GLP-1 maintenance: the part nobody really talks about?
I think I’ve officially reached the part of my GLP-1 journey I was both looking forward to and slightly terrified of: maintenance.
I started my GLP-1 journey last year at around 92 kg and, after a pretty long journey of losing weight, I’m currently sitting around 62–63 kg. I’ve been on Mounjaro since June 2025, with my dose going up and down over time depending on how I was tolerating it.
And honestly, the medication worked incredibly well for me. But it also wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. I had periods of nausea, diarrhea, constipation, gas, sulfur burps, vomiting, fatigue, etc. The higher dose especially gave me some pretty miserable gastric side effects.
Eventually I started spacing doses out, and then I decided to stop altogether.
I’ve now been off it for a couple of weeks and I’m basically treating this as my “okay, can I actually maintain this weight without the medication?” experiment.
So far… surprisingly okay?
My appetite is definitely different from when I was actively taking Mounjaro. I can eat more, I think about food more, and I don’t have that same “three bites and I’m completely done” feeling.
But I also haven’t suddenly turned into a bottomless pit 😂
I’m trying not to panic over every 0.5–1 kg fluctuation because I know some of that is going to be water, food weight, glycogen, constipation, hormones, etc. The scale is moving around, but I’m watching the overall trend rather than reacting to individual weigh-ins.
The biggest thing I’m trying to figure out now is how to eat enough to actually nourish myself while still maintaining my weight. During the weight-loss phase I got very used to eating relatively little, so I’m having to relearn what “normal” looks like.
I’m also trying to get more serious about strength training rather than obsessing over getting as many steps as possible every day. I want to maintain the weight, obviously, but I also want to maintain muscle and actually get stronger.
And psychologically, this is probably the weirdest part.
For so long the goal was LOSE WEIGHT.
Now the goal is basically:
Don’t lose much more. Don’t regain a bunch. Eat normally. Get stronger. Don’t obsess over the scale.
Which sounds simple but is actually a completely different mindset.
I know there’s no guarantee that I’ll maintain perfectly without medication, and I’m prepared for the possibility that my appetite/weight changes over the coming months. I’m also not opposed to going back on medication if I genuinely need it.
For now though, I’m curious to see what happens when I give my body some time to settle.
So for anyone who has stopped their GLP-1 after reaching their goal weight:
How did maintenance actually go for you?
Did your appetite come roaring back?
Did your weight stabilise?
How long did it take before you felt like you knew what your “new normal” was?
I’d especially love to hear from people who are 6+ months into maintenance, because that’s the part I’m really interested in.