Tips and tricks to maintain weight loss from GLP-1 medication
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, such as semaglutide, are very effective at inducing weight loss. However, maintaining weight loss from GLP-1 receptor agonists long term can be challenging. Old habits die hard and are often the enemy to prolonged weight loss when GLP-1 treatment is stopped. Yet for some, it can be more complicated than just breaking old habits.
We’ll discuss key lifestyle strategies you can adopt to maintain your weight loss after GLP-1 use and offer insight into why the continued use of semaglutide for weight maintenance may be best for some.
Strategies to maintain weight loss after GLP-1 treatment
Maintaining weight loss after GLP-1 treatment requires a number of different strategies.
Healthy eating strategies
- Stick to a healthy eating plan: Focus on an anti-inflammatory diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats. Avoid highly processed foods and sugary snacks that are proinflammatory and can cause weight gain.
- Avoid overeating: Overeating is strongly linked to weight gain. Be aware of portion sizes to prevent overeating. Using smaller plates, eating slower and reducing distractions can all help control portions. Pro Tip: Try drinking a full glass of water with every meal. The added liquid can help you feel full faster to avoid overeating.
- Follow hunger cues: Eat only when you are physically hungry and not in response to stress or boredom. Asking the question, “Am I truly hungry or am I just bored?”, drinking a glass of water and waiting 15 minutes or engaging in a relaxing activity like reading can help investigate the root of hunger feelings.
Comparing diets for weight loss maintenance
High protein diets
A high-protein diet includes 30-40% of calories from protein. Following a high-protein diet requires eating protein-rich foods like lean meats, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, nuts and legumes. Evidence suggests high-protein diets not only lead to weight loss but also improve body composition by maintaining lean body mass.
Protein helps boost metabolism in two main ways:
- It requires a higher amount of energy to metabolize it (called the thermic effect of food), and it helps maintain muscle mass, which is more metabolically active at rest.
- Protein increases fullness, helps reduce calorie intake, and promotes weight loss, making it an ideal complement to GLP-1 injections.
Low-carbohydrate diets
A low-carbohydrate diet limits total carbohydrate intake to less than 40% of calories, and it usually includes 25-30% of calories from protein and 30-40% of calories from fat. The ketogenic diet is a more extreme version of a low-carbohydrate diet, limiting carbohydrates to 5-10% of total calorie intake.
Studies show that low-carbohydrate diets can lead to faster weight loss in the first few months. However, the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets at achieving and maintaining weight loss at 6 months to one year and beyond is unclear. By reducing carbohydrate intake, patients are better able to control blood sugar levels, improving insulin sensitivity and aiding in weight maintenance.
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole, real foods, like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, fish and seafood, and olive oil. This approach minimizes processed foods, added sugars, and red meat.
Following a Mediterranean eating pattern has been shown to increase levels of GLP-1 and oxyntomodulin, both of which help reduce appetite and promote weight loss. In order for the Mediterranean diet to produce substantial weight loss, controlling calorie intake is still important.
Intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding
Intermittent fasting (IF) involves consuming a low calorie intake (usually less than 50%) on 2 or 3 days per week. For example, you would consume a controlled amount of calories on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you would limit your intake to about 50% of those calories each day.
Time-restricted feeding (TRF) involves eating within a specified time window and fasting in between (usually fasting for at least 12 hours at a time). For example, you would consume all of your calories between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, fasting for 16 hours in between.
Fasting has been shown to control insulin release, improve metabolism and modulate levels of other weight-loss promoting neuroendocrine hormones, such as GLP-1, oxyntomodulin, peptide YY and others. While the evidence for weight loss with IF and TRF is mixed, many studies demonstrate improved weight maintenance with intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding strategies.
Plant-based diets
Plant-based diets focus on foods that are derived from plants, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Research suggests plant-based diets are helpful for weight loss, but available evidence demonstrates mixed results for weight maintenance.
Regular physical activity
Regular physical activity is so important if you’re wanting to maintain a healthy weight. Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and encourages muscles to take glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy..
On the other hand, strength training increases and maintains lean body mass, which leads to a higher metabolism at rest This can include both bodyweight or weighted exercises. Often, cardiovascular and strength exercises are paired together in order to get the benefits of each.
Stress management
Chronic stress can promote weight gain and make weight maintenance more difficult. It leads to higher cortisol levels, which causes inflammation, increases appetite and ultimately promotes weight gain. Stress management improves overall metabolic health and can be achieved by stress-reduction techniques like mindfulness, yoga, deep-breathing exercises, prayer and spirituality, hobbies and time with loved ones.
Adequate sleep
Getting enough sleep is crucial to improve weight loss and promote weight maintenance. Poor sleep quality leads to higher cortisol and ghrelin levels, which can cause higher inflammation, increased appetite, weight gain, and make it more difficult to maintain weight loss. Prioritizing good sleep quality promotes overall metabolic health and helps regulate neuroendocrine hormones.
Monitor progress
Monitoring your weight loss progress helps promote accountability and continued motivation.Ongoing assessments of weight, laboratory results, energy levels and overall health helps ensure you maintain your health goals.
Use of semaglutide long-term
Clinical studies
After losing weight with GLP-1 medications, weight regain is common. Studies report some people regain at least two-thirds of the weight they lost after stopping semaglutide. Evidence suggests that continuing to take semaglutide after reaching your weight loss goal can help with long-term weight maintenance.
Benefits of long-term treatment
Studies have looked at the safety and effectiveness of taking semaglutide long-term. Based on available evidence, taking semaglutide indefinitely appears to be safe and offers long-term weight, metabolic and cardiovascular benefits. It’s important to note that long-term GLP-1 treatment should be a patient-centered decision made under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare professional.
Access better wellness for your employees with Agile Telehealth
At Agile, we provide employers with the opportunity to implement top-tier wellness programs for their teams—at little to no cost. How do we do it? By leveraging our extensive network of board-certified physicians and trusted pharmacy partners, we’re able to deliver customized wellness solutions and personalized compounded medications, like GIP, at a fraction of the cost of traditional benefits programs.
Interested in learning more? Contact us here!
Browse our list of available programs!