Maintenance dose for Mounjaro and Wegovy

You’ve done the hard part and reached your goal. The next step is to keep the weight off safely, at the right dose and with a clinician who knows your history.  

That’s what the maintenance dose is for – the phase after active weight loss, where the goal shifts from losing weight to keeping it off. Below, we cover what a maintenance dose means for Mounjaro and Wegovy, how it’s determined, what to expect, and the questions to raise with your prescriber as you move into this stage. 

What is a maintenance dose? 

A maintenance dose is the amount of medication you continue taking once you have reached or are very close to your target weight. Rather than increasing your dose further to keep losing weight, your prescriber aims to find the lowest dose that keeps your weight steady, while minimising side effects. This means:  

• your appetite stays manageable  

• your weight holds steady 

• side effects are kept to a minimum 

A maintenance dose isn’t designed for further weight loss, although some people do lose a small amount of weight in the early weeks of maintenance. The goal is to stabilise your weight. 

Mounjaro maintenance doses 

Mounjaro follows a dosing schedule that starts at 2.5mg and increases once a month to 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg, and 15mg.  

You don’t need to reach the top of this schedule. Many people reach their weight-loss goals at a lower dosage, at which appetite is well controlled, and side effects are tolerable. There is no requirement to keep increasing your dose. 

For more detail, see our useful guide about the Mounjaro dosing schedule. 

The most common Mounjaro maintenance doses used in the UK are 5mg, 10mg, and 15mg weekly. Most prescribers recommend staying on the dose your body has responded well to; this could mean staying on the dose that helped you reach your target weight or lowering the dose slightly to avoid further weight loss. 

Later, some people can step down a dose to maintain the same results; this can also mean fewer side effects and a lower cost.  

Wegovy maintenance doses 

Wegovy has its own dosing schedule; the standard maintenance dose is 2.4mg weekly, which is the dose most people are moving towards by the time they reach their goal weight. However, like with Mounjaro, some people maintain their results successfully on a lower dose, such as 1.7mg, if it proves sufficient to manage appetite and keep their weight stable. 

The two medications work in similar but different ways. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) acts on two separate hormone receptors, GLP-1 and GIP, while Wegovy (semaglutide) acts on GLP-1 alone. That’s why the two have different dosing numbers, because they work differently.  

How your maintenance dose is chosen 

Your prescriber will take several things into account when agreeing a maintenance dose with you; these include: 

• how well you have tolerated your current dose 

• whether your weight has stabilised over several weeks  

• how manageable your appetite and “food noise” is 

• your overall health including any other conditions or medications 

Most prescribers aim for the lowest effective dose, as it’s the safer, more sustainable choice and often results in fewer side effects. 

What to expect when you move onto a maintenance dose 

The transition to a maintenance dose often feels different from the active weight loss phase, and it’s worth knowing what’s normal. 

Further weight loss slows down significantly or stops. This is expected and does not mean the medication has stopped working; the dose is doing its job. 

Your appetite may feel different. Many people describe hunger becoming more predictable and less intense, rather than disappearing. 

Side effects often ease once your body has had time to adjust to a stable dose. Some people find their side effects fade away almost completely during maintenance. 

The focus shifts more heavily onto lifestyle. With the dose no longer increasing, the lifestyle habits you have built around food, exercise, and sleep become a larger part of what maintains your results.  

Common side effects during the maintenance phase 

The side effects you experience on the maintenance dose would be the same as the ones you had earlier in your treatment, but less intense. The most reported side effects include: 

• nausea 

• diarrhoea 

• constipation 

• indigestion 

• heartburn 

• general stomach upset 

A few practical adjustments can make a real difference if you do experience these: 

• Eat smaller, more frequent meals – this sits better in your stomach. 

• Avoid rich, greasy or spicy foods – they’re more likely to trigger nausea.  

• Stay well hydrated throughout the day – aim to drink 1.5 to 2L of water a day. 

• Limit alcohol and caffeine- they can irritate the stomach.  

• Rest if you are feeling more tired than usual. 

If side effects persist beyond the first few weeks of a new dose, get worse or start to interfere with your daily life, speak to one of our clinicians.  

This may mean staying at your current dose for longer before making any further changes, or, in some cases, moving to a slightly lower maintenance dose.  

How long do people stay on a maintenance dose? 

There is no fixed time limit, and it depends on each patient’s circumstances. Some people remain on a maintenance dose for the long term, particularly where there is an underlying condition like type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, or PCOS/PMOS. 

Others use the maintenance phase as a period of stability while they develop new habits, before working with their prescriber to gradually reduce the dose and eventually stop. 

Obesity is increasingly understood clinically as a chronic, relapsing condition rather than something that is simply fixed once a target weight is reached. This is part of why our clinicians will discuss ongoing medical support, even at a low maintenance dose, as a long-term option rather than something to be avoided.  

Do you still lose weight on a maintenance dose? 

Some people do continue to lose a small, gradual amount of weight in the early stages of maintenance. If you’re still losing weight steadily on your maintenance dose, then speak to our clinical team, as you may need a lower dose. 

What the evidence says about stopping treatment 

One of the most detailed pieces of evidence on this exact question comes from the SURMOUNT-4 trial, published in JAMA, which looked specifically at what happens to people who continue tirzepatide compared with those who stop. 

In this trial, participants who lost an average of 20.9% of body weight over 36 weeks either continued tirzepatide or switched to a placebo for a further year. 

Those who continued treatment lost an additional 5.5% of their body weight beyond their initial weight loss.  

Those who switched to placebo regained around 14% of the weight they had lost.  

By the end of the study, 89.5% of those who stayed on tirzepatide had maintained at least 80% of their original weight loss, compared with just 16.6% of those who had switched to placebo. 

This shows that stopping treatment usually leads to weight regain for most people, because their appetite and metabolism return once the medication is no longer in their body.  

It does not mean everyone must stay on treatment forever; it means stopping treatment should be planned and not done suddenly. 

If you do decide to stop Mounjaro or Wegovy 

Reducing your dose gradually, rather than stopping abruptly, is generally recommended. A gradual reduction in the medication gives your body more time to adjust and helps ensure you have lifestyle strategies in place before the appetite-suppressing effect is completely gone. Read our useful guide about how to come off Mounjaro. 

Stopping abruptly is not dangerous to your health; the main risk is a faster return of appetite and a higher chance of regaining weight more quickly. 

If you do stop, the habits that matter most for maintaining your results include:  

• a diet built around whole foods, lean protein, fibre, and healthy fats  

• a consistent exercise routine that combines cardiovascular activity with strength training to help preserve muscle mass 

• keeping an eye on your weight so that any early signs of regain can be addressed quickly 

Can you restart treatment if you regain weight? 

If you experience weight regain after stopping, then restarting treatment is something our clinicians can consider where you have an established treatment history with us.  

This involves a new review of your current weight, health and goals rather than picking up where you left off, as your circumstances may have changed. 

Talk to your prescriber before you decide 

The maintenance phase often determines whether your results last, so it’s worth treating it with the same care as the weight loss phase. Your right dose, your timeline, and your decision to continue or stop are all genuinely personal — there’s no single answer that fits everyone. 

If you’ve recently reached your goal weight, speak with one of our clinicians to agree your maintenance dose and put a plan in place for the months ahead.