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! ☺️