The short answer is that many of our patients lose weight within the first week of taking semaglutide. The first dose is small (0.25 mg). On average, the loss of 30 pounds occurs within 5 to 6 months of sustained treatment at our Weight Loss Clinic near Barkely DE. Semaglutide is an innovative weight-loss drug originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. Its dual-action approach, which reduces appetite and helps control blood sugar, makes it a powerful tool in the fight against obesity.
The emphasis remains on combining semaglutide with lifestyle changes, such as a balanced diet and regular exercise, for optimal results. Understanding the schedule for losing weight while taking semaglutide can help you set realistic expectations and keep you motivated. Here's a breakdown of what you can expect for the first month, three, six months, and beyond. At six months, the results are even more impressive.
Average weight loss continues to increase as the drug reaches its full potential. After about three months, I stopped semaglutide because I had reached a healthy weight. I had lost 35 pounds while taking semaglutide along with a healthy diet and exercise. For those starting to take semaglutide, initial weight loss may occur after about four weeks; however, it may take several months before noticeable changes are seen.
Clinical trials indicate that patients who received semaglutide and subsequent lifestyle modifications tended to lose weight steadily over a period of approximately 68 weeks. Specifically, people could expect to lose at least 5% of their initial body weight in the first three months if they strictly follow a modified diet and increase physical activity. On average, people can expect to lose 5 to 10% of their body weight over several months while taking semaglutide. As this schedule suggests, while you may begin to lose weight after four weeks of treatment, significant and noticeable weight loss usually appears after several months.
It is said that important health benefits, such as lower blood pressure and cholesterol, begin to appear when you lose 5% of your body weight. According to another clinical study, users of semaglutide usually lose 5% of their body weight between weeks 6 and 12. With Ozempic or other semaglutide-derived products, they are not miracle drugs that you can take and then lose a lot of weight. For example, this means that a person who weighs 200 pounds could lose approximately 4 pounds during this first month. If your starting weight with semaglutide treatment is around 232 pounds, you can realistically expect to lose approximately 20 pounds in 16 to 20 weeks (approximately 4 to 5 months).
After taking semaglutide for more than a year and making healthy lifestyle adjustments, most people will lose at least 5% of their body weight. For example, in one study, patients who took semaglutide lost an average of 6.7 kg (14.8 pounds) in the first 3 months, resulting in a 5.9% weight loss from their starting weight. Semaglutide, the active component of Ozempic, suppresses and regulates appetite by mimicking a natural hormone, allowing patients to lose weight. However, keep in mind that this is the typical result of a large population; your initial BMI, any underlying medical problems, and the degree to which you modify your diet and exercise routine can affect the amount of weight you lose.
