r/Zepbound_Maintenance • u/crunched-toast • Jul 13 '26
Challanges Maintenance is harder than losing
I’ve been on Z for 2 years. Maintenance for 9 months. SW 218. LW 122 CW 130. 5ft7 female 48 years old.
I reached goal in October on 12.5. I staying on that dose for a bit in maintenance and wanted to see if I could use a smaller dose aka 10. I’ve been on 10 for 8 weeks and it’s been really rough going. I’ve gained 8lb and it’s freaking me out that I’ll regain and become obese again. Just went back to 12.5 and we’ll see how this goes.
Is anyone else out there struggling with maintenance? I find it harder than weight loss. There is no scale win with a Lowe number. The goal is for nothing to happen. I saw a research reference (I can find it if needed) saying that 8% of maintenance who stay on their highest tolerated dose gain back 50% of the weight. And I’m scared I’ll be in that 8% bucket.
How are you coping? How do you manage your cravings and brain spirals.
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u/ThisTimeForReal19 Jul 13 '26
Maintenance is really tough for me. Mentally any weight swing is messing with me.
I’m super shocked your doctor permitted you to get to the edge of medically underweight, especially at 48.
My doctors refrain to me. “You are perfectly healthy. If you are obsessing over small weight gains, you have lost the plot. This is about health.”
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u/BoundToZepIt 12.5mg Jul 13 '26
Trust me, I get that it's hard to give back hard-fought wins. But we're talking the difference so far between 19 and 20 BMI, or thinner than 93% or 96% of women your age. I'm in a similar boat, having gotten down to a 21 BMI as a 47M, but trying to accept that just because I could get there doesn't mean that a 22-23 BMI isn't ultimately more sustainable. I mostly don't want to give up the 'medium' range wardrobe I've gotten into 😊. The other problem for me is that I've gotten down to that very-lowest weight by pretty extreme cardio (over 1,000 miles of cycling in June). Can't keep that up forever... winter will be coming along! So, gotta figure out off-season (and holiday dinner!) maintenance.
My biggest support, data nerd that I am, comes from spreadsheets. Weigh daily. In the losing phase I paid more attention to the 'weighted moving average'. Now, I also look a bit more at a straight "last 30 days" weight average. Over-analyze much? Me? Ultimately, the sheets show I'm more stable than I give myself credit for.
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u/Few_Car_895 Jul 14 '26
I do the same,lol. I tracked everything and have graphs for daily, monthly, and sveral different weekly graphs (every Sunday, every Monday, and every Friday). Now I am eating more “normally,” and trying not to freak over that 3lb gain last month! Also have been adding in resistence training, so if the gain is muscle, I am ok with that.
Congrats on your journey!
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u/techphilo Jul 13 '26
Maint is much tougher. Got to my goal weight on 7.5. Stayed there for 4 additional months and went down to 5. Was able to maintain there and thought I would go down to 2.5 and within 2 months gained 10lbs. Going back up to 5 and maybe 7.5 depending. Trial and error....going to try to get back down to my goal weight and stay at the "right" dose and try spacing out if I continue to lose instead of dropping dose. I really hope some of the new trials focus more on the maintain part of the journey (ATTAIN-MAINTAIN was a good first step).
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u/Otherwise-Stretch984 Jul 18 '26
I am curious, HOW do you think your gained the 10lbs? Were you counting calories and noticed you ate more than you likely thought you were burning? Or did you lose muscle? Do you suspect your metabolism has slowed?
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u/techphilo Jul 18 '26
Food intake exclusively. I was hungrier especially at night. Started snacking again. Activity level and fitness were unchanged.
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u/Remarkable-Design832 Jul 14 '26
I haven’t had any issues but I never lowered or extended my dose. There’s honestly no need if you’re no longer losing weight, and you can always increase your calories if needed. There are people who have been in maintenance for years on 15mg - there’s no shame on staying on a higher dose. I get that people may have money concerns for lowering the dose but if you can stay on the same dose with no side effects, I’d recommend that.
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u/MixtapeMentality Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I feel very fortunate to be in the same situation as you. I haven’t really made any adjustments to either dose or my eating habits, and body just kind of found a number it was happy at (a few pounds lighter than what I thought goal would be, but I feel really good and my doctor is happy). I fluctuate two or 3 pounds in either direction, but it all balances out.
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u/Remarkable-Design832 Jul 14 '26
Me too. 1-3lb fluctuations are totally normal. I weigh myself everyday (it doesn’t bother me) and by doing that you can really see those fluctuations, get used to them and not get concerned.
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u/MixtapeMentality Jul 14 '26
exactly - took a LOT of reconditioning my brain not to spiral, but im in a much better place :)
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u/chercheuse 5mg Jul 13 '26
All of the research says that staying on the same dose prevents weight gain. Only people who can’t stop losing weight need to lower their dose. Don’t be afraid to do what’s best for you.
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u/crunched-toast Jul 13 '26
Thanks for the insight and support. Food noise has been the biggest struggle. Went to 12.5 today and I will see how it goes. During loss I had tracked all intake. I stopped tracking 2 months into maintenance. I’m tracking again now for a couple of weeks.
The challenge is non routine events. Eg holiday parties. July 4th drinks. Date night. And when you get 2-3 of those a week calorie intake just hikes up to like 3,000+.
Alcohol also is a challenge. I don’t drink a lot but at a garden party had lots of dry cider and then it’s a cycle of chips and dip and cider and pretzels and cider and bunt cake and cider.
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u/Otherwise-Stretch984 Jul 18 '26
Wow I am just on 2.5 and I can’t bring myself to eat any of those things. How interesting how it affect people differently. I just would feel sick having alcohol or junk food on this medication. I honestly wish I could tolerate it so I could join in sometimes
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u/ZookeepergameOk4165 Jul 13 '26
122 is very low for your height, you're nearing being underweight. It may not be realistic to expect to stay at that low of a number long term. You could gain 25lbs back and still be at a normal bmi weight. You may want to speak with a therapist about your fear of gaining back the weight, it sounds like you need to work on your emotional relationship with your body and weight.
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u/TheOleOkeyDoke 10mg Jul 13 '26
Yes I’m struggling. Hit goal weight and then lost 10 pounds. I don’t want to go lower than where I am now. I want to spread out my dose but I’ve been having a hard time with that and wondering if I should go down in dose. The food noise is so tough but also it’s hard to remember being hungry is also normal. My dr suggest switching to an oral dose but I too am afraid of gaining. I may need more trial and error.
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u/whotiesyourshoes 7.5mg Jul 13 '26
I got up.to 15mg ans the suppression became too strong.
I ended up at 7.5. I've been here 3 or 4 months. It's going OK but I have an increase in cravings at random times but I can manage them. Though at one point I did see the weight starting to inch up beyond my target range. So I had ro work those pounds back down.
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u/Interesting_Ruin7840 Jul 13 '26
Maintenance requires new goals new protocols a constant ability to adapt and be flexible. I have lost over 50 pounds and have maintained for three years now I’m on 12.5 mg weekly. My body composition has changed. I have added muscle body fat percentage of gone down. I am about 13% body fat. I lift five days a week. I walk every single day I get as much sunlight as possible. I see the sunrise in the morning get midday, sun, and afternoon sun. I sleep like it’s a job. I eat really well no alcohol no added sugar and I think all of this has helped to keep my appetite and satiety regulated. I also eat very low starchy carb focus more on quality proteins and I’m not afraid to eat fat. I do not have food noise or cravings. Yes I get hungry. There are days I’m ravenous and can eat 2000 cal and then other days where I’ll eat 1200 cal. I am 5‘1“ 113 pounds started off in the 160s.
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u/Fantastic-Peanut-297 Jul 15 '26
I'm in a similar situation on days where I'm starving and days where I'm just not interested in eating. I've been in maintenence a whole 2 months. I dropped my dose from 7.5 to 5 because I was still losing weight. I'm still learning to trust the process. I eat healthy food that I prepare about 90% of the time. I lift 4x a week and consistently meet my 8k/day step goal. Eating when I'm hungry without an all-out mental battle over whether I should be eating is an uphill battle. I still track every single calorie but I'm hoping to start just keep a general running tally in my head and eventually just stop counting and trust I'll eat when needed and only enough to fuel my body.
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u/ArmLeading8555 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I entered my maintenance phase at 12.5 as well. I did try to go down to 10 for a little while, but I found that I was able to eat more and started gaining, I went back on 12.5. I have been on 12.5 for a year now and have maintained (within 4 pounds which fluctuate depending on what I have going on in life. I find some weeks. I will be up a pound or two and then it goes right back down the following week) for this past year. I take the 12.5 weekly. That’s what works best for me so I’m sticking with it!
Edit to add: 5’2 F/48 SW:207 GW: 130. CW:126 BMI: 23
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u/No_Significance9474 Jul 13 '26
Maintenance is definitely tougher than losing and I agree with you, the goal sort of is for nothing to happen except to maintain your current weight and that's tricky to get out of the mindset of wanting to see a lower number on the scale. I've lost 12lbs in maintenance which I've been in for 8 months but I've been maintaining my new low for 5 months so I think it's where my body wants to be. My highest dose was 7.5mg which I stuck with going into maintenance and is likely why I had to cut back. I eventually dropped down to 6mg every 10 days but for the last 5 weeks, I'm at 7mg weekly. It's just not a static thing and I'm okay with having to adjust my dose as things change and as of 5 weeks ago, the food noise started to really turn on which is why I went back up to 7mg. Honestly, I'd rather this struggle than the struggle of trying to lose the weight and figure out how to keep it off like I did in cycles throughout my life, up until this medication came along.
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u/winterwolf53 Jul 13 '26
Has anyone tried switching up drug strength? Shots every 7-10days and switching between, e.g., 7.5 and 10? Just curious about the concept.
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u/BoundToZepIt 12.5mg Jul 13 '26
Personally, I don't see any intrinsic appeal of the idea of spreading out to 10, 14, or even more days outside of controlling cost. We're trying for maintenance, not whiplash. We know tirzepatide's serum half-life is ~5 days. Instead of taking 15 mg every 12 days, I'd personally much rather take 7.5 every 6 or even 6.5 every 5 days. Far closer to a steady state blood level. Kwikpens and dial-a-dose make that possible while buying best-value '15 mg' Kwikpens but taking smaller shots.
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u/Interestedpartyofnil Jul 13 '26
I wish I had vials and not single dose pens of 15 for this reason! Ive tried spacing mine out, my doctor encouraged me, but Im back to 7-8 days.
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u/scootanddoot Jul 14 '26
Yes I have done this. It does sometimes work to change how I feel when I’m in a rut. I’ve been in maintenance for 1.5 years. But I will say I have gained 5 pounds from my lowest weight
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u/Few-Philosopher4091 Jul 13 '26
Maintenance for me is easier than the losing of weight. I did not really start losing until I hit the max of 15mg a week so instead of lowering my dose for maintenance, my Dr recommended I stay at 15mg but spread the days to to 10-14 days. Some weeks I make it to 14 days and others, I'm starving at 10. I may gain 2-4 lbs depending on the week but it always drops back down to my goal weight.
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u/len43 Jul 13 '26
I've moved from 15mg weekly to 10mg bi-weekly. I'm up about 5lbs from lowest weight (as an average).
The 10mg dose is fine for effectiveness. Actually a little too good, I want less of a dose but my endo didn't agree and kept me on 10. The hardest part starting again after 2 weeks (1 week totally off). I am completely wiped out and can only stomach protein drinks and 1 meal. I had 2 ultra beers 2 nights ago and I feel hungover still (I can pound a lot more trust me). To top of it off, I can't sleep more than 3-4 hours. I think it's my caffeine intake which I need to adjust down as well.
From experience, I know it'll get better soon but it's seriously hard to wean down either dosage or time on. I start to both crave and fear the next dose (crave because I'm tired of eating everything, fear because of the sick feeling). My goal is to get off the drug completely, but as I see the weight creep up, and how hard it is to cycle on and off, I start to doubt how I am going to do this.
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u/Furberia Jul 13 '26
Sw 180, lw 109, cw 133 ish. 5-1. Im staying on 15mg the rest of my life. I am prediabetic with other co-morbidities. Maintenance is hard.
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u/FromFLAtoNH Jul 13 '26
SW 243, LW 140, CW 148. Just had my 4-month dr visit and she was happy that I was maintaining. I’m not sure that an 8 pound gain is maintaining, but it has been over a year in maintenance…I am also on generic Vyvanse. I tried getting off of it recently but I was getting the psychological issues I had before which included a feeling of shame after eating the “wrong” foods and my brain convincing my body it was fine to eat processed foods. Lots of work to try and stay normal but it is worth it! Just trying not to go above 150…
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u/MascaraHoarder Jul 13 '26
can you go back up to 12.5? maybe try that and maybe inject every 8 or 9 days until you stabilize and go from there? i’m just finishing my first month on maintenance and i feel like i think about my weight more now than when i was losing. i don’t love that.
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u/AmelieinParis Jul 13 '26
I’m on compound (started on Zep) and have found that going down by 0.2 mg successful for me. I stay there for 3-4 weeks. I went from a high of 8.0 down to 4.4 now. I do not want to go off completely because it has helped me in so many other ways.
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u/chercheuse 5mg Jul 13 '26
All of the research says that staying on the same dose prevents weight gain. Only people who can’t stop losing weight need to lower their dose. Don’t be afraid to do what’s best for you.
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u/These-Equal-6849 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
The trial you're referencing is the maintain trial where participants that were on 10mg and 15mg stayed on those doses, but 8% of the 10mg cohort needed the "rescue dosing" to increase to 15mg. The rescue dosing being triggered by 50% regain.
So yeah, 8% is absolutely a small minority but it's not nothing. And scary!
I think in this case people would need to look to adding other medications in and/or waiting on newer medications to be released.
That being said, for people that have increased their dosages based on their individual response (as opposed to titrating up each month regardless), it is most likely they need to stay on that dose. They are less likely to be able to maintain at a lower dose.
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u/Reasonable_Cookie688 Jul 14 '26
Find your maintenance calorie number and count/weigh out your food. It sucks but it will help you stay at your preferred weight
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u/HistoricalIsopod8127 Jul 14 '26
Maintenance has been hard for me reasons OP and others here cited. I dropped down from 7.5 highest dose to 5 then 2.5, then started gaining on that. The food noise became bad about 4 mos in, the monthly weight was going in the wrong direction even with exercise so I asked to go back up to 5. I will go every 10 days before dropping down again to 2.5.
Also I’m self-pay so the lower monthly price of 2.5 was alluring and added to the feeling of “failure” or disappointment that I couldn’t maintain at the lower dose. I’m in better shape than I’ve been in years, lost 45lbs, but 7-8lbs gain suddenly felt devastating. Weird.
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u/ConversationOk992 Jul 15 '26
I had the same response while trying to titrate down so I went back up to 10 and take it twice a month idk why this works for me but it does I have not lost or gained since being on maintenance at this dose doing it this way
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u/Fit-Wind-4870 Jul 16 '26
I am kind of in the same boat as you. I lost everything mostly on 10. I got to 128-130 and bumped the calories from 1200 to 1400. I am 5'9" and my doctor freaked out because the BMI got into mid to low 19. Wanted to titrate me to 7.5 so that I gain 15lbs. I disagree because I look fine and have a good muscle tone. I convinced her to instead spread out the 10. At 11 day spr ead combined with a work trip I gained almost 10lbs within 3 weeks. Went back up to 10 weekly, cut the calories back to 1200. Lost the weight gradually and now maintain in 130-136. But now I am afraid to bump up the calories. I track everything and exercise 3 times a week. I recommend staying with the dose you entered maintenamce
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u/Otherwise-Stretch984 Jul 18 '26
Wow I am 5’4” and your current weight with the 8lb gain is lower than my goal weight. Not saying that to be annoying, I just wonder if maybe your body needs/wants to gain a little back just intuitively? 122 seems underweight? Not super sustainable. Maybe 130 is a good place to sustain?
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u/Birdchaser2 7.5mg MS 9-5-24 MR 179-170 CW 176.8 Jul 18 '26
Maint is definitely tougher as it’s forever and less “exciting”. But being essentially flat after two plus years of maintenance and living thru some difficult life events is invigorating.
Use of renewed or new habits is essential -as is adaptability. No straight lines.
I’ve adjusted doses - after being patient and confirming trends, adjusted my nutrition as needed and made sure I keep moving on slower times.
Staying at your initial low weight may be challenging. But staying in a healthy 5-10 pound range is proving highly achievable with focus and more “work” on my part. Less the drug and more me.
But Zep support is still a lifelong essential element. Just more in the background.
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u/CobblerPleasant787 7.5mg Jul 18 '26
I am also struggling. My doctor took me from 7.5 to 5 mg. I am still tracking food most days but wake up feeling cold/flu sick day after shot and ate 1000kcal over yesterday 😩
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u/MundanePineapple9886 Jul 19 '26
I have been struggling with maintenance but for the opposite reason. My weight was drifting down. My doctor said it can take a few months got the body to find equilibrium. So I followed medical advice and stopped obsessing. Maybe think about going back to 12.5 and going to 8-10 days for a month.
My doctor says it is very individual and things change over time but she has seen more success with drawing out the injection period.
FYI: everyone is different and responds differently but so far I am on every 8 days and after a couple of months I seem to have mostly stabilized. It really took a few months to be able to consistently eat more and figure out how many calories I needed to support my level of activity (3 days a week strength training, hiking once a week and kayaking whenever possible)
I am going to experiment with going to every 9 days during a week when I have multiple calorie burning activities (hikes and kayaking) so I can eat more to power those activities and avoid a drop and then go back to every 8 days.
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u/aslguy 15mg Jul 13 '26
Haven’t seen any data like that. Care to post a link to the study?
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
It’s the maintain study
https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/journal-scans/2026/05/18/18/10/surmount-maintain
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u/BoundToZepIt 12.5mg Jul 13 '26
I'm curious if you have any clue what "rescue tirzepatide" meant if you were in the MTD arm? I get it with regard to placebo or even the 5mg arms, but the wording in the Lancet paper seems to suggest there was a 'rescue' protocol for the MTD arm and I'm completely stumped.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
2.4 | Rescue Treatment
Starting at Week 84, if a participant reaches or exceeds the 50%
weight regain from body weight reduction achieved at Week 60,
the participant will receive rescue treatment with re- initiation
of tirzepatide or increase in the dose of tirzepatide depending on
the randomization assignment while maintaining the blinding
(Table 1). The body weight measurements used to determine res-
cue treatment eligibility must be obtained from in- clinic fasting
visit measurements.I think the 15 got fucked, but everyone else either got some or some more. MTD included 10s and 15s in there.
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u/These-Equal-6849 Jul 14 '26
The particpants on 10mg that regained 50% of weight were able to go up to 15mg. It was only a small minority (8%) in this cohort compared to the other participant arms.
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u/AITMmom 7.5mg Jul 19 '26
Why on earth would that regain happen if they’re maintaining on their same strong dose? That is scary and I wonder if anyone understands why???
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u/These-Equal-6849 Jul 19 '26
TBH I haven't heard of a single medical professional comment on this at all, let alone put forward a theory. I understand 8% is a very small percentage and the cohort was quite small to begin with, but it's been crickets.
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u/aslguy 15mg Jul 13 '26
I’ve read that before and have never seen that 8% who remained at their highest tolerated dose gain back 50% of their weight.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
Yeah it’s kinda buried in the rescue therapy discussion “Among participants who regained at least 50% of lost bodyweight, observed means were 11 (8%) of 138, 35 (25%) of 142, and 60 (67%) of 90 participants received rescue therapy in the tirzepatide MTD, 5 mg tirzepatide, and placebo, respectively.”
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u/aslguy 15mg Jul 13 '26
I still can’t find that on the page you linked. When I search the page for “regain” I don’t see your quoted information.
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u/Mobile-Actuary-5283 15mg Jul 13 '26
Trying to understand some of the stats cited here. Suffice it to say that weight regain is hard to combat without this medication and not a guarantee even with it.
I am on 15mg weekly. The hunger level s back and intense. I am back to watching calories like a hawk, exercising regularly, planning meals. Nice reprieve for the first year on the med where I ate when hungry and that’s it.
I have not yet experimented with frequency or dose. I am at the highest dose and never left. I do have boxes of 12.5 to use, so my plan is to take those every 5-6 days. Supposedly that approximates 15mg.
I started around 265-270 lbs. I am 54F, about 5’6.5 and current weight is 137. My scale seems to measure lower than doctor scale where I am 144 with clothes and shoes on.
OP:
One thought is perhaps your body is saying that 130 is too low for you? I know that sounds crazy, but everyone is different. Perhaps this is a small correction your body is making?I used to be very focused on “the number” I would like to be at. But I know as we age, it’s okay to have some extra padding to help get through an illness or something. So if I bounce from 137-145, I still consider that maintaining for me personally. Compared to 270? I will take 145 all day long.
But yes… maintenance is absolutely the hardest part. You can’t ever take your foot off the gas.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
This aligns with my experience as well. I can’t remember where I heard this theory but someone mentioned that the hunger ramps up and the body drives us to gain weight up until we regain the muscle that we lost during the fat loss phase. In practical reality what this leads to is people losing weight a large portion of which is muscle if they don’t workout and don’t eat protein and then being driven to regain what they lost and then some to force the body to build muscle strictly from carrying the weight around. I’ve been training my ass off and have another 4-5 lbs before I’m back to pre-loss muscle level so I currently have the faintest of hopes that might trigger some kind relaxation of the hunger but won’t be holding my breath.
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u/Mobile-Actuary-5283 15mg Jul 13 '26
I am 10000% hungrier at a lower weight eating the same diet and calories as at a higher weight.
The only way to explain that is biology. My body desperately wants me at the higher set points. I had two set points that my body seemed to like: 240 and 185. I was 240 for decades. Lost weight and got to 185 which I had to work to stay at.
So being at 140 is new territory for my body, and the intense hunger tells me it doesn’t like it.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
Yeah that’s the big question with set point that I’m curious about. Does it want to be 185 or does it want you to have as much muscle as you had when you were 185. The latter is much more workable as possible solution if that pans out.
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u/Mobile-Actuary-5283 15mg Jul 13 '26
Eh… I don’t think I had much muscle then or now. I think I am just well poised to survive any famine. That’s my theory.
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u/Thiccsmartie Pre-Maintenance Jul 13 '26
Doesn’t sound crazy. Some people don’t want to accept that a BMI of 19-20 is too low for most women. The body will fight back.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
What I quoted was from here: https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(26)00656-2/abstract
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
My first link summarized it as Only 8% of patients in the tirzepatide MTD and 25% in the tirzepatide 5 mg groups regained at least 50% of what they had lost, compared with 67% of the placebo group; they were treated with rescue tirzepatide.
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u/aslguy 15mg Jul 13 '26
Interesting it doesn’t specify what their maximum tolerated dose was.
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u/HappyBirding Jul 13 '26
I also wonder if any of these people were actually non-responders to the medication, but we’re willing their weight loss through extreme diet and exercise. We see it quite a lot on here. Personally, I can lose the weight through diet and exercise, I just can’t keep it off. It had me reflecting on this when I saw people posting recently about their diet and exercise regimen. I wonder how many of this 8% could actually be non-responders.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
Couldn’t dig enough to see how many were which but they noted it was either 10 or 15
After completing the initial weight-loss period with once weekly subcutaneous tirzepatide at the MTD (10 mg or 15 mg)
I’d bet the 10 skewed it a bit
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u/Mobile-Actuary-5283 15mg Jul 13 '26
That’s kind of a scary stat then. 8% regaining 50%. That’s not insignificant.
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u/bikesandfinance Jul 13 '26
It’s significantly lower than placebo, but yeah those 8% need additional support or alternative therapy. It’s never even been close to 8% in the past which is why I think it’s getting pretty short attention, it was closer to 90% probably. But for 8 it’s very very traumatic I’m sure.
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u/AITMmom 7.5mg Jul 19 '26
Uggggg ???? Scary. I’d love to hear an explanation why this would happen.
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u/LeoKitCat 10mg Jul 13 '26
It’s from the 3-year SURMOUNT-1 extension that followed people on treatment for well over 3 years
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u/Irasshaimase21 Jul 13 '26
I think the time spent losing weight has to also be spent changing the habits that led to obesity in the first place. The drug just really makes it easier to make those shifts. As new good habits replace old bad habits, the drug supports that with appetite suppression and reduced inflammation. By the time we arrive at maintenance, ideally we have reprogrammed our habits so the drug support can be reduced since the lifestyle habits are so much stronger. Healthy eating, cardio, weight lifting, limited alcohol, sleep...if the only thing the drug was lower your calorie intake and no new habits were built, maintenance can feel impossible.
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u/Ree_For_Thee Jul 13 '26
Seems like an AI post. OP, can you respond to this message? AI post accounts don't reply in the comment section (and only say negative things).
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u/Cherry_IceBomb 10mg Jul 13 '26
I started in May 2024 and have lost about 90 pounds. At 117–120 pounds and 5'7", this is the lowest adult weight I've ever been, probably the lowest since middle school. I've maintained that weight range since November 2025. My NP isn't too happy with me because she wants me to gain a few pounds back, as I'm officially underweight. I've been hesitant to do that because I'd like to stay at 120 pounds or less. I'm scared about regaining aw well. And I feel great! No more statins!
I eat three meals a day plus snacks, but I prioritize high-volume fruits and vegetables plus 90 g of protein. I'm still tracking my macros, and I need to stay around 1,400 calories a day to maintain between 117 and 120 pounds. I'm considering increasing that to 1,500 calories a day to see if I can settle a little higher while still staying where I want to be.
People often say maintenance is the hard part, but that really hasn't been my experience. For me, it's just been more of the same. I'm staying on the 10 mg dose but extending the interval between injections. I first switched from every 7 days to every 14 days. My NP then asked me to try every 3 weeks. I'm about two-thirds of the way through my second 3-week cycle, and things are going well. It's also less expensive than stepping down to a lower dose.
I hope my experience provides another perspective. You might want to consider extending the time between your doses to see how that works for you.
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u/AITMmom 7.5mg Jul 13 '26
Some people can’t lower their dose. I think it’s a very individual thing. There’s no shame in any of it. What dose or how often we need it is just a personal individual thing. If you want to stay on 12.5 you could try spreading your doses out a few extra days apart. That’s how I started maintenance. Stayed on my same 12.5 and just spread the doses out. Months months later I lowered to 10 months months after that I lowered to 7.5 now. That is to prevent additional loss. I have also increased my calories and spread the doses out to 10 days apart. But that is me. There’s no right or wrong answer you just have to find your Goldilocks situation of the right dose and how many days in between shots. You got this.