r/GLPGrad

(I'm not sure where to post this question - feel free to direct me elsewhere!)

The only way I've been able to lose weight is with tirz. I had a serious negative side effect on semaglutide that made me switch to tirz some time later. Then, I had a derm appointment today, where my derm said tirz was the cause of my hair loss. I'm tired of the side effect circus, but I am so bad at calorie counting. I have never calorie counted successfully, ever.

Even when I was much thinner (had a brief modeling career thin), I never calorie counted, and when I gained weight, I really struggled to do it (never did it properly). I know this is the #1 tip recommended for weight loss, but it feels like I can't. Before the GLP-1, I spent years deleting and reinstalling calorie tracking apps.

Sometimes, I look back to the time when I was so thin I was scouted by a modeling agency as the "glory days" and try to replicate the habits of my younger self, but I'm just so hungry in my older years. Even when I eat veggies, protein, and potatoes for lunch, I'm eating 3 sheet pans of it. I just did that and the feeling sucks. I eat an obscene amount of "whole foods" and have been gaining weight on them.

I am so, so bad at the use-willpower-to-calorie-count thing. Only tirz has helped me lose weight. I'm trying to sign up for workout classes, buy cute workout clothes, and buy fiber/protein-rich groceries in bulk, but I've already gained 10 lbs since I stopped tirz.

Has anyone else been in this position - trying to use willpower again? What worked for you, if you're someone who struggles to calorie count but needs to lose weight?

I have a pet theory that 'base mood' in your life is highly tied to metabolic health and how healthy your body is in general, but the only thing I'm basing that on is how our behavior around food was altered so radically due to GLP-1s.

What do you believe? I assume most people are happier once the weight is off, but do you believe you're happier because of that, or because your metabolism/general health and diet is better?

I have decreased my dosage dramatically with compounded tirzepatide.

For the past month I have had EXTREME insomnia. I fall asleep fine, but keep waking up and can’t fall back asleep.

It started happening right around the time I started lowering my dosage, so I thought they were connected. My doctor doesn’t seem to think they are related.

I am 45 years old, so this could also be the beginning of perimenopause 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just miss my sleep 😴

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share my journey coming off Reta. I started in January 2026 from 160lbs (F, 29yo, 5’5), my goal was 130lbs but I keep loosing so it came to 118lbs. I feel great in this weight, never stopped doing strength training 4 times a week and 10k steps daily. I never went more than 3 mg, mostly 2-2.5 and tapered down very steadily starting July with last 0.5 dose on September 5th. It’s been a month and 5 days off. I can’t say that my appetite skyrocketed. I definitely feel hunger but I can pretty much control it.

I went off because I am prepping for my IVF, and just did my egg retrieval, embryo transfer in December. I did not gain any weight so far.

If I want to eat I go for healthier options. I don’t snack, watch sugar intake, and started tracking everything. Never been a huge junk food craver or anything like this. I do meal prep and plan my grocery shopping. I stay in 1700-1800 calories deficit while getting leaner and maintaining muscles. My deficit is around 300-400 calories. I don’t really want to do body recomp due to fertility stuff coming up and I don’t want to up my calories for it. I want to monitor me being off it until my transfer.

I think my brain rewired since I have gained huge self control over my appetite. I stop when I feel slight fullness, I will not eat just because there is cake. I actually stopped having sugar cravings whatsoever. The look in the mirror always reminds me how confident I am now and how strongly I don’t want to come back to my old body. I’ve read a lot of stories but so far I am optimistic. Since I increased my calories intake and prioritize protein/carbs, I started noticing my body going from skinny to toned.

I just want to say that maintaining is possible if you put effort. After, it becomes a habit which is easily maintained. My partner went through the same journey so doing it in partnership is much easier.

Reta helped a lot with stomach issues, bloating and so forth. Some side effects for a while were low sex drive for a while (trying to convince for a long time is a bitch too in term of sex drive). On my highest dose I felt really depressed even though I was about to go to the trip of my dreams - Japan, but after I lowered to 2.5-2 things started to be bright again. When I lost most of my weight on 3-2.5 mg, I had dizziness getting up fast and occasional nausea but it also it went away with lowering the dose. Another thing was tight sensation in my thyroid and ear congestion for some time. Second one was to weight loss but went away within 1-1.5 months, that was super annoying.

I tapered off the same way I upped the dose, so it was slow but steady process which I recommend for getting off it. Right after taking my last 0.5 dose I went in European vacation and didn’t put on even one lb. I fluctuate between 118-120 now.

Good luck to everyone in this journey. I am fairly new to being GLP grad, but ask if you have any questions.

So I had to stop 5mg cold turkey (grateful it was not higher) six weeks ago at 12 st 4lbs - a BMI of 26.1 for me and my maintenance weight. I was set to use MJ for life. However, the medical issue is still ongoing and I am possibly months away from being able to restart. At this point, if I can maintain my overall loss I question whether I will restart - but early days for now.

I experienced all the rebound hunger over these weeks and just gave into it when it felt like actual hunger and tried to haul in the sugary treats with mixed success. I was alarmed at my increased appetite and at how good everything was tasting suddenly and each week saw the pounds creep on but I held steady and refused to go back to a deficit, turning back to that lifelong dieting seesaw and I just kept tracking, aiming only to get back to maintenance calories and finally this week the hunger has abated and I stayed closer to my allotted 2,150 cals a day and I have dropped 2lbs this morning. Big phew!

**Notes**: More than a glass of wine / beer in a session increases my hunger and cravings sharply I so I am keeping tipple to an absolute minimum.

I have also found that my “NO” muscle is getting stronger each time I flex it.
I have lately managed to stop eating when I hit my calories and just sit with a cuppa and the urge to snack for the rest of the evening. What I am finding is that the urge to continue snacking is weaker and weaker the longer I don’t relapse.

So tentatively, I am hopeful I will maintain my overall loss, I can live with a few pounds up (5lbs rather than 7lbs up currently - which feels better :0)).

I have been on compounded triz for just over a year. I've lost 55lbs and am pretty close to goal weight. My intention before starting was to get off as soon as possible.

I have always had to pay out of pocket so I'd love to get off for financial reasons. But also because being exhausted and slightly nauseous all of the time is getting really old. (I know it could be much worse)

But then I keep reading about the benefits beyond weight loss and now I'm confused (major family history of heart issues and I'm apparently also at risk based on blood work).

I'm not sure I'm in the right forum but all of the others are so pro lifetime use that I don't want that bias. I feel like here people at least have the mindset that getting off is preferred if possible.

Not counting food noise or weight regain, are there compelling reasons to stay on triz that made you at least consider not getting off? I really want to stop but I also want to make the best decision for my long-term health.

I’ve started Wegovy mid july2025 and done it for 5 months and then tappered for another three months slowly.
I losted quickly, from 172 pounds to 139 ( my lowest) in January.
I trained weekly 2-3 times. My hunger and food noise reduced magically. It was as amazing as terrifying understanding that there is nothing wrong with myself and my hunger - just unlucky neurobiochemical wiring around food.

Since I’ve stopped, in march, I maintained for 2-3 months and then started to regain slowly.
I’m now 152, and absolutely terrified I’m going back to the beginning.
I do strength training religiously, I eat around protein, low calorie and I try to track what I eat but I eat more calories because I have more hunger.

I’m 39 years old and I know I am not metabolically young, so the idea of trying to maintain or lose weight without/after wegovy feels unrealistic.

I feel like a loser.

I’ve recently started thinking of going back to wegovy but my head is swimming with doubts:
If I start again then when would I stop?

I’m still Low key afraid of long term effects

I understand it’s need to be a chronic medicine for a chronic illness. I was not obese, though I’ve always struggled with excess weight though following diets and caring for my self. So I don’t feel I’m the target for taking this long term.

Afternoon all. I’m close to goal and have been reading maintenance stories. I’m now really worried about coming off Mounjaro which I plan to taper down. Currently on 7.5 mg. I don’t want the monthly cost forever, so my plan was to stop but I’m worried about regaining the weight. Was wondering about switching to Wegovy as a maintenance tool as this is cheaper. Has anyone done this and what is the cost of Wegovy?

Hi all! I’ve been on Zepbound since November and am currently 168lbs (a solid size 10) down from 205lbs. My goal weight is a Size 4/6 (135-140lbs). I’m 5’3 for reference.

I recently lost my insurance coverage for Zepbound, so I’m trying to figure out what my long-term game plan should look like before I start paying out of pocket. I currently have one box of 10mg and two boxes of 7.5mg left.

A little background
I never planned to stay on Zepbound indefinitely. Before starting, I had worked with various dietitians/programs with little to no success. Eventually, I had a serious conversation with my doctor about GLP-1s and was prescribed Zepbound.

Because I knew I didn’t want to rely on it forever, I was probably overly cautious about increasing my dose. I stayed on 5mg for about 6 months, even though I experienced basically no appetite/food suppression on it. I finally moved to 7.5mg in May, and then accidentally received a box of 10mg. After discussing it with my doctor, I eventually moved up to 10mg.
My progression has looked roughly like this:

5mg: ~6 months, lost ~20 lbs
7.5mg: ~1 month, lost ~5 lbs
10mg: ~2 months, lost ~18 lbs

Interestingly, 10mg is the first dose where I’ve really experienced significant food suppression. I’ve also been very lucky and haven’t had adverse reactions to the medication or specific foods.

Where I am now
Since insurance is no longer covering it, I’m considering asking my doctor to send my prescription through Lilly so I can use the savings program and purchase another ~3 months of 10mg out of pocket.
My hope is that by the end of those three months, I’ll be at or close to my 140-lb goal and can transition fully into maintenance.

I also have those two boxes of 7.5mg, which I was thinking I could use during that transition period while I intentionally bring my calories back up to maintenance and reduce my exercise to something I can realistically sustain long-term. But then…what? Maybe it’s my Type A personality, but I feel much better when I have some kind of plan 😂.

I’ll be talking through all of this with my doctor, but I’d really love to hear from people who have actually gone through maintenance and/or eventually come off the medication.

For those who have successfully transitioned to maintenance or weaned off:
1- Did you first establish a sustainable maintenance lifestyle while still on a higher dose and then start reducing?

2- Would it make sense to use my 7.5mg boxes while increasing calories to maintenance/reducing exercise, then move to something like 5mg or 2.5mg?

3- How long did you stay at maintenance before you started decreasing your dose?

4- Did you taper by lowering the dose, spacing injections farther apart, or both? How slowly did you taper?

5- If you eventually stopped completely, what surprised you most once you were off? Is there anything you wish you had done differently before stopping?

Exercise/lifestyle context
I work in education, so I’m on my feet all. day. long. Definitely not sedentary. My activity has also gradually increased throughout my time on Zepbound. I live in Chicago and prefer walking outside, so I wasn’t particularly active from November through March. I also sprained my wrist in a car accident in December, which limited me for a while.
From April–May, I coached soccer and participated in scrimmages. In June, I started intentionally walking more and aiming for around 10k steps on outdoor trails. In July, I added strength training.

Currently, I aim for 10k steps every day (usually closer to 8k once or twice a week) and lift heavy with progressive overload 5x/week.

I enjoy being active and absolutely plan to continue lifting and walking, but I also want my eventual maintenance routine to be something I can sustain for years and not something I have to do because I’m actively trying to lose weight. Especially since I’m planning a move to NYC in the Spring and want to have a sustainable workout/life balance.

I know there probably isn’t one perfect formula for coming off Zepbound, but I’d love to hear actual experiences from people who have gone from active weight loss → maintenance → lower doses and/or completely off the medication.

I’m sorry for the long winded post, but I greatly appreciate all of your insight! Thank you! ☺️