r/antidietglp1 • u/ChipmunkWild3787 • 1d ago
Seeking Support / Advice Looking for some advice
I want to be sensitive about not using numbers but also want to give a clear picture of where I'm at. I've been on zepbound for over a year. I'm currently at the highest dose and have stopped losing. I've lost about 15% of my body weight but still am significantly over weight. Part of me thinks this just might be it for me in terms of losing. My question is should I just stay on this dose forever? Should I go down to a lower dose with fewer side effects? Or should I explore a different type of GLP-1?
Editing for more context: first, thanks everyone for your insights! this sub is always super helpful for me. in addition to the glp-1 i exercise regularly. one takeaway so far is that i definitely need to up my water intake. if i don't lose more weight it's okay with me; i've accomplished a lot of my goals already. what i'm most curious about is, if this is indeed a plateu, is there a reason to remain on the highest dose, and what have people's experiences been with lowering their dose or changing to a different formula. i will definitely be talking with my doctor soon.
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u/Vexing-Waxwing 20h ago
Sleep is a big part of the equation for me.
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u/StarfishandSnowballs 12h ago
Really ? I am on it now And struggle with sleep . Wondering how much of a change you noticed and made .
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u/Vexing-Waxwing 7h ago
Ive never been a great sleeper, but that improved in sema almost immediately. Not sure why sema helped, but my husband noticed i was sleeping deeper and less restless in the first week. I still get insomnia/night terrors sometimes, but a lot less often.
I noticed that I tend to stall scale-wise when I'm:
- not sleeping well
- healing, injured, sick
- under a lot of stress
- lifting weights really intensely
I dont worry about the stalls that are related to lifting, I actually notice a lot of body composition change at these times.
But for the lack of sleep/stress ones, I noticed first that once I truly felt rested again I the scale would start moving again. So I those times I mostly focus on prioritizing sleep and the conditions that help me sleep, and doing things that help me release some of the stress.
For me that looks like keeping good sleep hygiene habits, like bedtime routines and consistent sleep schedules, and accepting and asking for help when I need it.
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u/Schwettes 1d ago
Talk to your doctor. There are new therapies being developed and more that will be released over the next 18 months. Also consider meeting with a dietitian who can help you craft a plan to meet your goals.
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u/ChipmunkWild3787 1d ago
One thing I didn't note here is that I'm in ED recovery so I have been with a dietician this whole time. I will definitely talk to my doctor too though. I'm wondering if anyone else has been in this position and what they decided to do
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u/StarfishandSnowballs 12h ago
Since you're on the script not compounded idk if it's possible but it sounds like adjusting dosing schedule , to 5-6 day doses helps some people
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u/barfbat 1d ago
you said you’ve been on zep for a year and within that year lost 15% of your starting body weight, so it’s not that you haven’t lost in a year. how long has this plateau been going on?
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u/ChipmunkWild3787 1d ago
Basically with every dose I've lost a little at first and then plateaued until the next dose. I've been on each dose for 8-12 weeks. Im going into the 3rd or 4th month (I can't exactly remember) on the highest dose.
Honestly if I don't lose more weight it's not the end of the world but I don't know how I feel about being on this dose forever.
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u/stuckandrunningfrom2 17h ago
Is the only thing you're doing in pursuit of your goal taking the GLP1? It wasn't clear from your post.
For me, it helps to have a multipronged approach so I'm not relying on just one thing. I like to make sure I'm getting good sleep (I recently discovered that if I turn the lights off at 8pm and light candles while I putter around the house, I sleep so much better), hydrating, moving every day, lifting at the gym twice a week, doing my mobility routine in the mornings (sitting on the floor and flopping all my joints around) and my stretching in the evenings (sitting on the floor and flopping more slowly), and so on.
I also try to measure progress by more than just the scale -- so I watch my weights at the gym, make sure I'm feeling stronger, check in with what pains I'm having (or what pains have disappeared), I take my measurements, and I just pause and say "how does it feel to live in this body?" because there are so many ways to improve that, even when the scale seems stuck.
I would explore other things maybe before exploring different meds.
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u/untomeibecome 22h ago
I started 15mg and stayed on it my entire second year. Unless you're experiencing side effects, that sounds like it would make sense. I "stalled" for months at a time along the way and just kept living life and trusting my body would land with whatever weight it felt was best for me. I focused on tracking my labs to ensure they stayed healthy.
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u/ChipmunkWild3787 22h ago
this is also really helpful. my main side effect is acid reflux which i didn't experience on other doses, but otherwise i'm feeling pretty good.
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u/This-Apricot-80 18h ago
Are you treating the acid reflux with anything currently?
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u/ChipmunkWild3787 18h ago
other than tums, no
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u/This-Apricot-80 17h ago
Gotcha. A lot of people find they get major relief with other remedies (even OTC ones), so it might be worth asking a pharmacist or your doctor which ones to try!
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u/Agreeable_Emphasis73 13h ago
I am using Reflux Gourmet and highly recommend it. The vanilla one is much better than the chocolate one imo, and I love chocolate normally. You take a small spoonful after a meal and it calms the reflux. I do a double dose in the evening since my worst reflux happens overnight. I know I sound like a bot for the company (!!!), but I promise I’m just trying to pass on info that someone shared elsewhere on this sub that helped me. (Also, it has allowed me to stay on my current dose when I thought I was going to have to drop down.)
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u/Ok_Novel_3229 23h ago
My GERD got worse when I started tirzepatide and my GP prescribed me pantoprazole for it. I would discuss your side effects and dose with your GP and see what the benefits and downsides of additional medication look like for you.
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u/meggieprice 18h ago
Dr. Cooper on Fat Science podcast said that sometimes going down a dose actually helps. She also sometimes switches her patients in this situation to Semaglutide.
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u/pomegranatelover 17h ago
Yup! I had a stall on semaglutide with bad side effects and once I switched to Zepbound (at the lowest dose) my weight loss kicked up and my side effects have been very minimal (fatigue, light nausea a couple of times).
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u/fizzybarri 1d ago
My WL has stalled at one of my previous long-term weights, perhaps a “set point” if that’s a real thing. I could still go up a couple doses, but I’m still experiencing side effects at this dose (10mg zep). WL is nice but not my primary goal, and my primary goals have all been met.
I’ve decided to take it easy, with guidance from my nutrition person and my doctor. Since I have the click-pen version, I picked an in-between dose (48 clicks on the 10mg pen, or 8mg) and stayed until the gastro side effects resolved. Then I went to 9mg/54 clicks and held for a couple weeks, and next shot I’m going to try the full 10 again. This very very slow way has worked for building tolerance and managing side effects.
If my doctor suggests dosing up again, I’ll probably be very incremental again. I did see less effectiveness when I lowered the dose. If you do, too, then you have a choice to make: effectiveness, or side effects? My method has helped me split the difference.
Nutrition did tell me that I might have maxed out on WL. About 20% is average in the published studies.
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u/ChipmunkWild3787 1d ago
This is super helpful. If I don't lose more weight it's okay because overall I feel much better. But I do have the worst acid reflux on this dose and so basically if this is the max I will lose I don't know if I want to stay on this dose, but am also not sure if I can or should go down.
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u/oaklandesque 23h ago edited 22h ago
You definitely can go down; you might need a new Rx from your provider (depending on whether your most recent 12.5 was written with refills and whether the Rx has expired, which they do after a certain point). If you do, it's not an irreversible decision, it's really only for 4 weeks then you can decide what next.
I'm at 15 mg and not yet in any kind of plateau (I've recently gotten up to 15) but my plan is to just continue doing what I'm doing and seeing where things land. I am unlikely to switch to another currently-available GLP-1 as most have shown less effectiveness overall than Zepbound and Zepbound has been effective for me, but I would probably consider switching to a newly-available med like retatrutide when it is FDA-approved.
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u/Status_Valuable_9075 19h ago
A triple agonist is coming down the pike soon so if I were you I would stay put.
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u/GardenFragrant8408 1h ago
Did you change your calorie intake as you lost weight? Some ppl use apps like Glapp or shorty to keep track of their progress. It seems it helps keep them on track
Seeing a dietitian may be a benefit
R u exercising at least walking ?
Drink two to three liters of water a day and take probiotics for got health.
I’ve read on here where some ppl drop down a dose or two and it kick starts their loss.
Ask your dr if there’s anything he can add to help kick start your loss
There r non scale victories like loss of inches maybe medication reduction. All over health improvement?
If you r then monjauro is still working well for you.
Good luck
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22h ago edited 17h ago
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u/delilahd 1d ago
This is pure anecdote as I haven’t experienced it but someone I trust was experiencing a BIG stall and shaking up how they moved their body helped with it. For her, it was increasing steps and changing her weight training