Is there such a thing as Glp1 dependence?

byefatlicia

Explorer
Joined
Jun 14, 2025
Messages
190
Reaction score
0
Location
Arizona
Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
 
On FB, every one of those "Reta" fitness fanatics insists peptides are the answer — yet they only needed to drop a small amount of weight, while carrying on like they shed 100lbs and grasp what genuine weight loss journeys and the actual problems involved really mean
 
byefatlicia said:

Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
The data makes it obvious what occurs once GLP1 use ends, so staying on them should be the plan. I've watched folks attempt to quit by turning to things such as tesofensine in order to keep the weight off, and that strikes me as a foolish approach.

Besides, nobody assumes you'll stop taking statins after they bring your cholesterol down, so why is it such an issue with GLP1s?
 
Habibibi said:

byefatlicia said:

Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
The data makes it obvious what occurs once GLP1 use ends, so staying on them should be the plan. I've watched folks attempt to quit by turning to things such as tesofensine in order to keep the weight off, and that strikes me as a foolish approach.

Besides, nobody assumes you'll stop taking statins after they bring your cholesterol down, so why is it such an issue with GLP1s?
So I suppose what's behind my asking is this: when friends only need to shed 20 or 30 lbs, ought I to steer them away from Glp1s? Would it be irresponsible of me to say "yeah, This stuff is great. You should definitely do it." — given that they'd be signing up to stay on it forever?
 
I had just 25-30 lbs to shed. Fasting, working out, changing what I ate -- none of it made even a 2 lb difference before I started a GLP1. After 4 months on one, I'm nearly at my goal. Will I stop the GLP1 when I get there? No.

My take: it comes down to whether your friends can drop the weight -- and maintain that loss -- through some "normal" approach, in which case they should do that. If a GLP1 is the only method that works for them, then how many pounds they need to lose doesn't really matter.
 
byefatlicia said:

Habibibi said:

byefatlicia said:

Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
The data makes it obvious what occurs once GLP1 use ends, so staying on them should be the plan. I've watched folks attempt to quit by turning to things such as tesofensine in order to keep the weight off, and that strikes me as a foolish approach.

Besides, nobody assumes you'll stop taking statins after they bring your cholesterol down, so why is it such an issue with GLP1s?
So I suppose what's behind my asking is this: when friends only need to shed 20 or 30 lbs, ought I to steer them away from Glp1s? Would it be irresponsible of me to say "yeah, This stuff is great. You should definitely do it." — given that they'd be signing up to stay on it forever?
There are 2 things you can do at once: say it's great, and also explain what happens after they stop. No matter how many pounds they have to lose.
 
HumanusExMachina said:

I had just 25-30 lbs to shed. Fasting, working out, changing what I ate -- none of it made even a 2 lb difference before I started a GLP1. After 4 months on one, I'm nearly at my goal. Will I stop the GLP1 when I get there? No.

My take: it comes down to whether your friends can drop the weight -- and maintain that loss -- through some "normal" approach, in which case they should do that. If a GLP1 is the only method that works for them, then how many pounds they need to lose doesn't really matter.
That's precisely how it went for me too—and I plan to keep using tirz for as long as possible!
 
Just how I see it. As long as someone changed their lifestyle, I believe most of the weight that was lost can stay off. Continue with healthy eating and exercise (whatever that looks like for you).

Naturally, the additional metabolic advantages would disappear, so it makes sense that a bit of weight would come back, including inflammation-related weight.

This is only my take, I'm not a doctor, though I did hook up with a nurse once.
 
What matters to me just as much as dropping pounds is keeping my health markers moving in the right direction. My hope is that a lower dose for maintenance over the long haul, combined with ongoing lifestyle adjustments, will do the trick.
 
byefatlicia said:

Habibibi said:

byefatlicia said:

Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
The data makes it obvious what occurs once GLP1 use ends, so staying on them should be the plan. I've watched folks attempt to quit by turning to things such as tesofensine in order to keep the weight off, and that strikes me as a foolish approach.

Besides, nobody assumes you'll stop taking statins after they bring your cholesterol down, so why is it such an issue with GLP1s?
So I suppose what's behind my asking is this: when friends only need to shed 20 or 30 lbs, ought I to steer them away from Glp1s? Would it be irresponsible of me to say "yeah, This stuff is great. You should definitely do it." — given that they'd be signing up to stay on it forever?
When folks ask me about it, my answer is that I intend to stay on it indefinitely, the same way someone would with medication for blood pressure or cholesterol.

No matter what your stance is, other people—friends included—will make their own choices. I've also seen many cases where someone picks up a compounded version from a wellness clinic, sheds those 20 lbs, quits, and then puts the weight right back on. Hasn't Weight Watchers been profiting off that exact cycle for 40+ years?
 
byefatlicia said:

Habibibi said:

byefatlicia said:

Everyone is aware that once Glp1s are stopped, there is a strong chance the weight comes back. My question is different, though. What about people who never were obese in the first place? People who didn't start off in poor health? The ones carrying an annoying 20 or 30 pounds they want gone. Or body builders who use Glps for cutting? Once they stop, will hunger and food noise hit them harder than what was normal for them before they began?

Will they end up stuck in long term maintenance, the way so many of us have already accepted we will be?
The data makes it obvious what occurs once GLP1 use ends, so staying on them should be the plan. I've watched folks attempt to quit by turning to things such as tesofensine in order to keep the weight off, and that strikes me as a foolish approach.

Besides, nobody assumes you'll stop taking statins after they bring your cholesterol down, so why is it such an issue with GLP1s?
So I suppose what's behind my asking is this: when friends only need to shed 20 or 30 lbs, ought I to steer them away from Glp1s? Would it be irresponsible of me to say "yeah, This stuff is great. You should definitely do it." — given that they'd be signing up to stay on it forever?
For me, the bigger factors are the percentage of body weight someone has to shed to reach a healthy BMI/BRI, any existing medical issues, and their age. My main reason for using tirz isn't weight loss—it's the anti-inflammatory benefit. I only dropped about 40lbs, yet that was a significant share of my overall weight. If someone is 6'4" and 230lbs aiming for 200, that's far simpler than a 5'2" person trying to go from 120 down to 90lbs.

And if you're 21, not pre-diabetic or otherwise ill, with growth and sex hormones going crazy, going on peptides seems insane to me. The odds are higher that you'll skip a hockey game because the body sculpting reta disagreed with you, or your blood sugar tanked from the secretagogue you're taking, than that you'll net another goal. But if you're 75, have quit drinking, and still deal with fatty liver disease, then reta could buy you an extra 10 years of life, even if you remain on it indefinitely.
 
My starting weight was 176, and I'm aiming to reach 125 by the middle of March. Once I get to that goal, I have zero plans to even attempt coming off the medication. What reason would I have to do that? Time and again I've lost weight only to plateau, then wound up putting back every pound plus extra. At 45 years old, I've got a lifetime of firsthand experience showing what happens when I try to manage my weight without glp-1's, and that experience tells me [[Q1]]
 
Funny enough, this exact subject came up yesterday at the clinic with the nurse who does my Botox. I fall into that category—never far from goal, up and down, occasionally carrying 20 extra lbs. My diet is largely clean carnivore, yet after Sema I've always put the weight back on; it never exceeded my starting weight, though.

At the moment Reta is working for me, and yesterday the nurse—who is on Tirz. herself—suggested a maintenance dose once goal is hit. My own view is that I'd rather cycle any exogenous compound, so my body doesn't end up depending on it. For me, I'll quit at goal, then reach for a spare vial in the freezer if I notice the pounds returning.
 
Mr. Blonde said:

Just how I see it. As long as someone changed their lifestyle, I believe most of the weight that was lost can stay off. Continue with healthy eating and exercise (whatever that looks like for you).

Naturally, the additional metabolic advantages would disappear, so it makes sense that a bit of weight would come back, including inflammation-related weight.

This is only my take, I'm not a doctor, though I did hook up with a nurse once.
Years ago, I ended up marrying someone like that. If something wasn't completely sterile, they considered it dirty. Picture it: a worn-out former logger and biker like me... and it took 5 kids before I finally worked out which one I was.
 
When I reach my goal weight, my intention is to taper off just as gradually as I increased the dose. At 6 months in, I'm at only 1.9 mg/week and totally fine with losing 1-2 lb/week. (Some people claim glucagon agonist effects only begin at 4 mg, but that doesn't matter to me. The weight is going down, my blood markers have improved DRASTICALLY, and I'm pleased with how things are going, so I'll do it my way.)

My plan is to stop entirely and observe what occurs. Should the weight return and fail to settle at a "walking-around" weight I find acceptable, I'll turn to reta once more to bring myself back to GW, then determine the smallest maintenance dose that holds me there. Personally, I wouldn't feel satisfied without at least attempting to taper down to zero, so I need to find out if that's achievable for me.

This is my sole GLP experience. I completely get why people who previously used them, quit, and put weight back on would restart and have no plans to quit. Still, I need to discover for myself whether I can treat it as a tool for this period of my life and then leave it behind.

If you want a body-builder style approach—low dosage with on-and-off cycling—"Ayubace" on Instagram posts many reels about his cycling philosophy.
 
Back
Top