What Happens When You Stop Taking a GLP-1?

Older Americans are more likely to discontinue the medication. Here’s what to expect, plus considerations to discuss with your doctor

Kristen Fischer,

AARP

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Published January 12, 2026

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About 1 in 8 Americans uses GLP-1 drugs for diabetes, weight loss and other chronic conditions, including semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). But many eventually stop — often because of high costs, insurance challenges or uncomfortable side effects. And recent research published in JAMA Network Open suggests older adults are more likely than their younger peers to discontinue these popular medications.

Going off a GLP-1 — short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist — isn’t without potential consequences. Studies show that stopping the medication can sometimes, but not always, cause a person’s weight to creep back up, along with blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Here’s a look at what recent research shows can happen when you stop taking a GLP-1, plus expert tips on how to maintain the health benefits that many people reap from the medications.

GLP-1s 101

GLP-1s are a class of drugs first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2005 to manage blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. A few more recent versions have gained popularity for their weight loss effects.

Studies have shown that these medications can offer other health benefits in some people with and without diabetes, such as lowering cardiovascular risks and treating sleep apnea. The medications are also linked to improvements in chronic kidney disease and, potentially, for brain health.

Weight gain

Regaining weight is one side effect that people experience when they stop taking a GLP-1. A big reason: The medications reduce food noise — ongoing thoughts about food — and food cravings, which can return when you stop the medication, says Dr. Mitch Biermann, an internal and obesity medicine specialist at San Diego’s Scripps Clinic.

A study published Nov. 24, 2025, in JAMA Internal Medicine followed 308 people taking tirzepatide for 36 weeks. Participants were randomized to either continue the medication or switch to a placebo for another 52 weeks.

Among those who no longer took the GLP-1, 82 percent who lost weight regained 25 percent or more of their initial weight loss within a year of stopping the drug. The greater the weight regain, the more likely participants were to lose improvements in cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

As part of a 2021 clinical trial published in JAMA, 741 people received weekly semaglutide injections, adjusted their diets and exercised for 20 weeks. That helped them lose about 11 percent of their weight, on average. When one-third of participants were randomized to take a placebo instead of semaglutide for 48 months, they regained 7 percent of the weight they lost.

The same trend was seen in a 2021 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. After taking semaglutide for 68 weeks, the average participant lost more than 15 percent of their body weight. "As part of an extension trial published a year later, participants regained an average of two-thirds of the weight they shed within 12 months of discontinuing the drug." Within 12 months of discontinuing the drug, participants regained an average of two-thirds of the weight they shed.

Some evidence shows that people regain lost weight even when they don’t stop the medications. A 2017 report in The Lancet followed 1,505 people on liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) and 749 on a placebo. A year later, those on the medication lost about 8 percent of their weight. Three years later, they regained some of that weight but maintained 6 percent weight loss.

Beyond weight loss

Metabolic problems like blood sugar dysregulation can return after stopping a GLP-1, Biermann says. Risks for other obesity-related ailments, such as diabetes, stroke, sleep apnea and heart disease, can revert as well, he adds.

One positive thing that typically stops when you discontinue the medication: the side effects, mainly gastrointestinal discomfort like nausea, says Matthew Hayes, a psychiatry professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who studies neural signaling pathways in obesity.

GLP-1s: A long-term medication?

An editorial that accompanied the Nov. 24 JAMA Internal Medicine report says that popular GLP-1s need to be rebranded from “weight loss” drugs to “weight management” drugs since some people may need to take them indefinitely. In other words, just because you hit your goal weight doesn’t mean you can stop taking the medications that helped you lose it.

The editorial suggests that it may help to think of GLP-1 drugs like other medications for chronic conditions. For example, people don’t stop taking blood pressure medication once they reach their target numbers. GLP-1s shouldn’t be viewed as short-term fixes either, the editorial says.

Going on a GLP-1 is a lot like going on a statin, Hayes explains. Patients must accept that they’ll be on the drug, or an alternative, for life. The good news: Next-generation anti-obesity drugs are already in clinical trials. Hayes expects to see more tolerable options emerge within the next two years.

Researching an off-ramp

Clinicians have a body of research on starting GLP-1s, but there’s less evidence on how to stop them, Biermann says. There’s no tapering-off regimen either, but that’s true about many other medications, he notes.

Biermann has heard from many GLP-1 users who want to stop the medication and is studying whether gradually spacing out doses — such as moving from weekly injections to every other week — can help maintain weight loss and other health benefits. So far, his findings suggest that many patients can. Plus, reducing medication frequency may help older adults lose fat and retain muscle, according to his case series presented in November at the Obesity Week 2025 conference.

A similar study published last year in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found that switching from a weekly GLP-1 dose to a dose every other week helped people maintain about 75 percent of their weight loss. The authors say that increasing the dose while reducing the frequency might help people sustain weight loss.

Want to stop your GLP-1? Make a plan with your doctor

Regardless of why people may stop taking the medications, medical professionals need to acknowledge that people do stop taking them, says Dr. Holly Wyatt, an adjoint associate professor in medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz.

“If we don’t deal with the problem, then we’re just amplifying the yo-yo that’s been here for many years — losing weight, regaining it,” says Wyatt, coauthor of Losing the Weight Loss Meds: A 10-Week Playbook for Stopping GLP-1 Medications Without Regaining the Weight.

If you want to discontinue your GLP-1 medication, talk to your doctor first, Biermann says, and get a plan in place to help you manage your weight and (and blood sugar, if needed).

Here are Wyatt’s tips for weight maintenance.

1. Use food to replace the medication. Your appetite won’t be reduced as much as it was when you were on the medications, but some evidence-based strategies can reduce it.

To decrease appetite and mimic the effects of the medication, include at least 25 grams of protein, 15 grams of fiber, less than 45 grams of carbohydrates and no more than 10 grams of added sugar and no more than 10 grams of fat in your first meal of the day.

“You’ve got to work on the appetite [when you’re not on a GLP-1] because that’s what’s going to come back,” Wyatt says.

2. Exercise. Working out to maintain weight loss isn’t just about burning calories while you sweat. Increasing physical activity can boost your metabolism too, meaning you’ll burn more calories even when you’re at rest. Figure out what works for you, whether it’s decreasing your sedentary time, adding a new activity or raising the intensity of your workouts.

3. Improve your mental health. Work on dealing with curveballs that could veer you off course with your weight, Wyatt says. You may need to build emotional resiliency or recognize your eating patterns. Wyatt suggests forming a morning ritual that encompasses gratitude, excitement or intention, such as affirmations or visualizations. This is just as important as diet and physical activity, Wyatt says.

“What you do to lose the weight, it’s short term. But when it comes to weight loss maintenance, now we’re talking about forever,” she says.

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Kristen Fischer is a contributing writer at AARP based at the Jersey Shore. She has also written for Health, WebMD, and McKnights and is the author of Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids.