on 150lbs and needed help once more. I've been through 13 surgeries, with 2 more this year and several still ahead. They're mostly orthopedic. I deal with daily pain and I'm trying to avoid a nursing home. I'm just being straight with myself, trying to keep functioning while I still can, and hoping peptides can help me hobble toward retirement or disability — whichever comes 1st.

Maybe that's too much, too real, or sounds overblown. I'm on the slow fast track, and I think if I don't feel this way, I'll lose the fight!

 

[randompersonrandom]

RubbaDubba1 said:

randompersonrandom said:

RubbaDubba1 said:

For the majority, keeping the weight off long term likely isn't going to happen — that's exactly why GLP-1s exist, and why most of us probably need at least a small ongoing dose to stay on track. I count myself in that group! For me, 1mg of Reta plus 1-1.5mg of Tirz does the job and keeps the Demons from getting loose. This has been a lifelong battle for me (same as most folks). Between bariatric surgery and a GLP-1, I've dropped roughly 400lbs. The drug needs around 6 weeks to clear out of your body. I've cycled off 3X now, and each time I put weight right back on — like I'm a Rock Star headed straight back to rehab! (I'll pass along a hello to Lyndsey Lohan from all of us) Honestly, it still leaves me feeling like somewhat of a letdown. Sooo





View attachment 11642

View attachment 11643

Far from feeling like a disappointment, I went in fully expecting that if this medication did its job, I would need to stay on it for it to keep doing its job. SURMOUNT wasn't even on my radar, yet the logic felt obvious. Blood pressure pills only hold your numbers down while you swallow them. Statins only keep cholesterol in check while you keep refilling the prescription. ADHD medication only helps you function on the days you take it. So why would I assume a drug that stops me from being overweight would somehow keep working after I stopped taking it?

There's no room in my life for agonizing over whether I should feel guilty about needing this medication to hold the weight off. I'm too busy buying shirts that don't conceal the shape of my waist. That waist cost me a lot of money and took far too long to finally exist — I'm not about to bury it under tops that drape from my chest and make me look like a tank.

I hear you completely — 110% — and I'm grateful for it. I'm older, I've dealt with bullying my whole life, parents who didn't want a big kid, body dysmorphia, and so on. It was always about pushing harder, moving more, eating less. I've spent my entire working life in production, always on my feet, and stepping off that path and accepting that I can't manage this alone has been tough. My weight loss surgery was 17 years ago; 14 years afterward I put back on 150lbs and needed help once more. I've been through 13 surgeries, with 2 more this year and several still ahead. They're mostly orthopedic. I deal with daily pain and I'm trying to avoid a nursing home. I'm just being straight with myself, trying to keep functioning while I still can, and hoping peptides can help me hobble toward retirement or disability — whichever comes 1st.

Maybe that's too much, too real, or sounds overblown. I'm on the slow fast track, and I think if I don't feel this way, I'll lose the fight!

Not at all—there's zero judgment or mockery here. What happened in my case is not what happened in yours, and sharing mine doesn't erase yours or mean I'm trying to say yours doesn't count. The one thing I'd like to hand over is how I stopped letting MYSELF be bullied. Anyone else out there is welcome to try it on me if they want, but I'm not going to make it easier for them by repeating their cruel words inside my own head.